The rich blessing of teaching the violin was first introduced to me while I was still in High School, when my High School Music Teacher surprised me one day, and took me to an elementary school and gave me a class of three 4th grade violin students to teach. He told me that half the fun of playing music was in “giving back,” sharing the “Musical Experience” with others, so that they, too, could get the skills that I was receiving. Up ‘til now, I had only the benefit of receiving violin training. I rolled up my sleeves and jumped right in to teaching, and shortly thereafter, however, discovered that he was WRONG –

It wasn’t half the fun. Seeing others gain experience and get excited with music was much more than half the fun!

All the hard work with these kids paid off. By the end of the year there was the “big” All-County Music Festival. My three students ALL won Scholarships. I was so thrilled seeing their excitement and their enthusiasm as they each walked up to receive their awards. I knew right there that I was HOOKED on TEACHING!!

After that, I spent every Saturday morning throughout my years as a University student, teaching a full load of students. Even though my college program demanded I work 4 to 5 hours a day practicing and developing my own professional skills on violin, I also ALWAYS made sure that I TAUGHT!

After much hard work I graduated from Eastman School of Music with a Masters Degree in Musical Performance, as well as winning the Performer’s Certificate. I decided to take a professional teaching job in a public school system in New York as well as a position in a private music school while I was waiting for my fiancé to graduate. It was during this teaching experience that I first got the idea of creating these books.

That year I spent a lot of time searching through every major music store I could find in New York, for teaching materials to help my students. I soon discovered that no step-by-step teaching manual had ever been written on the subject of violin playing. However, there were volumes upon volumes of song books, as well as books labeled as “beginner training material,” yet crammed full of complex concepts from cover to cover.

Through my close involvement with students’ parents who were trying to help their children practice at home, I soon discovered that what people really wanted was a book that could help the child with the basics, as well as give the parent some workable guidance at home. What they DIDN’T want was a book that needed a professor to decipher it for them. The majority of parents confessed to me that they really didn’t know very much about the violin or even music, and felt overwhelmed as to what to do to be effective with their child.