Looking for a teacher who can show not just how to play, but how to play with people?
My goal is for every learner I work with to grow not only technically, but as a person as well, through growth into the connections, collaborations, and friendships of this musical world.
Here are a few specifics I teach often:
- New learners: fiddle to the moon ASAP
- Irish fiddle, beginner to advanced
- Intro to American traditional fiddle styles: New England, bluegrass fiddle and old-time
- Intro to violin for classical learners: sight-reading and technique
- Intro to Scottish, Quebecois, and klezmer traditional fiddle
- Working music theory for fiddlers: double-stops, charting chords, and creating accompaniment. (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 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!
- Self-direction is really important to me, particularly in working with young learners to preserve and encourage it. I like to ask as many questions as I give directions!
- I have my MS.Ed. and NYS teaching certification, if you take delight in the fancy papers.
The music endeavor also invites personal growth, and with any luck, that is immanent in the lessons as well. 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
Contact
My teaching studio is at my townhome in Crown Heights, or I am willing to travel to you for an additional fee.
Just drop a line at m(period)andrews(period)christian(at)gmail(dotcom).
Matthew Christian 