Effective pedagogic methods

   Like in mountain climbing, the beginner should take particular care to prepare all the equipment when thinking of starting the violin. The violin itself should not be too small or too big and should be chosen according to the age, or for the physical size of the player. If one is purchasing a full size violin, it is adviseable to choose it with further use in mind and purchase a good quality violin in good physical condition. The same applies to a bow as it is also available in different size: a full size bow should be flexible, strong but one with a stick that will not bend out of shape. It is important to choose one which will last years of use.
   It is sometimes the case that the early years of a child's learning is neglected with words of complacency, or is left unattended without nurture or care. Instead of letting the child think of the violin as an object to be feared or dislike the act of practicing, the teacher should allow the child to enjoy the practice and have fun when relating to the instrument, then result could be that the child will want to practice more and the relationship between the student and the teacher will begin to strengthen, blossom and eventually both will be able to reap the benefits.
   When teaching children it is adviseable to divide the age bracket into bayhood and childhood so that the child is not overtly pressurized and a suitable didactic program is created for the child. For children under the age of six whose muscles are yet underdeveloped, the goal of the lessons is to give them a early start in their education and therefore the beginning lessons should be like a natural process of learning a language. Hence, the very early beginnings the lessons should like when one learns the native tongue for the first time: the playing of the instrument should not be but the child should explore the instrument naturally.
   Although this is by no means an easy task to achieve, it is nevertheless possible, as it has been already seen in other branch of the arts and sports. In swimming, dance, gymnastics etc. early babyhood education has been actively pursued and have been successful in many areas. It can only be concluded from this that it is possible to reap good results if care is taken.
   So, should we regard these children as the children they are, or should we emphasized regard them as subjects in a experiemental cases? This question should be carefully considered depending on each child but for the purpose of this paper we will consider them as 'students'. The reason for this is that however young the child may be, if purpose is learning, one should concerntrate in the act of learning.
   The most characteristic reaction of the babies to the violin is their unfailing acceptance of the instrument as a plaything rather than as study instrument. Therefore it is often effective to teach the violin in a fun and fascinating way: it is the most natural method of learning for these younger students. The teacher should accept this and 'play' with the child during the lesson so that the child's relates and grows with the instrument in the most natural manner. Of course it is unnatural to continue this kind of treatment indefintely but as long as the child adapts to the violin at a young age, then it could serve its purpose very well. So, just to recap, instead of explaining in words how to hold the bow or use the left hand, it may be much more effective to tell a story to make the technical aspect of the learning interesting and fun. If the child does not respond or fail to understand the basics, the child should not be forced to listen and understand, but rather through repetition in a natural manner the child should be allowed to realize by himself.
   I will now explain how 'solfage' can be easily thaught to children. By characterising each name of the solfage with a member of the family, for example, 'do' as mam, 're' as dad, 'me' as sister, 'fa' as brother, 'sol' as me, 'la' as cousin and 'ti' as dog. By equating these names to the locations on the violin, the child learns the notes, and the memory is reinforced by repetitive and reversed  questioning. Methods such as these can help the child understand about the violin with ease. It is also possible to mark the fingerboard with colored stickers or crayons but as the violin is a tactile instrument, it is important to avoid such methods. In some cases such markings could confuse the child. If any visual aid is needed at all, it may be better if the teacher could enlarge the score and above it draw a diagram of a violin to indicate the location of the notes.
   A typical problem of the bow for beginners is the sliding of the bow: to be more exact, children tend to bow off centre and cannot keep a straight bow. Instead of insisting on a straight bow, it may be more fun if the teacher and the student play a game to see who can keep the bow in a straight line better. The child will naturally try harder to keep the bow straight. From students who are six years old or less, an accurate sense of rhythm cannot be expected. Therefore it is more benificial to teach them simple, easy to learn song with which they can also sing along.
   It may not be an exaggeration to say that how well the teacher guides his/her students may depend heavily on how well the teacher plays with and has fun with the young student. Of course, a specially gifted child must be taught with a little more care, but the basic method of playing and having fun with the student still remains the same.
   Children of seven years and older needs a little different care. At this age most children are starting to read and are developing stronger muscles to play sports. Their physical development can change on a daily basis. Although all students are different, it is at this stage that the child's intellect and physical development require an order. At this age the child is getting used to the act of learning and if the child is to endure and succeed in the fight of learning, the child needs to feel stimulated and enjoyment in the act of learning itself.
   The younger the child is in this age group, the more the child will naturally revert back to his/her young age reactions but it is important to foster curiosity in the mind of the child. To explain more simply, the teacher should instill a little resistance in the student. For example, by enforcing them with words such as, " D..... was praised also in his response to the same question" the student should be guided into self-teaching. As the student becomes older he/she should be more strongly enforced but never to the point of extreme.
   For students who are using full size violins at high school age, the teacher should encourage and explain in detail rather than enforce.