Here, in a nutshell, is everything I have discovered about learning the fiddle. First, it is a muscular activity as well as an artistic one. Like learning to run races, you have got to put in time developing the movements, finding your limits, then extending them. There is only one way to do this - devoting time. How you progress, and indeed if at you progress, depends on how much time you give it. If you practice for an hour a week on Sunday afternoon, calculate how many years it's going to take you to cover the same ground as a music student practicising up to six hours a day. The answer explains the difference between 'prodigies' of nine years of age are giving concerts, and others are still trying to develop a good tone in late middle age. The greatest barrier to giving time is the horrible sound you make in the early stages. It offends your own ears, let alone everyone else's. So remember it is the same factor which makes a beginner sound so bad, that makes a professional sound so expressive. In violin playing, you have to make the whole note. No putting your finger on the right bit of the keyboard.   Finally, as soon as possible, play with others or join a band or orchestra. It helps force you on.

Best of luck.