1. It will improve your posture
The way violins are held and played requires your core to be engaged. If you’re playing without core engagement, you’re not playing properly.
This is true even of violin players who sit a lot as they’re playing. If the upper body is not held firmly upright, it is very difficult to play correctly.
You will be tightening your abs, bringing your shoulders back and down, and sitting up tall while you learn to play the violin.
This good posture is likely to become a habit over time. Soon, you may find your posture getting better all the time, not just while you play.
2. It will strengthen your arms
The violin is a great instrument for toning your arms and upper body.
Violin is played with active arms, so those arm muscle groups will be strengthened as you learn to play the violin.
The upper arms will work very hard. But other muscle groups that you’ll be working out include your neck, shoulders, back, and the core muscles you use for your posture. Playing violin is a great upper body workout.
3. They are the smallest string instrument
Violins are the smallest instrument in the string instrument family. If you have a small frame, or want an instrument that’s easy to transport, a violin is a great choice.
They are relatively lightweight and easily portable, which is great if you move often or plan on taking your violin many places with you.
4. It will challenge your dexterity
With some instruments, like the piano, both hands are essentially doing the same task. With violin, though, your right and left hands have distinctly different tasks.
Your left fingers will be pressing on the fingerboard to create the notes, and the left hand and arm holds the violin itself.
Meanwhile, your right hand is in charge of the bow. It will move the bow over different strings at different speeds, depending on what the song calls for.
This kind of work is challenging to your physical coordination and is good exercise for your brain as well.
5. It’s an important orchestral instrument
If you learn to play the violin, you are learning the instrument that makes up one of the most important sections in an orchestra.
There are many string instruments in orchestras. But there’s a reason why out of all of them, so many people are familiar with the sound of the violin.
These instruments often play the main parts of the songs, and tend to get more solos than many other instruments.
If you’re considering a future as an orchestral musician, it can be good to play such an important instrument. There will almost always be a place for violins in any orchestra.
This also makes it easy to find music to play and practice with, since so many of these songs have major violin parts.
6. It’s versatile
Violins are in demand in many places in addition to orchestras.
These instruments are also common in string quartets and piano duets. Many beloved classical songs involve the violin.
Yet it’s not uncommon to hear violin play a part in modern pop music as well. Even rap, hip hop, and other less expected genres have found ways to incorporate the violin. ( Like electronic violins or hybrid violins )
If you learn to play the violin, you will have countless options for what kind of music you can play, and what other musicians you can play with.
7. It’s a challenge to play
This may not sound like a bonus right away, but it’s actually a good thing to learn a difficult instrument like the violin.
A guitar has frets to help show where your fingers go. A piano lays all the keys out in front of you. But a violin requires precision and skill to create the notes, without markers to show you where your fingers belong.
There is no consensus on which instruments are hardest to play, of course. But these unique challenges to learning the violin are not so difficult as to be overwhelming.Instead, it will give you an advantage if you decide to learn other instruments later.
8. You will become more graceful
The way a violin is played requires a unique degree of coordination and smooth movement.
As your hands, arms, and core work together to play while you hold your instrument, you will develop a more naturally graceful movement.
Watch a professional violin player and you will see the gracefulness for yourself. As you learn to play the violin, you too will be developing those beautiful movements.
9. You will gain a more musical ear
Because the violin doesn’t have things like fret boards or keys, you may not know right away that your finger is in the right place to create the note.
Your listening ability will have to take over to tell you if the sound you’re making is right or not. This will challenge you to recognize notes, so that someday you may be able to “play by ear”: that is, recognize and copy the notes just by listening to a song.
10. It comes in multiple sizes
Violins are actually not one size fits all. There are multiple sizes of violin, which correspond to the length of the instrument.
This will allow you to choose the instrument that feels most comfortable to you when you learn to play the violin. Many instruments don’t allow this kind of flexibility when it comes to choosing the size.
Conclusion
Violins are well-known and well-loved instruments. From their history in classical music, to their continued popularity today, there’s a reason why so many people learn to play the violin [2].
Maybe you’ll start by looking for one specific benefit, like exercise or portability. But with so many reasons to learn to play the violin, you’re sure to find new and unexpected things to love.
[2] www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/a-brief-history-of-classical-music