Does anyone out there double on Violin?

[A Greene]

I just saw movie about a modern radio show. There was a guy in the house band that played clarinet, sax, and violin. That got me interested in looking to learning the basics of violin. As a middle school band director, I play all the typical band instruments but haven't tried orchestral string instruments (electric bass doesn't count).

I don't think I'd play classical music but rather fiddle styles. Any thoughts or suggestions. Witty comments welcomed as well.

Tony

[BarrySachs]

If your talking about the movie "A Prairie Home Companion", that's my friend Andy Stein. He's a violinist who took up saxophone later in life, but he's a serious violinist.

I think Violin was a more common double in the 1920's. Russell Procope and Marshal Royal started on violin. Cornetist Ray Nance was an awesome violin player. Ornette Coleman's violin playing...well, he should keep his "day job".

[jaysne]

When I heard about a good band job last summer that also required teaching beginner violin, I took the plunge and started lessons. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be--for one thing, as long as you can visualize half- and whole-steps on the neck, it's not so difficult. The hardest thing is staying in tune. If you rock your finger a fraction of an inch one way or the other, you will be horribly out.

[A Greene]

BarrySachs

That's the movie. SO Andy Stein is a real player. His violin playing is very expressive Really has me interested in just basic playing. I don't even own a violin. Just a thought.

[Buescher Justin]

Yeah, the intonation thing is NOT fun.:cussing: Holding it isnt comfy either. After I bought my Violin, I wanted a cello after playing for about an hour.
On the other hand, Its always fun to take the bow and play your Guitar with it like the Great Jimmy Page.

[Carl H.]

Yup, I play em both.(violin & fiddle)

More money on the classical side, more fun on the fiddle.

Be prepared to pay about 10x what you paid for your sax to get a comparable string setup. (a good bow starts at $1500)

[BarrySachs]

BarrySachs

That's the movie. SO Andy Stein is a real player. His violin playing is very expressive Really has me interested in just basic playing. I don't even own a violin. Just a thought.


Stein is a real violin player. Briliant in fact. Can hold his own with all the NYC symphonic cats. He plays on film scores and record dates. His jazz playing is straight out of Joe Venuti. I work with him often, with Vince Giordano's Nighthawks.

He's a mediocre saxophonist at best, although he is such a good musician he can fake it pretty well. His clarinet playing is so bad that if he plays it at a POW camp, he's in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

[woodwindNYC]

I was a string player long before I ever took up a woodwind...I started playing the viola at 9 and the cello at 10, and got my first violin at 14. Currently play first violin with the Broadway Bach Ensemble, and play in the odd string quartet when I have time.

[windsynthaos]

I just took it up again after a slight (see below) layoff.
I was never real good at it, but I had gotten out of the embarrassing stage, and was learning positions up the neck.
I did some fiddle backgrounds with my rock band, back in the day.
Then, my next door neighbor, who I had borrowed the violin from, wanted it back.

Anyway, I just found a new violin to borrow, and found my old Wolfhart method book. There were some annotations from my teacher dated 1976.
So about a 30 year layoff.

I have fallen back into the embarrassing level again, and its hard to squeeze in enough practice time with all my various toys. However, I am gradually getting there. It is a fun instrument.

I hope not to get GAS with this baby, since as noted before, stuff is expensive. However, I was ogling some electric violins in the $600 price range the other day. I've also got my eye on a bow marked down for cosmetic reasons.... help!!!!!!

[Carl H.]

I've also got my eye on a bow marked down for cosmetic reasons.... help!!!!!!

DON"T DO IT !!!!!!!

Buy a bow based on how it matches the way you play. The last time I went bow hunting it was in the 2K to 8K price range. All excellent bows, but some were a much better match to my technique than others were. Some of them were downright GEORGEOUS!! -Ivory&silver with whalebone wrap, Tortoise and gold with gold tip and so forth. I chose my bow (Viola) by playing in a pitch black room going only by what I felt and heard, guess what - Ebony with ivory tip and silver winding, about as boring as it gets, but D@MN, what a bow!! (Made by same guy whose violin bow I play BTW)


If you don't know what you need to look for take somebody who plays with you, and have them listen to you, how they sound on it doesn't matter. Bows are a tricky business to get a good one, you need to know what you want, and not be sold.