Things to do · Arts and crafts
Learn the violin or fiddle
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
The violin and the fiddle are the same instrument; the difference is whether you play classical music from the page or folk, country and bluegrass, often by ear. Adult beginners can learn in groups, and some late starters' orchestras put you in an orchestra from your first session.
Demanding£100 to £500 / $130 to $650A year or moreIndoorsWith othersUK and US
Someone who has done it
These are real people who did this, as reported by the outlets named. We opened each one before linking it. None of them is connected with this site.
What it's really like
A first term covers how to hold the violin and the bow, posture, simple fingering patterns, listening to whether you are in tune, and reading simple notation. That is City Lit's Violin and viola 1A, the start of a ladder of levels that reach about grade 4 before its workshops.
It is slow at first. Ron Sharp, who plays with the Late Starters Orchestra in New York, told NPR that after about ten years of lessons he was almost at the intermediate level.
Fiddle or violin is a choice of style, not instrument. Yamaha's guide says fiddlers often learn by ear and stay in first position, near the tuning pegs, while classical violinists read the notation closely and use the whole fingerboard. Some fiddles have a flatter bridge and steel-core strings.
Ways in compared
| Where | Course/format | Cost (as last listed) |
|---|---|---|
| City Lit, London | Violin and viola 1A: 11 Tuesday evening classes from 15 September 2026; bring your own violin, bow, rosin and shoulder rest | £229 (a £160 rate is also shown) |
| East London Late Starters Orchestra | Saturday music school for adult string players, beginners to experienced; beginners join an orchestra from the first session; no auditions or exams | Not given in Making Music's article; instruments can be hired cheaply and member-supported funding allows reduced fees |
| Laramie County Community College, Cheyenne, Wyoming | Adult Orchestra - Beginner: six Monday evening sessions for violin, viola or cello, autumn 2026 | $56 |
Once you reach about grade 1, groups such as Greenwich Music School's Adults' String Ensemble (£45 a month as listed) are the next step. In the US, MTNA's teacher finder lets you search for a violin teacher by zip code.
How to start
- Hire a violin before buying one, and get a bow, rosin and a shoulder rest with it.
- Book a beginners' class for complete beginners, such as City Lit's Violin and viola 1A or a community college adult strings group.
- Look for a late starters' orchestra or beginners' string group near you, so you play with others from the start.
Where to go
- City Lit: Violin and viola 1A, for complete beginners (London) UK
- Making Music: the East London Late Starters Orchestra story UK
- Laramie County Community College: Adult Orchestra - Beginner (Wyoming) US
- Music Teachers National Association: find a violin teacher by zip code US
We opened these links on 7 November 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. Courses and classes have start dates and can fill up, so the plan begins with finding and booking one. Kit comes after the first session, once you know what you need.
Questions people ask
Is a fiddle the same as a violin?
Yes. Yamaha's guide says there is no significant physical difference; fiddlers play folk, country and bluegrass, often by ear, and some set up the instrument with a flatter bridge.
Can you learn the violin as a complete beginner adult?
Yes. City Lit's Violin and viola 1A is for complete beginners, and the East London Late Starters Orchestra takes adults from their first session with no auditions.
Do I need to buy a violin before lessons?
City Lit asks you to bring your own violin, bow, rosin and shoulder rest, and says some shops hire instruments. The East London Late Starters Orchestra hires instruments cheaply.
Where can adult beginners play the violin with others?
Late starters' orchestras such as the one in east London, and community college groups such as Laramie County Community College's Adult Orchestra - Beginner.
Where this comes from: City Lit, Violin and viola 1A; City Lit, Choosing a String class at City Lit (13 June 2022); Making Music, It's never too late to start: the East London Late Starters Orchestra story; Laramie County Community College, Adult Orchestra - Beginner; Greenwich Music School, Adults' String Ensemble; Yamaha Music, What's the Difference Between Fiddle and Violin? (16 March 2026); NPR, Almost Intermediate: Adults Learn Lessons In 'Late Starters Orchestra' (2014); Music Teachers National Association, Find a Teacher. Opened 7 November 2026.
Read next
“Education has no expiration”: Virginia Ordaz and her mother finished their degrees in the same class
How a retired fire dispatcher from Stockton, California, finished the degree she started in 1989, and how her mother finished hers more than 40 years after her last class. How to find out what your own old credits are worth, in the US and the UK.
Sixty paper hats on a table in Bridlington: David Smith and the shape mathematicians had sought for decades
David Smith of Bridlington, a hobbyist with no training in mathematics, found 'the hat': the first single shape known to cover a flat surface only in patterns that never repeat. How he found it, why he could not prove it alone, and the free tools that let you put the same tiles on your own table.
More like this
Moderate
Join a community orchestra or band
Moderate
Pass a graded music exam
Moderate
Go to a ceilidh or contra dance
Moderate
Learn an instrument and play one piece for an audience
Demanding
Write the first full draft of a book
Demanding
Try blacksmithing