Violin Lessons in Gatewood, WA

Instruments: Violin Viola

I have been teaching privately part time for the past 4 years working with students in grades K-12. My main goal in lessons is for my students to not only succeed at a new skill once, but to be confident in their ability to repeat their success in practice at home and at our next lessons. I encourage positive feedback and positive "self-talk" as a means of boosting self-efficacy. I think an important part of learning is goal setting and outlining specific, achievable steps to reach that goal so that progress can be tracked and the process of learning can become less ambiguous. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola Electric Violin Fiddle

I approach each student as an individual. Some students take things slow and steady, while others I can barely fit enough into their weekly lessons to keep them happy, and either way is just fine. My ultimate goal as a teacher is to make myself obsolete - I aim to teach my students how to learn, how to be critics of themselves for more effective practice time, and eventually, how to either need a teacher that can take them to more advanced levels, or to play without a teacher. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin

To my surprise, everyone, including that 6 year old, had a clear answer. All of them were different reasons and goals. I started writing notes at the end of each lesson on what a student had specifically struggled with, mastered, showed signs of improvement since the previous lesson, what exercises were draining on them, and what exercises they resonated with. I also took note of their mood and energy at the beginning of the lesson compared to the end. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Violin Cello Viola Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Drums Bass Guitar Harmonica Ukulele Recorder Electric Violin Fiddle Double Bass Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

My motto is my students create their own lesson. I formulate lesson plans off of the styles of music you are most interested in. If my student has a more "just for fun" attitude, the lesson will inevitably be a more light hearted feel. If the student would like to focus on more technicalities, that as well is a different approach. However, I do have a more structured plan for younger students. Read More

Instruments: Voice Violin

In 2014, I began teaching students privately. I taught multiple students of different ages, with a range from early childhood to late adulthood. Most of my students were beginners, and we worked together for over a year. By the end of our time together, they were able to play fairly advanced music for the time they had been playing, such as "La Folia" by Corelli and "Jesu, the Joy of Man's Desiring" by Bach. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Viola Mandolin Recorder Electric Violin Fiddle

I have been teaching violin for 30 years, starting as a bluegrass and Irish fiddle teacher in a folk music store run by a family of performers who were related to the von Trapps of The Sound of Musicfame. Since then, I have tried to continually grow as a performer, musician, and teacher. I have collected a vast amount of muic and resource materials along the way, so I am able to meet each student's needs--from child-friendly beginning repertoire, holiday music, fiddle tunes and jazz standards, to concertos and orchestral excerpts for youth and college orchestra auditions and beyond! Read More

Instruments: Violin

For beginning students, I typically start with the Essential Elements method book, which introduces the fundamentals in a way that is friendly to all learners, easy to understand, and interesting. Once the students has an understanding of the fundamentals, we will typically move on to Suzuki Book One, supplemented with various other exercises. At this stage, the student is able to give their first recital performance. For intermediate or more experienced students, I will typically find out what the student is interested in and provide solo repertoire based on their interests. Read More