I’ve been teaching the violin since 2013. This includes working with music services and teaching at primary schools across South London. Lessons take place from my home in Crystal Palace and virtually across the UK. I have an LRSM in Violin, BA in Music, MA in Musical Performance, and PgDip in Musical Performance.
A good violin technique should feel comfortable, as though the violin and bow are part of your body. Students will start playing in their first lesson, and I will make gradual changes to your posture, bow control and left hand technique as we work through music. I have most availability during the day midweek, while after-school and Saturday slots depend on availability.
I studied the violin at Sheffield University and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance before taking my LRSM performance diploma. I was taught by Robin Ireland and Peter Cropper from the Lindsay String Quartet, Dona Lee Croft from the Royal College of Music, and Claire Thompson from the Philharmonia Orchestra.
During my professional career, I performed with various music ensembles, including string quartets, chamber orchestras, and symphony orchestras. Concert venues I performed in include the Royal Festival Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Barbican.
My past teaching has included individual tuition, string quartets, chamber orchestras, and whole classes. This has helped me adapt my explanations and activities to different ages, groups, and abilities.
Unlike the guitar, a violin has no frets. This means tuning relies on developing your ear and precise finger placement through practising scales, études, and other exercises. Tone quality depends on the bow, including its speed, weight, and contact point. I’ll gradually break these skills down while making sure music is always at the forefront in lessons.
Since 2013
Teaching violin
LRSM
Violin performance
BA in Music
Sheffield University
MA in Musical Performance
Sheffield University
PgDip in Musical Performance
Trinity Laban
Enhanced DBS check
Update Service registered
To make the first lesson effective and enjoyable, it’s important to rent or buy a correctly sized violin. Parents or guardians are welcome to sit in lessons, so the child is relaxed and they can better support the child when they practice at home.
You don’t need previous experience or the ability to read music before starting violin tuition. I can offer increased flexibility for daytime lessons during the week, allowing adults to learn at a comfortable pace, whether they are learning for enjoyment or to work through the grades.
If your child is home-educated, you can take advantage of my increased availability during the daytime midweek. Lessons can be extra-curricular or more structured with graded exams. Parents can track progress through the student portal to better support their child.
If you’re returning to the violin after a break, the first thing I’ll do is establish your strengths and areas to develop, such as intonation or rhythm. We’ll then work on building your confidence by moving through a number of pieces, which will also remove any rustiness.
Students typically sit ABRSM graded exams, but I’m also familiar with the Trinity exam board. An increasing focus over the past five years has been scholarships as a means of entry to competitive secondary schools. A practical grade requires preparing three pieces, scales, sight-reading, and aural skills.
I can prepare students beyond Grade 8 standard, such as preparing for conservatoire auditions or performance diplomas. Lessons can focus on building repertoire, refining complex techniques such as double stops and martelé bowing, or working on ensemble music. Clear aims are important at this standard to maximise lessons and prepare in advance.
I’ll check that your violin is the right size and show you the correct set-up, including how to fit the shoulder rest and adjust the chin rest if needed. We’ll then learn the open strings (G - D - A - E) and a basic bow and violin hold. I’ll then introduce simple music. We’ll start by plucking, then move on to pieces that use the bow on open strings, as I make minor tweaks to your technique.
With the left hand, I will initially use stickers for common finger placements until after Grade 1. The main priority is to drop the wrist, keep the hand relaxed, and curve the fingers. The bow hold is more complex, and some students may benefit from a bow mould that organises your finger placement, allowing you to pay attention to the piece we’re playing rather than focusing solely on technique.
As the pieces increase in complexity, we can consider how to refine tone. For example, we can use martelé bowing near the balance point for a staccato quaver pattern. Other techniques include vibrato from Grade 5 standard and double-stopping. I will increasingly discuss the meaning of musical phrases with students to encourage them to analyse the music and bring out their creativity.
I teach from my home in Crystal Palace. I have an upright piano and can accompany students. It is a quiet space with plenty of room to work on posture and bowing.
With virtual tuition, you can be anywhere in the UK. Setting up the camera angle correctly allows me to critique your technique, while my perfect pitch lets me accurately assess intonation and tuning.
Violins are available in several fractional sizes. I can advise which size you need during your first lesson before you commit to buying or renting a violin.
Setting up your violin before practice is harder than you’d expect. Students often confuse the position of the shoulder rest, and the default chin rest placement and size may not suit your neck. I am happy to set up the violin for the long term.
Parents and guardians are always welcome to sit in lessons. It will help younger students to relax. Parents will also be able to track their progress and know what needs focusing on, such as dropping the left wrist or stopping the right-hand thumb from “locking” into the bow.
Students can use an invite-only portal where they can view homework and manage invoices and bookings, such as rescheduling or booking an extra lesson before an exam. Students can also request feedback between lessons, such as struggling with homework or asking me to critique a recorded performance.
Liam has been teaching my 8 year old son violin (and now also piano) for over two years. I highly recommend him! My son was only six when he decided he wanted to learn violin and I was a little worried about how well he would concentrate. Liam is great at pitching the lesson for the individual and my son was engaged from the first lesson. He loves his music lessons and has progressed rapidly. Liam is really flexible and has been equally happy tutoring my son through music grade exams (which he passed with merit) and then, when my son decided he wanted to concentrate on music without exams for a while, helping him develop his technique and style with other pieces. Liam has a relaxed style which my son loves but he also has a real attention to detail and many subtle ways of introducing technique and honing skills without it becoming tedious. He also got a group of his young violinists to perform at the Crystal Palace Festival recently which was a great experience for them and a proud moment for us parents.
Liam is a helpful and supportive teacher. Hes has been helping me to learn the violin for a year now and every lesson is fun and different. We are working towards my grade 5 and he has really helped me with the scales, which I really hate! He comes to my house so I don’t miss any lessons at school, and he is always on time. I would really recommend Liam to anyone wanting to learn the violin. He is an amazing player and is really inspirational. – Jasmine
Liam is a fantastic teacher – encouraging, very patient and thorough, and also relaxed and friendly. Our daughter loves her lessons with him and is making strong progress with her violin. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him as a wonderful teacher for anyone.
Readiness for violin lessons depends on concentration, not age alone. I have taught students as young as four, while some seven-year-olds have tired quickly and lost focus. I’m happy to advise and arrange a taster lesson if you’re unsure.
Yes. If you’re not yet decided on regular tuition, you can rent an instrument from a music shop. I can advise on the violin size and suitable instrument makes if you want to continue lessons with me after your taster lesson.
Straight away. The technique for the violin is complex, and in the first lesson, I will introduce the basics before starting on your first book. As we work through the book, I will continue making slight changes to your technique. Beginner music takes into account the technical challenges, and the pieces will start by plucking the strings (G - D - A - E), followed by open-string bowing, before gradually adding fingers to the fingerboard.
Tuning will be an ongoing focus. With beginners, I start by putting stickers where the fingers are commonly positioned on the fingerboard. After completing Grade 1 and establishing a solid foundation, I take these stickers away. We then spend time playing alongside each other to train each student’s ear. Tuning becomes more complex as the grades progress, but the student’s ear will continue developing to keep pace. Visual markers are only temporary support and can’t be maintained beyond the first grade.
Yes. I have perfect pitch, which means I’m able to hear the student’s violin regardless of the format. It’s important to position the camera so I can see the bow and the left hand from a technique perspective. Online lessons do require more independence: for example, I can’t point to the music, so students need to be able to keep track of their location when they look at their fingers and back to the music. However, this is a long-term benefit for students, and they can send recordings for me to review using the student portal.
Yes. I prepare students for both exam boards, but exams are optional. The requirements depend on the exam board. For an ABRSM Practical Grade, you are assessed on three pieces, scales and arpeggios, sight-reading and aural tests. For an ABRSM Performance Grade, you record a continuous performance of four pieces in one take.
My students can manage lessons through an invite-only portal. This includes viewing upcoming and past lessons, invoices, and getting feedback from me between appointments. You can also make booking changes, such as rearranging a booking or arranging additional lessons before an exam that match your availability.
Let me know the age of the student, their standard, and their goals. If you need a violin, I can let you know the instrument size before you rent or buy.