Continue ABRSM Violin Aural Training Online After Beijing for Adults
Shang Kun 2026-08-13 5
When I moved back to my hometown after three years in Beijing, I thought the hardest part would be leaving behind the street food and the convenience of 24-hour delivery. I was wrong. The hardest part was saying goodbye to my violin teacher. For an adult learner who had finally built a consistent practice routine, the thought of starting over with someone new—someone who wouldn't know my habits, my weaknesses, or the way I hesitated before every shift into third position—felt like a step backward. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Many adult learners who relocate from Beijing face the same quiet crisis: how do you continue ABRSM violin aural training online after Beijing, when the teaching culture here feels so uniquely hands-on
Let me share what I have learned from watching students struggle, and ultimately succeed, in making this transition. This is not a sales pitch. This is a conversation between two people who understand that learning the violin as an adult is already hard enough without losing your teacher.
Why Aural Training Feels Like the Loneliest Part of ABRSM PreparationLet us be honest with ourselves. Most adult violin learners do not hate aural training because it is difficult. We hate it because it exposes what we cannot do. When you sit in a practice room alone with a recording, trying to identify a modulation or sing back a melody, the silence after your own mistake is deafening. You have no one to laugh with about the wrong note, no one to say "try again, but this time feel the key change in your chest." This is the real pain point: aural training, by its nature, demands a human ear on the other end. You cannot learn to hear intervals the same way you learn a scale—by repetition alone. You need feedback. You need someone to say, "You were flat on that sixth, but your rhythm was perfect." This is precisely why continuing ABRSM violin aural training online after Beijing requires more than just a Zoom link. It requires a teacher who understands that your ear is not broken; it is just untrained in this specific way.
The Hidden Curriculum That Beijing Teachers Teach Without Saying a WordHere is something I have observed over years of watching adult learners transition from in-person to online lessons. The teaching culture in Beijing—especially in studios like Kun Violin, where Mr. ShangKun has built his career—carries a hidden curriculum. It is not written in any syllabus. It lives in the way a teacher leans in when you struggle, the way they hum the melody along with you before asking you to repeat it, the way they know that your tension in your jaw is actually a sign that you are about to miss the interval. When you move away, you do not just lose the lesson. You lose this unspoken language of physical presence. Many students tell me that their online aural training sessions feel hollow after Beijing because the new teacher cannot see their body. They are just a voice in a headset. This is why I always advise adult learners to look for teachers who have taught both in-person and online long enough to bridge that gap. Mr. ShangKun, for example, has been teaching across formats since 2003. He does not just hear you; he watches how you breathe before you sing. That nuance matters, especially for aural training where so much of the work is invisible.
The Three Stages of Aural Training That Most Online Courses SkipLet me break down something that many online ABRSM aural courses get wrong. They treat aural training as a series of exercises to check off: clap this rhythm, sing this melody, name this cadence. But real aural development for adult learners happens in three stages, and most online platforms only address the first. Stage one is recognition: can you hear the difference between a major and minor third Stage two is understanding: can you explain why that interval feels sad or bright in this context Stage three is expression: can you reproduce that interval in your own playing with intention A good teacher, working with you one-on-one, moves you through all three stages in every session. When you continue ABRSM violin aural training online after Beijing, you need to ensure your new teacher understands this progression. Otherwise, you will end up drilling exercises without ever connecting them to your actual violin playing. That is a waste of your time, and at this stage in our lives, we do not have time to waste.
What to Look for in an Online Aural Training Teacher (Beyond Credentials)I am going to be brutally honest here. Credentials matter, but they are not everything. Mr. ShangKun holds impressive recognition—Outstanding Violin Instructor by the China Conservatory of Music, member of the Violin Society under the Chinese Musicians Association—and his students achieve high-level ABRSM certificates and competition awards. But what I have learned from speaking with his current online students is that they do not stay with him because of his resume. They stay because he does something rare in online teaching: he treats the camera as a window, not a barrier. He asks you to position your tablet so he can see your bow hold and your face at the same time. He listens for the tension in your voice when you sing back a phrase. He knows that adult learners are often more self-conscious than children, and he adjusts his feedback accordingly. When you are looking for someone to continue your ABRSM violin aural training online after Beijing, ask yourself: does this teacher make me feel like I am still in the room with them If the answer is no, keep looking, no matter how many awards they have won.
The Specific Challenges Adult Learners Face in Transitioning OnlineLet us talk about the elephant in the virtual room. Adult learners have different needs than children or teenagers, and many online teaching models are built for the younger crowd. We have jobs, families, and the kind of exhaustion that makes even a five-minute aural exercise feel like a chore. We also have a deeper awareness of our own limitations. We know when we are guessing instead of hearing. We are less willing to fake it. When you move away from Beijing and try to continue your aural training online, you will face specific challenges: time zone differences that make scheduling harder, audio lag that can throw off your sense of pulse, and the temptation to skip aural practice altogether because it feels less urgent than technique. A teacher who understands adult psychology will anticipate these challenges. They will offer flexible scheduling that respects your time zone. They will teach you how to practice aural exercises in ten-minute chunks when you only have a lunch break. They will not shame you for missing a week. Mr. ShangKun, with his 20 years of teaching experience, has worked with enough adult students to know that consistency matters more than intensity. His approach is structured but adaptable. That is the kind of teacher you need.
A Practical Framework for Choosing Your Online Aural Training PathIf you are reading this and feeling stuck, let me offer a simple framework. First, assess your own learning style. Do you need a teacher who corrects every small mistake immediately, or do you need someone who lets you finish the exercise and then gives you three things to work on Second, ask for a trial lesson specifically focused on aural training. Many teachers offer a general trial, but you need to test their ability to teach aural skills. During that trial, pay attention to how they handle audio issues. Do they get frustrated, or do they calmly work around the lag Third, ask about their students. How many adult learners do they currently teach What are their success rates with ABRSM aural exams A teacher who has guided multiple adults through the online transition will have a library of tips and tricks that a generalist will not. Finally, trust your gut. If you feel rushed or dismissed during a trial lesson, do not sign up. The best online lessons feel like a conversation between equals, not a lecture.
Why Kun Violin's Approach to Online Aural Training Works for AdultsI hesitated before including this section because I do not want this to sound like a promotional break. But after watching several adult students struggle with cookie-cutter online courses and then thrive after switching to a more personalized approach, I feel I owe you an honest observation. The ShangKun Teaching Method, developed by Mr. ShangKun over two decades, is not a flashy system with a fancy name. It is a structured, scientific approach that breaks down aural training into components that adults can actually manage. Mr. ShangKun insists on one-on-one teaching because he knows that adults learn best when the material is tailored to their specific gaps. He also integrates aural training directly into your violin repertoire, so you are not doing aural exercises in isolation. You are learning to hear the intervals inside the pieces you are already working on. This makes the training feel relevant, not like a separate chore. For adult learners who have relocated from Beijing, this continuity is invaluable. You are not starting from zero. You are building on the foundation that your in-person lessons established.
The Reality Check: Online Aural Training Requires More from You, Not LessI want to end this with a hard truth that no one likes to say out loud. Continuing your ABRSM violin aural training online after Beijing will never be the same as sitting in a room with your teacher. The physical presence, the shared space, the ability to fix your bow hand in real time—that is gone. But here is what I have learned from watching hundreds of adult learners: the ones who succeed are not the ones who find the perfect replacement for their old teacher. They are the ones who accept that online learning is a different medium, with its own strengths and weaknesses. They invest in a good microphone. They learn to position their device so the teacher can see both their face and their violin. They send recordings between lessons for feedback. They stop comparing the online experience to the in-person one and start treating it as a unique opportunity to focus more deeply on their ear. The best teachers, like Mr. ShangKun, will guide you through this transition. But the work is still yours. If you are willing to adapt, the online format can actually make you a more independent, more attentive musician.
If you are an adult learner who has recently left Beijing and feels lost about how to continue your ABRSM aural training, I hope this piece has given you a clearer sense of what to look for. The right teacher will not promise to replace your old lessons. They will promise to meet you where you are, understand your specific challenges, and help you keep growing. That is not a small thing. That is everything.
