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User-Friendly Violin Study for Children and Parents
by Felicia Giocatorino
http://www.foundviolin.com

Violin study should be a positive, life-enriching
experience that brings one into harmony with the
things that make life beautiful. All too often, though,
it becomes a vehicle for familial dissonance!

Are you and you child at odds when it comes to the
subject of her violin study? If so, the tips that
follow may be of considerable use in bringing joy back
to her experience of playing the violin.

1. Attend lessons with your child. If your child studies
in a group violin class at school, make an appointment
with the teacher for an after-school tutorial. Observe
how the teacher guides your child and take careful notes.
Use those notes to provide appropriate guidance to your
child during home practice sessions. If the teacher does
something you don't understand, ask for clarification at
the end of the lesson; don't interrupt your child's time
with his teacher with your questions.

2. Are you a musician yourself? Do you play the violin?
If the answer to either of these questions is "no," then
you may find that taking a few lessons yourself will give
you a better appreciation for the challenges your child
faces in mastering the instrument, and you may be able
to better empathize with her occasional frustration or
tolerate less-than-perfect performances on occasion.

3. Ask the teacher if the instrument is properly adjusted.
Often, student instruments are poorly made or poorly
maintained. Sometimes, the simple act of changing strings
makes a substantial improvement in sound. Often, if a
parent will commit to purchasing the finest quality
instrument the family budget will allow, many of the
challenges faced by the novice violinist are dramatically
reduced or eliminated. Fine instruments aren't expensive
because of the name of their makers or their value as
works of art; fine instruments are expensive because they
are so well-crafted that playing them well is almost
effortless!

4. Not all students can learn from all teachers. Not all
teachers are capable of teaching all students. Everyone
has their limits, no matter how good they are reputed to
be at what they do. Look at whether the teacher-student
relationship is working optimally, and carefully consider
whether a teacher change would make a positive difference
or not. If you think it might, interview and observe as
many violin teachers as you reasonably can before making
the decision to leave a particular studio.

5. You already know that some people are "morning" people,
some people are "evening" people, and some people fall
in-between. Choose practice times that coincide with the
times of day that both you and your child are at your
physical, cognitive, and emotional peaks. Avoid those
times that find either of you, especially your child, at
the opposite end of that continuum.

It's not a coincidence that one learns to "play" the
violin instead of learning to "work" the violin. It's
also not a coincidence that "fiddling around" is
synonymous with having fun. Make the violin a vehicle
for fun again if it's stopped being one by implementing
any one or several of the tips above.

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