An in-person violin teacher in Auckland since 1998, and a pioneer of digitally assisted violin learning.
I’m Aria Z Li, an Auckland violinist and teacher. I have taught violin in person, one to one, since 1998, from complete beginners through to advanced and diploma students, on ABRSM, Suzuki and learning-for-pleasure pathways.
I studied violin performance at the University of Auckland with David Nalden and Dimitry Atanassov. I hold an ABRSM LRSM Diploma in Violin and a Bachelor of Music in Performance.
Over the years I have also studied information technology, biotechnology and bioscience enterprise. I enjoy learning how things work. But whatever I study, I always come back to music, and lately those two worlds have come together.
After more than 25 years in the studio, I know exactly where beginners and intermediate players get stuck. It’s rarely the music itself. It’s reading it: which note, which string, which finger? Working that out note by note is slow and discouraging, and it can quietly use up a whole lesson.
So I build tools to take that hurdle on: note-reading games, scales and sight-reading on the fingerboard, 1,000 original sight-reading pieces, famous songs and a practice planner. Each one lights the notes up on the violin fingerboard and turns note learning into a few minutes of daily play. They are made for my own students first, and shared free with everyone.
When the notes are taken care of at home, lessons can go where only a teacher can: a free and balanced bow arm, a warm and living sound, intonation, phrasing and musical expression. These are shaped by watching, listening and gently adjusting in the moment. They are the heart of my in-person teaching.
My apps carry much of the note learning through the early grades, and some, like Scales on the Fingerboard, still help with practice up to Grade 8. But from Grade 6 onwards, the violin asks for things no screen can see or hear: advanced bow strokes such as spiccato and sautillé, a personal vibrato, secure shifting into high positions, double stops in tune, a body free of tension, and a real interpretation of the music. At this level, one-to-one, in-person teaching cannot be substituted by digital tools. Read why →
For me, music is more than a skill or a profession. It is a language. It helps us listen to ourselves, understand our feelings and connect with other people. Sometimes it expresses what words cannot.
Playing the violin asks for stillness, attention and honesty. Every note invites us to be fully present. I want my students to discover this spiritual side of playing: an awareness that grows from careful listening, and a balance and harmony that reach far beyond the music itself.
Learning the violin shapes a person for life. It trains concentration, patience and memory, and builds fine coordination between two hands doing completely different jobs. It sharpens listening, not only to music but to other people. It gives children a healthy way to express their feelings, and the quiet confidence that comes from slow, honest progress. It opens doors to orchestras, chamber groups and friendships across generations. And it stays: a violin can be picked up at eight or at eighty, a companion through every stage of life, and a place to return to when the world feels noisy.
