Welcome!

If you are going to play an octet instrument, but you do not live close to any of the listed professional teachers, you have some options.

Mezzo and baritone players will do well with teachers of the conventional violin and cello for starters. If you wish to play soprano, a good violin teacher can help you, and for beginning tenor players, a cellist should work just fine to get you going.

For the smallest instruments (the soprano and treble violins), a teacher trained in the Suzuki method would be a good person to start with since he or she will be accustomed to small instruments, short string lengths, and bowing particulars.

For beginning alto students I would recommend studying with a cellist for fingering style and bowing, and with a violist for reading the clef, learning the repertoire, and playing in characteristic style. If the two teachers are colleagues and used to working with each other, so much the better.

For bassists, the main problem is learning how to hold the instrument to accommodate the violin-style shoulders. Otherwise the fingering and hand positions are relatively straightforward and any competent bass teacher can start you on your way.

If you are an advanced student coming from a conventional stringed instrument, talk with the teachers on this list about your specific situation. This is especially important for players switching to the alto.

Players have remarked that at first the differences, whatever they are, between octet instruments and conventional instruments are fairly obvious. However, after playing the new instruments for a while, additional differences are often more subtle. At this point, it is to your advantage to find a teacher who has experience playing the octet violins.

I hope to be updating this list frequently as I find new teachers willing to be listed, so please check back often. If you are a teacher and would like to be added to the list, contact me.

CAVEAT!

The names and services of the individuals listed on this site are offered as a convenience to our visitors. I know almost everyone on this list personally and have confidence in their abilities. Were it otherwise, their names wouldn't be here. However, all transactions and associations are between the student and the teacher at their own risk. (Legal stuff-- I don't like it, but . . .)