Ellen Chavez De Leitner Arts
About
LEARN TO PLAY VIOLIN BEAUTIFULLY WITH A METHOD THAT WORKS FOR YOU
If you’re a beginner, you want to learn a solid technique that is not frustrating, and you won’t have to re-learn. You want to start playing the music that inspires you, and play it well.
If you’ve already played for some time, and are frustrated because you just can’t produce a good sound or play more advanced music, you need to root out the bad habits that are hindering you.
There is a technique that is logical and adapted to how your body and the violin work together.
I’ve taught this technique to students of all levels, from 3 years to 83 years old. Some of them had handicaps like arthritis or broken bones that healed crooked, and we worked on adapting for them to be able to play better.
I began playing the violin when I was 9 in the school music program, and re-learned the violin at age 19, studying with a teacher from Sarajevo. She knew the violin so well that she could go into the kitchen to make coffee while I was playing and hear every detail of my technique. She would tell me, from the other room, “ Your are squeezing your thumb! Relax your left knee!” She taught me to understand how my body works with the violin, and how to analyze my difficulties and figure out what to do to produce the sound I wanted. She taught me to teach myself, which is what I aim for with my students.