Welcome to Online Violin Lessons
Note: If you leave this page and need to get back, or to access your lessons at any time, go to my.reddesertviolin.com and log in.
How It Works
Members can login any time to access their lessons, with three new units becoming available to you about every 30 days. You don’t have to do anything special to get the new material. Just log in to see your new lessons as long as you remain a member or until you finish the course.
How To Get the Most from Fabulous Fundamentals Book 1
Please follow these simple tips to make the best progress as you learn to play violin online:
- It is very important that you watch all of the videos with your instrument in hand. Pause the videos frequently and follow what I show you on the videos.
- DON’T RUSH! While some lessons might seem slow to you and you might want to skip ahead, do NOT do this. The lessons are in the order and at the pace that I have perfected over years of teaching beginning students. If you rush through, you will miss important concepts and skills that you will need to know later.
- Practice what you see in the videos. If you don’t practice you’re not really a violin student. You’re just watching online videos! If you haven’t already, make sure you download my Ultimate Practice Guide so that you can be sure you’re practicing smart, not just hard. You can find a link to the Guide in the Member Resources area. This link is at the top of each lesson page once you log in.
- Ask me questions! Use the comments area to ask questions and I will answer them.
Lesson Supplements and Tools
Each batch of lessons, or unit, includes a couple of valuable tools. They are self-explanatory for the most part, but I want to tell you how I would use them anyway.
The first tool is the printable PDF, “Summary and Practice Assignments” file that you will find at the top of each Unit. Print this sheet out and keep it where you can see it during your practice sessions.
Use the summary section of this document to jog your memory about the main points in each lesson, so that you don’t always have to re-watch every video. Although I would also suggest you watch each video numerous times, the summary tool will help you to stay on track and save time.
Use the “Practice Assignments” section of the document to plan your practice sessions and to really focus your concentration on mastering certain skills, rather than just putting in the time. This is key to your success! I have included a suggested number of repetitions in this document. This will help you to pace yourself and prevent you from moving too quickly. Skills must have time to take root and congeal.
The second tool is my fabulous “Practice Coach.” It will help you to practice effectively, efficiently, and to keep you focused. Before long, you will hardly even need the Practice Coach tool, but it will be there just in case!
Do I Need to Buy the Sheet Music for Book I?
Although you can get by without buying the Suzuki Book 1, (because you will be learning everything by ear) it’s a good reference and it makes a good cheat sheet if you get stuck on a particular song. It also helps to have it on the harder songs (#11 to the end), so if you don’t buy it now, you’ll probably want it later. I recommend that you buy it. Many online stores carry it, and although shopping locally is GREAT, we know Amazon reliably keeps it in stock.
However, you do not need the CD of Suzuki Book I because your membership in Fabulous Fundamentals includes MP3s of all of Lora playing the entire book with a professional pianist, PLUS tracks with piano only so that YOU can also play with a professional pianist when you are ready!
Now Get Your Sign-up Bonuses!
Suzuki Book 1 Audio Playalong Recordings
These files are audio recordings of Lora playing all of the songs in Suzuki Book 1 with a professional pianist. You can use them instead of the CD that some people buy with Suzuki Book 1.
- They are in a zip file, so you will need to download them and unzip them onto your computer. Download them here.
- To download MP3 files to play on a Mac, click here. (These files are smaller so will download faster.)
- These are the audio recordings of Lora playing the Twinkle variations, violin only. They are in a zip file, so you will need to download them and unzip them onto your computer. Download them here.
Piano Accompaniments (no violin)
As promised, I’m giving you professional pianist accompaniments of all the songs in Suzuki Book I. They are MP3 files bundled together in a zip file.
- Click here to download the zip file and then “unzip” them on your computer. Then you can load the accompaniments on a music player, play them on your computer, or burn them to a CD.
Your bonuses are also in the “Member Resources” area, which can be found at the beginning of each unit. If you lose your files, you can easily replace them.
Ready to get started?
If you are not logged in already, click here to access your first lessons!