Rebecca E  
Instruments: Violin
Styles: Pop

I have played violin since I was in 3rd grade. I got a cello and played that in middle school, as well as violin. In 8th grade, I auditioned for and joined the high school orchestra. I was also a member of the Gulf Coast Youth Orchestra. I have often attended various universities (I hold 3 degrees), and worked many different types of jobs, but through all of this I still enjoyed teaching violin on the side. Some of my instructional goals are keeping students motivated, cultivating an appreciation of music and instruments, guide students to find their own music style, improve confidence and self-esteem, and maintain a respectful and humorous environment. Every student is different. I try to understand what is important to them and incorporate that into the lessons. For example, to change things up a bit, we can learn to play a song they enjoy on the radio if we can find the sheet music. I would like to see students perform at competitions or recitals. I listen to suggestions from students, truly contemplating their feedback. Students should look forward to lessons!

Practice makes perfect. I ask students to practice as often as possible, no matter the skill level. I prefer students to start practice with scales and warm-up drills, then move on to composed pieces. Along with practice, I hope that students will not only play, but listen to their music, such as the Suzuki method. The more familiar students are with the different pitches in a song, the better they will be able to adjust their performance to correctly match. For beginning players, there will be written work to teach aspects of music, including note identification. As students progress, incorporating technical aspects of a composition and different bowing techniques is necessary. We will gradually introduce more skills. Attempting too much at one time or too fast will reduce skills and cause frustration. I incorporate a mixture of All For Strings, Stringbuilder, and Suzuki for beginners. Then add Wohlfahrt Foundation Studies and progress through the Suzuki books. Adding to this foundation, I enjoy pulling music from pop culture and longer compositions when students are capable. I have music like Stand By Me or Viva La Vida (Coldplay). Students should always have a focal piece to practice more often than other pieces, to prepare for recitals.