Teacher Talk: your string teaching questions answered by our panel of experts

Pauline playing

Should one borrow, hire or buy the first violin for a beginner?

Laszlo Lucas, Los Angeles, US

 

Géza Szilvay: Small-sized violins are available for reasonable prices today. If the family can afford it, it is advisable to purchase the instrument instead of borrowing or hiring it. The intimate relationship between the violin and its young master should start with the first tiny fiddle. It is desirable that children are fond of their instrument as if it were a dear toy, but at the same time they should learn to respect the violin as one respects a friend.

  

THE EXPERTS

Géza Szilvay is co-author of the Colourstrings teaching method and principal of the East Helsinki Music Institute

  

Our Teacher Talk series was first published in The Strad in January 2011. Subscribe to The Strad and get the best in teaching tips every month, from Simon Fischer's long-running Basics column to advice from top string players in Masterclass. Or click here to find out about our digital edition.

 

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