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Have you been playing badly, making mistakes, misunderstanding instructions, squeaking, and getting your fingering wrong, but persisting? Then you’re on the right path to success.
As a toddler, you learned to gain balance and walk by falling severally and getting right back up. This also applies to learning how to play the violin. As a prospective violinist, keep in mind that violin lessons are essential to hone your skill. Be it self-study or private violin lessons, both learning mediums require dedication, consistency, practise, and an ability to unlearn and relearn.
Learning to play the violin in Nigeria is quite expensive, considering the cost and standard of living. Thus, it's almost impossible for the average Nigerian to afford private violin tuition. For this reason, a low-earning Nigerian can opt for group tuition or self-study.
According to the great Japanese musician, Shinichi Suzuki,
“Knowledge is not a skill. Knowledge plus ten thousand times is a skill”.
This implies that learning to play isn’t enough, but constant practise would someday make you a violin virtuoso. Perfecting a piece goes beyond playing it correctly, it involves attaining the right posture, fingering, and bowing technique.
Your expertise level would determine what class you would sign up for. Learning the violin is a lifelong practise you must uphold as its learning curve is limitless. Be you a beginner or intermediate violinist, violin lessons are quite expensive. This brings us to the million-dollar question, how can you minimize cost while maximizing knowledge and experience?
Check out the violin learning guide in Nigeria.
"Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed. Any child who is properly trained can develop musical ability just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. The potential of every child is unlimited".
- Shinichi Suzuki
What You Should Know Before Starting
Whoever told you “learning the violin requires only a few months” LIED!!!
Although you might be able to play simple music pieces after a crash course with your violin teacher, you would still be unfit to play in an orchestra. Daily practice can’t be overemphasized.
Never compare your progress with someone else’s. Irrespective of how competitive and smart we are as humans, people would always be ahead of us. You would only improve if you focus on honing your skill rather than comparing. Despite how expensive, time-consuming, and energy-draining violin learning is, the benefits far outweigh the sacrifice.
Read on what to expect from private music lessons.
Equipment Needed for Violin Lessons
Don’t go about borrowing other people’s violins. You would have little to no time to practise with it. Don’t practise with a faulty or rusty violin either as this would drastically slow down your learning progress. Good enough, a violin does not cost a fortune. So, save up some money and get one. You’d be thankful for this investment.
Violin prices vary. For instance, a beginner-level violin costs lesser than a pro-level one. Also, an acoustic violin differs in price from an electric violin.
Furthermore, as the value of the naira continues to weaken in the Forex market, the price of shipped products increases. Hence, this makes the price of the violin fluctuate from time to time.
Check out the following violin prices in Nigeria: (Note that prices are subject to change)
| Expertise-based Violin | Price |
|---|---|
| Forenza Prima 2 (for beginners) | ₦40,000 |
| Windsor Violin (for beginners) | ₦40,000+ |
| Stentor Student 1 (for beginners) | ₦16,000+ |
| Stentor Messina (intermediate level) | ₦160,000 |
| Stentor Conservatoire (intermediate level) | ₦96,000+ |
| Pro violin Hmcv101 | ₦185,000 |
| Wessex XV | ₦950,000 |
| Electric violin | ₦80,000 |
| Pro electric violin | ₦73,000 |
| Electroacoustic violin | ₦95,000 |
Note that not all violins have all the accessories required. Thus, you might have to purchase other essential or backup accessories. While some accessories help to improve playing, others are important for the maintenance of the instrument. Some of them include:
| Violin Accessories | Price |
|---|---|
| Violin bow | ₦4,500+ |
| Shoulder rest | ₦9,500 |
| Square rosin for the violin & cello rosin for the bow | ₦1,000 |
| Premium strings | ₦3,000+ |
Other accessories include:
- Case & gig bag
- Maintenance kit (polishing product, cleaning cloth, and rosin)
- Preamps & pickups
- Chinrest
- Tuning peg
- Violin mute
- Tuner
- Hanger & stand (optional)
- Violin humidifier
- Metronome
- Tailpiece
Find great online classes for violin here on Superprof.
Why You Should Play the Violin
Benefits for Kids
- Kids who play the violin have better attention span and memory. Even a year’s worth of music learning is equally effective
- Learning a musical instrument improves speech, reading, language processing, and psychological disorders.
- Extended violin lessons help to build self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-discipline.
See the pros and cons of virtual or home music lessons.
Benefits for Teenagers
- Teenagers often have suppressed feelings which they express non-constructively. Learning to play the violin helps to channel these feelings and emotions.
- Contests and concerts offer expert players a chance to win awards and cash prizes.
- Teenagers pass through a phase of withdrawal and social anxiety. Learning to play this instrument gives a sense of belonging, reduces pressure, and builds confidence.
- University admission boards lookout for excellence in music education. This gives an edge when seeking international university/college admission and scholarship.
Benefits for Adults
- There has been a steady increase in suicides, depression, drug addiction, stress, anxiety, and elevated blood pressure. While violin playing isn’t a panacea, it has been proven to reduce depression, stress, and anxiety which are major causes of drug addiction, insomnia, hypertension, and suicide.
- Thanks to the sedentary lifestyle of many adults, they have developed poor postures and unhealthy spines. Sitting at a desk all day with an arched back and bent neck puts unhealthy pressure on your spine and neck. Poor posture can be improved with consistent violin lessons.
"Anything you think of doing, however insignificant, should be done immediately. Spur yourself on and carry it through without becoming discouraged. If it becomes an ingrained habit, things you thought were impossible will become possible, and closed doors will open, as you will discover in many ways".
- Shinichi Suzuki
Find great violin tutorials for beginners here on Superprof.
The Effective Self-Study Technique
Our faces brighten up once we hear the word “awoof” (free). While self-study isn’t the most productive or quickest way to learn to play the violin, it’s cost-effective and equally educative. There are umpteen online violin lessons you can watch, music manuals you can read, and podcasts you can listen to. Here are some tips to help with independent learning:
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Practise Violin Exercises and Scales for 30 minutes to 1 Hour Daily
Every beginner violinist hates practicing scales. Irrespective of how boring scales are compared to songs, it remains the best way to triple your progress. Practising arpeggios and scales teach you the basics of playing which include intonation, tone production, and how to hold your violin and bow. Choose daunting scales that would challenge you to improve.
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Listen to Popular Violin Music Pieces
Your auditory skills must be top-notch to play this instrument. Likewise, you need good listening skills to have the right intonation. Listen to pieces by the famous Bach, Itzhak Perlman, Niccolὸ Paganini, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
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Make Violinist Friends
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”
- Jim Rohn
Surround yourself with upcoming or pro violinists who would correct you whenever you go off-key. You would learn from them for free, as they would serve as temporary music teachers. The violin is a difficult musical instrument to play; you need all the help you can get.
| Merits of self-study | Demerits of self-study |
|---|---|
| It’s free | Takes time to master |
| Boosts confidence and self-esteem | Practising can be demotivating with the absence of a music teacher |
| You can learn at your pace | You would have a limited correction. Without a music teacher, it would be difficult to correct your stance when playing |
Practise only as many times as you have breakfast.
- Shinichi Suzuki
How Much Do Violin Lessons Cost in Nigeria?
Taking lessons from a music teacher, be it private or group learning costs money. Learning from a teacher quickens your skill acquisition, saves you the stress of self-study, and improves intonation, as well as, posture.
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How Much Do Private Violin Lessons Cost?
Private lessons are often more expensive than group lessons because the services are incomparable. Besides having one-on-one music lessons with your teacher at your preferred location, you would enjoy personalized learning based on your expertise and assimilation level. The average price per hour of tuition on Superprof is ₦3,300.
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Price of Group Violin Tuition
Unlike private learning, group tuition is less expensive and it’s an avenue to interact and make friends with many upcoming and professional violinists. Although it’s cheaper, it eliminates your chances at personalized learning. Also, it’s less likely your music teacher would have the time to monitor your progress. So, be prepared to put in the extra work. Group learning would greatly improve your timing and rhythm.
MUSON offers practical classes at ₦50,000 per term for ₦30mins/week and ₦80,000 per term for 60mins/week. But first, you would pay a ₦1,000 registration fee.
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How Much Do Online Violin Lessons Cost?
Students can take online violin lessons via social media platforms such as Skype, Zoom. They are less expensive than private lessons and they only require your musical instrument, stable internet connection, and an internet-enabled device. Superprof has an average hourly fee of ₦2,800. With The tutors on Superprof, your first lesson is free! This helps you to judge if the tutor meets your need and helps the tutor to asses your level as well. Don't think the tutor is the best fit for you? you can try another tutor for free as well...With the student pass, you get to contact an unlimited number of teachers along with utilising their free first lessons to enable you find the perfect fit for you. This is why Superprof is the No 1 tutoring platform in Nigeria
The cost of violin lessons is dependent on the learning medium you choose. Whether you choose online violin lessons, group lessons, or private lessons, you would have to practise regardless. Only determined and dedicated students would succeed. Goodluck.
Find great violin tutorial here on Superprof.
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