Angelic Violin Studio began when I was pregnant with my first child in 2001. I never planned on teaching violin but someone persistently requested that I give them lessons. She was 41 and wanted to play a song for her father. I took her to that point and then she shocked me when she decided to discontinue the violin even though she was doing very well. That was it! Even though I was disappointed, the experience was a positive one which only whet my appetite to teach more interested students.
At the age of six I began violin training via the Suzuki method. At this young age I was taken with it after watching a national orchestra perform on television, and I have never lost my passion for strings. The violin has such beauty and pathos. So much emotion comes through. I played in youth orchestras and symphonic orchestras around the country and have played for many special events. For me playing violin is best when it is a communal experience, shared with other musicians much the same as an experience like eating the same food at a nice table laden with the best goodies. It is hard to play it solo. At one point due to a downturn of events in my life, I forgot how to play the violin entirely. It took many long painful months and several headaches to relearn. It took being offered a chair in the Minneapolis Symphonic Orchestra (without any audition until after the first performance) to bring the picture from flatline to 185 beats per minute! From then on, I took new ardor in keeping alive my skills and do not take for granted what a precious gift I have in the violin. And I realized that I was indebted to give back what had been given to me through dedicated instructors and parents. When My dear teacher died several years back I wanted to let her efforts live on through me.
Teaching violin is a real joy for me personally. I now have six students, including parents of the young people I train (it is not unusual for parents to have a bent to play), and have taught group lessons at a private school. The Violin Book by Eden Van Rosen has been a wonderful curriculum. You can learn about it on their website: www.theviolinbook.com. It is a complete system of learning how to play the violin step by step and is comprehensive enough to serve as a conservatory course. Yet even the youngest musician can learn. My youngest student is 3 years old. I can already see a budding artist in her!
Music is one way to build IQ. There are studies that prove this fact. Violin has been touted as a wonderful instrument for helping children with ADHD have more organized thinking and habits. Also music is one sure way to get College scholarships and grants. The Violin Book lesson plan persists in empowering most of its players with these rewards on a regular basis with few exceptions. Stick around and learn something about what music, specifically the violin, can do for you or your child!
