When to ‘Take It from the Top’

Ok, got the day right now, so I’m settin’ in the doc’s sky-lit waiting room for my annual check-up and oil change. Thought I’d use the time to talk about ‘taking it from the top.’

Yesterday I received a query – that’s British for question – about whether it’d be appropriate for him to get the Beginner’s Course even though he’s been playing Suzuki for 10 months.

Well, I’ve been thinking about that.

First of all, getting off on the right foot is essential. Can’t stress that enough. Now there are a lot of people out there teaching the violin. Many will be excellent and give you great council.

Unfortunately many will not be. So how does one know the difference.

One good indicator, though it’s not fool-proof, is the teacher’s own playing. If he or she has chops, and plays with passion, chances are she will stand you in good stead.

Another indication of a teacher’s skill is the quality of student coming out of his studio. If you’re wanting to confirm your choice of teacher, go to a student recital – virtually all good studios schedule them every 6 months or so – and ‘take a pulse.’

If you hear confident, well-tuned, easy looking playing, you’re putting your trust in the right place.

On the other hand, if what’s coming out of the students resembles a cross between grandpa’s snoring and a stirred up bee-hive, you might want to steer clear.

But even if you’re relatively confident, I think the Beginner’s Circle a highly valuable supplement to most private study.

The subscriber that wrote in, for instance, is being instructed in the Suzuki program. After 10 months he is still in book 1. In my program players are learning how to shift and play in position at month 6. Next month they begin learning vibrato.

And they are acquiring really good practice habits and fundamental skills along the way. Bare in mind, my course is geared toward adults. Suzuki designed more with kids in mind.

So the bottom line I advice I offered my subscriber friend was this. ‘Seize the bull by the horns’ and purchase the full year of the Violin Mastery Beginners Circle. I’ll send the first 6 months as a package, figuring he could work through them relatively quickly, getting up to speed with my approach and practice techniques.

After that he would at the least have a great supplement to the Suzuki program, and quite possibly a new option giving even better results.

This is the first time I’ve made such an offer. Up until now I’ve only sent out the course monthly in sequence. Now I can see the value of sending 6 months of program at one time, especially to those already up and running.

If this sounds like a good idea for you, either give me a shout on the phone number below, or go ahead and order the full year on line. Then just use the ‘comments’ section to indicate you want the first 6 months as a bundle up front.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. By the way, I’m excited that Beginner’s Circle members will be starting to vibrate next month. Not that we aren’t all doing so anyway. After aren’t we all in essence bundles of vibrating energy? Here’s that link, though, if you want to jump in on the ongoing adventure.