Teaching violin for the first time...?

Question

I've begun teaching a 7 year old girl violin that has been playing for 2 years. Her intonation is quite good, but she doesn't know her notes and seems to have been taught just for competitions. She has begun shifting. What should I focus on with her?

Answer 1

Focus on her weaknesses! If she doesn't know her notes revise, revise, revise! There are SO many games that you can play that teach music notes find out her favourite game and change it to include music notes. The key is fun repetition! She will end up wanting to come to music lessons to play her favourite games! Show her how FUN music is! Thats part of your job

I am not sure what you mean by shifting but if it is what I think you are saying (Moving while she plays) this can be a normal thing! Moving her body may be a way of getting into the music! She may be a physical learner  e.g. learn by physically doing! There is no rule that says music students have to stay completely still while they play! As long as her posture is effective then I see no problem! Kids are made to move about! You won't find a professional violinist that stays completely still all through his/her concert!

Make sure that you are having lessons too! That can help greatly! To have a mentor/ teacher that has a lot of experience! Ask them what they think of her problem

One more thing: Focus on ONE thing at a time! Her major problem and move on from there! If you try and do more than that she is going to get discouraged! Remember to praise as well! I find that you cant beat stickers!

Answer 2

If she's having trouble with notes, you might play some note reading games with her. For example, you could write out some notes in treble clef that spell words: B-A-G... B-E-A-D...C-A-B, whatever easy words you can think of that can be spelled with notes. Have her write the letter names below the notes to figure out what the words are, then play through them on her violin. Since she's very young, note reading may be a new skill and may come slowly... you'll need to work on it a little bit at a time and she may continue to play mainly by ear for awhile yet.

I also like to have students play "follow the leader." If she's having trouble with a specific shift, for example, demonstrate it for her and have her play it back just the way you did it. You can then play it faster, slower, with different bowings, whatever she seems to be comfortable with--just to get her to practice the problem technique repeatedly and to hear you play it correctly.

Also, if you have a method book that you are comfortable with and familiar with, you can start her on that. Good method books will include exercises and each piece will focus on a new technique. For example, if she's just starting third position, you can find a piece that shifts between first and third and work on that for a few weeks. It's best to focus each lesson on one or two skills.

Those are just a few ideas. Teaching takes practice. With every new student, it might take a few lessons for you to become comfortable working with one another, and it may also take some time for you to diagnose what it is the student needs to focus on in her playing. I suggest you keep a notebook for yourself of what you did in each lesson. Write down what the student did well and what she did poorly, so you can follow up in the next lesson.