violin teachers in singapore

hi,are there any good violin teachers in singapore that teachers adult violin? i m 17 tis yr and no music background..normally do the teachers help purchase the violin or do we buy ourselves?what would be the cost for the lessons?any recommdations that u can give me thanks =)..i haf seen cristofori,verve some others but i m nt sure which are better? is it private tutors or those big companies like yamaha better? ^-^.u can email me at tan_hello_comsg@msn.com or reply here thanks =)...

Lol a fellow started-at-17 violin player! (im still 17 now ^^)

You would definitely fare better with a private tutor. A private tutor would be able to focus on you and help you along. As far as i know Cristofori and Yamaha teachers offer both group and individual lessons, and some offer private at-home lessons as well, all for different prices of course.

My friend takes individual lessons from a teacher in Cristofori and if im not wrong her lessons are weekly 45min sessions for about $40 a lesson (paid in terms, as in every 3 months). I think thats about the average price. Btw, she's grade 4. Lessons are the cheapest at Grade 1 and gradually increase as the grade goes up.

As for buying the violin, i do believe it should be bought by the student. My teacher bought my violin but thats because it came like a starters package. Perhaps once you settle on a teacher you could ask the teacher to go with you one day to look at violins?

A decent starter violin should cost no more than $150. A nice handmade one would be around $500. Go to the more reputable strings shops such as Synwin or Gramercy. Music Essentials is also quite a good store, thought not exclusively strings.

Good luck!