Lessons and Classes
Private Lessons
Each student receives 15 private lessons per semester. This is an important time for the student to receive individual attention in order to improve technique, learn new repertoire, and explore the physical and musical sides of his or her instrument. Lessons are tailored to each student, based on his or her strengths and weaknesses, to help the student improve to the best of his or her ability.
Most students learn repertoire from the Suzuki books. This is an excellent selection of pieces designed to take students from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all the way to major concertos. The Suzuki method is based on the premise that every child can learn to play an instrument with the right environment and support from teachers and parents. Suzuki's emphasis on listening and daily practicing is an effective way to train a student's musical ear and improve his or her memory and focus. We draw on Paul Rolland's pedagogical principles to keep students physically relaxed and comfortable with the instrument from their very first lesson through advanced repertoire. It is also important for students to be able to understand the written notation of music. Supplemental materials such as "I Can Read" are used to aid this process. As the students advance, additional technical exercises are added to the main pieces. These include scales from the Flor, Flesch, and Galamian systems and etudes such as Wohlfahrt, Whistler, and Kreutzer. More solo pieces may also be added or substituted for the Suzuki repertoire from collections such as "Solos for Strings" by Barbara Barber.Group Classes
In addition to private lessons, students benefit greatly from participating in group classes. These classes help students build a social network around their instrument, keep their interest piqued with exciting new repertoire, and motivate them to keep up home practicing. Students will learn how to play together in an ensemble, using repertoire from classical to fiddle tunes and movie music. Group classes also allow more time to learn important fundamentals of ear training and music theory. These skills help each student gain understanding of the language of music for direct application to violin and viola and to increase general musical enjoyment.
Because students count on each other for ensemble playing, attendance at group classes is very important. These group classes are held on 8 Monday evenings each semester (approximately every other week) in ability-based groups of 10 to 15 students.