My initial introduction to the violin was through a traditional, classical European approach.
Like many parents who seek out the nearest violin teacher for their child, my father enrolled me to start my first violin lesson at the nearest music school. When I got into the Conservatory, I realised that I had fallen into deep water. My teacher had never explained how to posture correctly, which resulted in an incorrect way of using the right hand with a lot of tensing. Luckily, I had the most amazing professor who
spent six months correcting my right-hand skills.
After many years of practice, private lessons, competitions, and Conservatory years, I began teaching violin. At first, I was judgmental about online teaching methods, as I believed that students could not achieve the same level of proficiency remotely as they could in 1-1 lessons with a violin tutor.
After two years of teaching violin in a downtown private studio, I realised that the most crucial aspect of a student's progress was more about their understanding of correct posture and the feel of contact points with the instrument, and less about being physically corrected by a teacher. From my own experience as a young violin student, unfortunately, I was not explained how each technique and bow hold should feel. This motivated me to help my students avoid this situation. I worked out a personalised method for each student tailored around their ability and skillset. I discovered that this was something that could only be achieved through detailed instructions, open discussion, and paying attention even to the smallest details. By explaining all techniques in great detail, pupils can gain a complete understanding of how natural violin playing should be, without any tension in their muscles.
I began to delve deeper into this topic to raise awareness of the importance of relaxed arms and correct posture and realised that many teachers tend to leave the topic of posture to higher grades only (Grade 4 onwards). Except for the Suzuki method, which strictly focuses on applying a strong foundation on posture from the very beginning of a student's learning process.
To ensure that I was able to provide my students with the best possible instruction, I decided to complete a Suzuki course as my third degree. During my studies, I came across Nicola Benedetti's mini-series on the importance of good posture with a method developed by Elena Urioste, which utilises body movements to help violinists relax their muscles and improve their posture. I was intrigued by the idea that such improvement could be achieved through online video tutoring. This was the turning point in my teaching career.
All these years, I believed that the violin could only be taught in the authentic way.
Now, one of the finest virtuoso violinists is tutoring online? This realisation made me admit that learning the violin could be done and yield the same or even better results than the traditional face-to-face method.
Initially, I delivered online violin lessons using the Suzuki method, which proved to work perfectly with both beginner children and adult violin students. I began to notice how well the system worked, and I am now convinced that it is possible to achieve the same outcomes through remote violin lessons as through in-person lessons. One of the main advantages of using this method is that each session can be recorded and sent automatically to each student. Remembering being a student (face-to-face method), half of the information my teacher told me to practice did not stick in my mind. However, with today’s technology, each of my students can rewatch my lessons anytime, so they can fully prepare from session to session. This is a significant improvement on traditional in-person lessons, as students can re-watch the lessons if needed, which can be incredibly helpful in ensuring that they fully understand the instructions provided. Online violin teaching has proven to be an effective method of instruction for both beginners and advanced students, and is a great example of how technology can enhance traditional.
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