I’ve been working on a project, and I’m really excited about it, and I need your help.
I want to flood my town with violinists.
Not because playing violin is the end-all. I would be happy to flood my town with French horn players, and percussionists, and pianists, and writers, and painters, and sculptors, and dancers, as well. Maybe someday I can make that happen. But for now, because teaching violin is something I know how to do, I will settle for lots and lots of violinists.
Because learning how to play violin is easily one of the most important things I’ve ever learned. It has taught me about problem-solving, and perseverance, and hard work. It has taught me about beauty and art. It has taught me about working with others, and humility, and community.
Beyond all that, learning how to play an instrument gives a person a voice. (So, of course, does learning how to dance, or draw, or sing, or write.) It gives a person a way to take what is inside and bring it out, to take what is sometimes un-tangible, unspeakable, or un-translatable, and share it soul-to-soul. That is a powerful tool to give somebody, especially a child.
If you haven’t guessed already, I don’t believe learning to play the violin is simply about learning to play the violin. Playing an instrument is a wonderful thing, but I don’t think I’d make such a big deal out of it if that was all there was to it. What learning to play the violin is really about is working to become a better human being. And that’s something that reaches way beyond one child taking lessons.
So I’m going for it. I have a wonderful private studio of 18 students, but I want to reach deeper into my community.
