3 Beginner Things That Feel Harder Than Expected

Learning the violin looks deceptively simple.

You hold the violin.

You move the bow.

You put your fingers on the strings.

And somehow, music comes out.

At least, that's what it looks like when someone else is doing it.

Then you pick up a violin yourself and discover that those three simple things involve rather a lot more than you expected.

If you're a beginner and you've found yourself thinking, “Why is this so hard?”, you're not doing anything wrong.

Some parts of learning violin simply feel harder at the beginning than you expect them to.

Here are three of the big ones.

1. Holding the Violin and Bow

You might think holding a violin would be easy.

It's not particularly heavy, after all.

But you're not simply holding it.

You're learning how to balance it comfortably while keeping your head, shoulders, arms and hands relaxed.

Then there's the bow.

Your bow hand needs to be firm enough to control the bow, but relaxed enough to allow it to move freely.

That's a strange combination when you're first starting.

You might find yourself gripping too tightly.

Or your thumb might feel awkward.

Or your fingers might seem to have absolutely no idea where they're supposed to go.

That's normal.

Your hands are learning a completely new set of movements.

At first, you have to think about every little part of what you're doing.

With time and repetition, those movements become more natural.

You aren't supposed to know how to hold the violin perfectly on your first day.

That's something you learn.

2. Getting a Clear Sound

This is probably the one that surprises beginners most.

You have a violin.

You have a bow.

You put the bow on the string.

So why doesn't it sound like a violin?

Instead, you get a squeak.

Or a scratch.

Or a thin, weak sound.

Or something that makes you look around the room to make sure nobody heard it.

Welcome to the violin.

Getting a clear sound is a skill in itself.

Your bow needs the right combination of movement, pressure, speed and contact with the string.

And before you can control all of those things automatically, you have to learn what they feel like.

This is also where something as simple as rosin can make a difference.

Your bow needs enough grip on the string to make it respond properly.

But even with the right amount of rosin, producing a beautiful sound takes practice.

So if your first sounds aren't beautiful, don't take that as evidence that you aren't musical.

You're learning how to make the instrument speak.

That takes time.

3. Knowing What to Practise

This one doesn't always get talked about.

You might think that once you've learned how to play a few notes, practising will be straightforward.

But then you sit down with your violin and think:

“Okay... what am I actually supposed to do?”

Should you play your scales?

Practise your bowing?

Repeat the piece you learned last week?

Work on the difficult section?

Start something new?

For beginners especially, practising isn't always about simply playing a song from beginning to end.

You need to know what you're trying to improve.

Maybe your fingers aren't landing accurately.

Maybe your bow isn't staying straight.

Maybe you're struggling with rhythm.

Maybe one particular transition keeps going wrong.

Good practice gives you something specific to work on.

And that can make a huge difference.

Instead of thinking, “I need to practise violin for 20 minutes,” you can think:

“I'm going to spend five minutes working on this one thing.”

That's much more manageable.

These Things Get Easier

Here's the part I want every beginner to remember.

The fact that something feels difficult now doesn't mean it will always feel difficult.

Think about something you can do without thinking about it.

Walking.

Typing.

Using your phone.

Tying your shoelaces.

You probably don't have to consciously plan every movement.

But you weren't born knowing how to do those things.

You learned them through repetition.

Violin works in much the same way.

At first, you have to think about everything.

Then you repeat it.

Then one day you realise you're doing it without having to think quite so hard.

That's progress.

You Don't Have to Get Everything Right at Once

One of the biggest traps for beginners is expecting themselves to improve everything simultaneously.

You don't have to.

You can work on your bow one day.

Your left hand another day.

Your rhythm another day.

You can spend an entire practice session working on a tiny section of music.

Small improvements add up.

And sometimes the things that feel almost ridiculously difficult at the beginning eventually become the things you don't think about at all.

That's one of the most satisfying parts of learning an instrument.

If You're Finding These Hard, You're Not Doing It Wrong

Holding the violin and bow.

Getting a clear sound.

Knowing what to practise.

These are all skills.

And skills take time to develop.

So if you're a beginner and you're struggling with one — or all three — don't assume you're simply “bad at violin.”

You're learning something new.

Of course it's going to feel difficult.

The goal isn't to make everything perfect immediately.

The goal is to keep giving yourself opportunities to get a little better.

Keep Learning

There are plenty of small skills involved in learning violin, and you don't have to figure them all out at once.

For more practical advice on learning violin, technique, practice and getting started, explore the Melinda Coles Violin Academy Learn section.

You might find that the thing you're struggling with today is simply the thing you haven't learned yet.

And that's a much more encouraging thought than “I'm just not good at this.”

One skill at a time. One practice session at a time.