In Praise of Teachers

Written by Krista Moyer
Published: January 5, 2014 at 12:53 AM [UTC]

I rented a violin for about 4 months and purchased a copy of Essential Elements. YouTube was the resource I turned to to answer all my questions. At the end of 4 months, I still couldn't play anything with any satisfaction. Thinking the violin was not for me, I turned my rental in and figured it was never going to happen.

But I couldn't let the idea go. Several months later I started haunting violin shops and calling prospective teachers. Finally, the third individual I contacted decided to give me an interview, and he has been my teacher ever since.

At my first real lesson, he gave me something incredibly valuable. My teacher taught me how to draw the bow across the strings without making that horrible scratchy sound. It was magical. I almost cried. Maybe that's not a big deal to anyone else, but it was huge for me.

Over the past year and a half, he has given me so many valuable tools - how to hold the bow, how to practice each challenging skill, timing, music reading, what is the best order to learn a piece, how the arm, the wrist, and the elbow should move, and so much more.

I couldn't get those things from a book. Certainly there are books out there that cover it, but I needed timely and simple correction in terms that made sense to me. The speed at which things are absorbed increased exponentially with his guidance.

The best part is, when something isn't right, he knows exactly why. It's almost as if he sits in my practice room with me all week because he nails it every time. Moreover, he knows more than one approach to helping me understand how to fix it.

Everyone can learn, but not everyone can teach. Not only is my teacher a good player, he is a great instructor. I know I am often frustrated, but it is never because he doesn't give me what I need to succeed. It's because I don't have enough time to devote to applying the principals he taught.

So here's to all the fantastic violin teachers out there. Even if you don't hear us say thank you often enough, know that you are making a difference in someone's life. And to my teacher, if you ever read this - Thanks!