My teaching style makes me best suited to teach students age 8 and above.

Yes!

Yes!

Yes!

I am direct and kind with students, and my teaching style is very engaging. I teach through dialogue. I don’t merely tell the student what to do differently, but I encourage the student to develop their own critical ear and mind and to discover their own inner artistic voice. I try to encourage my students to develop and maintain high standards for themselves, and I am constantly trying to bring out their best.

Studying with me would give you a very strong technical foundation that you could draw upon for any genre you wish to pursue. While my training is in classical music, I would be happy to help you explore repertoire in whatever genre you enjoy.

Yes! I teach anyone age 8 and up, whatever your goals might be.

Popular perception is that one must start the violin very young. It’s true that many high-level professional violinists began between the ages of 3-5, and if a student this young develops an interest in the violin, it can be great to get started this early! However, starting this young is not necessary. I did not begin playing the violin until I was 9. I did not start lessons until I was 10, and I did not start seriously practicing until I was 12. Four years later, I performed as soloist with the Oregon Symphony. One of my most influential teachers did not even begin the violin until she was 12, and ended up becoming an outstanding performer and a world-class teacher. I know of students who didn’t begin the violin until early high school and made enough progress in 4 years to be accepted to undergraduate programs in violin performance. In my experience, a student who starts later is actually going to make faster progress than an extremely young student because they are more prone to have a stronger intrinsic motivation, and to be more active and engaged in their own learning process. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something! Usually the person telling you that is only projecting their own self-imposed limitations.

Yes!

Absolutely. Contrary to popular opinion, anyone can learn the violin at any age with patience and persistence. Learning the violin requires developing precise muscle memory, but it does not require an extreme physical or athletic ability.

It depends on your goals. As a beginner, or as an adult learning the violin as a hobby, you can make great progress with as little as 15 minutes per day. If you want to reach an intermediate level and play more demanding repertoire, you’ll want to fit in closer to an hour per day. If you decide you are serious and want to reach an advanced level, at least 2 hours per day will make it much easier to get there. Highly-motivated students who want to become professional violinists often practice between 3-4 hour per day. This is about how much you will be practicing daily during college if you are studying violin performance. Crucially, there are 2 things that matter more than the quantity of practice. First is consistency. If you practice for only 15 minutes but do so EVERY day, you will make faster progress than if you practice for 4 hours on Monday, and don’t touch the violin the rest of the week. Second is the quality of your practice. If you concentrate and practice intelligently and efficiently, you can get the same amount done in 1 hour as you would in 3 hours of inefficient and lazy practice. 

I believe talent is frequently misunderstood. There is no “violin gene” that gives some people a magical ability. Human musculature comes with different levels of natural tension due to genetic and environmental factors. A more “supple” musculature is more readily adopted to the violin, so some children take to the violin more quickly than others. But there is nothing about playing the violin which requires an extreme physical ability that necessitates a certain genetic trait. Based on my extensive personal and teaching experience, with proper guidance and the right kind of work, most children who take longer to adapt to the violin easily catch up. How far you progress with the violin is at most 5% this “natural ability,” and at least 95% how much dedication, perseverance, and years of consistent practice you are motivated to invest.

As eager as parents might be to motivate their musically-inclined child, especially when their child shows promise, over-bearing parents tend to crowd out the student’s own intrinsic/inner motivation. The role of the parent should not be to force the child to practice. The motivation to practice must come from the child him/herself. If the child genuinely loves music, they will naturally want to pick up the violin often. Music-making should be joyful in its essence, the role of parents should be fostering this joy.

You can schedule a free trial lesson by contacting me here.

Most students find that weekly lessons provide both consistency and adequate time between lessons to practice.

No. While music theory lessons are only a half-hour, I only offer violin lessons that are one hour in length. My experience is that shorter lesson times are not long enough to get enough work done and make sure the student has a clear practice plan for the week.

My rate for violin lessons is $80/in-person lesson and $75/online lesson. Music theory lessons are $50/half-hour lesson (both in-person and online).

I teach in-person lessons out of my studio in Portland, and I teach online lessons via zoom to students around the world from the comfort of their home. The primary difference is in online lessons, the teacher is unable to use pedagogical touch to make subtle technical adjustments. This matters the most in the beginning stages, and for this reason, I do not teach beginners online. As the student advances, most of the time this can be compensated for through precise and creative verbal guidance on behalf of the teacher. As the online student reaches a more advanced stage, I recommend investing in a high quality microphone, which allows the teacher to hear more subtlety of tone quality and dynamics. I have years of experience working to give online students the closest experience to in-person lessons possible.

If you live in/near Portland, then in-person lessons are the better option. If any of the following apply to you, online lessons may be the better option:

• you live in Portland without reliable access to transportation
• you have limited mobility
• you live outside of Portland in an area without access to a professional violin teacher
• you live outside of Portland and want to supplement your lessons with your primary teacher
• you travel frequently

Please note I do not teach beginners online. Online lessons require at least 1 year of playing experience.

You do not have to take music theory lessons. You are welcome to take either or both. However, I do encourage violin students who have professional ambitions and a goal of auditioning for music schools/conservatories to take music theory lessons at least periodically. This will not only allow you to ground your interpretations of your violin repertoire in the formal and harmonic structure, but it will give you a huge head start entering undergraduate music performance programs.

Yes! I offer music theory lessons to anyone. Music theory lessons can give you the tools to understand the repertoire you are studying on a deeper, structural level. Please contact me to schedule a free trial lesson.

If your child is a beginner, it can be helpful for you to sit in on the lesson so you also understand the basics and can help support your child when they practice at home. This is not a requirement and is completely up to you and your child.

David Kerr Violin Shop has a great rental program, a fantastic selection of instruments, and an expert and friendly staff eager to help match you with an instrument.