How to Play the Theme from Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto | Easy Tutorial + Sheet Music | Violin Lounge TV #220

by | Feb 16, 2016 | Repertoire | 10 comments

This arrangement started of as a joke…

One of my students is an adult beginner and he was wondering how long it would take to play Mendelssohn’s violin concerto. This is his favorite piece and he dreams to play it one day. He just started to play the violin some months before that. I told him that it would take him certainly ten years… if he’s lucky.

He kept asking for it and if he could perhaps play parts from it… so I made a deal with him: I make an easy violin arrangement of the famous melody of this concerto if he would play it at the coming student’s concert. Yup, if I say I want to make deal with a student, they become a little nervous.

For the purists amongst you this must be horrible. I’ve done my best to make an arrangement of this melody that is as easy as it possible can be for beginner violinists. It’s just for fun!

It might confuse you that this arrangement is in B minor instead of E minor, but I arranged it in this key so it would be easier to play for beginners. In this key you will not encounter much notes that you haven’t learned yet. And of course the melody is way lower in pitch than the original, so it’s playable for those of you who haven’t learned positions yet.

Here’s the video that teaches you how to play this melody. It explains the rhythm and how to play the notes that you might not have learned if you are a beginning player. Below it you will find a link to the sheet music for you to download and print.

Click here to download the sheet music!

I hope you like playing this melody!

Is this video helpful to you? Please let me know in the comments below! If you like it, share it with your friends!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions or struggles on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com and I might dedicate a Violin Lounge TV episode to answering your question!

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10 Comments

  1. CC

    I loved this and I will practice it. Is that your antique German violin you are playing? It sounds beautiful and it looks beautiful.

    Reply
  2. Carolyn Keeler

    Can you play it all the way through to start and finish and parts explaining more the different rhythm parts. I am also a beginner and do not have a teacher to work with. So I need more explanation. Otherwise I like being able to play actual songs. Can you do a video using Jesu of Man’s Desiring, or Sheep May Safely Graze. I want to learn these as my Mom used to play on organ. There are no violin teachers for over 50 miles, as I live in a rural area of Dolan Springs AZ. I am also thinking of trying your lessons if you play music not sounds with no songs. Money is always the problem. when you are on Social Security. Thank you Carolyn Keeler

    Reply
    • Violinist Zlata

      Hi Carolyn,

      If you’re just starting out, this piece might be a bit too difficult for you right now. My student had a year of weekly private lessons and struggled through this piece. Perhaps this is a nice one to start out with: https://violinlounge.com/how-to-play-the-largo-from-dvoraks-new-world-symphony-on-the-violin/

      My Violin Lounge Academy teaches you some tunes, but mainly focusses on building up a good technique. The beginner programs within the academy help you in a structured and detailed way to begin to play, learn the basics and helps you through an entire method book. Violin Lounge Basics would be a good program for you right now. The Academy costs $20 a month at the moment, so you could try it for a month (start with Violin Lounge Basics and after that with the method book) and see what results it gets you. Of course for getting good results, you should learn and apply for some months. For playing tunes you could use this basic technique and look up things at http://www.freegigmusic.com.

      Hope I’ve helped you in this way.

      All the best,

      Zlata

      Reply
  3. Yael Sauzedde

    Very nice, I like the simplicity.
    I’ll practice this just for fun.
    Thank you for taking the time to put this up for us to enjoy.

    Reply
  4. Lisa

    Just found your site today! I love your friendly demeanor! I played in an Advanced Orchestra in Junior High. Now I’m 46 and relearning. It’s amazing how much I remember from back then. I love the lesson above and will begin practicing this today. I get bored with super simple pieces and want to focus on more challenging ones. This one is perfect. Great job! Keep up the great work!

    Lisa

    Reply
  5. Rachel

    Hi Zlata! Thanks for this arrangement, it’s exactly what I was looking for. I’ve just taken a group of students to hear a performance of the Mendelssohn violin concerto: they loved it, and are keen to learn to play it… even though they’re beginners.

    Thanks once again,

    Rachel

    Reply
    • Violinist Zlata Brouwer

      Thanks, so much for using my arrangement, Rachel, I’m glad your students like it! It’s a beautiful melody and beginners usually can’t wait to play it.

      Reply

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