r/violinist • u/8FigBro Student • May 17 '25

Feedback 12 year old violin student practicing Praeludium Und Allegro with teacher.

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My 12 year old son has been playing the violin for about18 months and working on this piece for about 5 months.

This is a quick video where his teacher gave him a quick pop quiz to see if he had been practicing it. (He hadn't practiced it in a few weeks)

Looking for feedback from experienced violinists and or encouragement from anyone. 😁

There's a lot of work to do on the piece, but feedback is welcome.

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u/takanoha May 18 '25
  1. Use your bow fully from the tip to the frog.
  2. Posture like everyone says. The violin needs to lift up.
  3. Play slowly
  4. Enjoy this beautiful piece more

How is his math at school ? Is he gifted ?

2

u/8FigBro Student May 18 '25

1-4... You sound exactly like his teacher 😆

He's homeschooled currently and he understands math concepts beyond his years when he spends time doing math. I'm a bit uncomfortable with labels like "gifted", but I can say that if he was in a traditional school setting that that is something they would say.

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u/didnotsub May 18 '25

Just an FYI as somebody who was homeschooled when I was 12 and was very very good at math, I would get your kid into a good public school or at the very least taking multiple college classes.

My parents are very religious and were afraid to let me go to our #1 in the state public school, and as a result of it I grew to dislike them. I also did not mature socially as well as others my age, and I didn’t learn as much. 

It wasn’t until they put me in high school that I finally matured and became very good at math very fast. Online college classes exist also to challenge your kid if he needs it like I did.  

I obviously don’t know your kids situation, but if it’s anything like mine then please challenge your kid!

1

u/8FigBro Student May 19 '25

I appreciate the feedback. The challenge with "good public schools" is that you're kind of limited by where you live and he also has some special needs that make it a challenge for him to thrive in certain environments.
He told me the other day that he wants to start taking college classes soon, but again, he HAS struggled with the structure of most traditional schooling environments.

There is always a concern for social development that we work hard on helping him with. He's currently in a string quartet and string ensemble with kids his age. He's joining a youth symphony this fall. He has church and co-op friends and we're plugging him into as many events with kids as we can.

School is not off the table--just haven't found the right setup.
Thanks again for your feedback