In this blog I will answer the question whether it is too late to start playing the violin as an adult? And also, what should I learn and what should I focus on when starting to play violin, viola or cello?

To answer your first question: no it is not too late. It is never too late to start playing the violin! The only question you can ask yourself, is whether it is the right time to start playing a new instrument. For this, there are only two options, namely to start now or to start later. You cannot decide now that you want to start playing when you are 6 years old (unless you are reading this when being 6 years old or younger), however you can decide now when you want to start in the future.

Stating to play as an adult: what are your goals?

Many adults have started playing the violin and have received great results, and even become professionals. However, what you have  to look at is what your goals are for playing the violin. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to play in an amateur orchestra? Or do you want to become a professional player? Or maybe you wat to play a particular song?

Becoming a professional violin player when starting late is difficult, however if you start to play as an adult it is very well possible to still play in an orchestra, to play in a quartet or to just play for fun and enjoy your own music of course! So the only choice you have to make is: do you want to start now, or do you want to start later? If you start later, you unnecessarily delay the fun you can have now (and the more difficult it will get).

Question 2: What should you learn?

Well, what you will have to learn is actually everything: bowing technique, how to hold a bow, how to hold a violin etc. The fastest way to learn is to get individual lessons. Of course you can also look things up on youtube, however the quickest way to learn how to play the violin is to follow the step by step approach from lessons and to have someone who looks at you and who sees your individual struggles. A professional violin teacher looks at a thousand things and knows exactly how to get your individual level up in the fastest way possible. Therefore, I would really warmly recommend you to take individual lessons.

Lastly, what you should focus on when starting to play the violin, is to have fun while playing. Don’t focus too much on having it all right in one go and just enjoy the process!

I hope I have answered your question in a good way! If you have any questions about the content, please post them below and I will answer them in another post!

Love,

Zlata