Welcome to the Violin Class podcast, which is a podcast for the non-professional violinist. I'll be sharing advice for learning the violin as an adult, the music and history of the violin, and give you insight on what it’s like to be a working professional violinist. My name is Julia and I’m a violinist & violin teacher who specializes in working with adults learning the instrument.
I will share practical tips that I hope will be useful for you whether you’re curious about taking up the instrument for the first time, or have been studying for years and want to expand your knowledge. I will also discuss topics related to the classical violin world such as the repertoire, some behind-the-scenes glimpses into the professional world, and basically anything violin-related. Just a note that this will be mainly classical-focused as I’m a classically-trained musician, I will occasionally talk about other genres and styles of playing.
This podcast is not meant to teach you the violin, and will not in any way replace studying with a private teacher, but is rather intended to supplement what you would be learning in lessons. As a teacher, I find there are so many playing-related things to go over in lessons that I never have quite enough time to talk about all the extras that I want to discuss. These episodes are all written with my own students in mind and aim to share all the background information that I think would help anyone learning the instrument.
Growing up, I always heard that violin was something you could only learn if, like me, you started very young. When I started teaching, I was working with young children following the traditional Suzuki method of violin pedagogy, which if you are not familiar with it is a teaching method designed to begin at 3 to 5 years old. At the school I taught at the time, I encountered my very first adult beginner students. I confess that I had assumed from what I had heard that it was too late for her to ever get any sort of level on violin, and I quickly saw how wrong I was in my assumption. Those two adult students quickly surpassed all of the kids, and every week surprised me with their progress, dedication, and interest in the art form. I enjoyed working with them so much that I now almost exclusively teach adults, both beginner and advanced, and I love every minute of it.
Lastly, I just want to mention that everything I talk about in this podcast is my opinion and my opinion only. I’m just one person and I’m sure other violinists will disagree with some of the things I say. There’s not just one way to do things, and everything I mention is from my own experience and research.
If you are looking for a violin teacher and are interested in working with me, or have anything to say about the show, you can email me at violinclasspod@gmail.com You can find me, Julia, on Instagram @juliareddymusic as well, or at my website, www.juliareddy.com