Beginner Violin Quartet
Collaborative and supportive small-group learning
Introducing the Beginner Violin Quartet at Soundpost Studio—a small, focused program where young musicians start their violin journey as part of a collaborative group. Led by a NY-trained international orchestral performer, this program is perfect for beginners aged 5–7 looking for a Suzuki-adjacent, creative, and holistic introduction to violin. 3 and 4 years old is also a great time to start, so contact me if you are interested in a Tiny Violin Workshop. Or, if you have a child in the Beginners Quartet, feel free to bring your younger child to watch.
Join a Quartet!
- Small Group Learning: Each quartet consists of 4 students, ensuring individual attention and a close-knit, collaborative experience.
- Flexible Enrollment: If spaces fill up, we’ll open additional quartets to welcome more students.
- Comprehensive Teaching: Most violin basics will be covered during group meetings, making private lessons optional, though of course, strongly encouraged. My goal is to provide an affordable way to introduce the violin to as many students as possible!
What we’ll do:
- No Prior Experience Required: This program is designed for absolute beginners, but students with some experience are also welcome.
- Like Suzuki, I focus on listening and imitating as a primary mode of learning, and I like to follow the pieces in Suzuki Book 1. I make a point of introducing a natural form of tone-production and its relationship to physics. In the first few lessons I give the students the opportunity to feel how the bow functions and the minimum effort needed to guide it to produce a clear and beautiful tone.
- I prefer to work with the student’s natural flow and help uncover abilities they already have. I am flexible in my structure of teaching, since every child, and group of kids, is different. I aim to reveal students’ natural abilities with the instrument, especially with younger kids who may not understand an elaborate explanation, but can quickly adapt to the motion required to produce the sound they want.
- I prioritize ease and the foundational elements of musicality, along with proper posture and form. I help students correct their posture in an organic and self-reinforcing way, since so often, learning feels like trying to conform to a structure being imposed from outside oneself. True mastery is understanding the roots of the correct structure from within, so I try to help even young students find this.
- I prefer to work with the student’s natural flow and help uncover abilities they already have. I am flexible in my structure of teaching, since every child, and group of kids, is different. I aim to reveal students’ natural abilities with the instrument, especially with younger kids who may not understand an elaborate explanation, but can quickly adapt to the motion required to produce the sound they want.
- Interactive group learning: Students immediately feel part of a larger whole, developing listening skills and the joy of creating music in response to others. Watching others work through difficulties and giving each other positive feedback offers an important element of musicianship: learning how to perform for others and feel free to share your talents.
Program Details:
Financial scholarships available!
Sessions are 1 hour each, and take place weekly for 5 weeks ($150 total per student). Please fill out the signup form here and I will find a time that works!
📍 Location: Soundpost Studio – 75 Bank St #3, Lebanon
🎻 Violins provided, if you don’t already have one! Instruments are available for use during quartet sessions, and a take-home agreement can be discussed.
**Since we will follow Suzuki repertoire, students can easily transition later to an official Suzuki program so you won’t lose precious time sitting on a wait-list. Age 5-7 is the ideal time to start a string instrument in order to attain professional-level fluency later in life and build a natural and lasting ease on the instrument. (And for motivated children, younger is even better!)
Participation in the Beginner Violin Quartet automatically places students on the wait-list for private lessons, should they choose to pursue individual instruction. Placement in private lessons will depend on available space and both the student and parents desire to learn at a faster pace.