Glenn Dale, MD Violin Lessons

. I can help you understand what is going on behind the music and hopefully see what the composer was hoping to convey, if that is something you want to know. When I was a student I always wanted to know "why?". As a teacher, you will know why if I do.

*** Lesson Details ***
I try to keep my lesson area as stress free as possible. It's OK to make mistakes in my studio. I would like you to bring a notebook to lessons as well as your music and instrument. I write as much as I can down because if you were like I was during lessons, I would forget everything I was supposed to be watching for after 3 days. Like I said above, we move at your pace. The more you practice, the faster we move. Questions are a good thing. It shows interest. But sometimes you just have to stop asking questions and just take the leap of faith.
We start with note reading as well as proper form and the parts of the instrument. We also deal with general care. I will tune your instrument every time you come in for lessons until you learn how to tune it yourself. We will review the day before, I will check on what work you've done and then move onto the next song/ technique etc. After we learn how to pluck the first 8 notes, we start with scales and bowing.

After that we move through the "usual" routine. Scale, etude, song(s) or school test songs, audition requirements etc.

I try to keep the same routine because for some students it's easier for them to focus if they know the lesson is going to move in a familiar way. It's reassuring. After we become proficient in the basics, we move into whatever genre you would like to play, within reason. If you are in the school orchestra we will work towards you getting an A.

I would say I'm more laid back when you are not preparing for an audition. Auditions require a lot of work and I want you to do as close to perfect as possible. I become fairly demanding during that time.

In about 6 months, you can play almost any tune you can hear on the radio. Explaining where you could be gets fairly technical and I might as well be talking like Charlie Brown's teacher.

*** Studio Equipment ***
at the away studio: music, music stand, stool, piano, laptop, tuner, metronome.

at home: music, music stands, chairs, computer, laptop, keyboard, microphone, tuner, metronome.

pictures of the away studio are posted.

*** Specialties ***
I am familiar with Paul Rolland's work, Valerie Bobbett Gardner's Violin Virtuosity, as well as Guillespie's. I was brought up Suzuki but haven't been trained in Suzuki. I have taken classes on how to teach to a variety of students so I could hold a teaching license in the state. I do participate with (Canadian) The Royal Conservatory of Music Music Development. This is active in the US also.

Special note: If you are allergic to cats, you will want to take lessons at my other studio location, not at the home.

IF you are contacting me with questions, please include either take lessons or lessons in the subject area so I can find you faster. I get a lot of junk mail and it is easy for me to miss a note from you.

derstand that every student is a little bit different. Every student has different strengths and weaknesses. Every student has a different learning style. Every student has a different way of understanding things, a different way of processing information, and a different personality all together. It will be my job as a teacher to get to know each student individually and use my teaching methods to teach the student how to play the violin and help him or her to reach his or her goals.

*** Lesson Details ***
I am a laid-back person. I am easy-going, enthusiastic about violin playing and about teaching and learning music, and I am very patient with my students as well. However, I am also very demanding. I explain and demonstrate objectives in a very precise way, and I demand a lot of detailed work from my students, inside and outside the lesson. I explain specifically what I want the student to do. By the end of every lesson, the student will have specific things to work on for next time. I expect each student to make practicing a habit, and practice regularly what has been discussed in the lesson. I try to make the lessons as pleasant and as laid-back as possible. But I become more firm, serious, and strict when a student either is not making an effort or does not practice enough outside the lesson.
I start students off with the Suzuki method. We work on techniques to hold the violin properly, hold the bow properly, and get a decent sound out of the violin, without too much physical tension. A student begins by learning to play by ear. After he or she is comfortable playing by ear, we associate the notes that the student hears and plays on the violin with written notes on a page.
We also work with the Paul Roland methods so that the student can learn the violin in a basic, rudimentary way. It involves a lot of repetitive patterns, back and forth motions that are slow and round, and avoiding excessive tension. This will give the student the tools that he or she needs to learn how to play the violin in a short period of time.
In three to six months, a student who is a beginner will be able to hold the violin and bow comfortably, create a decent sound on the violin, and play the Twinkle Variations, and maybe a few other songs.
If the student has played violin before, then in three to six months, he or she will have had some rehabilitation to get rid of tension and force, overcome some bad habits he or she may have developed, and review the fundamentals of violin playing. I will improve the student's approach to the violin, and by the end of the three to six months, he or she will have a better idea on how to practice and play the violin.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Piano, seating for parents in the living room,

*** Travel Equipment ***
I will provide a stand.
I will expect the student to have a violin, rosin, and a pencil.

*** Specialties ***
Suzuki Method- a starting point, particularly for kids, but for people of all ages. It is a good way to begin learning the violin by playing by ear, developing a strong, clear tone, and bringing out one's individuality through his/her musical development and his/her ability to be expressive.

In a matter of time, I want the student to get used to reading music, in addition to playing by ear. This can be done through the pieces in the Suzuki method or through other music.

Eventually, I take the student off of the Suzuki method and work with him or her on classical repertoire.