Thursday, October 16, 2014

tips for finding a teacher

I believe that the most important thing for any violin student is to find the right teacher. I thought that it would be good if one of my very first posts address that very issue. I, personally teach more adults than children. So the following list is geared a little more toward adult students, but most of the tips apply to any student.
Here is what I recommend when looking for a violin teacher, or any music teacher:
  1. Look for someone you can reach easily. A teacher that provides an email and responds quickly will be helpful for you.
  2. Find a teacher that has some experience teaching adults. Teaching beginning adults is different than teaching children.
  3. Look for a teacher that has a great deal of experience performing and playing in various groups and settings.
  4. Find a teacher that will start right away. If they expect you to wait too long to start, that is not worth your time.
  5. Find someone who is affordable and fits in your budget. Some teachers can be pricey!
  6. Look for a teacher with expectations and a pretty solid set of policies and plans. An organized teacher is very important for your learning potential.
  7. I recommend looking for a teacher that can offer a wide variety of styles of music.
  8. I also recommend finding a teacher that will have an adult student begin playing their violin right away. For most children it is common to wait on actual playing for a few weeks, or months depending on the child. With adults, I feel this is not necessary and they should be ready to start playing right away.
I like to offer a first lesson for free, that way my potential students can make sure they are finding someone who is a good fit for them. Some students like a more strict environment than I offer, or sometimes we just don't entirely get along. If you can find a teacher that offers this, it can be helpful as well.
Good luck with your search to find a teacher! It is not always an easy task, but hopefully these tips will help.

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