Quote:
Originally Posted by jonathan_matos5  she got a violin for christmas and is expecting me to teach her to play the thing.  problem i dont know how to play the violin.
i told her to find a violin instructor and she responded with you are a music education major you should be able to teach me 
so somehow i got roped into this. so i figured id ask my bass playing bros for tips.
do any of you people have any experience teaching an instrument that you dont know how to play?
im pretty sure ill end up learning the basics while im at it but any help would be great.
i did a google search and have already taught how to hold the bow and put rosin on it. |
I've heard good things from students who use the Suzuki method; maybe a Suzuki Method book? What kind of musical background does she have?
If she were already a pianist, she would probably find it helpful if you explained the way scales and intervals relate to one another on violin versus piano, and she'd benefit from specific feedback about body posture, prevention of repetitive stress injuries, violin harmonics, and so forth.
If she has no background, a solid grounding in essential skills would be appropriate and provide useful schema upon which specific violin skills can be overlaid; while you're reviewing scales, modes, and the circle of fifths, you're also showing her how to find the notes on the violin, and the way musical intervals relate to one another physically when playing a stringed instrument.
Or, you could paraphrase infamous radio mechanics "Click & Clack" and tell her experts agree family harmony is best served when parents hire a pro to teach their offspring to drive, instead of trying to teach them themselves; following the same logic, you might argue that hiring a violin teacher is an act of kindness.
