The preferable way to learn how to play a violin is to first get an excellent violin teacher. Online instruction materials and instruction videos are accessible, but an actual hands-on teacher will enable you to master the violin faster, for an actual teacher will know what you should be striving for, look for problems with your technique, and tailor solutions to your particular needs.

The next step is to study your violin fingering chart, or if possible, study music theory so that you will understand the structure of music. When you study the fingering chart, you'll know where to place your fingers as you play each chord.

Before you start playing your violin, remember to rosin your bow. If you haven't learned how to do this, ask someone from the music store or your music teacher to rosin it for you. If you do not have rosin on the bow, this will make very little noise; on the other hand, if there is excessive rosin it will make a scratchy sound.

When the bow is prepared, you must next tune your violin. This must be done once a week, or more often if you play your violin regularly. Using a shoulder pad is helpful for beginners. This will make it possible for you to hold your violin between your chin and shoulder without raising your shoulder. That way you can move your left hand freely.

The last yet far most important step is to practice-- not just practice your violin playing, but to strive for improvement. When you practice, you repeat the same action or same ways of playing, so if you have bad habits while playing the violin, you practice committing them again and again until they become ingrained.

Therefore, it is important that when you practice, you must first have your mistakes corrected, so that the subsequent time you practice, you will not be repeating the same mistake again. This does not just apply to violin playing, but also to playing other instruments.

That's all for now! Now, go and study those fingering charts!