Violin Lessons in Old Tappan, NJ

Instruments: Guitar Violin Fiddle Music Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I have been teaching private lessons for over 7 years, and have been studying music since I was in early grade school, 6 years old. I have played with a wide range of orchestras chamber ensembles bands, and more. I have been writing music for about ten years now. Currently I study music at The City College of New York, where I am about to graduate. I spend a great deal of time working on writing music, recording producing and incorporating a wide variety of instruments. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Cello Viola Electric Violin Fiddle

In 1994 Oleg Rutkovsky immigrated to USA and settled in Fort Lee, NJ. He made his American debut recital in Memphis, TN in 1995. Since 1994 he performed with such orchestras as New Jersey Symphony, Albany Symphony, New York Virtuosi Chamber Symphony, New Philharmonic of New Jersey, Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, Bachanalia Chamber Ensemble and appeared in a few Broadway productions such "Ragtime" and "Music Man". In 1996, Oleg was invited to perform with the Houston Festival Orchestra as Concertmaster under the the button of Maxim Shostakovich, son of the the great Russian composer, Dmitry Shostakovich. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Electric Violin

For beginning students, the first things to learn are how to hold the violin. Setup and posture are the most important steps to avoid developing bad habits and the possibility of getting injured. Upon learning the basics of how to hold the violin and the bow is learning how to read music and sing music. If a student knows the basic setup of the violin/piano and knows how to read music then I would start them on repertoire fitted to their level. 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

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: Violin Viola

Before anything, I find out what the goal of the lesson is. I always want to know what the students want, so I can plan around them. The lesson will always be about the student! After discussing the goal of the lesson, we will find repertoire, etudes, or other materials that either benefit the student technically, or will simply be enjoyable to the student. Since the goal of the student can either be anything, including playing professional recitals, or simply playing a Taylor Swift song from the radio, my priority will be that the student is enjoying their craft. Read More