Many people think that if a person can play an instrument well, that person could teach others to play that instrument too. Too bad that is not true. Especially with the strings instruments, they are the most difficult instruments to play. In this post, I will cover a few tips on how you can find a violin teacher.
- Online or-person lessons. As of now, we have so many options for music lessons. I think a lot of music schools start to realize the potentials in using online mediums to offer lessons. You have to make the decision whether you want to have your lessons in person or online.
- Start with a list. You have decided that you want to have your violin lessons in person, you can start creating a list of teachers that you can contact to see whether they are interested in teaching adults or adult beginners.
You can create your own list by the following:- Talk to your friends who play musical instruments
- Talk to your friends who have their children taking music lessons
- Visit local music stores
- Visit violin shops in your area
- Contact school or university music programs
- Talk to music teachers if you have kids attending those schools
- Talk to musicians in the orchestras
- Research potential teachers. As an adult learner, you want to be sure that the potential teachers have experiences teaching adults or know that their students are adult learners. Depending on your goals of learning, I highly recommend looking at their performance experiences. You may not plan to perform soon but at some point you may be asked to or decided to surprise your family members to host a private concert at your place.
The following list here is provided as a guide to consider when you contact your teachers:- Have they studied “violin performance” or “pedagogy” (or teaching) degrees?
- What are the teacher’s experiences with performing?
- What levels of students do they teach — beginner, intermediate, advanced, etc.?
- Whom did they study with?
- Make the contact. Once you have decided to contact potential teachers, think about questions that you want to discuss with your teachers. This can be done either in person, email, or a phone call. When you communicate with your prospective teachers, consider discussing these topics:
- be sure to share with them your goals in leaning the violin – maybe you want to join an orchestra or play pop music for friends and family, or fiddle with your group
- If you already know how to play, prepare a song that you have learned , scales, or the one you are working on so that the teachers can assess your postures or techniques
- If you are a beginner, talk more about their teaching styles and what they believe in teaching
- discuss frequency and length of the lesson (60 minutes weekly or 30 minutes weekly or other configurations)
- talk about scheduling and locations of the lessons (your place, their studio, etc.)
- If you don’t have the violin, ask for recommendations such as where to go or whether they can go with you to a shop on your next lesson
- discuss learning materials or music styles you want to play — maybe you have heard of Suzuki or other styles of music you want to play
- discuss how much they charge for a lesson – make it as casual as possible
- Decision time. After talking or emailing your prospective teachers, you have to make your decision which teachers you want to spend time with. I say this because you will develop a professional relationship with your teachers. Imagine you have to meet with your teachers weekly or biweekly for an extended period of time. If you do not like your teachers, you would not enjoy going to lessons.
I hope you have found the information presented in this post helpful. Congratulations on taking the first step to fulfill your dream and goal of playing the violin.
Resources to help write this post:
The Strad Magazine (https://www.thestrad.com/)
https://www.connollymusic.com/stringovation/tips-for-finding-the-right-violin-teacher