The Brave Choice to Start Violin Lessons as an Adult

I think there is something quite brave about deciding to start violin lessons as an adult.

It might not sound like a particularly brave decision, but actually, I think it is. As adults, we are generally quite used to being independent. We go to work, look after our families, make decisions and get on with things. We are used to being reasonably good at what we do. Then suddenly we decide to pick up a violin and put ourselves in the position of being a complete beginner again.

There is also the fact that we can now learn so much without ever having to leave the house. YouTube has completely changed the way people learn music. There are videos for almost everything, from how to hold the violin to how to use the bow and how to play particular pieces. It is very tempting to think that perhaps you can teach yourself everything you need to know.

And of course, you can learn a lot this way.

But music is ultimately about people. We play with other people, we play for other people and we learn by listening to other musicians. Having a teacher brings another person into that process, and I think that can take a certain amount of courage.

You are allowing someone to watch you play. You are allowing them to hear the things that aren't quite working yet and, perhaps more importantly, you are allowing them to tell you what you could do differently.

For some adults, I think this can initially feel quite strange. We are so used to making our own decisions that it can feel unusual to suddenly have somebody else take the lead. Interestingly, I find that many of my adult students actually find this quite a relief.

There is something lovely about arriving for a lesson and knowing that you don't have to work out what to do next. You don't have to decide which scale you should practise, whether your bow hold is correct or whether you are choosing the right piece of music. You can simply arrive, play and let your teacher guide you.

I think this is particularly valuable because many adults don't necessarily have anyone musical around them. You may be the only person amongst your friends or family who plays an instrument. You might have nobody who really understands why you are struggling with a particular passage, or who can listen to you play and understand what you are trying to achieve. A lesson gives you that musical connection. It gives you someone to talk to about music, someone who can listen and someone who can help you make sense of the things you are finding difficult.

Why I love teaching adult students

One of the things I have really noticed with my adult students is that they tend to be learning because they genuinely love music. They aren't necessarily doing it because someone has told them they should, or because they have an exam they need to pass. They have chosen to learn because they love the violin and they want to explore that passion for themselves. I find that really lovely. They have the freedom to go to concerts whenever they want, hear other violinists and experience the concert hall in a completely different way. They can listen to a professional musician and then come back to their own instrument and begin to understand a little more about what they heard.

Of course, being an adult also means having adult commitments, and this is something I completely understand. My students have jobs, families and busy lives, so they don't always have the amount of time they would ideally like to practise. But what I find so impressive is their determination. They will often practise whenever they have five minutes, and they become very good at making the most of the time they do have. In fact, there is something very familiar about this to professional musicians. You don't always have hours and hours to sit with your instrument, and you learn to think about music even when you aren't physically playing.

I also think adults understand something quite important about practising. It isn't simply a case of picking up the violin and playing for an hour. A lot of learning happens away from the instrument too. Thinking about a piece, listening to other performances, understanding the theory behind the music and considering why something isn't working are all part of becoming a better musician. Adults often have a really good understanding of this because they are able to think about their learning in a much broader way.

And they bring something else with them that I think is a real advantage. Adults are often much more aware of what beautiful playing actually sounds like. They have spent years listening to music and developing their own taste, so they often have a very clear idea of what they think sounds beautiful. They might not yet have the technique to create that sound themselves, but they can hear what they are aiming for.

I don't see that as a disadvantage at all. In fact, I think it can be a wonderful starting point for learning the violin. The technique can be developed, but that instinctive understanding of music and sound is already there. The teaching then becomes about connecting what they can hear in their head with what their hands and bow are actually able to produce.

The violin is a very complicated instrument in this respect. There are so many things happening at once, and it means that you are constantly solving little problems. Why isn't that note in tune? Why doesn't the bow sound as good as it did yesterday? Why does a particular shift feel uncomfortable? Why does something sound fine when I play it slowly but not when I play it at performance speed?

You have to listen, think, change something and try again.

I think those skills transfer into everyday life much more than we sometimes realise. Learning the violin teaches you to approach problems from different directions and to keep working when the first solution doesn't work. It also teaches you to be comfortable with the fact that sometimes you simply won't be able to do something straight away.

That can actually be quite good for us.

As adults, we can become very accustomed to being competent. We know how to do our jobs, organise our lives and deal with all the things that come our way. Then we pick up a violin and suddenly we are beginners again. That can be uncomfortable, but I think it is also one of the best things about learning something new.

You don't have to be young to start. You don't have to have started as a child. You don't have to want to take exams or become a professional musician. You might simply want to play the music you love. You might want to return to something you did years ago. You might have always wanted to learn and finally have the time to do it.

Or perhaps you simply want to give yourself something that is completely separate from work and everyday life.

I have taught adults who have started for all sorts of reasons, and I think that is one of the things I enjoy most about it. They bring their own life experience, their own musical taste and a huge amount of determination into the lesson. They may not always have the time they would like, but they understand the value of the time they do have.

There is also something quite special about seeing an adult student become more involved in the musical world as they learn. They might start going to more concerts, listening to different violinists or becoming interested in pieces they had never heard before. They begin to recognise things they are learning about in their own lessons, and they can start to hear professional playing in a completely different way.

They can also begin to relate to professional musicians in a different way. The frustration of not having enough time to practise, spending ages trying to solve one small problem or feeling that something isn't quite where you want it to be isn't something that only beginners experience. Professional musicians experience exactly the same frustrations. In many ways, learning the violin gives you an insight into what being a musician is actually like.

And I think that is one of the reasons I enjoy teaching adults so much.

There is often a moment where a student suddenly realises that they are doing much better than they thought they were. Something clicks. A difficult passage begins to work, the bow starts to feel more natural or a piece suddenly sounds like music rather than a collection of notes.

I love seeing their eyes light up when they realise it.

Because learning the violin isn't really about proving that you are talented. It isn't about being perfect, and it doesn't have to be about passing an exam.

Sometimes it is simply about deciding that you are going to do something that feels slightly outside your comfort zone and seeing where it takes you.

And perhaps that is what makes starting violin lessons as an adult such a brave choice.

You are giving yourself permission to be a beginner again. You are trusting someone else to guide you. You are making time for something you love, even amongst all the other things that fill your life.

And you might just discover that you are capable of much more than you initially thought.

If you have been thinking about learning the violin yourself, but haven't quite made the decision to begin, you can read more about my adult violin lessons and the different ways I work with adult students, both in person and online.

Perhaps the bravest part is simply making that first decision.