Violin Lessons in Montclair, NJ

Instruments: Violin

I always remember the words of great violin teacher Ivan Galamian, who used to say : everything that is natural, is nice, and, everything that’s not natural is not nice. Musical material, and, learning of musical instrument, both require time, so depending on development of each student, teacher needs to understand which portion of the information to provide for each and every student and provide that information in natural and easy understanding way, to be able to help the student to learn quickly and develop a passion for music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Violin Saxophone Bassoon

I like my lessons to be fun! I like to start my lesson with a "music swap": we each play one minute of a song that we found that week from youtube or spotify and take 30-60 seconds to say why we found it interesting or inspiring (it can be any genre). We then aim to discuss and practice a new technical skill and use exercises to develop it, we work on a song from the method series or a song that the student wants to work on (I often transpose pop/rock songs for my students), and then rhythm training, ear training, and music theory concepts are interspersed throughout. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola Electric Violin

My teaching method combines aspects of the Suzuki method with my own creative exercises and improvisation. I believe that teaching students to invent melodies and rhythms from early in their musical training deepens their ability to hear and perform. I also believe that rhythmic exercises are not emphasized enough in classical instrumental training, and I incorporate such exercises into my own core curriculum. If a student is interested in improvisation, jazz, or pop music, I offer in-depth instruction to performing over chord changes, and other creative violin techniques like playing chords, chopping, and other percussive tools. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Violin Cello Viola

My method is basically laid out in the following format. While I try to adhere to this, everyone is different and I do tailor the lesson to the individual. 1) Technics 2) Lesson Books 3) Etudes 4) Solo piece 5) Accompanied piece. To learnapplied musicissomething thatanyone can and should do, andthere should be no discrimination whereage or individual ability are concerned. Itis one of the things most people are either very grateful to have learned, or something they universally regret not learning in life. Read More

Instruments: Violin

Most importantly, I believe every student is different and I always try to avoid a "one size fits all" approach to teaching. That said, I'm a big advocate of scales, etudes, and technical exercises, as well as exploring repertoire (solo, chamber music, and symphonic). I encourage students to listen to a wide variety of music, in addition to their work on the violin, sometimes with weekly listening assignments. Daily, systematic practice at home is required of all my students (especially younger ones) for clear progress to happen. Read More

Instruments: Violin

I am a trained, experienced violin teacher with a passion for classical, baroque and chamber music. I have a BA and MA degrees in Education and am licensed by State of New Jersey Department of Education. I teach from beginning to advanced level students, ages 7 to adults. I completed private advanced Violin studies with Emily Gregerson; Elliot Golub at University of Chicago, Jules Samuel Applebaum, Maria Radicheva of Manhattan School of Music; and Vita Wallace. at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Mannes College of Music. Read More