How to Train Your Ears and Play in Tune on the Violin or Viola?

Use this violin tuning device to help your intonation improve: bit.ly/2QD5Nuj
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How can you know if you are in tune our out of tune?
How can you find the right fingering on the violin or viola?
How can you train your ears?
Watch this video and learn!
Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!
Love,
Zlata
PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below.

[@ahmedsaleh5141]

So it is all about developing this mental sound of how the correct note should be then it comes to be able to realize if the note I am playing is either higher or lower than what in my mind then adjusting to get the right note ..... this is just a complete clear system for learning intonations ...... thank you very much can't get enough of your channel.

[@violinlounge]

Exactly!

[@Dldmny]

When i was young I was tested for hearing acuity. Although I do not have perfect pitch, i did well on that test and I later learned to play keyboard, guitar, and violin by ear. The ability to play by ear is both a blessing and a curse because it interferes with developing the discipline required to be classically trained.

[@violinlounge]

Very true!

[@deborahdey2003]

Constantly listen and adjust ! I have a sound I want and I am constantly trying for it . :)

[@violinlounge]

Great, Deborah!

[@thisbevanleeuwen-vandenber4242]

Such a good explaination! Training your ears happens all the time if you are playing. Even in a passive way your brains are absorbing the tones and scales. I did not realise but if I compare my hearing-quality with 2 years ago it clearly developed. Sometimes I train myself by hitting random piano keys with my eyes closed and try to recognise the tone. A nice game!

[@ringmann97]

Thanks love, this is just what I needed, subscribed! 🙌

[@violinlounge]

ringmann97 Welcome!

[@vanessahill3596]

Thanks Zlata, Violin playing is constantly listening, testing/analysing, adjusting - which is just like singing really. Having a background in piano & singing (and a bit of guitar) from a young age has definitely helped me with this. Thankfully for me, hearing the notes comes fairly easily, I find when tuning I can hear the sound wave interference if notes/intervals are not in tune. I try to train my ears by attempting to tune my violin manually first but then I always grab a digital tuner to check my accuracy before playing.

[@violinlounge]

Thanks for watching and for sharing!

[@mattds45]

Hi Zlata, I'm trying to learn viola by myself (no instructors in my area) so your videos are a godsend! I play lead guitar in a country rock band, and while I don't know if it helps me with my viola intonation, since I have been practicing my guitar bends have really improved. So has my slide playing. So, there's another great reason to learn the viola/violin, it helps play other instruments! Thanks again for your videos!

[@violinlounge]

Hi Matthew Stanchfield, thanks for your comment and for sharing! Yup, playing guitar and violin/viola influence each other nicely. When you want an instructor in your home, you might consider booking a Skype lesson with me. See www.violinlounge.com/services I wish you happy practicing and beautiful playing! Best regards, Zlata

[@Tribora]

It's the very best video to train your ears and create exceptional mixes. Ear Training Software - Train Your Ears EQ

[@wolfthunder2526]

Thanks Zlata, I also try to imagine the intervals like a staircase. Each string has its own staircase in my imagination. But, when I execute some positions with lower second finger like D# A# F and C on my viola first position, sometimes I play it slightly higher, becoming a sharper tone (a quarter sharper I think)... I have tried to correct it, yet somehow my "muscle" memory slips onto the wrong sharper tone again XD

[@violinlounge]

This could be solved by finger training instead of ear training. Perhaps this video is useful to you: violinlounge.com/finger-independence-exercises-for-the-violin-violin-lounge-tv-304/

[@Zxouf873]

I have improved my sensitivity to the notes, but i *still* have a lot to go, I always tune my violin using a tuner app, I do try to tune by ear but that super hard, I know that it's out of tune but I can't decide if it's too high or too low, same applies when playing the violin, I instantly recognize that i played the wrong note, but still can't decide If its high or low..I think it's just the matter of time to have a good pitch? I always play open strings, and recently started comparing the open string with the forth finger, I found that it helped my intonation. Thank youuu for sharing

[@violinlounge]

ruba zuheir yes, a matter of time and training. You can check yourself with the tuner.

[@creative3ddesignprinting944]

"questions for your answers" very good summarize of my experience so far learning about the violin. I learned that it's called audiation and that I need to activily imagine the note progression before the note. I also want to try software since, do you recommend any? Do you recommend to keep replaying the note till it's right while practicing or continue playing and try to do it better the second time?

[@violinlounge]

Galaxy Kitty Studios depending on what phone you use there are various ear training apps you can use. Correct the note AND play it next time to see if you can get it right in one go.

[@Nadeline1]

I always rushed through the songs not knowing why I kept sounding so bad. So embarrassing: but the need for training my hearing didn't occur to me! After a year and a half of messing up, I know finally learned to play in tune in a matter of weeks!

[@violinlounge]

Wow, great progress!

[@DivaDeb1234]

1. Constantly listening and adjusting. 2. A song image. Internal hearing. Audiation. 3. Ear training software ( I had in college) 4. Intonation is in your brain . And muscle memory in your fingers. 5. Be conscience about what you hear and what you want to hear.

[@violinlounge]

Thanks for the summary, Debbie!

[@bangmon1000]

I really don't know if I have improved my ear since I started playing violin. I really don't know how to test my self. I know when I am practicing with others when I hit the wrong note. It's embarrassing. Thanks for all these tips. I know this is a video I'm going to have to watch over and over.

[@violinlounge]

bang mon playing together is a whole new skill to learn and it requires some practicing and ear training. It’s very different from playing alone. However, I think playing together is one of the best things in music. 😊

[@rachelsmusicgarden]

To help with this problem: 1st listen to the piece enough to be able to sing it in its entirety. 2nd, play with a recording. 3rd, record yourself playing and watch it.

[@jameskrys5286]

I've got a tiny cheap piezo tuner that I clamp on to my one of my tuning pegs. It turns green when you hit a note in tune and tells you what the note is.Someone sent it to me for free. I use a Snark tuner that clamps on to the headstock on my electric violins.I've got a Fender and an NS. Works like a charm. I don't trust my ear. Snark and Planet Waves now make micro tuners. The lighter the better.The pitch pipe is dead. You will go thru batteries, though.

[@violinlounge]

Hi James, Thanks for your tip. Learning to play in tune with a tuner can learn it to you a little bit. However... This method makes you dependent of the tuner, distracts you from listening yourself if something is in tune and doesn’t learn you how to listen, recognize, adjust etc so you will not learn to trust your ear and play confidently in tune in that way. All the best, Zlata

[@kamikan22]

It is a little late but one advice I can give when playing with a tuner is to sing every note before, meanwhile and/or after you play it with your bow. This way the note stays with you more easily and I found it specially liberating for double stops. PD: the tuner help you be confident with your singing, and voice is extremely accurate when confident

[@ack5770]

Yas I wanna lern a japan song

[@violinlounge]

KITTYWOMANKI If you mention a couple, perhaps I can make a tutorial for you.

[@ack5770]

Aww thank u I wanna learn the ivean polkka and the battleblock theater finale