Musician or Magician?

Finding a violin teacher isn't as simple as you think.

They say that 'those who can't do, teach'. I would like to change that sentence to ' Not all players are teachers'. Perhaps it is your first time picking up a stringed instrument looking at how awesome Hilary Hahn, Yoyoma or Twoset violin perform. Thinking whether you should pay for a beginner teacher or a degree holder to learn from. On one hand, the beginner teacher can give you a relatively entry level approach to violin playing to see if you can really sit there for 30mins and have the mental capacity to practice through the pain and 'noise'. On the other hand, the degree holder can give a guaranteed 'right' way on various forms and techniques that he/she was practicing and studying for. One costs $50/hr and the latter $120/hr. Perhaps you really want the best to teach you, perhaps the principal cellist of Singapore Symphony Orchestra or the Berlin Philharmonic. That is going to set you back minimally $300/hr.

I personally feel that all 3 options have their merits and their purpose. In my opinion it matters more that you are learning proper technique which allows you to play in a relaxed state, and the teacher being able to develop your musicality over time. Not just a teacher who pushes you to take exam grading or repeating the same piece over and over again.

During my formative years of learning the cello, I was blessed to be introduced to Mr Song Woon Teng as a teacher. He is how I would describe as a technical perfectionist. If you had any fundamental issues with posture or bow hold, he would have a way to fix and display how it is done properly. He has the most textbook musicality and taste in music performance that I remember walking up his room thinking that he turned on the radio, but it was actually him practising.

I have never left the class wondering what he is talking about, because he ensures that I play the exact thing he wanted before I was allowed to leave. This prevents you from wasting 1 week practising the wrong thing and another week unlearning the wrong technique you learnt.

During this time, I had my experimental music battery filled by Mr Wang Xu from SSO. He was the Cello and Bass tutor in Singapore Polytechnic String Ensemble. He would always probe us to play different versions of the same sheet music,after we have nailed the original printed version. Perhaps for that fermata, hold it longer or ignore that rit and move on. Perhaps the original tempo is 60bpm but play it at 120bpm. All these little things pushes us to be flexible on the spot and expose the weak points in our technique.

Having one teacher be extremely particular about playing the sheet music tonally and musically perfect, and another who cares lesser about how you played it and more of what and why you played it, can be a confusing but exhilarating feeling. It was a perfect balance for me.

I am fortunate to meet such great teachers who do what they do excellently. But I have also heard teachers who 'cant teach' or 'pushes for exams'. There are so many horror stories of people crying after every lesson, or feeling really bad. Fortunately most teachers have moved on from the corporal punishments and its mostly scolding or passive aggressiveness.

Those 2 teachers made me who I am today. A cellist who thinks. It not just about playing those 4 Grade 8 pieces and boom you are a fantastic cellist. Its also about knowing your function in music and in life. A good teacher , no matter the price range, should be able to guide you both musically and technically. Making sure that you are feeling pain only because you are building muscles and strength, not just blindly practicing 8 hours a day. Making sure that you are practicing efficiently and effectively is the job of a good teacher.

Some teachers are fantastic performers, who can make playing a 5 octave F# major scale at 120 bpm semiquavers with 1 bow look like a breeze but perhaps when its your turn, he struggles to find the right words to tell you how to play like him. Some teachers are fantastic explainers who can describe the proper muscles to engage when playing a passage but he might not be able to perform the Dvorak Cello Concerto.

My personal suggestion, is to always keep an open mind. It is often the true lesson isn't in that 1 hr session but in the 3 minutes your teacher says something and everything just clicks.