Michael F  
Instruments: Violin, Viola
Styles: Classical, Folk, Gospel

I began teaching students while still in high school. I continued teaching students in college with the University of Texas String Project. Upon graduation, I taught programs in both public and private schools, while developing a studio of private students at our home. I have taught private students for most of the past 35 years, teaching all ages from 6 yrs. and up, beginning to advanced. I encourage regular practice for steady improvement and also instruct my students in how to practice in order to make the best progress. I teach not only the technical aspects of playing the instrument, but also how to draw the greatest enjoyment from music by understanding the style and how to best express the feeling of the music in that style. I teach classical technique, but have seen that students enjoy including other styles such as fiddle tunes, popular, and ethnic music.

I start beginning students who are children with instruction in the basics of playing the instrument, helping them to play their first couple of pieces before reading music. I follow this as quickly as possible with Samuel Applebaum's String Builder. I find this particular method the simplest and quickest way to learn reading music on the instrument. I then transfer into other method books (including the Suzuki materials) to guide the student through the levels of playing. For adults, I use various approaches depending on their interests and ability levels.