Frequently Asked (and unasked) Questions
1. Why do I need to come with my child to lessons?
As a parent, you become the teacher during the week, and need to know not only what pieces your child is working on, but what and how I taught them to practice them during the last lesson. I give specific assignments designed to help students progress in areas that need improvement and reinforce good habits. Without a parent taking notes of these instructions, students usually don't practice what I asked them to, and the same problems remain week after week. Taking notes and practicing carefully with your child builds your child's confidence as he/she is able to build new skills each week and come to lessons prepared.
2. What is the ideal practice time per day?
However long it takes to carefully and correctly complete what I have given. I would suggest practicing at least the amount of time you spend in your lesson each day, but I'd rather have three minutes of focused, effective practice than 53 minutes of just playing a piece over and over.
For small children, it helps to break up practice time into 3-5 small chunks throughout the day, which allows your child to focus and play rather than dread a long practice session.
3. How can I help my child to progress?
Listen! Listen! Listen! Listening to accomplished artists, especially recordings of whatever pieces he or she is learning will help your child more than anything else. Listening trains good intonation, good rhythm, musical playing, and is a huge help for memory. This is one good reason I start with the Twinkles--what child doesn't know that melody by heart?
Another suggestion: At-home concerts for Dad/Grandma/Grandpa--whoever you can get to listen and clap. Set aside a time each week when your child will perform what they have been working on and receive encouragement from whoever is the "audience." The more sincere positive feedback your child receives, the more playing the violin becomes an enjoyable activity. Your child can also learn to take joy in the small steps of progress he or she is making, as you set a good example of patience and praise during practice time.
4. When should I start violin? Is it too early?
I suggest starting with your child no later than elementary school, and the sooner, the better. The advantage of this is the extra time you have together and how eager younger children are to learn and imitate. Sure, little ones don't "progress through literature" as quickly as a 10-year-old beginner, but their technique will be much more solid and natural, and an incredible sense of musicality and passion for music can be instilled in them. Little children also don't tire of repetition, which is crucial to good playing. I begin private teaching as early as age 3, or a mature 2-year-old, sharing the lesson time with the parent. On this issue I side with the Suzuki quote that they're "rarely too young, and never too old to twinkle."
5. Why don't you make home visits?
I've tried this in the past and feel that it's much easier to create a studio atmosphere when students come to my home, even though lessons are just in my living room. It feels a little more formal and is easier for students to focus just on violin, especially for younger students.
6. Why take private lessons if my child is already in a good school program?
First, let me say that I LOVE school programs, and encourage all my students to participate in one whenever possible. However, school orchestras can't logically take the time to teach each student one-on-one, and without private instruction students usually learn a lot of bad habits. Private lessons teach beautiful playing one-on-one which then makes better orchestral musicians.
7. What method do you teach?
My teaching methods are based on the Suzuki philosophy that any child can learn. I teach a blend of Suzuki techniques, Galamian methods, and anything that I've found works over the years. The very Suzuki parts of my studio are that I DO require parent involvement, daily listening to excellent recordings, and I use the Suzuki repertoire to teach technique in manageable chunks. My key focuses are on tone, posture, and intonation, but I emphasize note reading, rhythm, and theory in every lesson at the same time that students learn beautiful playing technique.
8. Where can I get a good instrument? Rent or buy?
I generally recommend buying a quality instrument right from the get-go rather than renting, since monthly rental fees add up quickly! Most music stores also have trade-in policies for when your student needs to move up a size, or you can keep the smaller instrument for a younger sibling.
**Please do not buy instruments off of Ebay or Amazon--they ARE very inexpensive, but in my experience they are not worth the savings.
9. Do you offer any discounts/reduced rates?
Yes, I offer a 25% sibling discount: siblings of current students receive four lessons for three weeks' worth of lesson tuition. My hope is to encourage multiple siblings to play, since they always seem to learn super quickly and have the advantage of a huge head start in listening and learning.
Have questions not on here? Post them to comments, and I'll add them as soon as I can.
