The ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner: DVD Vol 1 DVD

We sparked our five year old son's interest through this DVD and he was SO excited to get an instrument after watching. After starting lessons, we still went back to this DVD to address the questions we had in between lessons - so many things will go wrong at first with all you have to remember about posture, where your elbows are, how to hold the bow, the feet, etc.,etc. The pace is perfect for both of us - I am a professional pianist and am learning alongside my son. The selected works make for realistic performance aims for people just starting out, rather than being too difficult and frustrating for the younger student. We do some things differently at lessons (ie without the marking tape) but there is something to be learned from every teacher in a chosen field.The adult learner could always supplement getting this DVD along with DVDs of Oistrach, Milstein, et al for even more inspiration. But as Leopold Mozart in his treatise says, without mastering the very basics and getting the first position notes really under your belt, you're not going to get very far. And it is amazing how much a beginner student can forget things or develop a new bad habit in the course of a week.I would highly recommend this series. Rhoda speaks very clearly and you will have confidence after practicing alongside her performances. There are actually slight variations of technique at this stage going from one teacher to another but here is a concise method in one neat package that will set you off to a great start. I have found many teachers to be less organized and have temperaments to boot. For my son the squeaky weeks were short-lived and he has survived through the 'straighten that bow!' stage with a love of the instrument still remaining. I heard many parents complain that's about when they all quit.

I am 25 and a complete beginner with the violin. And I had never played a musical instrument before this. I got this DVD and the accompanying book. I also started taking private lessons. The help that I got from the DVD was immense. The lady in the DVD is an excellent teacher. Shes goes over very slowly each and everything that a complete beginner will want to know, like holding the violin, a proper bow hold, playing positions, finger positions, everything. I particularly like the way she teaches playing the violin in the DVD, the notes that appear in the lower part of the screen while she plays them on the violin is very helpful.Within 2 weeks of my starting to learn the violin, I am playing my first song. It is not much, but it still makes me feel very good. I strongly recommend this product to anyone out there who wishes to learn this beautiful instrument. Also get the accompanying book.I dont have the CD, but because most of the pieces in the book are actually on the CD (and not on this DVD), one might as well buy that. But I think the DVD along with the book and one private lesson a week should be more than enough.

I purchased this DVD along with her book,  The ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner, Violin Book 1 I found that having a video demonstration of care and tuning of the violin to be valuable. I did think that the video is really short and doesn't go too in depth. I had to look at videos from YouTube on violin tips and care to understand better how to do things.I am 30 years old and had never touched a violin but knew I always wanted to learn. This DVD, along with the book, did help me to learn the notes, parts of the violin, and I can play a few short songs just after a week of learning and practicing. I am pretty impressed, as I always thought myself to be music illiterate! But it wasn't so bad...and this DVD is a good option.

Thanks to this DVD, I can now hold a violin and bow in a way that at least looks right, play pleasing, robust notes, set up my shoulder rest properly, and maintain my violin and bow. I can also play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in a way that's only slightly annoying.I wish the DVD were more information-dense (especially that it taught more than one song), but I may not be the target audience, since my background in guitar makes some of the lessons easier for me to learn.The big down side to any DVD that teaches you to play an instrument is that the instructor can't correct you when you're doing it wrong. I think this DVD teaches violin about as well as a DVD can, but I would recommend taking lessons, if you can manage it, so you don't turn any mistakes into habits.

This DVD covers some great information for the beginner, and is a MUST HAVE if you're teaching yourself the violin rather than having a personal instructor. However, if you're working with a personal instructor, you probably don't need this DVD unless the recommend it.A word of caution, however: This DVD does NOT cover the Vol. I book. I was under the impression it did... I was hoping it would give us a visual step-through of the Vol. 1 exercises and play the songs (especially the duets in the back of Vol. I. She does play the more popular songs in Book 1 (4 or 5 of them) in the "Performances" section, but it doesn't show the music, nor does she have you "play along with" her. I guess you have to now buy the Vol. 1 CD in order to get that kind of instruction (ugh, more $$)?

Bought this a while ago - but just looked at the DVD as I had my first concert to attend and was frantic to get things right. It is very straightforward and taught much more than my teacher - so very pleased with it. I am now going to buy the books it suggests.

this is quite a useful DVD but after I bought it I realised that I had already bought it with the book

perfect for beginner

It did nothing for my self teaching to violin because the theory is boring and way too easy, I am very sorry to say that it was a super waste of money..... from Clo in Canada

I wish i had never bought this. When it says for absolute beginners it means absolute beginners and people who have never seen or heard of a violin before. This DVD is great for tiny wee children or adults with severe learning difficulties. I found it tediously slow to work through and quite patronizing and condescending. Everything is explained at a ridiculously basic level which I think pretty much insults the person watching it. Save your money and do not buy this unless you are in desperate need of a coaster to put your coffee mug on.