Easy Violin Songs You Can Master in a Week (Or Less!)

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The violin is arguably one of the most challenging instruments to learn. But don’t let it discourage you! By learning these 16 easy violin songs, you can improve bow strokes, fingering, maintain coordination and other skills that will make you a great violinist. We’ve even included some songs from hit television shows and films!

16 Violin Songs for Beginners

Here are beginner violin songs, including timeless pieces, that you can start with. They derive their simplicity from the simple bowing pattern, number of chords, and limited movement you’ll require.

1. Hallelujah

Initially written by Leonard Cohen and released in 1984, this song has other renditions by varying artists. As a matter of fact, it has over three hundred recorded versions! It’s a lovely piece and is simple to play on the violin.

2. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

This is probably the first nursery rhyme that most kids learn – an idyllic way to teach them about heavenly bodies. Written by Jane Taylor and her sister Ann, the rhyme comes from a poem in Rhymes for the Nursery – 1806. Its violin sheet music is easy to follow due to its repetitiveness.

3. Ode to Joy

Ode to Joy is a classical song about peace, representing the triumph of global brotherhood over misery and conflict. The melody is the prelude to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9’s fourth and final movement, first played in Vienna in 1824. It was adopted as the European Union’s official anthem by EU leaders in 1985. This piece will help you master the skill of classical music while also improving your bowing and fingering techniques.

4. Game of Thrones Theme

German composer Ramin Djawadi arranged the Game of Thrones theme song in June of 2011. You can download the free sheet music online. It’s quite a simple song to play on the violin.

5. Jingle Bells

Using easy violin sheet music that you can download for free online, this song makes a perfect start for beginners. A famous Christmas jingle, and probably the first you ever learned in school, you’ll perform it in G Major on the violin. James Lord Pierpont wrote and published it in September of 1857.

6. Star Wars Theme

Composed by John Williams and released in 1963, this piece is among the favorite beginner violin songs as its repetitive nature extends simplicity. This makes it relatively easy to learn and master.

7. When the Saints Go Marching In

The best part about learning to play this song on the violin is that you can alter the rhythm as you perfect your skills. It’s an upbeat tempo that you can play either fast or slow, and it’ll sound good either way. Louis Armstrong first recorded this song in May of 1938. Since then, he has recorded it forty other times.

8. Happy Birthday

The song’s tune was derived from a school teachers’ welcome hymn named “Good Morning to All,” written by American sisters Patty and Mildred Hill in 1893. However, this accreditation has been challenged. Find the violin sheet music online for free.

9. Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace is by far one of the most popular hymns of all time, and you’ll often hear it in church and at funerals. Anglican clergyman and English poet John Newton wrote this song in 1772. It was published as a Christian hymn seven years later. As one of the easiest songs you can play on the violin, you can easily access its beginner violin sheet music online.

10. All of Me

An inspiring hit song about self-giving love, originally written and performed by John Legend in 2013, from the album Love in the Future, it has received over ten other renditions over the years. With practice, you can quickly master how to play this song on the violin.

11. Spring

Likely played on the EMAJ key, Spring was written by Antonio Vivaldi, an 18th-century prolific baroque composer who has over 500 concertos to his name.

12. City of Stars

City of Stars (from La La Land), composed by Benj Pasek and other artists, is an interactive transpose musical piece that you can quickly learn on the violin. This piece is ideal for playing on the piano, violin and guitar.

13. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

On October 7, 1938, Judy Garland recorded “Over the Rainbow” on the MGM soundstages, using a composition by Murray Cutter. The song is featured in the Wizard of Oz film. Decca Records made and released a studio recording of the track, not from the film soundtrack, as a single in September 1939.

14. Ave Maria

Ave Maria is a lovely 1828 composition by Schubert. It’s a classical song with a beautiful melody, and the most talented vocalists will realize breathtaking moments of subtlety in the upper notes. On the violin, it’s simple to learn and sounds terrific.

15. La Bamba

Ritchie Valens wrote La Bamba in October of 1958. It is a Mexican ballad that later inspired the movie of a similar name that tells the tale of the rock and roll artist Valens, who died prematurely in a plane crash at 17. Though one of the easy violin songs, it features dramatic tuplet and tenutos groupings.

16. Wedding March

Learning to play this Felix Mendelssohn‘s song could come in handy when you’re looking for that extra cash. A popular tune at weddings, this is one of the more straightforward violin songs for beginners. Mendelssohn wrote it in 1842, and it is among the most well-known pieces from his suite of incidental music.

Easy Violin Songs: Which One Is Your Favorite?

There is a misconception that you should either be a gifted player or be a music student to master the violin. But that’s not the case! If you’re serious about learning how to play this instrument, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.

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