They’re Never Too Old

When I was nine years old, my elementary school took a field trip to see a children’s concert played by a local regional orchestra. As we filed into the concert hall, we could see that the members of each section of the orchestra had on different primary colored t-shirts: red for percussion, yellow for brass, and blue for strings. Before the concert began, my classmates chattered around me, but I was immediately mesmerized by the violinists in their blue t-shirts all warming up in their seats. As soon as I got home from the concert, I told my parents that I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up: a violinist.

My non-musical parents were taken aback by my proclamation, but they still bought me a three-quarters-size violin for my tenth birthday and enrolled me in lessons. My first teacher was a wonderful elderly lady who lived in a tiny house and embodied many of the philosophies of the Suzuki Method. She was a tremendously thoughtful woman who made every lesson fun and engaging, she included my mom in much of my learning process, and she focused on character and personal development. She also accidentally set me up on the wrong side in my first lesson, with the violin in my right hand and the bow in my left hand. She kept exclaiming, “Something’s not right!” throughout the lesson before she realized what she had done. What this dear lady lacked in pedagogical training she made up for in enthusiasm and kindness, and I’m grateful to her for the way she nurtured my love of music as my first teacher.

After I had been playing for a couple of years and my love of music had only grown, my mom enrolled me in a local youth symphony program. When I arrived at the first rehearsal, I was greeted by the conductor, Suzuki teacher trainer Holly Smardo. I quickly realized that not only did all of the students in the youth orchestra play better than me, but all of the best players in the orchestra were Suzuki students and they all studied with Ms. Holly. I went home and told my mother that I needed to study with Ms. Holly right away.

Ms. Holly’s studio at the University of Arkansas Suzuki program was full, but my mom begged her to accept me as a student anyway. At my first lesson with Ms. Holly. I played a version of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul,” completely unaware that my bow hold, posture, shifting, and pretty much everything else about my playing needed a complete overhaul. After I had finished playing, she said, “It is wonderful to work with new teachers so that we can learn new things.”

I have never forgotten that gracious comment, and I have used it many times as older beginners and transfer students at a beginning level have entered my studio over the years. I see myself in so many of them, older children who are desperate to learn but worried that it’s too late after watching seven-year-olds play circles around them in group class. Children who were not exposed to classical music at a young age, but who loved it from the moment they first heard it.

I often hear my colleagues and friends complain about older beginners and transfer students with a grumbling tone, and I bristle a little at their comments, knowing that they are talking about kids just like me. But I also get it. When a bright little four-year-old beginner walks into my studio, it is easy for me to see their potential and envision them as a ten-year-old playing Vivaldi or a fifteen-year-old playing the Mendelssohn concerto. It is sometimes harder to see this same potential in an eleven-year-old beginner with stiff joints and a prickly attitude toward their practice partner, but older beginners have just as much potential and ability to learn as younger beginners.

I was fortunate enough as an older beginner to have teachers who had the patience, thoughtfulness, and determination to guide me toward becoming the violinist that I am today. As I teach my own older beginners and tricky transfers, I have an even greater appreciation for everything my teachers invested in me. Teaching older children is challenging in different ways than starting younger students, but no less rewarding. Here are a few of the strategies that I have used to help my older students at a beginning level thrive.

• Be upfront with older beginners from the start. Every family that is interested in joining my studio has a consultation lesson before signing up to study with me. With younger students, I mostly spend that time talking with the parents, but with older beginners, I speak directly with both the child and the parent. I explain to them that the early stages of learning to play the violin can feel very slow when they are older and that they will need to have a lot of patience as they learn the proper technique and build their Twinkles. Older beginners are often eager to learn more pieces, but impatient with building proper technique. I make sure to get a verbal agreement from both the parent and the child that they understand this won’t be an easy or fast process.
• The Suzuki triangle is just as important with older beginners, but it can look a little different. It is developmentally appropriate for older beginners, especially those who are already in middle school, to want more independence in their learning. I try to achieve a balance by giving older beginners some tasks that they can fulfill on their own and some tasks that will require some help from a practice partner, such as watching to see if the bow is straight. I clearly explain to the student why I need their practice partner to be involved in a particular practice task. I also let the child decide how their practice partner is going to assist them: Would they prefer a verbal correction or a physical correction? If a child is still not open to graciously receiving their parent’s help, we have a conversation about how accepting assistance requires maturity, and I ask them if they are able and willing to handle this situation in a grown-up way.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously. I do all of the same pre-twinkle activities with older beginners and younger beginners for one reason: they work! Some of my favorite pre-twinkle activities, however, can seem a bit childish to older beginners. I have found that older beginners are perfectly willing to engage in “babyish” activities as long as I acknowledge that they are silly and poke a bit of fun at myself while we are doing them. Sometimes at the end of a more childish activity, I will say thank you to the older beginner for being patient with me while we did something a little goofy. I always explain to older beginners why the “silly” activity is important and what technique it is teaching them. I am also often surprised at how willing they are to participate in pre-twinkle activities in group class when I tell them it would be helpful to me if they were an example for the younger kids. Many of my older beginners serve as excellent leaders and teaching assistants at group class.

Teaching older beginners and older transfer students at the beginning level requires a lot of patience, time, and grit, but it can be very rewarding. The other day, my wonderful twelve-year-old student Kenzie who is currently playing a beautiful Gavotte from Mignon told me she wants to be a violinist when she grows up and asked if I thought that was possible for her. I was so proud to be able to say “Absolutely!” As long as you keep practicing, anything is possible.