JULIA'S VIOLIN BLOG

Today I’m sharing with you five essential violin exercises for beginners. If you’ve already worked on the four exercises I shared in part 1, 4 Essential Violin Exercises for Beginners, give these new ones a try to practice different sets of techniques. These are helpful warm-up exercises for intonation, common finger patterns we see in [...]

Today I'm sharing Merry Go Round of Life violin sheet music, so you can learn this iconic piece for yourself! I love Howl's Moving Castle and the theme song, Merry Go Round of Life by Joe Hisaishi, is so beautiful. It sounds so beautiful on the violin, too. Let's talk a bit about the background [...]

One of the most commonly used scales on a violin is the C Major scale. Let's learn today this scale and arpeggio! Here you can download a free C Major booklet: C Major Scales, Arpeggios and a Bonus Exercise FREE DOWNLOAD PDF What Are the Notes of the C Major Scale on the Violin? The [...]

Learn about violin technique exercises that'll develop your intonation and sound! If you're looking to become a better violinist, you'll want to focus specifically on your violin technique. Between your two hands doing completely different things, you have a lot to think about, and there are a lot of skills to hone in on. The [...]

Download your favorite violin practice chart and start practicing right away! Today I have three helpful violin practice charts for you to organize, log, and review your practice. A practice chart is a small spreadsheet of the exercises and pieces you're working on, along with dates. You can check off the days that you practice [...]

Get a free violin harmonics chart, exercises, and learn how to play harmonics on your violin! Harmonics on the violin, as well as on the other instruments of the violin family, is a very confusing subject. Yet, this technique is very useful, especially when playing more contemporary repertoire but they appear also in the orchestra [...]

As a beginner violinist, practicing finger dexterity exercises can be a huge help in advancing your left hand movements quickly. We use our left hand fingers to press the notes on the fingerboard, and many violin pieces require small but rapid, accurate movements. Improving dexterity in your left hand will help you play more in [...]

Learn about the Baroque bow, how it was played, and its transition to the modern violin bow! The Baroque era had its own distinctive Baroque bow, which had a different shape than the modern bow and gave different possibilities to the player. The Baroque violin bow came during one of the greatest periods of evolution [...]

Having a violin practice routine is very important to help improve your playing quickly and consistently. Developing any routine takes time, and getting started with it is one of the trickiest parts. Today I'll talk about determining when to practice, for how long, and what to actually focus on in your daily violin practice. I'm [...]

What's the usual violin cost and what quality comes with it? When you are first beginning to look into purchasing a violin, you might be wondering what a reasonable price is for a violin that can meet your playing needs. Of course, every violin is different and it makes a huge difference whether you're buying [...]

Have you ever wondered what is tonic solfa? Or maybe you have learned "do re mi fa so la ti do" instead of note names (C, D, E, etc.) and now you'd like to know how to translate between those two note naming systems? In this step-by-step guide, I'd like to provide you with an [...]

In this article, I would like to tell you everything about octaves on the violin, as well as share with you exercises that will help you master them. This is a bit more difficult topic than what I usually explain. I recommend learning to play octaves for intermediate players and students who are familiar with [...]