Violin with Courtney M.

Hello! My name is Courtney M. and I have played the violin for over twenty years. Nearly all of my formal training has been in classical technique, but I also play fiddle music. I teach violin, viola, and cello. I also have piano/keyboard and guitar teachers in my studio that I would happily refer. First and foremost, I believe music lessons should be fun. No student is going to want to play an instrument if he or she associates it with a nagging and unpleasant teacher. I do stop students from doing things incorrectly so that it does not become a habit or cause injury, but I can do this gently and find things the student enjoys playing so that each lesson is an overall positive experience. We play games and mix up activities so that no lesson or practice session involves working on only one thing for thirty minutes. I do teach students how to practice. I do not track practices or ask students about their practicing unless there is a lack of improvement, and I am more concerned about how many times an exercise is completed rather than the length of time a student dedicates to that exercise. For example, rather than telling a student to set a timer and practice everyday for 30 minutes, I might tell them to practice a scale once a day and a few lines from a concerto four times a day.