Lay the foundation for playing your first notes as you explore the anatomy of the violin and learn how to care for and tune your new instrument. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to perform your first exercise, “Monkey Dance,” created by your expert Jules Whelpton.

You know that notes and pitches are essential in music, but let’s not forget rhythm. Follow along as Jules teaches you how to read note values, and then pick up a couple more exercises to practice your newfound skill. Jules also emphasizes the importance of practicing slowly and not jumping ahead.

Using your finger tapes, you will play a game by following along as our instructor shows you how to perform some simple tunes building on the notes you just learned. With practice, you will soon be able to make it sound as if your instrument is singing these melodies.

This lesson is all about training your ear and memory to play by rote. You will learn how to match the pitches that you hear and play back simple melodies. You’ll also be introduced to the concept of scale playing and how important they are to your foundational violin technique.

It is perhaps more critical with the violin than with any other instrument to master playing a rhythmic rest properly, because this technique hinges on your skill and control. This lesson covers the necessary bow patterns needed to play half and quarter note rests, first slowly and then quickly.

Explore and develop some artistry bowing techniques such as legato and staccato bowings; legato is smooth, and staccato is short and detached. These techniques are fundamentals of early bowing. Once mastered, they will lead you to learn other techniques that are based on these foundational ones.