The Best Violin Books for Beginners
A challenging instrument to master, it’s a given that it’s one of the hardest. However, if you use a good violin book and plenty of practice, you can make great strides in your playing ability.
The violin is a popular choice for beginner musicians. It has a lot of range and can be very expressive. Although it cannot be used to play chords like a guitar, it is ideal for solo portions.
The first thing you’ll want to know about this instrument is its fretless neck. This means you can do true glissando and true vibrato. Secondly, it is a bowed string instrument. This opens up many possibilities for dynamics, such as smooth and warm tones or intense “screaming” sections. Keep in mind that this instrument is related to classical music but can be used in nearly all genres.
If you’re a beginner or want to start learning how to play the violin, you need some good materials to help you. We’ve compiled a selection of the top books on the violin for those just starting.
Quick Picks: The Best Violin Books for Beginners
Product Name | Product image | Check Price |
|---|---|---|
Mel Bay Technical Studies for Beginning Violin |  | |
A Tune a Day – Violin: A Scale Book for Beginners |  | |
Essential Elements for Strings: Book 1 |  | |
Book 1 of The ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner |  |
Violin for Dummies
This book by Katharine Rapoport is a good choice for people who want to start playing the violin without prior experience. The book is meant for people who are ten years or older.
This book will give you the important information that you need. With this information, you can move on to more advanced levels.
Fiddle for Dummies
This book is for people who call the violin a “fiddle.” The book explains that the violin and fiddle are the same things. Fiddling means playing folk and country music on the instrument.
You may learn how to play the violin in the jazz style with the help of this book. You will learn some basics similar to playing the violin more traditionally. But this book also focuses on jazz-specific techniques.
Introducing the Positions for Violin: Volume 1
“Introducing the Positions” is a good book for people over ten years old. You can benefit from this book even if you are unfamiliar with the fundamentals.
This book helps beginners learn the basics of the instrument. They will benefit from this book more if they are serious about learning to play guitar.
Mel Bay Technical Studies for Beginning Violin
Learning and mastering the violin can be challenging. Nevertheless, Craig Duncan’s book “Mel Bay Technical Studies for Beginning Violin” simplified things for newcomers. People who use this method will learn how to play in the keys of A, D, and G by doing simple exercises. This makes it easier for beginners to figure out G-D-A-E’s standard violin tuning.
You will also get pictures showing the correct way to hold your fingers while playing the guitar. The 85 exercises are broken down into 18 lessons.
A Tune a Day – Violin: A Scale Book for Beginners
C. Paul Herfurth’s novel is well-known. There are many step-by-step lessons and activities in “A Tune a Day – Violin: A Beginner Scale Book.” Each day’s lesson is broken into smaller, more manageable chunks, making it ideal for beginning violinists. This will help you make steady development over time. This will help you gradually progress. If you follow all of the examples and learn them well, you will be ready for more advanced phases.
The book also includes a series of daily practice routines and questions to test your knowledge. It is like you are taking actual classes or going to a music school. You will need some basic music theory knowledge, but the book offers all the essential information for playing the violin.
Essential Elements for Strings: Book 1
This book contains some excellent suggestions for beginners of a younger age. “Essential Elements for Strings” was written by a team of three authors, Michael Allen, Robert Gillespie, and Pamela Tellejohn Hayes. They led the student through basic exercises, methods, and even songs so the new information could be applied.
This book is for both violin teachers and beginner violinists. It has a lot of information that will be helpful for people who are learning how to play the violin.
Book 1 of The ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner
This book, called “The ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner,” will teach you the basics. It is one book in a series written by Janice Tucker Rhoda for beginners. This book is meant for all ages and covers basic exercises that can be used for classical music and other genres.
This booklet includes a guide to music terms, notation, exercises, and fingering charts. It also has numerous illustrations.
On the other hand, the intriguing feature comes with a download code for access to mp3 and PDF files for piano accompaniments. This is a great way to get a feel for how it feels to perform with another instrument.
My First Violin Fun Book
Now for something for younger children, “My First Violin Fun Book” is a great book for beginners who are 4 to 7 years old. We all know that learning music at a young age has many benefits. This book by Larry E. Newman provides an easy way to teach young children how to play the violin.
This book is helpful and enjoyable. It has large notation and simple examples; all focused on A and E strings. It also comes with activity pages and extra video tutorials.
Suzuki Violin School: Volume 1
Shinichi Suzuki, a renowned and respected violin instructor and performer wrote a book called “Suzuki Violin School.” This book is helpful for both violin teachers and students. It includes basic exercises and classical pieces that are easier to play.
A theory and notation guide can help any student learn the essentials. This can be a good choice for adult beginners or students already familiar with basic music theory. If you’re searching for a book for younger children, this could be a good choice if the student has a great deal of potentials and is eager to study.
The Violin Fun Book: For Young Students
“Larry E. Newman’s “The Violin Fun Book” is another compilation of exercises and interactive courses. This book is designed for children up to 10 years old. The notation is large and easy to read, and the book also includes kid-friendly illustrations and explanations.
Once this one is successfully covered, the kid can move on to Newman’s next work within the collection, “The Intermediate FUNdamental Violin Book.”
The Pascale Method for Beginning Violin
Susan Pascale wrote a book that is very detailed and easy to understand. The book is called “The Pascale Method for Beginning Violin.” It is a 12-week program that takes students from complete beginners to the beginning stages of intermediate.
The Ultimate Songbook for Beginner Violinists
If you want something song-based and a good level system, then “The Ultimate Songbook for Beginner Violinists” by Julia Teermer would be a good choice. This book has over fifty songs, each with very simple-to-read violin tabs.
The entire book is designed to work with the author’s YouTube channel. The book might not be very clear to an absolute beginner, so we might point this out as something that will come as a potential downside. This, on the other hand, makes it an excellent choice for musicians who are already familiar with the theory of music and are interested in learning to play the violin.
Violin Lessons for Beginners: Teach Yourself How to Play Violin
In fact, in most cases, you will need more than just a book if you are a complete beginner. As we said before, the violin is a complicated instrument to be taught to absolute beginners. So Peter Gelling created “Violin Lessons for Beginners: Teach Yourself How to Play Violin” and included many audio examples to make the violin lesson experience as thorough as possible. These examples can be found through an online platform.
The writer includes different techniques, including pizzicato. Many music theory lessons can help people who play other instruments. The book has lessons that require some knowledge, but it is also organized very well.
Old-Time Fiddle for the Complete Ignoramus!
Suppose you’re feeling this way but have never played violin before. In that case, the book “Old-Time Fiddle for the Complete Ignoramus!” by Wayne Erbsen might be a great addition to your beginner literature.
This book has a method to help you learn classic fiddle tunes. There are 37 different pieces written with notation and tablatures. Plus, there is humorous commentary too. You can also find instructional materials online. This will help you learn songs like “Amazing Grace,” “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” and “Joy to the World” quickly.
Fiddle Primer Book for Beginners Deluxe Edition
When it comes to learning the violin, Jim Tolles’s “Fiddle Primer – Deluxe Edition” is a good place to start. It covers everything you need to have a strong technique, learn where to put your hands, and read music notation. In short, this book will teach beginners everything they need to start playing the violin.
The book also includes some excellent bluegrass song arrangements that follow the basic teachings. Tutorial videos and audio files accompany the whole thing.
Fiddle Primer Book for Beginners Deluxe Edition
When it comes to learning the violin, Jim Tolles’s “Fiddle Primer – Deluxe Edition” is a good place to start. It covers everything you need to have a strong technique, learn where to put your hands, and read music notation. In short, this book will teach beginners everything they need to start playing the violin.
The book also includes some excellent bluegrass song arrangements that follow the basic teachings. Tutorial videos and audio files accompany the whole thing.
Final Thoughts
To be a successful violinist, you must have more than just talent. You also need patience, a lot of practice, and reliable beginner violin books to help guide you in your training.
However, books can assist you in answering particular issues about playing the instrument and inspire you with information about music from composers or professionals.
Most violin books provide lessons and tutorials to help you learn how to play the violin. By using any book, be it a method book or a history book about violin origins and a talented music teacher, playing the violin can be simpler.
Frequently Asked Questions about Violin Book For Beginners
It is important to be patient and take your time to learn the violin. If you can’t afford to pay for lessons, there are a lot of free resources that you can use. However, it is critical to use caution when learning on your own. You need to have a good ear and analyze what you are doing to ensure that you are doing things correctly.
The violin is considered to be one of the toughest instruments to learn. If someone has a lot of dedication and is willing to learn with a pure heart, they can learn quickly. Cramping and violin playing can be learned within six months of practicing for 1 hour each day.
Beginner violins are not as good as regular violins. They don’t sound as good, and they’re harder to play.
If you want to play the violin professionally, you need to be prepared for many years of hard work. Learning how to play the violin takes a lot of time and dedication, but you can make a lot of progress in three to five years with a steady training schedule.
In other words, whether you pick up the bow for the first time at the age of 30, 50, or beyond, there’s no reason you can’t become a brilliant adult violinist. That being said, here are some adult beginner violinist suggestions to help you learn faster.
It is possible to learn how to play the violin independently, but it takes some effort. You can find basic scales and techniques online or through an app, but you need some manual skills to play the violin beyond these simple levels.
There are different kinds of difficulties. It is harder to make good sounds and stay in tune on a violin on the technical side. It is also harder to play the first tune on a piano. But when it comes to music, learning music takes a lot of time and effort.
Most music instructors believe that children should start learning violin at three. However, children under three years old usually do not have the cognitive development to benefit from music lessons. The average age to start is four or five years old.
