Woah... shoulder rests... an insistence on formal teaching???

This might cause irritation / disbelief, but I picked up my first violin and could play it immediately. I tried a shoulder rest, but the violin wasn't designed with those in mind, and they're fiddly, and tend to fall off at completely the wrong moment... anyway, nothing beats the hard patch you get on your neck after a while.

I got my piano teacher to give me a lesson (he did violin as well) but it was pretty pointless. I have grade six violin (distinction), for which I studied less than six hours. I'm annoying like that.

I think fiddle-playing's a personal thing. I've grown up around some terrific violin players. The best one can't read music, but has played violin with an orchestra, and likes to irritate everyone with the Flight of the Bumblebees. I personally find that players who learn their technique from written music are less likely to want to deviate or experiment with 'accepted' techniques, which I think is a great shame. Music is for fun, after all.

All I ever keep in my acoustic fiddle case is a spare set of strings, a spare bow, and some rosin. Oh, and if you need a tuner for when you're not near a melodian player, here's one.

Sorry to swim so strongly against an overwhelming tide.