I am Raymond Leon, a Hamilton area violin teacher. Feel free to take a look at my videos and music to see if there is anything that inspires you. I also have a small number of links to violin resources.

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe that my role is to help you get the best results for your time and hard work. I do this in several ways:

  1. Coming prepared for each lesson
  2. Keeping notes on each student's progress
  3. Thinking about which skill should be cultivated next in order to progress efficiently
  4. Reinforcing skills to build confidence

There is no secret to playing the violin well. You need to practice. Many people know this is crucial. But, if that is all there is to playing the violin, then why do so many people say that the violin is hard to learn?

Learning to play the violin requires time and dedication--and, yes, some money for an instrument, materials, and lessons. Many people give up before they have learned the basics because it is unpleasant to have to learn so many things before you can get a decent sound.

The trick is to not give up. As long as you own a violin, and you refuse to stop playing it until you've figured out how it works, you will eventually figure out your own way to make sounds. Sometimes, people simply give up on playing the violin, either because of lack of interest, lack of money, or lack of time. However, others actually have interest, money and time, and still fail to play the violin because of a lack of confidence. They look at their own playing and see only how bad it sounds. I believe that as a teacher, one of my goals should be to teach the student how to view their own progress positively and to encourage the student to continue in their studies until they have achieved something that can help make them feel confident in their pursuit.

How I Learned to Play the Violin

Starting in Grade 3 or 4, I learned how to play the violin by taking group lessons with Kosha Braun through the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Strings Instruction Program. She was an excellent and well-known Hamilton violin teacher who taught many students from the Hamilton area. Then, I took private lessons with Mark Fujino a year or two after I started violin group lessons and learned many advanced violin techniques from him. In high school, I took a few more music class electives and joined the orchestra. After that, I continued practising and experimenting. I challenged myself and eventually became a highly skilled player. I continue to learn new things about the violin even today through a combination of online videos and experimentation.

Playing Samples

I have put together some links to videos below of my playing the violin to help set your mind at ease that you will be taking lessons from someone who is knowledgable about the instrument.


  • Preludio from Partita 3 of Bach's Partitas and Sonatas for Solo Violin.

  • Méditation from the opera Thaïs written by Jules Massenet.

  • Adoration, by Felix Borowski

  • Bach's allegro fugue from Sonata 1 in G minor for solo violin

Lesson details

What Exactly Do You Teach?

For beginners, I will teach how to hold the violin, how to read pitches and rhythms using staff-based musical notation, and how to play simple songs like 'Happy Birthday', 'Mary Had a Little Lamb', and 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean'.

For intermediate students, I can help provide a curriculum to develop coordination; exercises to help with intonation; provide guidance on techniques such as staccato, spiccato, vibrato; troubleshoot scratchy tone issues, and teach shifting.

For advanced students, I can you how to develop skills that can get you closer to being a world class musician. I will share my method of memorization and practice, provide guidance on the process of mastery, explain higher standards of intonation, discuss limitations of the human body, introduce concepts of musical interpretation, and provide ideas on how to express musicality.

My specialty is classical music. However, for beginner students, there are a variety of fiddle and folk songs which I like to use for teaching purposes. If there is a particular type of music you enjoy, or a particular song you would like to play, I can try to incorporate some of your preferred music into my lessons.

Do you teach in my area?

I will teach any student within the City of Hamilton's official boundaries. I will also teach in areas close to Hamilton's Stoney Creek border area where I live. Ancaster, Westdale, Binbrook, Winona, Mount Hope and Grimsby are all within the area where I offer my services. If you are outside of these areas, I can offer you either online lessons or custom pricing. Please contact me for details.

How Many Lessons Will I Need?

Everyone is different, but it is possible to understand the bare minimum knowledge for playing the violin in 1 lesson. I usually spend 3 lessons to teach reading notes and basic rhythms, and it takes about 5 lessons to become comfortable matching notes on the musical staff with notes on the violin. It takes additional time to learn the physical skill of holding the bow, making sounds, and placing fingers in the correct location. I estimate 10 lessons would be a good number to learn basic songs. However, I recommend another 10 lessons to teach to a higher level of confidence in playing ability. In other words, I recommend taking 20 lessons to start. Please note, though, that I do not force people to take a set number of lessons in a 10 or 20 lesson package. Students who wish to stop earlier or later are free to do so as payment occurs at the end of each lesson.

Contact Information

To contact me for violin lessons, you can text or call me on my phone number, 289.788.9961, or, you can email me at violin@raymondleon.ca.

Links to stores selling and/or renting violins in and around the Hamilton, Ontario area, as well as teachers or companies that serve the area.

Contact Form

If you would like me to contact you back regarding lessons please use the contact form below. Anti-spam message: Due to spam, the subject must contain the text 'violin' in it in order for the contact form to work. Alternatively, or if you wish to contact me for any other reason, I can be reached at the email address 'violin@raymondleon.ca'.

Last updated November 17, 2025.