Best books about violins according to redditors
We found 113 Reddit comments discussing the best books about violins. We ranked the 66 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 113 Reddit comments discussing the best books about violins. We ranked the 66 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
This is by no means a complete or comprehensive list, but these are the books I've used and found most beneficial throughout my playing and teaching career:
At least one étude book! I like Kreutzer, Sitt, and Wohlfahrt for both myself and my students, since they all cover a wide range of techniques and help improve your overall technical development. They're an important part of your progress as a violinist, even if they're not necessarily the most glamorous or exciting, and can really help with difficult techniques you may be struggling with in a different piece. I always include at least one in my warm up before starting on whatever I'm working on that session.
An assortment of Suzuki books, especially if you do any sort of solo gigging. Which ones will depend on your level, but they have an excellent, diverse range of classical pieces that help to improve your repertoire and technical skills, especially as you progress from beginner to intermediate. I made a binder of photocopied Suzuki pieces (because I couldn't bring myself to punch holes in my books, haha) to use for weddings or any gigs where I'm the only instrument playing, because they also generally sound good without accompaniment. Even if you don't gig, having a library of classical pieces you can call on is helpful - especially as the later ones start introducing violin concertos, which makes for a smoother transition into learning some of the major ones.
Bach Sonatas and Partitas. (I like the Schirmer version, for reference) Again this depends on your ability level, but as you advance, being able to play an unaccompanied Bach piece is both a milestone of achievement in your skills, and also a demanding technical process that requires a lot of attention to detail and a broad range of ability. They make great audition pieces because they're meant to be played solo, and if you plan on pursuing music in college, many schools require one movement of a Bach Sonata/Partita, and one first movement of a major violin concerto. Even if you don't, learning at least one of them is a good idea.
Other technical books: Introducing the Positions for Violin, Volumes 1 and 2 (depending on your ability level/what you need to work on), and Melodious Double-Stops for the Violin by Josephine Trott. SO GOOD. Look them up if you're not familiar!
You'll notice that most of these books are technique-related to some extent (even if they're actual pieces of music meant for performance), and that's because being a "good" violinist is dependent on having a rock-solid technical foundation on which to build your style and artistry. Being able to play in tune, with consistent and accurate bowing, no matter what is actually happening in the piece you're playing is the objective, and developing a huge range of skills via dedicated technical practice that you can call on is extremely helpful in that pursuit.
Finally, if you're interested in some high-level methodology on the violin that isn't sheet music-based, I'd strongly recommend Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching by Ivan Galamian. He was one of the best teachers of the 20th century by a long shot (he taught Dorothy DeLay, Itzhak Perlman, and Pinchas Zukerman at varying points!), and this book was extremely helpful for my own playing development, let alone how I approach teaching. I'd highly recommend it!
The auditory component will always be there. You still need to primarily develop the mechanical muscle memory side of things but violin intonation is about constantly adjusting based on your ear.
Here is a great video by Nathan Cole, associate concertmaster of the LA Phil discussing how to nail shifts that I think you'd find useful. Keep in mind he is talking especially about how to do big jumps, from first to sixth+ position for instance. It's still very important to teach your muscles where the basic positions are, such as knowing where third or even where first position is, which is where the muscle memory mechanics come into play.
Edit: The practice exercise you described is exactly how you should be developing the motions. Slide up to the pitch that you are going for and eventually you can start hiding the glissando sound, through shifting fast enough and/or by slowing down your bow/changing bow direction. I highly recommend you also start practicing 3 octave scales with basic shifting, even if you only go up to the highest note you can play in third position for now.
The Whistler shifting book is a staple resource for developing all this.
I teach beginners (and intermediate and advanced) and beginners are the hardest to start. Getting them past the hurtles of muscle memory, strength, and finding out that playing an instrument isn't as easy as playing a game on a phone is the trick. Don't take it personally if you have kids stop. The adults will stay with it longer.
I like to start most of my beginning students in the Essential Elements book the notes are bigger than Suzuki method, as is an emphasis in reading. Musical jargon is explained in highlighted areas on the pages. Music literacy makes comprehension a lot easier. It is a focus of mine from day one with each student (as young as 5).
If you understand what is on the page, it's easier to figure out as you get into more complicated pieces and areas of your violin - rather than being overwhelmed by a bunch of random finger numbers and random Italian words.
I use different colors of washi tape for the first 3 finger tapes. We marker their book for the first few pages (or until the idea sticks) so they can understand the concept of go up a line or a space and you go up an alphabet letter.
We start off guitar style for the first week (or longer depending on the student). They letter the notes in pencil under the notes until they can reliably name the notes quickly. Then we start to erase the letters for them to play the songs again.
I have a very low turnover rate at the store I've been teaching at for the past 5 years. I teach a ton of beginners.
As with any instrument, scales and arpeggios are key. Hone them just 5 mins a day and you'll see really great improvements in everything else. Try to vary which part of the bow and the different styles while you are at that as well.
Back in middle school/high school (when my parents paid for everything.. how I miss those days... wish I could afford one now), I had a private viola teacher who played with a big city symphony orchestra. All the lessons usually revolved around excerpts from each of the following:
Suzuki Viola School
Wohlfahrt - 60 Studies
Kreutzer - 42 Studies
Hoffmeister - 12 etudes
Also try to find a regular community orchestra, and some small gigs to play around Christmas time to hone your performance art skills as well.
I was briefly enrolled in a violin making program at the University of New Mexico. I already had many years of fine woodworking skills. There are a number of great books though. A classic is The Art of Violin Making A fairly new book is the Manual of Violin Making which I just ordered and am quite eager to check out.
I'll also second the Suzuki books - while the pieces are short, they are still good for getting the basics down, and you'll get through them more quickly than a child would. It's helpful to practice tunes that you're already familiar with. I also recommend the String Builder books - the short exercises promote repetition and muscle-memory learning and help to get the basics firmly entrenched.
I use this with students learning to read music because it focuses on a step by step progression, keeps things simple- but doesn't use any hints (other then the occasional page that identifies new notes at the top): https://www.amazon.com/Can-Read-Music-Vol-Violin/dp/0874874394
It's incredibly simple and moves slowly, but gives plenty of time to practice reading the notes. Even my adult student who have studied other instruments love it because it gives them something simple to focus on to start relating where the notes are on the violin. A few pages in and they know where to put the finger for each note and the note name.
I like it better then flash cards because it's being directly related to the violin. It also does rhythm separately then pitch.
I'm also a beginner, but I'll share what I've learned (in no particular order) and what I've been doing to improve technique and maybe it will help you too.
The Suzuki books are by far the most popular for classically trained violinists:
If you prefer a more "American" method (i.e., more fiddle tunes), the O'Connor books may be for you:
I've also seen these books highly recommended, but unfortunately I don't know anything about them:
Musician here also a beginner on violin - I've been working from the All For Strings books with my teacher and they've been pretty much perfect. Informative, varied not too patronising and an absence of cartoon gnomes and woodland creatures from all the pages.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Strings-Book-1-Violin/dp/0849732220
My daughter's teacher had her use this book and there is a second one that I think is more advanced. It looks like it gets good reviews.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00GQZPYFO/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
No. Just du-et.
If you're looking for music, Applebaum has a great series of duet books. I think there are something like three or four volumes, ordered by difficulty.
One of Julie Lieberman's books has a good discusion of RH technique used by jazz, bluegrass and folk fiddlers, I think it's this one: https://www.amazon.com/Improvising-Violin-Julie-Lyonn-Lieberman/dp/1879730103. It's been a while since i read it but I think she notes that a lot of folk fiddlers are playing just the middle of the bow, one stroke per note, and you see all kinds of up the bow holds and low speed/high pressure technique.
I'm an adult learner and I started with Suzuki. I actually like it. I also use Whistler's Introducing the Positions Vol. 1 and my preferred scale book is The Complete Scale Compendium for Violin by Larry Clark although I also have Galamian's Contemporary Violin Technique. I like Larry Clark's because it's good for beginners and very thorough. Galamian's and Carl Flesch's Scale System are good if you're really familiar with scales and need something more advanced.
YouTube has a lot of excellent videos. I prefer Eddy Chen if I'm stuck with something really particular. His advice helped me to really develop a practice routine that helped me stay focused and actually accomplish something. If you do Suzuki, there are some instructors who do play along videos (some even do slower tempo versions) of the etudes which I find helpful.
In addition to the Suzuki repertoire, I had these books when I first started:
String Builder, Intro to the Positions, and Practical Methods all have several books in the series, and I went through quite a few of them. If I recall correctly, they're filled with fairly simple etudes that aid in building fundamental techniques. I wonder if a teacher would recommend other progression books for adults, however?
You could also use that extra time to practice one octave scales for intonation, finger positioning, and bow variations (whole notes, quarter, eighths, then different slurs such as 2 notes in one bow, 4 notes, 6...). Not only do scales help in solidifying fundamentals, but just knowing how to play/identify different scales, as well as it's minor, harmonic, and melodic counterparts goes a long way when playing more complex music.
I am not a luthier or have I ever made a violin but it has been an interest for a while. Besides r/luthier there is musical instrument makers forum as well as this website. lastly the making the violin website recommends this book I’m sure there is more but those are the omes i know of.
a music theory book or something could help. one if those workbooks where you just have to write dozens of note names under notes on a staff. thats pretty much all you need to do.
i use this one
and this one
just do the repetitive practice. write your note names on your music. write fingerings next to notes. write and practice and you'll get it! the fact you know a song by simply hearing it its MAD talented! good luck. :) and take that opportunity bro, it really looks good on applications for orchestras. you can work past your stage fright, your director wouldnt have offered it to you if they didnt believe in you.
Get into the habit of playing scales regularly. Scales will help you develop pitch recognition (getting used to what "in tune" sounds like), tone quality, bow usage (use full bows!) and it will help you learn the higher octaves/positions once you advance.
When I started learning violin, I used the "Essential Elements" method book, which has pretty useful information and exercises. (http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Elements-Strings-Book-Violin/dp/0634038176)
Instead of tapes, get a book:
https://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Positions-Violin-Third-Position/dp/1423444876
What I like about this is it builds on what you already know, first position and your existing ear training. You start out by playing something in first, then playing the same thing with a shift to third position. Normally, I don’t suggest books because I think it encourages doing things outside of lessons that could lead to bad habits. But this book is actually intended for students who need supplemental help with shifting. Assuming shifting has been demonstrated in lessons, the book won’t teach you anything new but will rather help cement some things so you can move forward.
I'm a speed reader. I took a course in High School. I just finished a book on the history of the violin, called "The Violin: A Social History of the World's Most Versatile Instrument"
Your uncle is right. The older one is, the harder it is to pick up something as technical as the violin. However, because you have experience as a musician, I don't think it's out of the question that you could reach a basic proficiency, at the very the least.
With that aside, I would definitely check out the videos from Violin Masterclass, Todd Ehle, and the great virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin. In terms of method books, check out the Learning the Positions series, the Tune a Day series, and also the Sevcik and Schradieck scale books. Violinist.com is also a great place to ask around. I'm going off the top of my head here, so perhaps other people can chip in as well, since I know I'm missing a bunch.
Anyway, you need go into this like a sponge; listen to everything your uncle suggests. Watch videos and listen to recordings of the great performers, such as Perlman, Oistrakh, Menuhin, Heifetz, Zukerman, Hahn, Mutter, Bell, Shaham, etc. (i could go on and on about this one, haha) and see what you can learn from them. Attention to detail is a must! Most of all, be patient! I have been a violinist for the majority of my life, and yet I am still constantly learning new things from my teacher and other violinists.
I hope this helps, and best of luck to you as you learn this wonderful instrument!
I learned starting at age 5 without the Suzuki method, though my teacher did use some of the Suzuki books for repertoire. I believe the books she used were "String Builder."
This is great for beginners!
I would say though, that anyone interested in really progressing invest in a scale studies book. I've been using Hrimaly since I was in High School, and theres seriously nothing better out there for kicking your own ass at scales. I go back and forth between loving this thing and absolutely despising it.
https://www.amazon.com/Hrimaly-Studies-Schirmers-Library-Classics/dp/0793525683
/u/Morthy's Demands: I only have one wishlist. =]
/u/Akeleie's Demands:
Began playing the violin when I was 7. I took lessons until I went to college. Didn't play it that much in college, but I had it with me for a few semesters. After I graduated, I brought my violin with me and play it every so often.
The Suzuki books are garbage. If your teacher uses them, consider buying your own books or asking him/her to use other books. You could also consider getting a private teacher that doesn't use Suzuki.
On the topic of material, get a scales book (Hrimaly), a technical book, and later on get a book on double-stops. You won't need to use double-stops that often, but it helps with balancing the bow so you only hit the strings you want, and also with intonation.
I don't have all of my music with me so I can't recommend the other books that I have. However, I think every violinist needs to know how to play the Bach Double.
Whatever you do, don't give up on playing. It takes a long time to become even slightly decent at violin. It's the hardest instrument to learn to play, but everyone is always impressed when they hear someone play violin, because either they don't have the ear to notice the mistakes, or they notice but realize how hard it is.
When it comes to concerts and whatnot, if you have to play in front of people, keep what I just said in mind - most of them won't be able to hear your mistakes. Loosen up, correct your mistakes early but don't assume you won't make any mistakes. Realizing that you can fix mistakes before most people will notice takes a lot of the anxiety away.
Now I think I'm gonna have to go play my violin for a bit. :)
Something short by Bach - I think this book is really worth getting if you don't have it already. http://www.amazon.com/Sonatas-Partitas-Schirmers-Library-Classics/dp/0793554624/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1373032105&sr=8-3&keywords=bach+violin
I used the Henry Strobel books, and they worked, but I recently got The Art of Violin Making and it seems to have a lot more information in it, plus the pictures are much better. I also poked around Maestronet and got a good amount of information from there.
If you intend to build more than one, buy this book, otherwise, you can probably get by with the info on this pdf.
Violin tops an backs are normaly made of one wedge shaped block of wood that is split from a tree, this produces well quartered wood with very little runout. This is then is split down the middle and opened like a book, it is therefore often said that the wood is "bookmatched"
The minimum dimentions i would use of such a wedge for the back or top would be about 380mm long, 225mm wide and about 30mm thick at the tickest edge, this gives you enough spare wood for resawing and jointing, but larger dimentions are fine, and this is the minimum.
The ribs are normaly made from rough pieces that are about 2mm thick, 40mm wide and of adequate length.
I do recomend you get a good book though http://www.amazon.com/The-Violin-Making-Chris-Johnson/dp/0709058764 this book is very good, it may seem expensive, but it is worth every cent. You can also check if your lokal libraries has some violin making litterature.
I nearly responded yesterday but I didn't want to seem like I should be an authoritative source. My advice may be bad and crippling me and I just don't know it. But since someone chimed in with sentiments that echo my own, maybe this will help?
I just turned 30 recently and am now coming up on the one year mark learning violin (while raising an infant!) so take what I have to say with a profound grain of salt - I have little to no idea what I'm talking about. My only background in music was a course in college that covered intro and basic theory so I'm starting basically from zero.
I've bought Essential Elements, All for Strings, the Doflein Method, ABCs for Violin, Wohlfahrt Easiest Elementary Method, I Can Read Music, Suzuki 1 and a few books geared for instructors to teach. What I find is the more methodical the better I like the book.
ABCs for Violin is arguably the best overall. It contains a DVD which I didn't find that helpful compared to my teacher, and generally starts with basic exercises in preparation for a given piece or series of pieces and seems to introduce things fairly evenly. I wish it were a bit more methodical but the music is much more accessible than some of the others. So far I've enjoyed Ode to Joy, New World theme, London Bridge, Home on the Range, and O Come All Ye Faithful.
Doflein or Wohfahrt are much more methodical and introduce things very systematically and introduce 4th finger use almost immediately - which makes sense to me as an adult with medium to large hands. Doflein seems to focus on duets to help improve playing and is very progression and practice oriented but the music is generally older tunes that are unrecognizable which makes learning to play them more difficult even though I've learned some I liked. Doflein and ABCs are the basic books my teacher is using with me; aside from glancing through Wohlfahrt and playing the first few pages of exercises I haven't gone through it much but expect it suffers from the same issues as Doflein.
Essential Elements I liked and it has the ability to download the music off the website but it takes a really long time to introduce 4th finger. By that point (I started on my own) my teacher noticed I'd already developed a bad 4th finger habit and my teacher thought it was too easy and dismissed it; All for Strings met a similar fate.
I Can Read Music for Violin I only picked up later after I was struggling with rhythm problems and my teacher had copied a couple pages of exercises for me to work on. If you are really new to reading music this might be okay and basically alternates one page for fingering/tone and the next page for rhythm.
Suzuki I won't comment on as I've only looked through it but never really used it. After researching it for a few days and comparing it against what I know about learning physical skills I just didn't feel that it would be the best way for me to learn - I can't follow the logic that created it. It has been used by millions worldwide and quite a few swear by it, and it is definitely accessible because of it.
Here is a slide show with commentary, on making a viola by Michael Darnton.
Strobel's "Useful Measurements for Violin Makers" has dimensional data.
Johnson and Courtnall is pricier, and has a nice scroll pattern.
Make sure you can sharpen your tools well enough to shave a gnat's butt. There is more to it, but that is a start...
hi!
It is a somewhat old post, but I was thinking it over myself for over 10 years so maybe it would be still helpful :)
I got my violin at the end of March, as I understand cheap violins can be frustrating. You can search for rentals. I am on a rent-to-own program so anything I pay for rent is going to owning a violin in the future. In the meantime I am learning on a $700 dollar violin.
As books, you can start with Suzuki violin book 1 (with CD) and Essential Elements for Strings: Violin 1.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_25?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=suzuki+violin+book+1+with+cd&sprefix=suzuki+violin+book+1+with%2Cstripbooks%2C189&crid=9LAG8EWNCUFF
https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Elements-Strings-Book-Violin/dp/0634038176
I kind of like EE book 2. it introduces up to Bb major and A major as well as D and G minor. Rhythmically, you get dotted rhythms, triplets, sixteenth notes, and syncopation. For articulation, you have hooked bowings and slurs. The end even has some introductory shifting, at least in the cello book I have in front of me.
I think it's a good book to have and I would have your student buy it, but I would give him a folder or binder as well where you give him some additional pieces and exercises. In this, I would either find or make some scale exercises that go more in depth of the things the book is introducing. Is your student trained in memorizing a scale and playing it with different rhythms by ear? The book does include scales and arpeggios up through the ones I listed, so I would at least have your student do the different rhythms and articulations being introduced on whatever scale you've assigned for that period.
Do you have any music editing software available? I sometimes like to just take a song they know and put it in the new key they are learning.
I think you should also be be working on a solo piece with him. If you haven't used Suzuki, I would give him some of the book 1 pieces. You can google "Suzuki book # pdf" to find just about any of the Suzuki violin books to get an idea of what is in each one. These are nice because the pieces are long and musical, but he should have been introduced to most of the ideas in Essential Elements already.
If you haven't started sightreading yet, I've found the String Builder duets to pretty fun. It's pretty cheap, so it'd be up to you whether you'd ask the parents to buy it, but I don't like making my parents buy more than one book so I usually just make copies or have them read from mine since it's sightreading. It starts out SUPER EASY, which is nice because the student will get some satisfaction, but it will sound good since ideally he should work to hold his own while you play with him.
I've found this duet book to be better musically, so it may be worth getting if you think he'd be interested in learning some fiddle duets. They sound good and my students really enjoy them.
With this a week's lesson might include:
>And here you have a method (modeled after Suzuki's view of language acquisition) that says playing a small handful of melodic pieces but those to perfection is all you need.
I think the Suzuki method may successfully reproduce the effect of going through hundreds of scales and other exercises that you'd otherwise do like in more boring books like [Whistler] (http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Positions-Violin-Third-Position/dp/1423444876/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422686450&sr=8-1&keywords=whistler+violin). But I wasn't aware that teachers use Suzuki as the only material for their students. It was the case for me that I'd have several etude books like Whistler plus a "fun" piece like Suzuki to work on concurrently. Plus I would hypothesize that the core "vocabulary", if you will, is narrower for violin playing than for languages. In other words, you only have to have mastered a relatively small set of variations on the scales, shifting and double-stop exercises before you are able to apply it freely in other pieces. It's like that typing example I mentioned. I only needed to practice for two or three weeks before I was typing completely fluently in a Dvorak layout and in Korean. Compare this with my Latin, where I can drill myself on the endings to the verb "eō" until the cows come home and still stumble when I see something like "inībat".
> We seem to have quite different approaches to language.
After reading the rest of what you wrote, I don't think so, or at least not to the extent that you think. I completely agree with your next statement regarding viewing core language fluency as chunks of words or phrases of varying lengths. Of course scanning language and analyzing syntax at the microscopic level is highly inefficient. I only recommended this as a way to learn the fundamentals before moving on to the 'chunking' phase. But it seems to me that it is still more a matter of chunking grammatical forms than individual words or phrases. Caesar does have a set of very frequently used words but I don't think to the extent that you can call them stock phrases. When I see something like that passage you quoted, for me there is a two part process going on. Just as you do, I instinctively group them together. His, litteris and nuntiis share ablative-like endings so they must convey a "by/for/with" kind of meaning (of course I'm not translating into English as I do this, I'm just trying my best to describe to you in detail the mechanics that happen behind the scenes, i.e. subconsciously, when I read a sentence). Then I interpret the meanings, which is not hard because I know by the stems that they must refer to litterae and nuntium, so there's hardly any difficulty here. Then I see "commotus Caesar" and think this must be the subject and instinctively pair this with the ablative phrase. And so on... But I think this example more demonstrates the repetitive occurrence of form, not individual words & phrases. It could easily be something like "illis servis permotus dux..." or "his legatis, qui in gallia erant, Marcus certior factus..." (k, I'm sure that's not good Latin but I'm trying to make a point). I'm in no way trying to parse them individually. This may be what is happening behind the scenes but I'm not formalizing them into technical terms by saying "ok this is ablative, singular, feminine". The meaning just dawns on me organically. But even if Caesar can be read fluently by having mastered a set of individual stock words and phrases, I think this goes against what our friend here was after, which was about the production abilities in language.
> Kreutzer
are these the two you recommend? There are many versions.
https://smile.amazon.com/Jacques-Fereol-Speciales-Galamain-International/dp/B0046TXT6S/
https://smile.amazon.com/Kreutzer-Studies-Caprices-Schirmers-Classics/dp/0793525942/
I normally start by doing the bottom A, C, D and G major scales with different pattern bows strokes, then do the full scales top to bottom. After that i'm kind of jumping into playing a few pieces from this book:https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/9043127515/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1, then practice a few things from the either Suzuki book 1, or one or two things from this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0955438462/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 or this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0634038176/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. After doing that I normally try and do some 3rd position scales (Which I'm still really having to work at) and have recently started learning to do double stops.
When I notice I'm getting out of tune I normally stop, go back to the start of the phrase I was playing, play the notes in the key I'm playing, then go back over the phrase to see if it sounds better.
I also normally have a go at a few pieces from The Lord of the Rings book, from Full Metal Alchemist, a book of Disney songs (as they're familiar) or another piece that's caught my ear from gaming.
If you're talking about violins then this one, co-written by two English makers, is excellent. For bass (upright) the best one I know of is this one by Chuck Traeger. If you're talking about guitars, then I have nothing to offer, sorry.
These are great books for songs when learning to play. It's what was used in my middle school orchestra program to teach us. You can buy the next step up as you go.
Make sure to get yourself a good tuner and that will help you not only with tuning, but with figuring out the notes you play with finger placements (for example, tell you if you are flat or sharp so you can adjust accordingly).
This, while not something I've used before, does appear to go over everything and explains it how I was taught in middle school (with pictures!), so I imagine it is a great resource as well!
Just glancing at the piece, it looks like you should start in third or fourth position. I personally would start in fourth, so that high E can be played without an extension.
I would highly suggest getting the two Whistler positions books, which will help you get your fingers placed properly in the positions, and help you shift to them properly as well.
Book 1.
Book 2.
This is a very good starting book for just $6. It'll give you a good idea of what to do with your fingers. It takes just a week or two to work through.
The background in piano will really help a lot. One of the biggest problem that I've seen when people start violin is their intonation. As apposed to the guitar, or mandolin, the Violin doesn't have frets. This can make getting exact pitches hard for people just starting out. Don't get me wrong, when you start it will still be tough to nail notes on the first try, but at least you'll know when you mess up. The hardest part is when people can't tell that they're flat or sharp, as they have no way to improve without outside help.
My advice for starting out would be to find some quite simple music that you enjoy, and practice a lot.
Get a book of scales, and practice getting them down as a warmup every day.
Also, if you're inclined, you could also pick up some etude books to help with some technique. Wohlfahrt's etude books come to mind for this (https://www.amazon.com/Franz-Wohlfahrt-Complete-Schirmers-Classics/dp/0634074032), but they might be a little to advanced for someone just starting out. Regardless, getting some sort of etude book will help out a lot. They aren't fun, but they really help with technique. Look at them (and scales) like eating your vegetables.
But as I'm typing this I remember you have a background in piano, so you probably know most of that haha.
Although I've never really had the issue of aches and pains from extended practice sessions, as I started very young, I've definitely herd it can be an issue. If you notice this as well, stretching, and just generally benign aware of your body while you play can help as well. If it hurts to keep practicing, stop for the moment and stretch, and assess what's causing the pain. Could be anything from you not being used to holding your body like that for so long, to not having the right setup.
As an example, I played with a chin rest that didn't really suit me for a long time. After becoming aware of it and making a change, it made a big difference.
I touched on this earlier, but I'll say it again here: practicing as often as you can helps immensely. Even if it's only for a few minutes, try to at least pick it up once a day.
One other thing is that once you get into long practice sessions, you might notice that you'll start to get a passage of the music, and then for some reason it will become really hard again. At least for me, this is normal. Keep working at it, and you'll really notice a difference the next day. I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me. It's frustrating at first, but once you see the trend, it becomes rewarding.
Overall just have fun with it, and don't be scared by everyone saying that "it's the hardest instrument to learn." You'll get it in time, and it'll be great.
Also, sorry this was rather long winded for such a quick question.
Hope this helps!
Edit: a word
TL;DR use parentheses to mark off harder sections. (This is a bit long... Took me all of 5 mins you know?)
7/8 and 31/32 are definitely one of the hardest ones, tied with 18, 28, and 43 for me. What my teacher helped me with is marking the toughest sections and only practicing those for about 2 weeks. Now, she made me do torturous exercises which I will not mention here, but all in all, RHYTHM practice is key (LONG-short, LONG-short/short-LONG, short-LONG, etc). This rewired my brain to think in smaller sections and more patterns. I would listen to more recordings (Menuhin, Kreisler himself, Perlman, Elman) and maybe that will solve your problem with pulse and rhythm.
The shifting really is a tough thing to "handel" (so punny) in the latter half. Which measure numbers are you exactly having trouble with? I can certainly help! I find that the rhythm exercises that I mentioned before help me, but definitely find other methods if it doesn't work for you. Measure 43 took me about 2 days to finally get all the positions of my finger down, and measure 28 took me about 3 days. Get this book. Since you say that you can shift (just not well), this should help you in conquering the second half.
Sorry there wasn't much that I could offer, except an Amazon link... Wish you all the best in SICILAYING this piece :D
=https://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Positions-Violin-Seventh-Educational/dp/1423444884
I’ve been a musician for 30 years and a music teacher for 11 years. You are never - ever - too old to learn an instrument. You’re 16. That’s prime time. Find yourself a violin that works, and get Essential Elements book 1.
Violin making is a centuries old craft and it has been very well documented. There's a lot of material if you look in the right places. Everything is done for a well established reason.
For example
https://www.amazon.ca/Art-Violin-Making-Chris-Johnson/dp/0709058764
Don't forget that people make bows, too.
I don't know that there's an easy way to transition from guitar to violin. It doesn't seem like there are a whole lot of commonalities between the two. Also I think it's easy to assume that "learning violin" means you want to become the next Heifetz or Perlman. But maybe it's safer to ask what you want to do with the violin? Any style you're interested in?
If it's bluegrass or folk, you might have to deal with a lot of doublestops (sort of like "chords" on a violin) and fast runs. Because of the hand position and lack of frets, doublestops are going to be weird to play at first.
If it's jazz (yes violin jazz exists), you'd probably learn best by just listening to lots of violin jazz.
If it's indeed classical, you just need to get a teacher from day 1. There are a lot of minute details in violin playing that are ostensibly meaningless initially but later essential to great playing.
In the meantime, you may want to invest in a scales book. One of the more famous ones is by Hrimaly. Don't cheat with the book by playing all the notes on one string. By crossing the strings, you'll get a better grasp of note relationships (kind of like what you would do in guitar). If you want to venture into doublestops you can start learning with this book.
If you're not going to get a teacher, I guess just watch videos. But do pay attention to proper form. Sometimes form is meant to improve tone. Other times proper form is to prevent injury. No i'm not joking.
Make sure your shoulder rest (if you use one) is properly securing your violin. You should not have to adjust your grip on the violin after a shift.
I personally had my shifting improve substantially after adjusting my shoulder rest.
Second, don't forget your open string checks. In 3rd position, you have 2 checks that are easy: 1 and 2 can be checked with the lower and higher strings, respectively.
Also, this book has very good exercises: http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Positions-Violin-Volume-Position/dp/1423444876
Just start working on the Bach Sonatas and Partitas, It'll be confusing at first but keep pushing through slowly and you'll get more and more understanding. This is considered the daily bread of the famous virtuoso violinists. Definitely don't need a decent instrument it's all just wood and string, and don't bother trying to find a teacher they don't love music as much as you do. If you need info on learning the music try reading a theory book such as an introduction book. If you end up needing some inspiration try reading this book about some history of the violin
gg ez