Violin lessons with Alison

Music is a life-long passion.  Alison fell in love with the violin at a young age.
 

Alison wanted to play the violin since she could say the word, and finally started violin lessons at the age of 5. She started out as a Suzuki pupil , and continued as such until the age of 16, when she began her music A-Level. After A-Levels Alison studied music at university, gaining her degree in 2005.  She also holds ABRSM Grade 8 Violin and Grade 5 piano. Music is a life-long passion for Alison, and she cannot imagine her life without music in it, from sitting on her mother's knee as a young child plucking the strings on her violin, to becoming a violin teacher, it is something that has shaped her life.

 

Having been much influenced by the way the violin is taught by Suzuki teachers, Alison's pupils start out learning to play by ear, gradually learning to read the music when they have mastered the basics.  The idea behind this is that the pupils get to know and love their instrument first, and understand how to make a good sound, before they begin learning how to read music as a language on the page, in the same way that a human being learns to talk before they learn to read and spell.

 

Once a pupil is ready, they are very much encouraged to join local orchestras, as this also helps them to learn about other instruments. This teaches things such as how to play with others in large groups and  helps you develop your music-reading skills further, as well as teaching you to multitask. Every orchestra has a social side, and the joy of getting to know other people who love music with the friendships that can develop from that are part and parcel of joining an orchestra. Then there is the excitement of the concerts where you can show-case what you've been working on!