4 yr old desperate to play violin can't start till next year - any ideas

[Didiplanthis]

My 7 yr old Dd has been playing violin for about a year , my 4 yr old Ds has been sobbing ( again ) as he really really wants to play too. He can't start at school until yr 1 - he is currently reception. There are no local private teachers I can get to. This has been going on for a good 2 months. Any ideas what I can do to nurture his enthusiasm while we wait. I have offered to teach him piano but that's not required !! Her 1/8th violin is too big for him and I don't have loads of money to spend a new even cheap one for him to play around with. First world problem I know but I am fed up with the tantrums !!

Oh she's not specially advanced or anything, nowhere near grades. Her teacher jumps around to different books so it's hard to say but maybe around the end of Starters for level? Simple crotchet-quaver-minim rhythms, fingers in first position, that sort of thing. As I say, emphasis on having fun not on progress.

Looking at my previous posts again, I may have come across more negative than I meant to about suzuki - it did great for me and is very much "proper lessons", just a different way to go about them. Just I fancied trying something else for DD and got lucky with a lovely teacher, and wanted to put a word in for other approaches being possible at that age. Suzuki would be a great place to start if there is a group near OP.

She'll be 5 in a couple of months, started at 3.5ish.

The recorder is good preparation for the violin

Progressive Recorder Method For Young Beginners: Book 1

Look on the Suzuki website for your nearest teacher/they will take from 3 and will probably have loan violins in stock.

Suzuki is learning by ear though and is very parent intensive (DD is now 12 & still on the Suzuki track-prob around grade 6 but they don't do gradings) so if you don't have the time to spare to sit taking notes through lessons and then completing practice with your notes then Suzuki won't be for you.

Whilst it does get easier-DD does a bit of practice on her own I still have to take notes in lessons and then she polishes with me.

She has learnt to note read as she plays a second instrument by learning the traditional way and is also in several orchestras and ensembles.

Thank you cat, I think your dd just has a right speed. She is already quite advanced and I agreed that it is better to have good foundation rather than to be too far too young. Good luck with her violin!

We have had a very successful Suzuki experience, so I definitely recommend looking in to that, if you're willing to sign your life away commit 😉. My dcs started at 3.5 and 4 and it has been really brilliant with so many surprises and opportunities.

I recommend starting your ds with a good bow hold, which will make things much easier when he does start. You could also establish a good playing position with feet position before he has a violin that is the right size...

When I did suzuki we started practicing violin hold with a cereal box covered in wallpaper, with a ruler stuck in the end. We used to have a weird foot position with one foot sticking out sideways too, apparently it's bad for you and they don't do it any more. I still stand like that as an adult!