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 How can I find a teacher in my area? The first and best way to find a teacher is to get a referral from someone who is taking lessons or has a child who is taking lessons. If that's not possible, here are some more ideas. The web is fast becoming a good place to look for almost anything. There are several services online that try to connect teachers with students. Here are the ones that I know about:
The schools are another resource. Just pick a school nearby that has an orchestra program (maybe the high school?). They usually have a list of people in the area who teach because they want their students to take private lessons. These lists often include people who teach more than one instrument. If you can, pick someone who has violin listed as their primary instrument. If there is a college or university in the area, I would call their music department. The professors aren't likely to take children or beginners, but they often have a list of students who are music majors who teach. The local music store sometimes has a list of teachers as well. Especially a store that rents violins. It is good for their business if they can provide a teacher with the violin. If you hear of a community orchestra that's going to perform in the area, find out how to get hold of them. Some of their members are likely to teach. You can also look up "music," or "violin," or "orchestra" in the yellowpages. That usually gets you to the businesses who provide lessons and not the private people who teach, but that may be ok, and it may be a good place to start. When you find a teacher ask for references or ask to meet the teacher and / or observe a lesson before deciding which teacher to choose. (Of course, many teachers may have full schedules, so you may not have much of a choice.) When you meet the teacher discuss your goals and expectations. Does the teacher expect a certain number of practice hours per week? Is that ok with you? Does s/he allow parents to observe the lesson? (Pick someone who will let you observe lessons if you are getting lessons for a young child so you can help with practice at home.) Be sure you understand the teacher's policies as far as missed lessons, vacation time and payment etc. Can you teach me to play online? Due to the hands on nature of the violin, I'm not comfortable trying to teach someone to play through email or over the internet. Maybe when everyone has video conferencing capabilities on their computers it will be a more feasable idea. I'd be happy to answer questions or help with notereading however. Do you teach adult beginners? YES! I think the violin is a great instrument for any age. Adult beginners usually feel less coordinated than children (though I don't think they actually are) and tend to worry about whether they can actually learn to play.
I have had many adult beginners and they all progress as fast as their practice time allows. In other words, the only thing that will prevent you from playing well is the busy schedules adults usually have to deal with. So if you want to play and have a little bit of patience to get through the squeaky stage, then DO IT! Where should I buy my violin? Should I rent?
If you are just starting out on the violin, look for an instrument in a shop that makes and repairs violins. Any other place is going to have lower quality instruments. (The stores that sell all kinds of music and instruments such as one you would find in the mall also usually have bad instruments.) You will get MUCH more violin for your money if you take the time to find the makers. You can usually just look in the phone book under 'violin.' The people at the shop are used to people of all levels of playing experience and can set you up with everything you need, and probably give you a card or two for teachers in the area. You can rent or buy. A good student violin will probably run about $1000+. This doesn't mean you have to have a new instrument. A well made violin holds it's value and continues to make great music for years if it is well cared for (my violin was made in 1921 and I love it).
If that price sounds like too much money for now, then I recommend renting for a while. After you learn to play and get used to what a good instrument sounds like, then you can consider buying. Most places that rent instruments now give you credit toward a future purchase. The general music stores will only have student instruments, so your credit would be worthless. At the violin shop, you could use your credit toward a much better instrument when you decide it is time to buy.
Do you currently have any openings in your studio?
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