Violin Lessons at Euphonic Studio

Expert violin instruction from an experienced professional musician

I began study of violin in 1960 when I was 9.  My dad was the string teacher at our public school.  By 1968 I was teaching the instrument, which I continued through the mid-80s.  I was the concertmaster of my college symphony in 1971-1972, and I played violin in bands for decades in a bluegrass, folk, rock, and jazz environment. 

All instruments present their own set of challenges to the new musician, and speaking as someone who has played and/or taught keyboards, strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion, violin is the most difficult instrument I've tackled, and teaching violin requires a great deal of patience.  But violin lessons are worth the effort!

To make even the most basic pleasing sounds on violin is an athletic feat.  Simply holding the instrument is very unnatural as it requires your left arm to be bent into a shape that you would never use for anything else.  Bowing requires you to combine the radial (circular) motions of joints in your fingers, wrist, elbow, and shoulder into moving the bow in a straight line. 

Please don't be discouraged!  You need to respect yourself and your ability to learn.  I have seen students who get very frustrated because they expect to just be able to pick up a violin and play it.  For 99.9% of us it doesn't work that way! Just realize that in order for you to make progress on violin (and learn to play it correctly) it will require 4 things with your private lessons: 

1. Dedication and determination
2. Regular practice
3. Some natural athletic and musical abilities
4. A caring, experienced instructor (that's my job)

Euphonic Studio violin lessons

First, you need to evaluate your decision to study violin in terms of your real available time for practice.  Younger students may require supervised practice, which also means that their parent will need to audit a lesson now and then so they understand what your child and I are working on.  Please be prepared to discuss your practice time available for music lessons at your free introductory lesson. 

Second, you'll need to obtain a playable instrument. Presently, I don't sell, rent, or repair instruments, but if you bring one in I'll give you my honest opinion of it.  (I may also be able to do a minor "tuneup" such as reset the bridge, put on strings, etc.)  There are at least two music stores I know of in the Cedar Rapids area where you can rent one, which is probably not a bad idea if you or your student is a beginner.  I've seen many rental instruments that are perfect for beginners, and they have smaller instruments for young beginners that you probably would not want to purchase, anyway.  A fine violin and bow can cost many hundreds or even thousands of dollars, and it makes sense to wait until an appropriate time to buy one of those.  There are some stringed instrument dealers in the Cedar Rapids - Iowa City area who carry fine instruments and bows, if you are in the market for such a violin.

Third, you'll be needing some course material.  I have been teaching violin with a variety of different violin courses over the years.  I have decided to use String Essentials books for child students who are absolute beginners.  This is because the books are widely used in the Cedar Rapids school system and I would like to give you the same background.  If you have already taken lessons somewhere, we can continue to use your methods books if that is what you prefer to do. 

If you have already taken lessons through the Suzuki method, you may continue using your course material at Euphonic.  Parents of Suzuki students must audit their child's lessons for the best results.

If your goal is to learn to play country fiddle or jazz violin, Euphonic Studio violin lessons will be of great use to you.  I spent many hours as a professional musician playing these styles, and I'll be happy to teach you any style.

You will have fun learning!

Violin is not easy to play, but it is worth the effort. I really enjoy teaching violin... it's very satisfying for me to watch students progress.  I can tell you for a fact from personal experience that if you plan to do any entertaining, there is nothing that gets a crowd's attention more than a hot fiddle solo. I'm looking forward to helping you learn the basics properly so you have the solid foundation to take your interest and talent as far as you can!

Euphonic Studio Violin Lessons

Private violin lessons with a professional musician and experienced instructor with over 40 years of violin study, performance, and teaching experience...

Call Bill at 895.8002 to arrange for a free evaluation lesson

Mount Vernon, Iowa serving Cedar Rapids, Marion, Solon, Mechanicsville, Ely, Springville, Anamosa, Iowa City and surrounding area