Looking for a teacher not just to play, but to play with people?
My goal is for every learner to grow not only technically, but as a person as well, through growth into the connections, collaborations, and friendships of our musical world. I’m thrilled to see my students creating our own community in Brooklyn and beyond.
Here are a few specifics I teach often:
- Fiddle for new adult learners and kids: we balance a quick onramp to social playing with good foundations for long-term excellence. (Here’s one of my students after one year).
- Irish fiddle: beginner to advanced, with a particular interest in the living tradition
- Intro to American traditional fiddle styles: New England, bluegrass, and old time
- Intro to violin for classical learners: sight-reading and technique
- Creative violin: creating accompaniment and solos with chords. (This is not as scary as you’d think!)
- How to play for community dances
- How to play at and enjoy Irish sessions
Briefly, about my background and beliefs:
- I like to meet learners where they are on a variety of spectra: hearing vs. visual, melodic vs. chord-based, fiddle vs. classical, scripted vs. improvisational, etc. If you have a preference on any of these axes, or if you are interested in making a transition into a new territory, I will have your back.
- I believe becoming an excellent fiddle player is doable at any age — with some hard work — and I am thrilled to play with my students who are doing just that.
- Self-direction is really important to me, both with adults and in finding and preserving it in young learners. I try to ask as many questions as I give directions.
- I believe playing with people is vital, and am thrilled to play with students at our biweekly open sessions.
- I have my MS.Ed. and NYS professional teaching certification, and in seemingly a former life (2013-14), I completed a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.
The music endeavor also invites personal growth. We all have hesitations to shake off and new mental muscles to tone, but I can’t put it better than these two:
Vulnerability is the essence of being human and alive. ― Madeline Bruser, The Art of Practicing
“If a musician wants to become a fine artist, he must first become a finer person.” ― Shinichi Suzuki
I also encourage folks with longer experience to join me to chat about technique and style. Lessons are a constantly–attested part of the history of Irish music, so even if you have a lot of experience, it’s worth connecting to see what we might discuss.
Oh, he taught. Didn’t he walk back from where he lives to the Protestant chuch in Kilkee to teach Magrue’s wife music, two bob a tune. And you can put that down anyway to about 14 miles a day.
– Patrick Kelly, interviewed by Seamus Mac Mathuna, 1966
Contact and details
My teaching studio is at my home in Crown Heights (see bottom photo), or I am willing to travel to you for an additional fee.
I am not currently set up to organize group lessons, so this is a one-on-one endeavor. As of 2025, I am generally charging $100 for hour lessons. If cost is a major concern, let me know and we can discuss.
Just drop a line at m(period)andrews(period)christian(at)gmail(dotcom).
Matthew Christian 