Juan I  
Instruments: Violin
Styles: Classical, Jazz

I began teaching lessons about three years ago to a small number of students that included close friends and family members. Over these three years I have had about twenty students that were all at the beginner level. Teaching at a beginner level has helped me develop my style of teaching, as well as discover new ways of helping each individual student according to their learning capability. While I prefer to teach older students and adult students, I have also taught a small number of younger children, though it is often difficult for me depending on their age, and so I prefer older students.

I do not use traditional methods when I teach, though I may borrow from some. Instead, I observe the student for a few lessons and determine their learning ability. For children with a strong attention span, I focus on developing the basics, such as bow hold, sound production, and listening. Depending on the student's ability to hold the bow, I may allow them to grab the bow if the are struggling with the proper bow hold until they are more comfortable holding it; this also applies to adults. I like to start with Hal Leonard's Essential Elements for Violin, as well as All For Strings by Robert S. Frost and Gerald E. Anderson, which I find helpful for new students, especially for students learning to read music. For more advanced beginner students, I like to start with Suzuki Violin Book 1.