Tips on buying violin

Oh I almost forgot. I have already put up a few posts on my website with tips on what to look out for when buying a violin, be it a new or an old one. Do drop by my website, at The Violin House to take a look. I am also experimenting around with other rather less generic names, so if you have any suggestion, please drop me a line! Thanks!

How to keep the interests going

Just discussed with a parent about student losing interest in violin. I took some time to think about it. Well, interests come and go. The younger the child, the more fleeting the interest. We can see that for young children to have a sustained interest in certain activity, they are either naturally born with it (i.e. "hard-wired" that way), or the interest developed through constant exposure. Some would include constant exposure even during pregancy time.
Learning a musical instrument takes more than interest, and more than talent. They amount to only about 10%. The other 90% are hardwork. Oops! It's too hard. So we need motivation to go along. Unfortunately, motivation is short-lived. So how do we get the "hard work" done?
For one thing, we can keep motivation coming. This can come from teacher, parent, and constant exposure.
As a violin teacher, I only see my student once a week, at most twice. Parents generally would not fork out astronomical fee to hire a violin teacher every day of the week. Oh they would do that for subjects like Maths, Science, etc. at the drop of a hat, but violin? Not unless they wish their child to be a world-standard virtuoso.
So here is the catch. The parents have to make 6/7 of the motivation, with the teacher doing 1/7. Well, maybe 3/7 of the motivation, the other 3/7 would be to listen to really nice violin music, orchestra music, and take part in musical activities, like orchestra rehearsal, mix around with other violin students, compare and contrast notes, etc.
That way, the 90% hard work would not feel so hard. And it can develop the strength of determination, the will to overcome challenges, and be a better person to face the challenges of life in general.

The Use Of Metronome

The metronome, perhaps the most useful invention for musicians, or anywone aspiring to be one... including the drummers, especially!
I remain constantly surprised by students who do not use the metronome. I tried to make fun of it, or make it sound very serious, or be angry and yelled, etc. but to no avail. They just do not use metronome. I would love to know of anyone who can inspire students to vigilantly use metronome everyday until such time that they have develop a quartz clock ticking inside their heads (or hearts). (just joking)
One of the most ridiculous excuse for not using the metronome is ... "I am trying to learn the notes". This excuse is used by fresh beginners, all the way to post-grade-8 students. The end result is skewed rhythm, sometimes as much as 80% of the new piece that they are attempting, though most commonly some 30% to 50%.
A second most common excuse is... "it is too fast". Well, duh... the metronome can be set to a slower speed.
The truth is, there is absolute no reason not to use the metronome from day 1 of learning a new piece. Sure, there are always tricky bits and pockets of the music, from beginner to advanced levels. Sure, we all need to just work out the notes, setting aside rhythms, just focusing on the notes. But that should not last more than approximately 10 minutes. Once the basic notes, finger movements, etc. are grasp, rhythm kicks in. That means setting metronome to a very slow speed to get those tricky bits on-time, then going faster, until such speed that matches the rest of the piece (just starting to learn, or otherwise).
If you cannot get the notes in 10 to 15 minutes, try taking a break (fatigue), or just dropping the piece (not up to standard yet).
That is my advice: use metronome from Day One. Or have a quartz clock implanted somewhere. (hehe)