Online Violin Lesson – The Advantages and Disadvantages
The advance of technology has lead to new ways of doing things and better ways to learn new skills. The violin is no exception. Today many newcomers to the violin are learning that the easiest and most convenient way of learning the violin is to do so on-line. However, learning the violin on-line has advantages and disadvantages, here I will sum up what experience has taught me to be the benefits and shortcomings of taking online violin lessons.
How the Lessons Are Presented
Of course violin lessons are given over the internet; however there are a number of formats. You can enroll in a formal violin course where the course structure is provided for you and you have to log in at certain times. You can download software which you install on your computer; this software will usually include sheet music and other tools. I would recommend learning the violin from a course which takes advantage of internet video, this way you can follow exactly what the instructor is showing you and have a visual guide for what you are trying to learn. You should make sure your tutor is a highly qualified violinist.
Benefits
Learning the violin online has a number of benefits. First of all you learn at your own pace and at your own level of ability. If you are too busy to practice that day – fine, you can skip a day then make up for it later. Also you do not go at the speed your instructor wants you to, you go as fast as you see fit. Learning the violin online is also much cheaper than learning from a private instructor. A private instructor may cost $60 per hour.
A third of advantage of online violin lessons is that they are much more flexible than learning from a tutor. Instead of learning what your tutor happens to like, you will have the opportunity to learn a much broader spectrum of music. Most online lessons try to pack in a bit of everything, so you should get the opportunity to learn rock, pop, jazz, classical, folk; whatever takes your fancy really.
On top of this you will also learn technique, such as fingering, posture, holding the violin and reading music.
On The Downside
Learning the violin online does have its downside. You will have to be extremely motivated to keep up with the lessons: you will not have an instructor making sure that you turn up to lessons and practice every day, the only thing keeping you going will be your own enthusiasm. Also you will not have the encouragement of others, this can be difficult as you will often go through long periods of time with little or no progress and it can be useful to have someone to inspire you through the tough times.
To sum up, learning the violin can be made a faster and smoother by taking advantage of online opportunities. However if this is how you choose to go, it is important to be disciplined and self-motivating. If you bear this in mind, I am sure you will be on track for years of happy online violin learning!
