Introduction to Suzuki Violin for Older Beginners

Hi, I'm Mr. Ben! 
I thrive on teaching kids to play the violin. I have successfully started dozens of beginners of all ages, and love to join experienced students wherever they may be on their violin journey. The best gift I can give is to help others make beautiful music – whether you are interested in becoming a Suzuki family or just need some help with a particular violin skill or piece, it is my privilege to be your violin teacher. 

I have been teaching violin for 10 years, and have completed training through the Suzuki Association of the Americas in Violin Volumes 1-10, and Volume 1 twice! See my SAA Profile and learn more about the Suzuki Method here: 

https://suzukiassociation.org/people/ben-thomason/ 

I earned a BA in Music, Violin Performance emphasis, from Whitman College, and a Master of Music, Violin Performance emphasis, from California State University, Northridge. I was the Director of the Texas Lutheran University Community Music Academy from 2015-2018, providing accessible strings and choral education to hundreds of rural students whose schools could not offer music classes. My interesting personal tidbits are that I can speak Mandarin (Chinese), have spent 5 years living in China, including in a very rural farming village in eastern Henan province, and have also taught Suzuki violin in Hong Kong! I have a 4-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter and we also love to learn and play together :)

The Suzuki Method is an extremely effective method for learning the violin, especially for young beginners between the ages of 3-6, though no one is too old to begin the journey! The basic principles of the Suzuki Method are: 
 ~ Every Child Can. There is no such thing as “talent” or a predisposition toward success in music or any other pursuit. The simple requirements for a child to succeed are a loving, encouraging environment, skilled teaching with a high quality curriculum, and perseverance.
 ~ Significant parent involvement and support. Parents should attend lessons with the student, be present and direct daily practice sessions at home, frequently play the Suzuki recordings for the student, and in general provide an encouraging and loving learning environment for the student.
 ~ Focus on ear training and instrumental skills (i.e. delayed start to reading music). Students should be able to consistently and comfortably produce beautiful sound with their instrument, showing good grasp of basic foundational skills, before beginning to learn to read music with their instrument. Music reading knowledge may be previewed away from the instrument, but for a good while, students will learn the music they play by constant listening to professional recordings. 
 ~ For established students, constant review of previous repertoire is essential for crystallizing skills and building new layers of musicality. Group lessons are also incredibly important for learning ensemble skills, and of course they are super fun and motivational.

I am generally very flexible in scheduling new sections of group or individual classes, please don't hesitate to contact me if you want lessons at a time or for an age group I haven't listed. Thanks for reading about me, I look forward to meeting you and learning to play together!