Dedicated to Teaching Excellence

"Hartmut Ometzberger's musical ideas and technical explanations are second to none."

Are you looking for the right teacher for YOU?

You are a sensitive musician, and you want playing the violin to be a truly joyful experience where you have the freedom to express yourself confidently. You want the opportunity to develop your playing in the easiest and fastest way possible, you can swiftly find your voice and freely communicating the music, making you a happier person in all aspects of you life. Imagine the rewards you could reap by overcoming the challenges of playing this magical instrument with 4 strings and a bow!

I am Hartmut Ometzberger, and I am the teacher who can lead you there. I can help you along the path to develop an easy and correct technique which will enable you to express your innermost feelings and thoughts. I will respect you and your needs as a musician and encourage you to find and strengthen your unique voice. I am the violin teacher you have been searching for who has the experience and patience to meet you where you are and take you where you want to go in a structured, disciplined and supportive approach. I eradicate the numerous myths and mysteries about playing the violin and help you to find a balanced and aware posture which enables you to play with ease. My students love to practice because they know that what they are doing yields them a tremendous result.

Now, let me share a secret with you:

It's all about learning the simplicity of playing the violin

Have you ever heard things like: "The violin is the most unnatural instrument!” "It's supposed to be hard." “The violin is the most difficult instrument!” “Pain and tension are normal when playing the violin!”

These are statements that I hear all the time from fellow musicians, students and colleagues, even teaching colleagues. Needless to say, I don’t fully agree with these statements, and I certainly don't focus on them. Let me explain:

When I was 15, I went to play to one of the greatest violinists and violin teachers. In the next three hours, he completely changed how I thought about the instrument that I was holding in my hands. I spent the next 10 years studying with some very great teachers, all of whom had much to teach. And I had much to learn. I am truly blessed to have been surrounded by such a wide range if incredible knowledge and experience.

Learning the violin is a whole-body experience. This is where the problems begin. Students practice, often for hours on end and with little enjoyment, with no clear idea about the exact technical challenges and the relevant solutions. Students are taught to concentrate on the smallest part of their machinery, their hands and fingers. The fact is that moving your arm and even your finger never just involves the particular part of the body that you are moving. Consequently, the sound never really develops. For example, you will never produce a great sound if your feet are not ‘connected’ to the floor. 

We have to liberate the body from as much excess tension as possible. So often, I hear teachers tell students to ‘just relax.' All my life, I have been trying to figure out what that means because if we do just that, we would drop to the floor. However, if we establish that what we need is a precise balance of tension and release, then we stand a chance. It is all about BALANCE.

A balanced body can only come from movement. Learning correct and natural movement is crucial to being able to play the violin and to develop your personal sound.

The more we manage to mobilize the body, the more our OWN very personal sound can develop. Every BODY is different in so many ways, and by nature, everyone has their own very personal sound. This is something to truly treasure! And not something to give up in an attempt to try to imitate someone else!

Over many years of teaching, my students tell me over and over again how easy technical challenges and even big pieces of violin repertoire are. Why, in their mind, are they easy? First of all, I never speak about the 'difficulty' of a particular piece, as that is, to me, completely irrelevant information. If a student is at a level to play a certain piece, it may be a challenge, but it doesn't have to be difficult. Why is it not difficult? Because I tell my student exactly what to do and how to practice to achieve success in the fastest and most efficient way possible. This is different for each student. One approach DOES NOT fit all! 

If we know what we are doing, even if it is a momentarily challenge, it is simple. When we approach music with that thought in mind, it becomes just that, MUSIC! Simple. Music is a vessel for personal expression and a connection to a higher dimension. It is not a race or a competition about who plays faster and louder. The un-supportive environment and fake competition, often encouraged by music colleges, is not what studying music is all about. It certainly won't help you to make your dreams comes true, or even help you express yourself for that matter, and it certainly doesn't serve you as an individual artist. Determination and discipline are very important, but they must be there for a reason: the respect and love for yourself as the artist.

The solutions to most technical questions on the violin are very simple. One only has to know how to find this simplicity. That is the game!

Do these ideas resonate with you?

If these ideas resonate with you and you want to find out more, please feel free to contact me. I teach regularly in the center of Vienna, Austria and am always interested in hearing talented violinists, so if you would like to play to me, I encourage you to set up a consultation lesson (also possible via Skype).

I have 3 mother tongues: Deutsch, English & Nederlands.

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