Self Teaching Violin/Fiddle

[musicteacheriz]

Would it be possible for my 15 year old to self teach herself violin? She can sight read fairly well as she currently plays the keyboard. She's very keen!

No one? Is it such a bad idea?

No harm in having a go. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials. It won't be the same as getting input from a teacher who can pull her up on any bad habits that develop, but it will be a decent guide.

I think it depends on what standard she wants to get to, and how good an ear she has.
If she's got a good ear and just wants to play around enough to pick out a few tunes, then it would be fine.

Problem if she hasn't got a good ear is that she'll find things like tuning the violin difficult, and then it's hard to be in tune with fingering. You do learn as you play the tuning-I can pick out if the open strings are out to a finer degree than dh, who has perfect pitch. But that's from years of practice. If she's playing with an instrument that is slightly out, then she'll find it harder to learn in the first place.

As others said, worth trying. Re: tuning of violin, there are various electronic gadgets for tuning guitars and other stringed instruments, and a visual sign shows when in/out of tune (I think).

It depends how good the violin is as well, so although a cheap one might seem suitable for a beginner, a better quality instrument should be easier (and more enjoyable) to play.

How good is her Keyboard? If it has good violin sounds, and a recording facility (or can record via computer or MIDI) then that could, to some extent, act like a 'teacher' - so she could play a piece on the Keyboard, and then the same piece on the REAL violin, and compare how similar (or not!) the two versions are.

The more Theory she understands the better, and start with real 'baby' pieces until she starts to get the hang of playing:

gb.abrsm.org/en/our-exams/other-assessments/prep-test/
shop.abrsm.org/shop/prod/ABRSM-Violin-Exam-Pieces-2016-2019-ABRSM-Grade-1-Score-Part-CD/2175063

shop.abrsm.org/shop/prod/Bullard-Alan-Joining-the-Dots-for-Violin-Grade-1/2081746

www.8notes.com/violin/sheet_music/?difficulty=1