In additions to working as musicians for weddings, orchestras and private teaching, our musicians perform for children at schools, introducing them to the family of string instruments, violin, viola and cello.  We talk about classical music, instruments, different time periods, and play pieces from different eras. Kids seem to enjoy it, and so do we.  We also did a program for students at Grove City College, the string quartet photos are here as well.

 
  

These are some of my viola and violin students. I have a studio of  over thirty kids in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh. Some take lessons to be a part of their school orchestra, some are aiming towards a career in music, and some – like a photo of my husband with an adult student that I teach – simply tried to play the violin just to see how hard it really is!

Playing a string instrument IS a highly intricate skill, requiring a lot of time, patience and consistency. I believe that regardless of age, a student has to put at the minimum half an hour a day of practicing time. Understand that that half an hour will cover the basic skills needed to maneuver around the instrument. The half an hour guideline is BARE minimum! Most of my students are NOT future professional musicians, and yet – that is what I ask of them. Kids ages 4-9 should still put in half an hour a day, possibly splitting it up in three ten-minute sessions: one before breakfast, one right after school, and one before or after dinner. The consistency is imperative, even in short sessions, very similar to dog training! ( you  are more than welcome to meet Schubert, my well-trained, and yet nutty chocolate labrador retriever!) Again – every day, even it is a short session is better than missing three, four days and then doing one day of practicing for two hours. 

I came upon this site by accident http://www.dsokids.com
It is a lot of fun and educational at the same time. Upon opening, click on “students”, category for kids which takes you to a music room full of furniture. Once you there – start exploring! Click on piano – learn about different instruments, click on a green chair – gives you ideas on practicing, click on the computer – play different games. The site is part of Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and I think they came up with a great idea on how to introduce kids to music!

Here is a really good web site for music students:http://www.musictheory.net

It is very easy to use even for kids as young as five or six. It offers a lot of tools to drill notes, key signatures, scales, chords and more… I use it a lot with my students who are computer savvy and enjoy it. They can test themselves on a given skill and are given a score at the end; it seems like having a goal of getting a high score gives them an incentive to learn that skill and beat the previous score, so it becomes a game. Check it out!

This has been my biggest observation as a teacher:

..One of the hardest things about teaching is to teach one HOW to practice.. “Go home and practice!”. You hear that a lot, but HOW to practice is not something that is taught to a child.