Private and Group Lessons:
To introduce the violin to new young musicians, we will begin with our Beginner’s Violin Quartet in January/February. It will start as a 5-week workshop, covering some basic elements of violin playing for brand new beginners, with no previous experience necessary. Violins provided during the class! This will be a chance for you and your child to be introduced to the violin, and to get on the wait-list for regular private 30-min lessons. Sign up with this form!
If you would like to immediately try a private lesson, I am currently booking individual 45 or 60 min lessons for older or more advanced students. This can be treated as a trial lesson which could possibly lead to regular lessons going forward, or just as single supplementary lesson to whatever learning arrangement you currently have.
Feel free to suggest your own plan regarding ongoing group/private lesson balance, I want to figure something out that works for you and your child!
1 hour – Beginners Violin Quartet
$30
Take part in a fun and engaging group learning ensemble with 3 other beginning students, age 5-7. Small violins provided! Participation doesn’t require separate private lessons.
60-Minute Private Lesson
$80
Older students and more advanced students, plus those with long attention spans get the most out of a full hour lesson. You may bring a friend and do a joint or split lesson.
45-Minute Private Lesson
$65
45 min is good for younger learners. (Weekly 30 min lessons will be $50 each and enrollment can begin after you meet me through the Beginner’s Quartet!)
Some thoughts about group vs. private lessons..
I am currently teaching small group classes at Mount Lebanon School through the Camerata New England Strings Program. Traditionally, private weekly violin lessons are considered essential to make the kind of progress that allows a student to fully develop as a musician and gain fluency, (to get to the really fun stages of being able to play a string instrument.) But because of limited time and resources, and my desire to get more kids starting to play at an early age, I am interested in making group classes more successful in taking the place of, rather than being just a supplement to, private lessons. Much of this success depends on how much support the student has at home to practice consistently and in the right way.
These days, we have easy access to information through the internet, and can find well done how-to videos on youTube, etc. (I can help assess which ones are useful.) I believe that highly motivated students could do well in a group lesson, as long as their home practice is careful, supported by their parents, and they make use of all the resources and do as much guided self-teaching as possible. The group class becomes a place to work on performance skills and group collaboration, and to stay motivated to do the daily home practice.
Another important aspect of becoming a musician and performer is to start composing early on. The act of creating takes the student out of the “student” mindset and allows them to feel ownership of the music they are making. Musical principals start to make sense and students discover this through experience. I create small pieces for my students to play and encourage them to improvise and write their own.