Playing a musical instrument involves more than just learning to play songs and developing the physical motions needed to create the sound you want. It's also learning the ins and outs of an entire culture and tradition. Classical music is about tradition. We honor the composers who came before us, going back hundreds of years. We also support the innovations of contemporary composers and support them so that their work can be woven into the rich tradition of Western classical music. (Yes, people are still writing classical music! Even as you read this! Click here to listen to some very modern music, written within the last few years.)
In teaching violin, I also teach music theory and history, even for the youngest students. It's important to learn how to read and eventually how to analyze music to develop a deeper understanding of how to interpret and perform it. It's also important to learn the history of a piece - to learn the stories of the many composers who have written music for us and to learn how different styles of music have evolved and developed over the years.
So, what does this look like in violin lessons? It depends on the age of the student. With my youngest students, it means a lot of coloring.
In teaching violin, I also teach music theory and history, even for the youngest students. It's important to learn how to read and eventually how to analyze music to develop a deeper understanding of how to interpret and perform it. It's also important to learn the history of a piece - to learn the stories of the many composers who have written music for us and to learn how different styles of music have evolved and developed over the years.
So, what does this look like in violin lessons? It depends on the age of the student. With my youngest students, it means a lot of coloring.
All my students have a special binder just for their violin lessons. One of the sections of the binder is for music theory. Younger kids will color pictures of treble clefs and different types of notes. Older kids have worksheets to name notes and other sorts of games to build note reading skills. Eventually they learn how to spell scales and intervals, distinguish key signatures, and determine chord quality.
I find that this generally complements their school curriculum. For example, a lot of the rhythmic exercises I have students do correspond very well with math and strengthens their skills, especially in fractions.
I find that this generally complements their school curriculum. For example, a lot of the rhythmic exercises I have students do correspond very well with math and strengthens their skills, especially in fractions.
For music history, I start in a similar manner. I provide kids with coloring pages of some of the great composers and also send them a playlist of that composer's music. Here's an example you can try at home: print out the picture of Beethoven and listen to this playlist. Older students get short biographies of the composer in addition to the coloring page and a word search.
I also suggest to parents that they purchase albums targeted for kids, such as the Classical Kids series. These great programs introduce the composer through a kid-friendly story with the composer's music as a soundtrack. Here's the link to Beethoven Lives Upstairs, on iTunes! Parents can do a lot to help their kids learn - even just tuning their car radio to 90.9 FM in DC, the classical station, is a big step in the right direction!
Once students are familiar with the stories of the major composers and their music, I gradually get more specific - they learn to associate composers with different eras of music. The eras of music, by the way, match up with the major historical periods - Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern. Music history and knowing the composers gives students an extra boost in history class at school.
Taking violin lessons is more than just learning to play violin. It's about building skills that will carry over into all parts of a student's life, developing confidence and artistry, and taking one's own place in the wonderful and ever-evolving tradition that is Western classical music.
I also suggest to parents that they purchase albums targeted for kids, such as the Classical Kids series. These great programs introduce the composer through a kid-friendly story with the composer's music as a soundtrack. Here's the link to Beethoven Lives Upstairs, on iTunes! Parents can do a lot to help their kids learn - even just tuning their car radio to 90.9 FM in DC, the classical station, is a big step in the right direction!
Once students are familiar with the stories of the major composers and their music, I gradually get more specific - they learn to associate composers with different eras of music. The eras of music, by the way, match up with the major historical periods - Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern. Music history and knowing the composers gives students an extra boost in history class at school.
Taking violin lessons is more than just learning to play violin. It's about building skills that will carry over into all parts of a student's life, developing confidence and artistry, and taking one's own place in the wonderful and ever-evolving tradition that is Western classical music.
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