Violin For Dummies Summary and Reviews

Violin For Dummies
by Katharine Rapoport

Violin For Dummies
List Price: $24.99
Our Price: $15.49
You Save: $9.50 (38%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Katharine Rapoport
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-09
ISBN: 0470838388
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: For Dummies
Product features:

Book Reviews of Violin For Dummies

Book Review: Very informative, serious book full of very good advice
Summary: 5 Stars

To be perfectly honest, I have never wanted to touch any of these books "For Dummies", since their title and style puts me off. I bought this one because there wasn't very much else on the subject, and I now realize how wrong I was in my prejudgment! This book is excellent! Of the 5 or 6 violin self-study guides I have bought this is definitely the best by a very large margin. The author is an accomplished violinist who has also got lots of teaching experience. She gives good practical advice, mentions lots of things that other books simply assume, and writes very well and clearly. The book comes with a CD that contains all the music as MP3 files and some demonstrations as video clips. All the information one needs is there and easy to find. (She claims that you can find things faster than you could say "Paganini".) There are witty comments like that, and some very nice little stories (like the one about the trick that Leopold Mozart had for getting his prodigy son out of bed), but the book is definitely serious. I am an adult beginner who started to play violin in order to help my 5-year old son practice. I work full-time and thus don't have time to take lessons. I have picked up some things from my son's Suzuki book and accompanying materials by the local music school, but I still needed more help. This book has given me exactly that. It tells you several methods of how to get a good bow hold, it explains step by step how to move your fingers for playing a particular passage, it gives an introduction to music theory, it tells you how to handle and care for your instrument, there is information about how to find a teacher, and on how to go on playing beyond the book, (and lots more). Overall, the best things about this book is that very obviously the author plays and teaches violin with a great deal of enthusiasm - and this shines through on every single page. It's like having a good teacher who wants you to succeed! Thoroughly recommended!

I should add that although the book is written for the US market (and the author lives and teaches in Toronto, Canada), it is equally useful here in Europe. The only times one notices that it is a US book is when price ranges are quotes in US $.

Enjoy!

Entertainment Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Entertainment Books
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals ImageThe Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
Penguin; Published: 2007-08-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.35
Price in other shops: $16.00
The Time of My Life ImageThe Time of My Life
by Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi
Atria; Published: 2009-09-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.97
Price in other shops: $26.00
The Time of My Life ImageThe Time of My Life
Simon & Schuster UK; Hardcover; Book
The Glass Castle: A Memoir ImageThe Glass Castle: A Memoir
by Jeannette Walls
Scribner; Published: 2006-01-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops: $15.00
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) ImageFreakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.)
by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Harper Perennial; Published: 2009-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops: $15.99
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity ImageA Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity
by Bill O'Reilly
Broadway Books; Published: 2008-09-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.00
Price in other shops: $26.00
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days ImageDiary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
by Jeff Kinney
Amulet Books; Published: 2009-10-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops: $13.95
Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government ImageArguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government
by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe
Threshold Editions; Published: 2009-09-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.15
Price in other shops: $29.99
SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance ImageSuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
William Morrow; Published: 2009-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.45
Price in other shops: $29.99
Eating the Dinosaur ImageEating the Dinosaur
by Chuck Klosterman
Scribner; Published: 2009-10-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.15
Price in other shops: $25.00
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Mel Bay First Lessons Violin Book/CD Set ImageMel Bay First Lessons Violin Book/ CD Set
by Craig Duncan
Mel Bay Publications, Inc.; Published: 2002-01-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.35
Price in other shops: $7.95
Cecilio CVN-200 Rosewood Full Size 4/4 Violin w/ Case and Accessories ImageCecilio CVN-200 Rosewood Full Size 4/ 4 Violin w/ Case and Accessories
Cecilio Musical Instruments; Cecilio; Cecilio Musical Instruments; Musical Instruments
Best price: $98.45
Price in other shops: $299.95
Korg CA-30 solo chromatic tuner ImageKorg CA-30 solo chromatic tuner
Korg; Korg; Korg; Release date: 2008-07-22; Electronics; Musical Instruments
Price in other shops: $32.00
Mel Bay presetns Finger Positions for the Violin ImageMel Bay presetns Finger Positions for the Violin
by Tom Gilland
Mel Bay Publications; Published: 2001-11-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.42
Price in other shops: $10.95
Picture Yourself Playing Violin ImagePicture Yourself Playing Violin
by Bridgette Seidel
Course Technology PTR; Published: 2007-10-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.94
Price in other shops: $34.99
The Original Peg Drops by Ardsley ImageThe Original Peg Drops by Ardsley
Ardsley; Ardsley; Ardsley; Musical Instruments
Best price: $5.90
Price in other shops: $11.00
Violin Wall Chart by Martin Norgaard ImageViolin Wall Chart by Martin Norgaard
Mel Bay; Mel Bay; Mel Bay; Musical Instruments
Best price: $6.99
Glaesel Violin Ultra Practice Mute ImageGlaesel Violin Ultra Practice Mute
Glaesel; Glaesel; Glaesel; Musical Instruments
Best price: $2.85
Price in other shops: $8.50
The ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner - DVD ImageThe ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner - DVD
Release date: 2006-03-23; DVD
Best price: $15.14
Price in other shops: $19.95
The ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner: Violin, Book 1 ImageThe ABCs of Violin for the Absolute Beginner: Violin, Book 1
by Janice Tucker Rhoda
Carl Fischer Music; Published: 1998-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.25
Price in other shops: $8.95