How to Play Violin in 14 Days: Daily Violin Lessons for Absolute Beginners (Play Music in 14 Days)

The book is great. Very helpful. And the online music helps here the correct melodies.

I liked this book. Has all information for beginners to learn to play the violin.

For people who struggle through violin and fiddle methods due to what I'll call "perfectionistic tendencies", the approach here may be welcome. The material is structured not just into days, but into timed 15-minute sections within each 90 minute daily practice session. And you can shrink or expand that 14-day goal based on the amount of time you can realistically dedicate. A key point is you're encouraged not to seek perfection in each section but rather aim for consistency as best you can. It's more important to work consistently through the entire book, maintaining interest and motivation, than attempt perfection at each step along the way. This can be a challenge for perfectionists who may not appreciate the value of iterative learning that builds technique gradually by revisiting specifics from different, increasingly challenging angles.That said, the critical assumption the book makes is you already have the basic mechanics of holding the instrument and holding and moving the bow. There is very limited material on the physicality of playing. The book is focused more on the basics of reading and making music from the page. In fact, for fiddlers who may not read music, this makes for an efficient and fun way to learn - and to pick up some technical points on expression and dynamics.

I started the Bethany Olds How To Play Violin In 14 Days book having never picked up a violin. Although I didn't have 90 minutes a day to dedicate to practicing, working for 30 minutes a day, it took about a month to make it through the book. I went through that book a second time using the metronome. By doing that, I had a good foundation for beginning the Violin Hymns book also written by Bethany.The recordings supplied with both books (via website download) are very helpful in being able to see and hear the melodies and exercises. The exercises in this book build upon themselves in such a way that you are gaining a skill without a huge strain. The next exercise builds on that skill...step by step.I went from never playing violin in mid January to now (the end of March) being able to work my way through the hymns book with no major problems. I am not amazing but the tunes are very recognizable and I am growing my skill each time I play the hymn.

While the "look inside" photos of the intro section show color photographs, the book's inro section is entirely b&w, which makes the detail a bit harder to make out. Since the book is essentially just a b&w print of the pdf file, the digital copy might be the more useful option. Not a big deal, but disappointing since the color photos were one of the selling points for me. The rest of the book seems useful enough as an introduction to basic principles so I'll probably keep it. It is precisely and economically written. I don't expect to be playing anything anyone would want to listen to in 14 days, but I think I'll be "playing," something.

I came to the violin with a musical bias; I know how to play the piano, and chords of the guitar and ukulele. My bass clef note recognition is therefore weak. But I know basic chording very well.That being said, there is a hidden underlined thing going on with beginner musical books. These books are subliminally teaching you how to play in chords without always actually telling you.With a piano, I knew how to play in C first, then F, G, B flat, E flat and A flat. but I was incredibly weak in the chords of D, or in the chords of A or E. I knew that a seventh cord transitions to the next one up. I knew that C7 transitioned to the cord of F or G7 goes to C, and so on. So that is my bias in this review.There are several beginner books that I would recommend and they are:Nicolas LaoureuxPractical Method - Part 1: Violin Method, Old Time Fiddle for the Complete Ignoramus, Suzuki Book One, A Dozen A Day, Pieces to Play Book One, Fiddle Time Joggers, and String Builder Book One.If you want to hone your skills with some method I recommend "adventures in music" or Alfred's book One and Two.The hidden thing going on is that you are being trained to play in a certain key with some of these beginner books. And most of the books do not directly tell you what that key is.When you play Twinkle Twinkle Little star in Suzuki you get training in the A chord. (My weakness in Piano)But this book "How to play Violin in 14 days" starts you off in the key of C. That's what I know, the key of C...and most of the pieces I play are in either C or G of F. So for me, this book was fantastic because it starts where I already am.So my advice is to get exposed to as many beginner books as possible, and don't be afraid of learning more than one way, or more than one slant of things. And speaking of slant, these beginner books rarely teaches beginners to slightly slant their bowing hand to the right on their up-bow, hitting the right edge of the hair. Or on the down-bow hitting a flatter hair approach. All of these books cannot and will not tell you everything. And there is nothing wrong supplementing pieces with your favorite style as long as they match the skill level you are in. The books I mentioned tend to do that.Ultimately, you need multiple sources and multiple takes, especially if you already know music.This book is fantastic, and it gives one other such perspective, and that is crucial.If you want to start your beginning violin in the key of C, then this book is for you.I highly recommend it and good luck to you as you pursue your dream of playing the violin.This is an excellent beginner book !!!

I started reading the book right away, and have started using it to learn the basic fundamentals of playing the violin! The included free downloadable audio tracks are necessary and really enhance the experience.

If you are constantly in your learning, you ll do that, and you will play the violing. Be constant with the practice of this book.

Easy to learn

I just started playing violin and learning on my own ..tried first the suzuki course but it was still very difficult and seemed skipping quite a lot . With this book I truly learning now and very easy to followAlso very good that all lessons are uploaded on the sound cloud app

Contains simple explanations

Not overwhelming for a beginner

Good guide for beginners