If you are looking to start violin lessons, it will be wise to find out what exactly will be covered during the first few three to six months of classes. This is so that you can be mentally and physically prepared when you eventually sign up and start lessons.
Here, let me cover the key areas which a great violin teacher will cover, for a beginner violin student in the initial stage. This is the stage which foundation is built:
Proper posture. This includes how to hold the violin and the violin bow, how to stand in relation to the music stand. A good tactic which I use is to position my students in front of a mirror during violin classes. I dissuade my students from looking down at where the violin bow is, when playing on the violin. This is because the perspective from the eye level towards the violin, is not accurate. Instead, looking into the mirror will help the student judge if the bowing angle is correct and whether the violin bow sweeps across the violin strings laterally. Any mistakes can be reflected clearly by looking into the mirror.
Strengthening the right hand. Sometimes, students who are left handed ask me if they can hold the violin with their right hand and the violin bow with the left hand. My answer is — we use two hands to play the violin. Both hands are equally important. There is no dominant hand when we play any bowed strings instrument. If you go to a classical concert performed by any orchestra, all the bowed strings players hold the bow with the right hand and the left hand fingers run across the fingerboard. So, back to strengthening the right hand to hold the violin bow. A typical violin bow weighs between fifty seven to sixty five grams. A novice will find that it can be quite tiring to hold the bow for extended time period. As such there are a few exercises which I go through with my students during violin lessons, targeting to strengthen the right hand so the grip will be strong. When the right hand is stronger, I will make further adjustments to refine the bow ho.d. This will help the student to create good tone.
How to take care of the violin and the violin bow. This is usually covered during the first violin lesson Singapore. Points covered will include: ensure that the violin and bow are not placed under direct sunlight, getting a dehumidifier for the room where you store the violin and bow so as to ensure that the wood does not absorb too much moisture, refraining from touching the violin bow with our hands as we may transfer oil residue in the process in doing so, not to tighten the bow until the horse hard is over stretched, to ensure that the violin bow is loosened before placing it in the violin case.
During the initial violin class Singapore, music theory will also be taught. This is the universal language of music. As a music student, one must be acquainted with music note value, rest values, note reading on the treble clef and bass clef, the concept of barlines and bar, basic articulation terms in Italian such as forte (loud) or piano (soft), time signatures and key signatures. All these may sound mind boggling for a novice student, but with proper guidance, the student will understand these concept and apply it on playing the violin.
Rhythmic training. This is an important concept for beginner level music students, no matter which music instrument one learns. During violin class Singapore, The teacher will use a metronome to assist the student in counting the beats in a bar, and then demo by clapping a particular rhythm in a section of a song. Concepts such as semi breve (four counts), minum (two counts), crochet (one count), quaver (half a count) and semi quaver (one quarted count) is then internalised by the student. Some students pick this up faster, some take a slightly longer time to do so.
Basic scales and arpeggio. These will be drilled by the teacher during violin classes and it helps the student to firm up the finger positions on the fingerboard accordingly.
If you are looking to start violin lessons Singapore, look for one of the best violin schools — Stradivari Strings. Contact us at +65-98137769. We can arrange lessons at your location, teacher’s location or at our music studios located at sultan plaza.
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