Maria S
Instruments: Violin
Styles: Classical
Maria S
Instruments: Violin
Styles:
Classical
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
I am a Venezuelan violinist who grew up in "El Sistema", which has let people learn to love music, and has given the opportunity to less resourceful kids to make music through dedication and team work. In 2002 I joined my city's orchestra, the "Ciudad Guayana" orchestra in Venezuela. I played both first and second violin throughout my 16 years of being there. We performed challenging repertoire such as Scheherazade, Mahler, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven. I have a Bachelor's degree in Administration from Venezuela and I'm currently working on my Music Performance Associate Degree at Valencia College.
Back when I was in Venezuela, I was playing in my city's orchestra the entire time from 2002 to 2018. In that orchestra, which is a part of the renowned "El Sistema". El Sistema is a system that helps underserved communities get the music knowledge they would otherwise not be able to get. We had different levels of orchestras, from beginners to advanced. Starting in 2013 I started teaching violin lessons for the beginners while I kept playing for the advanced orchestra. The lessons were in groups of about 10 students and I also taught private lessons to the beginners and intermediates.
For beginning students I usually start with Essential Elements 2000 for strings because it helps them get familiarized with the notes on the music staff even when they don't have any music theory knowledge. I also like to use Suzuki as they progress with the instrument and know the essentials like how to hold the instrument properly and how to hold the bow properly. Suzuki is also for beginners but it has a little more complex exercises which is why I wait to introduce Suzuki to them. As we move on we'll use Hans Sitt and scales methods.
In the first class I like to know if the student has any knowledge in music and what made them want to learn the instrument. If they have some knowledge I like to see what they know so I can determine an appropriate path base on what they already know. If the student has no knowledge I start with the basics like recognizing the instrument's parts, the name of the notes, the name of the instrument's strings. As the student progress with the lessons I introduce some basic concepts of music theory that will help with the practice of the instrument.
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