Hi,

I am a 20 year old in North Wales. I was taught the violin through my school but when I came to university, I decided to carry on with my other instruments and leave the violin be.

Anyway, I want lessons again but I don't know what I should be looking for in a teacher or where. I wish to avoid going through my university as I am rather self-consious and would find it awkward in that situtation. Another suggestion was to contact my local music services and see if any of their teachers take on private students, however, I can't find anyone to contact about this.

If someone could point me in the right direction, I would be most grateful.

(I don't mind travelling a little for lessons if I find the right teacher.)

Thanking you in advance.

Roses Are Red

Are there any music shops near you - they often have a list of teachers of various instruments, and may be helpful in suggesting one to suit you.

Have you tried the ISM website - they list teachers, but it would be a case of trial and error to see whether you were suited.

Thank you for your speedy reply.

There is a music shop in the town centre but its mainly guitars and drums. I managed to get a number for a violin teacher and found she was fully booked which wasn't a good start to my search.

As for ISM, a quick search has revealed nobody in the local area though at nearby areas just in case.

You could try musicteachers.co.uk, but be prepared to try several (assuming you can find several possibles). Some teachers are very good. Some are not.

Jump onto a train to Manchester and go to a teacher recommended by RNCM?

That would the great. I would really honestly love to be taught by someone like that. But that would involve roughly 4 hours travel (round trip) and £16 train fee on top of each lessons fee - I can't afford that. An hour by train (so Chester) would be the max. I would consider.

If I was looking to be doing my grade 8, I wouldn't hesiate, the expense would be worth it. But when I stopped playing I was studying for my grade 6 (though the last exam I actually sat was 3) and I have forgotten a lot in the past two years.

My intonation is really pants at the moment and I am not being modest.

Just a little reply to say I have found a teacher! I hopefully will be starting next week!

Though the expense is a little more than I budgeted for as I will be travelling to Chester for lessons. I have consider talking lessons fornightly instead of weekly. I'll have to go through my budget with a tooth comb and see.

Would having weekly lessons be so much better than fornightly ones?

As an adult you may well find that lessons at 2 or even 3 weekly intervals are sufficient. Teachers understand that as an adult you have other commitments.
I too am an adult violin re-starter and have my lessons every 3 weeks, I originally planned to have lessons weekly or fortnightly but my teacher said there was no need at present, I plan to have several lessons more closely together in the lead up to exams. A am fiercely ambitious though (aiming to teach violin in the future) so put in a lot of work between lessons.
Once you become more familiar with technique etc again you can be much more self sufficient and your teacher may be happy to leave you with more music to work through between lessons.
The main danger is in bad habits becoming more engrained in the gaps between lessons but if your teacher is careful to spot things that might be going awry and you're conscientious in how you practice then this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I can understand that. My main instrument was the piano and when I came to university I was told I had been taught the wrong technique and it would take a lot of work to improve ... long story short, at the end of the year I was grateful I scraped a pass and having really bothered with the piano since.