Arts & Entertainment, Music

Bonus Chapter: For Parents and Teachers

Lesson time 18:16 min

Finding the right teacher with the right teaching style can make all the difference. Mr. Perlman gives parents and teachers advice on how to nurture talent in aspiring violinists.

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Topics include: Finding a Teacher • The Role of a Teacher • Different Styles of Teaching

Itzhak Perlman

Teaches Violin

In his first-ever online class, virtuoso violin player Itzhak Perlman breaks down his techniques for improved practice and powerful performances.

Preview

[MUSIC PLAYING] - The important thing about making your child feel comfortable with classical music is what happens at the home and how do the parents treat classical music. Do they treat it as something of a luxury? Or do they treat as something as a part of education? You know, so when you read to your child before going to bed, you read a story. So that's part of education. So you can do that. You can also play some music You know, these days, you know, with this wonderful technology, you can play-- I remember when I-- when my children were growing up, we would always play before going to sleep. We would play music. We would play-- half, half the music would be rock and roll or basically Beatles, maybe. And the other half would be Beethoven or Prokofiev, whatever it is. You know, it was always half-and-half and so on. That was part of their education. We did not have accessible videos of music. Right now you have videos of performances, whatever you want, whether it's the Nutcracker Suite, or whether it's Beethoven 5, or whether it's Vivaldi Four Seasons, or whatever you want. You know, you have a great choice. So it's nice for the kids to-- as part of it to be exposed to something like this. And then-- and I'm not saying that every child should be a performing artist. But to feel that when you go to a concert hall you don't feel lost is a very important part of education, you know. And that-- and that also is very important to do this in the schools. And the problem sometimes with the schools is that whenever there is a financial problem, the first thing to go is that the arts. And that's-- that's the unfortunate thing. So when-- if that's the case, then it's the job of the parents to expose the kids to, you know, to classical music, you know, whether it's by listening to videos of performances or by listening-- you know, there's a lot of stuff on public television that is absolutely wonderful, and so on. The familiarity is important. Every now and then you'll have somebody who says, "I like this. I'd like to study an instrument," you know. But not always. But it's still very important to have that language in your head. It's never too young to play the violin. I started to play the violin when I was five. But I know some people that started when they were three. It's all a question of your ability, you know. Certain people have that facility at an early age. And the minute you have that facility, do it. But the important thing here is going to school and playing with your friends, I think, in this particular case, rather than just being a prisoner of just doing homework and practicing. You know, that's for me is not-- not a very nice childhood, you know. Childhood is for children. It should be-- it should be for kids. It should be for kids. You have the rest of your life to be an adult. And it's nice to be a kid when you are. [MUSIC PLAYING] Again. Finding the right teacher, of course, is extremely importa...

About the Instructor

The world’s reigning virtuoso violin player, Itzhak Perlman performs for presidents, royals, and classical music lovers around the world. Now the beloved Juilliard instructor and 15-time Grammy Award winner brings his passion for teaching to a wide audience for the first time. Learn fundamental techniques, practice strategies, and how to add richness and depth to your sound. Give your most dynamic performance yet.

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Itzhak Perlman

In his first-ever online class, virtuoso violin player Itzhak Perlman breaks down his techniques for improved practice and powerful performances.

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