TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

At the heart of my teaching philosophy lies a commitment to fostering an inclusive and nurturing environment where the opportunity to learn a string instrument is accessible to all. I firmly believe that every student can have a rewarding musical experience when given the right guidance, encouragement, and resources.

My musical instruction is built on the principal of growth-minded teaching, prioritizing continuous learning, diligent effort, and resilience. I am vehemently opposed to the antiquated model of demeaning, fear-based, “practice until your fingers bleed” teaching. This model is not sustainable for long term participation and enjoyment of classical music, let alone the mental and physical well-being of students of any age. Along with technical proficiency and musicality, I aspire to create an environment wherein musical learning builds confidence, self-esteem, and an inner dialogue of supportive self-talk.  I firmly believe a successful musical environment fosters the students’ trust in themselves, and trust in the teacher-student relationship.  

I am most passionate about dismantling our intrinsic fear of imperfection, along with the unrealistic notion that a musical performance must be flawless to be considered successful. No musician learns their instrument without making mistakes. Every success you see or hear in a performance is the result of countless errors made, problem-solved, and most importantly, practiced. Mistakes are our most valuable source of information, and mistakes that occur in lessons are my opportunity to give each student the most useful and personalized path to improvement.

Overall, I work to make my studio a supportive and nurturing learning environment. I aim to equip students with the skills, confidence, and resilience they need to thrive both as musicians and as lifelong learners, wherever their path may take them.

 

PRACTICING EXPECTATIONS

Consistent practice leads to consistent improvement

  • A consistent practice schedule is the best way to reinforce and master information from each lesson, and is directly related to a student’s speed of progression.

  • I use the phrase “consistent practice” rather than “amount of practice” because it is far better for a student to practice many days during the week for a moderate amount of time, than to practice just one or two times, even if those two sessions are very long.

  • For example, 2 hours of practice per week will be much more effective split up into 20 minute sessions on four different days, as opposed to 1 hour long sessions on just two days in a week.

The best thing you can do as a parent is help motivate your child to practice. It is normal for a student to not always want to practice. Parental involvement in helping establish a consistent routine in students of all ages is highly recommended.

For students under 10 years old, I strongly encourage parents to attend lessons, and assist with your child’s practicing as much as possible, to help reinforce and remind students of concepts covered.

  • The more days the instrument comes out of the case during the week–the better! This may mean on a busy day the student only plays for 5 minutes, but this 5 minutes is better than nothing! Every time the instrument comes out of the case is a win. 

  • If your child is content with their rate of progress and is enjoying lessons, all is well.

  • If your child becomes frustrated with their rate of progress in lessons, we can have a discussion about their current practicing arrangements, and see if there are any adjustments we can make to better assist them in their weekly preparation.

Each student’s practice routine will be different, as every family’s schedule is different, and every student is unique. The next section outlines some very general recommendations of practice lengths based on age and experience level. Ultimately, find what works for you!

GENERAL PRACTICING RECOMMENDATIONS

Please understand these are very general, and are only meant as a guideline. Students of different ages at different levels will all need something different. Please use this as a loose framework only. If you are concerned about practicing expectations, please contact me.