Getting Started

Please contact me to answer any questions and discuss starting lessons.

You will need an appropriately sized violin. See below for a list of good violin shops in the area. Renting is the best option, especially for children. Please don't buy a violin on the internet. While there are cheap violins to be found online, they are difficult to play and don't sound good. You will get a much better quality instrument by renting from an experienced violin shop. Take your child with you when you go to rent, they will need to make sure they send you home with the correct size violin.

Please buy Suzuki violin, book 1 (with CD). Available at Shar music, Amazon, and most music stores. Or if you prefer, you can buy book without the CD and then the mp3 files through Amazon.

Start listening! This is so important; students will learn songs much more quickly if they have a regular listening routine.

Violin Shops:

For instrument rentals, or for strings, repairs and other instrument needs, I find these violin shops are easy to work with and have good quality instruments. 

A440 in Roscoe Village
Peter Seman Violins, Skokie
William Harris Lee Violins, downtown Chicago and Wilmette

Suggested Reading:

Most of these books deal with learning and practicing efficiently, and giving parents tools to help their children practice at home.

Helping Parents Practice, by Ed Sprunger
Teaching from the Balance Point, by Ed Kreitman
Time to Practice: A Companion for Parents, by Carrie Reuning-Hummel
Nurtured by Love, by Shinichi Suzuki
Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better, by Doug Lemov
Peak, by Anders Ericsson

Misc:

Here's a cool TedTalk about what an amazing thing music is for your brain:
How Playing a Musical Instrument Benefits Your Brain

A blog by a violinist turned psychologist, lots info on how to practice and perform at your best:
Bulletproof Musician