viola lessons as a violinist

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Hi. </p>

<p>I'm a violinist (have gone to music school for violin) and I would like to study viola this summer. I've never had viola lessons before and I just rented a viola a few days ago. I was going to try learning on my own for a week or two, but I think my progress would be significantly quicker if I had a viola teacher to help me with the transition. </p>

<p>How would you approach viola lessons if you're already a violinist? </p>

<p>Would you start lessons with an OK teacher first and then switch to the best teacher possible when you can play a few pieces on viola?</p>

<p>Would conservatory-level teachers even consider me as a private student (of course, if they are available to take students privately), even if I haven't ever played viola and am not comfortable with the clef yet?</p>

<p>Has anyone had any experience with this?</p>

<p>I'd appreciate any help you might be able to give me.<br>
Thank you so much! </p>

<p>Liana</p>

2

<p>My daughter, who is now studying viola in college, started out as a serious violinist. It turns out that viola technique is more different from violin technique than you might think, to the point that her college instructor made her promise not to pick up her violin for two years. That said, there’s an awful lot of your violin skill that will transfer nicely to viola. Once you become more comfortable with those notes sitting where they are on the staff :slight_smile: I’d suggest working with the best teacher you can find…and have fun! That C string is wonderful!!</p>

3

<p>Conservatory teachers may, if you show dedication, take you on, provided of course that you’ve already had a teacher of comparable caliber to whomever you’re asking. But so that you don’t waste your time, I’d spend a couple weeks learning the clef – just get a viola scale book and read for a couple hours daily.</p>