Whether you would like your child to be the next Paganini, or are just looking for a way to give him or her the best possible start in life, taking violin lessons can be rewarding and fulfilling for both child and parent. Learning any musical instrument, and especially the violin, will give your child a head start in their learning skills. If you have heard of the Mozart Effect you will know that just listening to classical music, and Mozart in particular, produces astonishing results. So imagine the effect playing an instrument must have.
The first, and most important step is to find a good teacher. If you are considering violin lessons for a young child, I would recommend you try to find a qualified Suzuki teacher. Look on the internet for your nearest Suzuki organisation, which will be able to direct you to your nearest teacher.
Find out where the teacher gives their classes. Is it close enough for you to be able to make that journey, week in week out, for the next ten years? You are embarking on a big commitment, so practicalities count!
If you are lucky enough to find a trained Suzuki teacher, he or she will probably take very young children, starting at around the age of 3 or 4. Although progress is slow at the beginning, the Suzuki teacher will make it interesting and fun. These first years are fundamental to establishing a good technique. The self-discipline required for playing any musical instrument is also a crucial step towards achieving success in future life.
Suzuki teachers hold both individual classes and group lessons, so each child has the benefit of concentrated and technical attention in the private lesson, combined with the joy of sharing music with their friends and peers in the group lesson. It is so motivating seeing your friend doing something better than you, and realising that with a little more effort you could do it too!
The group lessons also teach important social skills - the children have to wait for their turn, to listen to each other with attention and respect, and to participate as a team effort when they play together in unison.
One of the important skills very young children acquire when they start to crawl is the cross-body co-ordination movement of opposite arm and leg - eg. right arm with left leg, etc. Playing the violin develops exactly the same connection as the right arm crosses in front of the body in the bowing movement. This has been proven to benefit right and left brain integration, and helps with concentration and emotional development.
Ideally, the teacher will allow you as the parent to be present in the lessons, in order that you can help with home practice, and to have an awareness of exactly what is being expected of your child. Once you realise how difficult it actually is, I am sure you will be patient and appreciative.
Another important part of parent participation is encouragement and praise. Even at the very early stages, try to arrange for your child to play to visitors, to relatives - in fact anyone who comes into the house should expect a little concert. This gives the child a great sense of achievement and gives value to the daily efforts in their practice.
It will also greatly lessen performance nerves when he or she has advanced enough to be participating in 'real' concerts.
It is difficult to imagine how learning to play the violin could be so beneficial to the growing child. Self-discipline and concentration, as well as the precise co-ordination skills acquired when learning to play any instrument, and especially the violin, have far-reaching benefits for later life. Learning to participate as a musician in an orchestra is a life skill in itself, and the journey to becoming a musician - amateur or professional - has hugely rich rewards.
Elizabeth Arnott
Elizabeth Arnott is English, and has lived in Mexico for the past ten years. Having spent most of her adult life as a violinist and Suzuki violin teacher in London, she now plays in the local professional orchestra in Merida, Yucatan, and gives a few lessons to individual students. Totally committed to the Suzuki method, she believes it is the best way to start beginners, be they young children, adolescents or adults, and to follow the Suzuki program using the repertoire which has been so thoroughly worked out as to provide the perfect foundation for violin technique.
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