Beginner Violin Tips

Usually abbreviated pizz., pizzicato means you should pluck the strings instead of using the violin bow. The opposite of pizzicato is arco, which in Italian means “bow.” Pizzicato Definition in Sheet Music If neither pizz. nor arco are explicitly stated in your sheet music, then you should assume the music is meant to be played arco (with the bow). Some beginner violin books have […]

Now that you’ve learned about Open Strings, it’s time to start putting fingers down. In violin sheet music, each finger on your left hand is given a number (1 through 4) with 1 being your index finger and 4 being your pinky (little) finger. A 0 means “no fingers,” in other words play an open […]

Learn the violin string notes: this is the first of several lessons that pair up what you’re seeing on the page (sheet music) with how to physically play the violin. If you do not already have some familiarity with reading sheet music, then it may be a good idea to go back to our reading […]

There is a great deal of repetition in music. Often this could result in lengthy sheet music that just shows the same passages repeated multiple times. Fortunately, we have a way to shorthand repeated sections: repeats and multiple endings. Understanding these symbols is crucial for interpreting compositions accurately and performing them as intended by the […]

Most beginner violinists learn to read sheet music the slow way. Find out how to outpace the typical beginner and get fast at sight reading.

Articulation in music is much like the punctuation in language: it tells us how to play the notes in terms of their length, emphasis, and connection. For violinists, articulation most commonly describes what technique you should use with the bow.  If you are at the very beginning of learning violin, you don’t need to worry […]

Find out what the various clefs mean in sheet music and how it affects you.

Style markings are comments that tell you about the mood of the music. The tricky part is that they are usually written in Italian.

Tempo means Time in Italian, but it is frequently used to indicate mood, not just speed of the music. Here’s a list of common tempos.

Dynamic range is where a lot of the excitement in music can come from, so it’s important to develop sensitivity to dynamic range early on.