# Veteran Guitarist - Really want to play the violin.



## eruption

I've been playing guitar for about seven years. I was a huge Yngwie Malmsteen and Van Halen fan at one point, and I can play all of their stuff. I've fallen in love with classical music and I'm tempted to pick up the violin. I want to try to learn some Paganini, I can play his 24th caprice on the guitar. I can tell it is going to be completely different than the guitar, but does anyone think my experience will give me an edge learning how to play? Any tips?


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## kv466

Van Halen fan,...really? Couldn't tell from the name 


Anyway,...from one veteran guitar player to another, don't approach it the same in any way at all! Once you can separate, in your mind, that just because it has a neck and strings that it is not a guitar,...then you'll start to get somewhere. Pun totally intended, I only fiddle around with my violin as it was given to me as a gift but I've managed to pick up some stuff. Mainly I just follow along with some of the easier parts to some of my favorite orchestral works.

Obviously, you want to take this further so get some lessons...read some books...get some lessons...unless, you don't need any...I got a buddy who, like us, had been playing guitar for years and he decided to pick up the violin one day and he is awesome...still, for classical I'd always recommend some sort of training...even if just for reading.

Anyway, good luck! I know all the Halen tunes up until about 1984 and then I lost much interest in Eddie's style...I was most heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Robbie Krieger, John Frusciante, Robin Ford and Jerry Garcia just to name some of the ones who pulled me away from distortion and into much cooler effects.

Welcome to the forum.


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