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What is the hardest thing to play on the violin?

These are the hardest pieces ever written for the VIOLIN Sonata No. ... Partita in D minor BWV 1004 – J.S. ... 'The Last Rose Of Summer' – Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst. ... Caprice in D major 'Il labirinto armonico' – Locatelli. ... Solo Violin Sonata – Bartók. ... Violin Concerto – Ligeti. ... 6 Caprices – Sciarrino. ... God Save the King – Paganini. More items... •

classicfm.com - These are the hardest pieces ever written for the VIOLIN - Classic FM

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These pieces of music are all terrifyingly ambitious and virtuosic – and they might just make your fingers bleed. Here are the most difficult pieces ever written for the violin.

Looking for some pieces of violin music that will make your fingers look like THIS?

You’ve come to the right place.

24 Caprices – Paganini Often cited as the hardest works for solo violin, Niccolò Paganini’s Caprices make up 24 fiendishly demanding pieces for the string instrument, packed with double stops, left-hand pizzicato and endless spiccato bowing. It’s no wonder people thought Paganini was in league with the devil… Violin concerto in D minor – Sibelius Reserved for the greatest virtuosos, Jean Sibelius’ only concerto is undoubtedly one of the most intense and difficult violin concertos ever written. British musicologist Donald Tovey once described the final movement as a ‘polonaise for polar bears’, saying, ‘I have not met a more original, a more masterly, and a more exhilarating work’. Sonata No. 9 ‘Kreutzer’ – Beethoven Beethoven dedicated his Sonata No. 9 to Rodolphe Kreutzer, who was considered the finest violinist of the day but Rodolphe, regrettably, hated the piece. It is notorious for its technical difficulty and emotional scope, as well as its unusually long length for a sonata. Partita in D minor BWV 1004 – J.S. Bach When in 2007, Joshua Bell stuck a baseball cap on his head, rocked up at a Metro station in Washington and began to busk, J.S. Bach’s Partita in D minor was his what he chose to play. He described it as “not just one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, but one of the greatest achievements of any man in history”. The double stops in particular sound pretty special. ‘The Last Rose Of Summer’ – Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst is not the biggest name in classical music, but his ‘The Last Rose Of Summer’ is notorious among violinists for being a complete nightmare to play. Ernst was an obsessive devotee of Paganini, the original violin rockstar, and he loved to include stupidly complex pizzicato in his music. Caprice in D major ‘Il labirinto armonico’ – Locatelli In places, Locatelli’s ‘Labyrinth’ bizarrely has the feel of an Irish jig. The melody, scored in a jaunty 3/4 time, jumps between an open D string and some terrifyingly ultrasonic pitches up on the E string. Keep some plasters in your violin case – your fingers will be crying after this one. Solo Violin Sonata – Bartók Any piece with ‘unaccompanied’ next to it is sure to send terror into the soul of any violinist. This a cappella work by Béla Bartók was dedicated to and premiered by Yehudi Menuhin, who demanded the composer make some tweaks to make the Sonata easier to play. Violin Concerto – Ligeti Ligeti was a madman when it came to composing for the violin. A hotchpotch of effects and textures, his concerto for violin and orchestra is packed with harmonics and moments of microtonality. In other words, it’s HARD. 6 Caprices – Sciarrino You’ll have rosin all over your hands after attempting these virtuosic showstoppers for solo violin. Packed with ethereal-sounding harmonics, the Caprices are incredibly ambitious, and require the violinist to play incredibly close to the bridge with their left hand.

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How much violin practice a day?

1,5 to 2 hours a day Great to get good progress on your instrument. You can do scales, exercises and etudes and have enough time to work on your repertoire and orchestra scores. Serious teenagers who prepare for a professional career, but are still in school, can practice something like this.

violinlounge.com - How Many Hours a Day should you Practice the Violin?

What progress and level of violin playing can you expect at 10 mins, 1 hour or 5 hours a day?

After teaching hundreds of students offline and online, it’s easy to see that students who practiced most got the fastest progress.

These days talent is overestimated and practice is underestimated

Yup, that nine year old virtuoso you see on YouTube, probably practiced for thousands of hours already. When you practice enough, you get good progress, get motivated, join fun ensembles and orchestra’s, enjoy your own playing and you just can’t stop playing anymore. If you’re practicing starts to slack, you feel frustrated when playing, you don’t see the progress you want, you can’t get in that orchestra you like and you feel like giving up.

Practicing daily is more important than practicing a marathon

The students who get good results in the long run are consistent. For your brain and hands to remember what you learn, daily repetition is very important. It’s way better to have a short practice session every day when you’re fresh and focussed than that you leave your violin in it’s case for days and have practice marathon. You’ll lose your skill in between those marathons and will not build up your technique. Whatever practice length you choose, pick something that you can manage to do daily. Yes, you can always practice longer, but this daily routine is most important.

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