Guitar Vs Violin: How They Differ & Which You Should Learn

If you want to know how to compare guitar vs violin and which one you should learn, you’ve come to the right post!

I debated this same question when I first started playing musical instruments at age 9.

I ended up choosing to learn violin and played for three years before I touched a guitar.

Once I picked up the guitar at age 12, I’ve kept playing for two decades (and counting) and haven’t looked back!

Why did I switch from violin to guitar?

I’ll address that in detail below.

But the short answer for which instrument you should learn to play is:

Learn to play whichever instrument whose songs you want to play.

• If you’re most excited about learning to play guitar songs, learn guitar.
• If you’re dying to learn songs on the violin and you can see yourself as a violinist, learn violin.
• If you’re still not sure, start with guitar. It’s a more versatile instrument that’s generally easier to play and adapt to your musical aspirations.

Choosing which instrument to learn isn’t always this simple.

Check out the section below to learn more about how to make this decision.

How Guitar and Violin Differ and How This Plays Into Which Instrument You Should Learn

Passion or interest in playing songs on the instrument might seem too simple to work as a guide in choosing whether to play guitar or violin.

But it works!

And it’s what I wished I would have considered more before I rushed into playing the violin.

However, not everyone who wants to play the guitar or the violin necessarily has a passion for one instrument or the other.

If that’s you, then you might want to consider how these instruments differ and let those differences guide your decision.

Guitars and violins clearly look different.

But not everyone knows how exactly they differ.

And few realize these differences’ importance in deciding which instrument to pursue.

Here’s a table of some of the differences between violin and guitar.

Guitar	Violin
stringed instrument with frets	stringed instrument without frets
can be strummed or plucked with picks or fingers	almost always played with a bow
simple playing posture	more difficult playing posture
abundant learning resources	not as abundant learning resources
simple to make a good sound come from the instrument with very little experience or practice	difficult to make a good sound come from the instrument without many months of practice
harder to press down strings	easier to press down strings
extremely versatile for learning a wide variety of genres	played in fewer genres
easier to multitask (sing or play an accompanying instrument like harmonica) while playing	more difficult to play and sing at the same time

This table lists only a handful of the differences between these instruments.

But you can probably tell how these differences might affect your decision about which instrument to learn.

In fact:

I recommend looking at these differences, considering your reasons for pursuing either instrument and seeing which instrument makes the most sense based on your goals.

Let’s look at each of these differences in turn.

Guitars Have Frets, Violins Don’t, and Instruments with Frets Are Easier for Beginners

When you look at a guitar, you’ll notice several thin pieces of metal regularly spaced along its neck.

These pieces of metal are called frets.

You can place your finger anywhere between two frets, and the string will produce the same sound.

In other words, the fret your string touches actually determines which note comes from the guitar, not exactly your finger placement on the strings.

You can place your finger anywhere between two frets and the string will produce the exact same note because the note is being produced by the metal fret, not your finger’s placement.

If you look at a violin, you won’t see any thin pieces of metal along its neck.

This is because violins don’t have frets.

Instead, your exact finger placement on the violin strings determines which note comes from the instrument.

Move your fingers a millimeter up or down the neck of the violin, and the note produced from the instrument will be higher or lower based on your finger’s movement.

This means there’s much more room for error when playing the violin because finger placement matters.

As such, I believe the violin is more difficult for beginners than the guitar because it doesn’t have frets.

It’s Simple to Play Guitar Quietly and Difficult to Play Violin Quietly Because the Violin Bow Naturally Produces a Lot of Sound

Guitars can be played with picks, finger picks, or your fingers.

This wide variety of options enables the player to easily regulate how loudly (s)he plays.

On the other hand, it’s more difficult to play the violin quietly because the bow naturally makes the violin player’s notes loud and full.

Playing an instrument loudly that you can’t play well can be disheartening and difficult for those around you.

I remember practicing the violin at age ten and my older siblings begging my mom to make me stop because my playing was loud and discordant.

My siblings didn’t mean any harm.

But the already delicate self-esteem of a beginner musician can easily be crushed without exceedingly understanding neighbors, family, etc.

On the other hand, when I picked up the guitar at age 12, I had countless quiet practice sessions as a beginner without disturbing those around me.

This was one important factor in my continuing to play guitar for the long haul.

It’s Simple to Produce a Good Sound from the Guitar and Difficult to Produce a Good Sound from the Violin

The first day I picked up a guitar and played it, it sounded great.

I looked up a chord chart, put my fingers in the right places, pressed down hard enough on the strings (thanks in part to my violin training), strummed the chord, and it sounded as good as if the greatest guitarist in the world strummed that same chord.

This is the beauty of instruments with frets.

It doesn’t require much skill to make a pretty sound come from an instrument with frets like the guitar.

This is not the case for the violin.

Because of the lack of frets and the complexity of playing the violin, it can take months (if not years) to produce a beautiful sound from the instrument.

Sure, you can squeak out the right notes on a violin weeks after you start playing.

But it won’t sound good for months to come.

This is not very encouraging for the beginner.

The Posture Required to Play Guitar Is Simpler than the Posture Required to Play Violin

If you observe a violinist playing their instrument, you’ll notice they balance it between their chin and shoulder.

You’ll also notice one hand wrapped around the neck and the other holding the bow.

Though this might sound simple, a violinist’s playing posture is more complex than that of a guitarist.

The complexity of a violinist’s posture is one more example of how playing the violin is harder than playing the guitar.

The Guitar Is More Popular than the Violin and Therefore Has More Learning Resources Available than the Violin

The guitar is a more popular instrument than the violin.

Because of this, there are more resources available to learn the guitar.

In my experience, I found excellent books on learning violin but not as many online (and free) resources as I did for learning the guitar.

More and more resources (paid and free) are created daily to learn either instrument.

However, if you’re on a tight budget, keep in mind that there are more (free) resources available for learning the guitar than for learning the violin.

Guitar Strings Are Harder to Press Down Than Violin Strings

There is at least one aspect of the guitar that’s harder for beginners than the violin.

Guitar strings are thicker and rougher than violin strings making them harder for a beginner to press down.

Many beginner guitarists complain about their fingers hurting because guitar strings are difficult to press down.

Fewer violinists have this same complaint.

I don’t recall having an issue pressing down the violin strings when I first began playing.

(Though I do remember having to develop the endurance in my hand muscles to play for longer periods of time.)

Although I had less difficulty pressing down the strings on a guitar thanks to my violin training, my fingertips still hurt a little in the first few weeks of playing the guitar.

The best ways to get past the finger pain are to:

• Take your guitar to a music repair shop or luthier and ask them to “set up” your guitar. This typically includes lowering the action (reducing the distance between the neck and strings).
• Use light gauge strings that are easier to press down.
• gradually increase your time practicing over a long period of time.

These tips will help minimize the discomfort of playing the guitar and hopefully help you to stick with it and play for the long run.

You Can Play the Guitar in Almost Any Music Genre But the Violin Is Less Versatile

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more versatile instrument than the guitar.

This is great for a beginner who’s not sure exactly which path to take with the instrument.

In other words, choosing to play the guitar keeps your options open regarding which genre(s) you pursue.

The violin, while versatile, is not nearly as versatile as the guitar.

Violin mostly appears in the following genres :

• Classical
• Blue grass
• Folk
• Jazz
• Country and western
• Celtic (source)

The violin is an excellent choice if you’re interested in playing these genres.

If not, you’re probably better suited to learn guitar.

The Guitar Is Better than the Violin for Multitasking (Like Singing or Playing an Accompanying Instrument)

It isn’t easy to sing and play the violin simultaneously.

Some musicians do it.

But it’s the exception to the rule.

On the other hand, it’s not very difficult to sing and play the guitar at the same time.

In fact:

You can do a lot of multitasking when playing the guitar like singing, playing the harmonica, or tapping a bass drum with your foot.

If any sort of multitasking (like singing or playing another instrument) interests you, you’re better off learning to play guitar.

Guitar Vs Violin: The Final Verdict

In short, the guitar is probably a better instrument for you to pursue if many of the following are true:

• You want to have an abundance of learning resources.
• You want to be able to play with ease in a wide variety of styles and genres, particularly modern music.
• You want to be able to sing or otherwise multitask while playing your instrument.
• You want to have the ease of playing an instrument with frets.
• You have a lower budget for purchasing an instrument.

If you’ve decided to pursue the guitar, check out the Jasmine S35 which is a great starter instrument for ~$100 or my buyer’s guide to acoustic guitars here.

The violin may be a better instrument for you to pursue if many of the following are true:

• You absolutely love the sound of the violin and feel like you really want to learn violin songs.
• You’re ready to take on the serious challenge of learning an instrument without frets and are OK with not being able to produce a nice sound from the violin for several months.
• Singing or otherwise multitasking while playing your instrument isn’t a high priority for you.
• You’re OK investing a little bit more than you would if purchasing a guitar to get a good instrument.
• You’re prepared to learn a few things on your own or get a teacher for guidance as there aren’t as many learning resources available to the violinist as there are for the guitarist.

If you’ve decided to pursue the violin, this instrument package is very highly rated on Amazon.

Guitar vs Violin: Related Questions

Is violin harder than guitar? I think the violin is harder for a beginner to learn and play than the guitar. A violin is harder because it lacks frets, it requires a complex playing posture, it’s less conducive to multi-tasking while playing, and it’s more difficult to produce a good sound from the instrument as a beginner.

Can a violinist play guitar? A violinist will have a leg up on a total beginner that hasn’t played a stringed instrument. A violinist may also progress faster than a total beginner when learning the guitar. But just knowing how to play the violin won’t automatically make you know how to play the guitar as they have different number of strings, different tunings, and many more differences that make them distinct instruments.