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There are many different ways to learn a skill. With the internet, access to information has opened wide for a large percentage of the world's population. This encourages an entrepreneurial spirit amongst many where people are free to pursue the skills and knowledge they hunger for on their own. While dabbling in different interests is fun, the famous saying goes Jack-Of-All-Trades; master of none and this applies also to learning the violin. In order to master a skill such as playing the violin there is a faster approach to learning some of the top skills needed. Those who really succeed in life and in the arts have learned this secret.
The Secret of Mentorship
The fastest way to learn a skill is through hands on mentorship. Mentorship usually lasts for a set time and involves an intensive season of having that person pour all the knowledge and expertise they have in an area into you. You learn not only the theory and knowledge but also the practical side of implementing that knowledge. Moreover, very often this is where difficulty arises in music. You can learn all the techniques, the notes and scales and hand positions, but where do you learn musicality, that sense of becoming one with the music and the more subtle techniques needed in playing a softer volume or a more emotive piece of music? Can that be taught?
Musicianship
When you open your heart to a mentor you will not only be taught how to play violin, but you will catch their whole sense of musicianship, how they approach a piece of music, their subtle nuances in expressing the heart of that music and that is a priceless skill to pick up. So if mentorship is so valuable why don't more people seek out a mentor and ask them to teach them how to play violin?
Several Steps Involved
Firstly, let us look at the cost involved. Mentorship is more than just finding a teacher however; a teacher can be a mentor. A mentor is someone you really admire and look up to and want to be like in that area. Usually these will be people that are at the top of their industry and so their time is valuable and limited. It may even be difficult to gain access to them. Most mentors will have a basic standard they require their students to attain before taking them on personally, so it can take several steps of learning and being taught by others before you are ready for more intensive mentorship in the violin.
The good news is with the growth of the information age and the easy access technology like the internet is giving, it is becoming easier than ever to receive from experts in the music world. Many offer their own courses which you can purchase and is the next best thing to actually receiving live lessons. But, if your ambitions extend to becoming a concert violinist and making a career out of your playing, your best shot will be to find a mentor that you admire and who will take you under their wing and show you the ropes. It will be the difference between being stuck with the many in mediocrity and gaining that cutting edge that will allow your playing to really soar and cause you to stand out from the crowd.
