All tutors at International Music School Cardiff are hand-picked, highly trained professional musicians with an enthusiasm for teaching their instrument. Lessons take place in our city-centre venue, and it is our vision to create a place where music tuition of the highest quality is delivered alongside regular professional concerts and public performance opportunities for our students.

What should you expect from violin lessons?

The violin is an instrument of simple principles, but it takes practise to get them right! Learning to play involves understanding the basic mechanics of the instrument and using the bow to produce a nice sound; a relaxed yet strong posture; a great sense of tuning and intonation and good listening skills. This way you’ll be able to follow and adapt to other musicians you’re playing with (and a violinist will play with many!).

A good teacher will make all those elements interactive and fun to learn. Most importantly, a good teacher will be able to demonstrate those techniques and skills so you can watch!

An advantage of learning the violin is that it is financially affordable, good beginner instruments start at around £50.

A little bit about the instrument

The violin is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the orchestral string family, followed by the viola and the cello, and it leads the string instruments. After the conductor, the second-most important person in the orchestra is the “leader”, who is always a violinist.

The violin is a wonderful solo instrument and can easily fill an entire evening with music. It can play unaccompanied or with piano accompaniment, and there are countless genres that include the violin, such as the piano trio (piano, violin, cello), the string quartet (two violins, viola, cello) and virtually any orchestra. That’s what makes the violin such a fun instrument to play.

Because of its popularity, the violin is an incredibly social instrument. Learning the violin means being involved in many group activities and ensembles and meeting lots of other musicians –  particularly at the fantastic social events after a successful orchestral concert!