Our fall Performance Day will be at the studio on Saturday, November 1, from 10-11am.

This is a fun, informal opportunity to play for each other and learn from each other!  Students can bring whatever music they are ready to share.  It does not have to be 100% polished, but be prepared to tell us about it–why you like it, what you learned, or what was tricky–and to comment and encourage others!

If time allows, we’ll also try some new music together as a group.

This is not an audience-directed performance, but parents are always welcome to stay and listen (we have fun)!  Please let me know if you do plan to stay, so I know how many seats to plan for 😊

Looking forward to it!

Hi friends– Just a psa that I have new violin and viola lesson times available for summer into fall!

I have 4-5 daytime and evening spots available for:

-New beginners age 7 and up*
-Orchestra students wanting to improve their skills
-Adults who have played before or have always wanted to learn
-Anyone of beginner to intermediate skill level who wants to boost technique, musicality, and creativity in a friendly environment.

Summer availability: Flexible! but generally, Thursdays from 1pm-3:30pm, and 5:30-7pm

Expected fall availability: Thursdays from 1pm-3:30 pm, 1-2 evening spots after 6pm.
I may be able to open a couple more times/days, but this is what I currently know I can plan.

For more info, phone, and email head to my contact page

Feel free to share! Happy summer!

*(Age requirement is flexible, but I don’t specialize in young beginners; feel free to check with me for questions/recommendations)

After a long-needed break (for a baby and a pandemic) Layug String Studio is now open again with a limited number of lesson spots on Thursday afternoons/evenings!

Accepting beginners, returners, orchestra students looking for a technical boost, and pretty much anybody in between.

With nearly 20 years of traditional and Suzuki-influenced teaching experience, I love teaching music for our real, everyday lives: a mix of repertoire, healthy techniques and practice tools, and an understanding of music to open the door for creativity and collaboration. Please look around the site or give me a call and schedule an intro lesson to see if I might be the right teacher for you!

New music studio on west side of Randall has fall openings!  Layug String Studio is located in Randall Square and has 1-2 fall openings available for violin lessons.

Layug String Studio is open to new beginners age 6+, current orchestra students, and adults!  (I do not teach preschool-age or highly advanced students, but will be happy to direct you to those who do!)  I have 15 years of experience and love what I do, so it would be my privilege to talk to you about lessons!

My studio focuses on whole musicianship for lifelong playing.  This includes healthy understanding of technique; effective practice strategies and time management; understanding of music’s structure (aka “music theory”)–both for better understanding of written music and for creation of your own; and a traditional core repertoire that’s “tweakable” for the kind of music you like to play.  I believe music is to be shared: the studio holds both formal and informal performances, encourages school and community orchestra participation, and actively lays the framework for creativity and “jamming” skills.

As you look through the site (be aware some updates are still in progress), feel free to email or give me a call to determine if I’m the right teacher for you.  I love being a part of this music community and would be delighted to bring you along!

Our Fall Performance Day will be Saturday, November 12, at 10 am.  Since we have a small group of performers this time, we’re going to try holding it at my house.  It will be informal, interactive, and there will be snacks!  Please be on time!!!!!!! 🙂

Like last winter’s Performance Day, this session is primarily for the students to perform for each other.  Students who aren’t performing are still encouraged to participate.  Parents, of course, are also welcome!

I’ll be making “Progress Calls” next week–I’d really like to do this more regularly to keep parents in the loop.  Parents. please see your email re: scheduling a call time if needed.

I will be teaching November 21-22 (before Thanksgiving) as well as December 19-20 (before Christmas).  There will not be lessons from Dec. 26-Jan.4.

As we get back into school schedules, especially as you go into higher grade levels, it can become trickier to get your practice time in around homework, activities, and everything else! Here are my top tips for making practice work when you’re busy:

1. Have time “bookmarked” in your day for practice. For example, right after dinner, or volleyball, or x minutes before you start your homework. Having practice slotted into your day is much more efficient than trying to find time every single day.
2. Take 2 minutes to consider what you want to accomplish in your practice each day. You could even do this in the car on the way home from your lesson: pencil in tentative goals for each day’s practice, and adjust as needed. (You’ll learn a lot from this too!)
3. Consider splitting your practice. If you can, take 15 minutes in the morning to do most of your technique, or scales, or challenging sections of a piece. Then you don’t have the pressure of fitting EVERYTHING into your afternoon, and you have the satisfaction of following up on a practice day that’s already started well.
4. Use the clock to your advantage. Instead of “trying to fill” a certain time block, see how many things you can get work on well in the time you have. Or, if you practice better with a set length of time scheduled, focus on how much you can do well within that time and reward yourself with a “free play” if you accomplish your goals.
5. Something is better than nothing, and a little bit of consistent and focused time goes much farther than a cram session! If you wait till Saturday and then practice for two hours, you’ll overload your mind (and you’ll probably have already forgotten most of the important details from our lesson!) But even if you can only do a few minutes of focused practice a day, you can cement the most important or hardest things, and then build on those when you do have more time.
6. Remember what you love. If you’re getting frustrated with your practice, talk to me about taking some lesson time to refresh your own playing goals and preview music you want to play.
7. Don’t forget to have fun! Rest and play are necessary for your mind to learn well! If you’re feeling consistently overloaded, talk to your parents and me about finding a solution.

Good luck and happy practicing!

I’ve been working this month on updating both the site and our facebook page to be more useful resources for you!  You might notice that the menu on the sidebar has been streamlined.  I’ve updated our Policies and Studio Distinctives page, and put Curriculum and Instrument guides where they’re easy to find.  I’m also starting an FAQ page, where I plan to answer a common question on  a weekly basis.  And don’t forget to check out the links to our fabulous local shops and orchestras!

My goal with all this is twofold.  First, to provide information more clearly for prospective students.  There’s a lot that goes into beginning a stringed instrument, and I’ve attempted to put the most important information where it’s easy to find and easy to understand.  Second, I’ve often wanted to have a better way for sharing info with current students-insightful blog links, practice tips, fun youtube videos.  Facebook is made for that kind of thing but I haven’t been utilizing it, so I want to make more of a habit to get on and share things that can enrich learning.  I’ll still use the website for announcments, and hopefully also for more in-depth things I want to share.

As always, I welcome your feedback, and I hope this is a help!