O'Connor Violin Method Book I and CD Paperback

Am a self taught (so far) adult beginner (a few years older than Mark), struggling along with youtube videos and the old method books that one can find on the web. I've really enjoyed this book, and I think it has helped me improve, but you will need to use other resources too. I bought a used copy that had the CD. The CD is really helpful, but I'm pretty sure Mark is playing with vibrato which I don't thank anyone using book 1 would do? The pieces are more fun to play than what I had been playing, as I'm more interested in playing "fiddle" than classical music. The written text itself is geared toward children, which I don't really mind. There are many pictures of Mark as a young boy. I am impressed by what a happy childhood Mark appears to have had, and what a good job his parents did in documenting it. I liked it well enough to buy Book 2.

My 8-year old has been playing Suzuki for several years and I was THIS CLOSE to quitting. It's just painful to get him to practice. It got to be too challenging for him. A friend told me about this book, his teacher agreed to use it, (with Suzuki still in the background) and he really likes it. He hasn't done a 180 (he still would rather not practice), but he says he loves all the songs so far in the book. AND, he's learning them much quicker, which is a great reward/incentive for him.

As an Argentine tango dancer in love with the music, I decided on a whim to have an experience of learning to play the violin - as a student (much) older than average. I found a teacher nearby who seems like they will be energetic, pleasant, helpful, and fun. They teach both Suzuki and O'Connor, but recommended I buy only O'Connor. Researching for myself, it looked like it might be useful to purchase both, at least to compare and contrast the two, and hopefully get a fuller picture.Starting with the O'Connor book I note that the first of eight Principles is Listening to the enclosed CD. This trains the ear for pitch and quality of sound recognition. So first thing I do is take the CD from both books back to my computer to rip the CD so that it will be convenient for me to listen to during the day. It was disappointing, however, to see that the O'Connor track data hasn't been entered into a public database. I had to enter 47 (!) tracks worth of information manually or do without. It didn't even have the track list in the book, so I had to first photocopy the disc titles, then reinsert it in the drive in order to enter the titles. (I think I successfully submitted the metadata to the public databases, so maybe it will be easier for others in the future.)The Suzuki CD does have track data, and the track data is included in the table of contents. Also, I found the "getting started" photos and text much more helpful and complete than the O'Connor book's much less extensive text and diagrams.Extensive reviews elsewhere of the two methods say that the O'Connor music is more American, covers a wider range of styles, and is more interesting. The historical background accompanying the music looks interesting. Suzuki has lots of baroque music. I like baroque, so I can't really judge this point, but I do suspect I'll have more fun with the O'Connor music. The Suzuki book does seem to continue to have more helpful information with each musical selection than the O'Connor book.If I were doing it again, I'd still want to purchase both books.

Book is fine, nicely organized for my young violist and has fun songs to play. However, it didn't come with a cd which I wasn't happy about for the steep price.

Very well done. I love Mark O'Connor. There are a few pages that remind me of pages in my book "Guitar Smarties: From The Beginning", for which I feel greatly honored. I'm not a fiddle player, though I love Mark's stellar playing. I really wish he would do a guitar book and share his secrets for his amazing flatpicking ability. What drills and regimes can we/I do to achieve that?!?

The book is nice, but the accompanying CD was not sent/did not receive.…updating to 3 stars instead of 2. Customer service contacted me and mentioned that I must access an audio track on the main website. Would like to have had a video to accompany along with audio. Great customer service!

Product arrived on time and no concerns with packaging. The program is very similar to Suzuki, but with more opportunities for improvisation. Would highly recommend it to beginning violin players.

OConnor presents fiddling in an easy step by step process. It is a fun way for students to learn the violin. Historical information about the fiddle pieces are also included with each song. My son and daughter have both enjoyed this book as a supplement to their classical violin method books.