When to choose group lessons for violin beginners: the role of team learning

Group beginner violin lessons can be an affordable and fun alternative to private lessons. Certainly, individual attention is valuable. However, today’s children are accustomed from an early age to learn (not to mention behave) in a group. From math class to the high school baseball team, we have become a culture based on group learning. The days of learning are beginning to seem very far away. In fact, we tend to reserve individual tutoring for students who have special needs or are so talented as to need enrichment beyond the requirements of their peers. Having taught private violin lessons for over 10 years, I recently introduced group learning for beginners with the aim of finding out: could such a teaching model work for an instrument that has, for literally centuries, been considered who requires private instruction?

Over time, I realized that group violin lessons actually offer some potential benefits over private lessons, at least for beginners. First, students are comfortable working and learning in teams and groups. Therefore, they are familiar with the “code of conduct” in the classroom and tend to want to do their best in front of their peers. This often leads to more practice and better behavior during lessons. In addition, students find it fun to learn together with their peers and feel part of “Team Violin”. I have noticed that the combination of private lessons and individual practice at home can be quite isolating for some students. The students in the group feel that they “belong.” I believe that Shinichi Suzuki, the founder of Suzuki Violin, understood the importance of “belonging” when he made group lessons a vital and, in his opinion, necessary component of his School. After all, music is meant to be shared, both with other musicians and with the public. I was trained from the age of four in the Suzuki Method, and while I’m sure my teachers were wonderful, it’s the group instruction that I really remember. Practicing was sometimes a chore, but playing with other students was really fun.

When conducting group lessons, it is helpful if parents participate or at least attend the classes. I also think they can serve as “instructors” (or at least practice monitors) at home. In addition, I always make sure that each student has a violin in good condition and that it does not constantly go out of tune or need extra attention during class, both in groups and private lessons. And it’s important for a group class to have a “syllabus” that works most of the time for most students. To do this, I use my own method book, based on the Suzuki Method, which contains some 80 songs, violin tunes and classical tunes that most students and parents are familiar with, arranged in increasing order of difficulty and in groups that introduce new ones. notes gradually. In addition, I cover topics that are often skipped in private instruction, such as note reading, rhythm, sight singing, and basic theory. I use flashcards, charts, and short written tests on things like the parts of the violin, where the notes are located on the instrument, and key signatures. These basic concepts help students succeed when they eventually play in orchestra and must be confident in their ability to read notes and understand written musical language.

For me, the danger of the group class is that proper technique might not be covered as well as in private lessons. The violin must be played correctly, with good technique, to sound beautiful, and it has long been thought that technique cannot be easily taught in a group setting. However, I have been surprised to see that, in some cases, students seem to grasp technical concepts more quickly in groups than in private lessons. It has to be a given that the class instructor can model the violin and also explain in words, pictures, analogies or gestures how the violin technique should work. And, when these concepts are clearly conveyed, students can watch and listen to both the instructor and each other, noticing what works and what needs improvement. They tend to emulate students who draw the best sound with solid technique. When teaching violin technique to groups, it is important to explain each new concept in several different ways, as students often have different learning styles, such as verbally, demonstrating the violin, and asking students that they are using a good technique. technique to demonstrate their knowledge. colleagues. Gestures, images, videos, and analogies are also helpful.

In the end, I believe that group lessons, if taught effectively, can be a great alternative to private violin lessons for students who are already used to classroom learning. However, for students who are very young or have already advanced beyond their peers, private instruction remains, in my opinion, the best way to maximize a student’s potential.