Violin Lessons in Charlotte, NC

Instruments: Violin Viola

Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
I had a teacher in high school that inspired me to study music in college. She was an amazing musician but she was also an all-around, kind, passionate, fun individual. She showed me that you could do lots of other things besides playing an instrument or study music. Studying music gives you this opportunity. You can still be a doctor and be a professional musician, you can still be a rock climber and study music in college. Choosing music as a career allowed me to fulfill all of my interests. Aside from being a musician and music teacher, I am also a yoga teacher, a coder, a visual artist. I can do so many different things because music has taught me discipline and determination for my wants and desires.

When will I start to see results?
You will see results when practicing outside of the lesson takes place on a regular basis. Practice does not make perfect, but practice does make progress. Trust has to be put forth in the teacher, if your teacher asks you to practice one scale for five minutes, ask why and then go and do it. Knowing the reasoning behind why we are practicing can help us understand what we need to do to get the result we are all expecting. patience is key, instruments are extremely difficult, give yourself realistic goals and expectations. No one has ever left their first lesson sounding like a professional.

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
If your student expresses interest, they are ready. Lessons can be tailored to whatever the students learning needs are. Age 3 might be too young for an instrument, but it isn't too young for music in general. Find a teacher that will meet your child where they are at and fill their desire to learn music or an instrument. If your child wants to only play Taylor Swift songs, as long as they understand they need to learn the fundamentals first, there is no reason the teacher should deny your child that desire.

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
First and foremost, self-reflection. Listen to other musicians play what you are practicing and decide that is how you want to sound. Start practicing with a plan and what is expected. Make a checklist and grab a kitchen timer. Lots of time can be wasted in practice by repeating the same thing over and over, to avoid this, choose 5 measures at a time that trouble you and set a timer for five minutes. Once the timer dings move on, it doesn't matter if you solved the problem or not, I promise by spending a focused five minutes on a passage progress has been made. If you have a younger child, make practicing fun. In my lessons, we can learn games to incorporate into practice and even determine ways practicing can be rewarded. Practicing for an hour is unrealistic for a younger student, but practicing for five minutes and then going outside to play and then practicing for another five minutes is much more realistic. Practice is not always fun, but it can be.

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