Piano vs. Violin difficulty, which is harder to learn between the two musical instruments? Is violin or piano harder to learn? Should I learn violin or piano first? Learning violin and piano at the same time would be okay? Both piano and the violin are two of the more popular musical instruments, as there are lots of people who know how to play either of the two instruments.
So, if you are interested in learning how to play these instruments as well, let us checkout which of the two you should learn first, or maybe you can learn both at the same time.
Skills Needed To Play The Piano
Aside from learning to have a great posture with your body, there are also some skills that you should learn as a beginner when playing the piano, and here are some of them:
Major And Minor Scales
If you want to become a great pianist in the future, one of the basic things that you should master is playing the major and minor scales. There are both twelve major and minor scales that you should learn from as a beginner, as mastering these things will help you quickly improve as a pianist in the long run.
After you have learned the major scales, go immediately with minor scales in melodic, harmonic, and natural forms. If you do not know where to start, you can start learning the C major scale, as it has no flats and sharps, making it easier to get familiar with.
Octaves
The next thing you should learn in playing the piano is the octaves. It is the distance of eight notes on the piano, and not only that they sound good, but they are also widely implemented in many pieces, which is why it is very important that you get a good grasp of it.
Remember that your hands and body must be as relaxed as possible when playing octaves, as your posture is also very important so that you can not get easily tired when you are practicing the octaves.
Using The Damper Pedal
The third thing you should learn is how to use the damper pedal while you are playing the piano. The damper pedal will make your playing sound smoother and louder, but many novice pianists still struggle with using this pedal. It is usually used when the chord changes, or you can also check on the score to see if you should already lower or raise the pedal.
Is Violin Or Piano Harder?
Learning either the violin or the piano could be a very difficult task to tackle; however, if push comes to shove, it would be harder to learn and play the violin than the piano, as you must be able to play it in-tune all of the time to be able to produce a pleasant sound.
Learn Violin Or Piano First?
Learning violin and piano at the same time can be a daunting task for a novice musician, so if you are planning to learn both musical instruments, it would be very ideal for you to learn the piano first before learning the violin.
So when it comes to the piano vs. violin difficulty, both musical instruments can be very hard to learn; however, with the amount of time you will spend learning and practicing how to play it, you can get better over time.
Skills Needed To Play The Violin
In learning how to play a musical instrument, like the violin, there are some skills that you should learn before going to the next level, and these are some that you should study:
Double Stops
One of the most basic skills that you should learn and master in playing the violin is the double stop. So, what is a double stop? A double stop is a technique of playing two notes at the same time in a string instrument like the violin. It is one of the unique techniques that you can do with string instruments that you can hardly do with any other family instruments.
When going to harder kinds of stuff with violin, you will notice that composers take advantage of this basic technique, which is why you need to learn this at the earliest stage for better musical development in the long run.
In practicing the double stop technique, you can start by playing on a lower pitch. It is best to establish a reflex memory with the muscles of your left hand, so you can have a better idea of where the note you are playing is. Frequent practice with this will give you the basics to build the rest of the chord.
After you get a good grasp of how to execute the double stop at a lower pitch, then you can start with the upper pitch. When the time comes that your left hand is already familiar with all the notes, you can now try to play them all together. You must also give much attention to the bow and remember to always be patient when learning the skill, as this technique is a major part of playing this instrument, so you will need to give more time to practice.
Left-Hand Articulation
Another skill that you should learn in playing the violin is articulation. Articulation is where there is clarity when you play a note. Though most of it is generated with your right hand as the bow hand, your left hand is also very important for this skill.
Articulation is usually used when you play many notes under just one stroke, similar to runs and grace notes. As you can’t use the bow to clarify the start of each note, it is important that you can use your left hand to make sure that each note you have played will be clear and more defined.
Trills
The third skill that you should learn as a beginner in playing the violin is the trills. Trills are ornaments to a note that is made of playing the pitch above the base by moving your finger up and down as fast and accurately as you can. One thing why it is a difficult skill to master is that you should be able to get a full and in-tune sound in such a short time.
Vibrato
One thing about vibrato and trills is that they are almost similar, except that vibrato uses one finger and is executed at a faster speed. To execute the vibrato, you are going to let your finger play while moving it back and forth from its base contact point. In performing the vibrato, it is important that you will be able to control the speed of the vibration.
The longer you practice with the technique, you will also encounter pieces that will require you to vibrate slower or faster, so it is very important that you practice at different speeds and not just at one specific speed.
Spiccato
Although the spiccato is a more advanced technique, it would be better for you to learn it in the earlier stages of your journey as a violin player, as you will reap the benefits of it in the long run. In executing a spiccato stroke, your bow must be jumping from violin strings when it is pushed by your right hand. As you press down using your right index finger, your bow will also go up and off the string.
