Noah's Violin and Viola Studio
Introduction: I am a violin and viola teacher, and I began my career as a performer in the Pittsburgh area. I have an extensive performing history that has allowed me to travel to Canada and China. I am a recent Masters Degree graduate of the Longy School of Music in Cambridge. Currently, I perform professionally in the Cambridge and greater Boston area.
I teach both violin and viola to all ages and levels. You will find my rates to be very reasonable for the quality of lessons I teach. I am willing to travel within reason as I have a vehicle. I am very flexible in terms of scheduling and can work around your schedule. Even if you are considering the violin or viola as a part time hobby and are unsure of the time commitment, I am very accommodating and can help figure out an efficient way to make the most of your lessons.
Overview
Hired 10 times
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This pro accepts payments via Cash and Venmo.
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Reviews
Customers rated this pro highly for punctuality, work quality, and professionalism.
Exceptional 5.0
7 reviews
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Colleen S.
Mar 9, 2015
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Hired on Thumbtack
Hired on Thumbtack
Violin Lessons
Smith G.
Feb 9, 2015
I have been working with Noah, taking weekly lessons since March 2013, and I cannot praise him highly enough. When I started with Noah I had essentially no background having only taken 6 weeks of violin at an adult education center in Cambridge. As an adult novice I found in looking for teachers that some were not interested in working with me or did not take my interest very seriously. Noah, however, has always met my 100% with his 150%. On our first meeting he took time to find out my goals and did not assume I would want to go by some formulaic approach to learning, but instead discussed a variety of approaches we could take.
My preference was for our lessons to take a fairly traditional route, and we have been working systematically through the Suzuki pieces, as well as scales and standard etudes (Sevcik, Schradiek, Wohlfahrt); Noah has also incorporated movie theme tunes (eg Lord of the Rings) and music that I like that address specific issues and to maintain my motivation. He has also been good on teaching technique, and takes time to explain background music theory as needed, as he is not only well versed in music theory, but also the theory of teaching having studied this formally as part of his masters. Despite his own profound knowledge I find him able to simplify concepts and explain them in a way that is easy for me to apply.
As an adult student my schedule has not always been easy but Noah has always been accommodating, and has understood when at times I have not practiced as much as I should. Despite that he has always been able to make lessons useful and practical. However, even when I come well prepared to class, Noah is always able to point out ways in which I can improve my performance, whether that is changing my approach from a purely technical point of view or in interpretation of the piece.
Noah is also an outstanding artist, and it is truly inspiring to hear him transform the simple tunes that we are working on into music that sounds mature and beautiful. In demonstrating the pieces and then encouraging me to find my own interpretations he constantly helps me focus on not just playing notes but on being musical.
In all of these ways, combined with his very relaxed and friendly attitude, Noah makes learning a fun and relaxing experience. As an adult novice learner I can therefore strongly endorse Noah. I expect you would find him equally capable if you are thinking of having your child take lessons - Noah also works with the el sistema program of teaching children and I have seen him perform with these groups; his interaction with the children is exactly that which he exhibits to adults, fun and relaxed.
Gabrielle H.
May 26, 2015
Noah is an indredible teacher. I started taking violin lessons from Noah over a year ago. We met in Cambridge for an hour lesson every week.
Noah is incredibly knowledgeable, experienced, and talented as a musician. He is also a great at instructing. His explanations were clear and enthusiastic. Throughout each lesson Noah has been positive and encouraging of my progress. He seems to genuinely enjoy music and teaching.
Noah is on time for his lessons and flexible with scheduling. I mostly contact him using text messaging and occasionally calling him. He has always responded in a timely manner.
I highly recommend Noah and feel that I am lucky to have found such an excellent teacher!
Andrew D.
Nov 29, 2018
Noah and I have been working together since January 2018. Noah has been an exceptional viola teacher encouraging me every step of the way. He is a compassionate teacher and understands the highs and lows of being a musician. As an adult who had not played viola in more than a decade, Noah understood my background and helped me achieve my goal of joining a community orchestra. However, he continues to challenge me with work that is above where I left off as a young musician and the improvement has been exponential. He is also open to new ideas when I present him with different teaching and practice techniques. Noah attended my first performance with the community orchestra where I was quite anxious and experiencing severe anxiety. During the intermission, he was able to empathize with my feelings and relay his own experiences with performance anxiety. After talking with him, I felt better and got back on stage for the second act of our performance feeling more confident. Noah would be a great teacher for any student as he is dedicated and focused on his students.
Liz F.
Jan 8, 2015
Great teacher that's worked with multiple students and it shows. Lessons are a good mix of working on individual pieces and general exercises to improve technique. He's also open to altering the plan if there's anything specific that you want to work on. I'd definitely recommend to a friend.