Continue ABRSM Violin Scale Practice Online After Leaving Beijing
Shang Kun 2026-08-15 0
When you leave Beijing—whether for a new job, family reasons, or further studies abroad—the first thing that hits you is not the new city or the unfamiliar food. It’s the sudden silence of your practice routine. If you were an ABRSM violin student, you know exactly what I mean. The scales that once felt like second nature start to feel shaky. The fingerboard becomes a stranger. And that upcoming exam It doesn’t care that you’ve moved halfway across the world.
I’ve seen this happen to dozens of students over the years. Some push through, some quit entirely, and a few find a way to continue their ABRSM scale practice online after leaving Beijing. This article is for the ones who want to be in that last group. It’s not a sales pitch. It’s a collection of real observations from someone who has watched the online violin teaching world evolve—and who has helped students stay on track when distance seemed like an impossible barrier.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room: why do scales matter so much in the first place And why is it so hard to keep them going without a teacher in the room
Why ABRSM Scales Are the Make-or-Break ElementIf you’ve ever taken an ABRSM exam, you know that scales are the part most students dread. They’re repetitive, they’re technical, and they don’t sound like music. But here’s the truth that examiners know: scales reveal everything about your foundation. Intonation, bow control, finger placement, even your listening habits—all of it shows up in a one-octave G major.
After leaving Beijing, many students assume they can just “keep practicing on their own” and then take a crash course before the exam. This is a dangerous myth. Scales are the easiest thing to let slide, and the hardest to rebuild once you lose the muscle memory. Without a teacher correcting your wrist angle or that subtle shift in third position, bad habits creep in silently. By the time you realize it, your examiner will hear the cracks.
I’ve had students who moved from Beijing to smaller cities in China or even overseas—London, Sydney, Vancouver—and tried to go it alone for six months. When they finally reached out for help, they had to spend twice as long unlearning poor habits as they did learning new scales. The moral of the story: don’t let a geographic move put your scale practice into hibernation.
What Makes Online Scale Practice Different—and HarderLet’s be honest: online violin lessons are not the same as in-person. The sound delay, the camera angle, the limitations of feedback—they all matter. But for scale practice specifically, the challenges are unique.
Scales require real-time micro-corrections. In a Beijing studio, a good teacher can reach out and adjust your bow hold mid-stroke. Online, that physical feedback disappears. You need a teacher who has developed a different set of skills: verbal clarity, visual cues, and a deep understanding of how to guide your body through words alone.
Another hidden issue is motivation. When you’re in a physical classroom with other students and a dedicated space, scales feel like part of a routine. At home, especially in a new environment, scales become the chore you skip. I’ve had adult students tell me they “just did a few” when they were supposed to practice for 30 minutes. The online teacher needs to find ways to build accountability without being a drill sergeant.
That’s why simply booking any online violin tutor who says they “teach ABRSM” is not enough. You need someone who understands the specific psychology of scale practice across a screen.
Three Mistakes Students Make When Starting Online Scale PracticeI’ve seen patterns emerge over the years, and I’ll share them openly. Avoid these, and you’re already ahead of 80% of students who try to continue ABRSM violin online.
Mistake #1: Using a cheap webcam or bad lighting. Your teacher needs to see your left hand fingers, wrist, and bow contact point clearly. A laptop’s built-in camera on a dim desk is not going to cut it. Invest in a simple external camera that can be adjusted to show a side angle or a top-down view. This one change improves feedback quality by 50%.
Mistake #2: Treating online lessons like a casual chat. I know students who sit in a cluttered room, with a phone propped on a shaky stack of books, and expect the teacher to work miracles. Treat the online lesson with the same seriousness as a studio lesson. Prepare your music, tune your violin beforehand, have a stable internet connection, and set up a quiet space. Your teacher is still giving you their full attention—do the same.
Mistake #3: Ignoring the “between lesson” plan. The biggest advantage of online learning is flexibility. The biggest disadvantage is the lack of a built-in practice schedule. Many students leave a lesson feeling inspired, then do nothing for three days. By the time the next lesson arrives, they’ve regressed. A good teacher will give you a structured weekly practice plan for scales—exactly which key, which tempo, which bowing variation—and you must follow it like a prescription.
How to Choose an Online Teacher for ABRSM Scales (Without Going Blind)This is where I want to be brutally honest, because I’ve seen too many students waste money and time on teachers who are great performers but terrible online instructors. Here’s a simple checklist.
First, ask about their experience with ABRSM specifically. Not just “I can teach the exam pieces,” but “Do you know how the examiner evaluates scale fluency under pressure” The difference is huge. A teacher who understands the exam psychology will help you prepare for the exact moment when you’re asked to play D major two octaves with no preparation.
Second, ask about their online teaching setup. Do they use two cameras Do they have a system for sharing sheet music or marking fingerings in real time Do they record the lesson so you can review it later These tools separate a professional from someone who just turned on Zoom.
Third—and this is the most overlooked—ask about their teaching philosophy. A teacher who insists on “one method for everyone” usually fails online because every student’s home environment, instrument quality, and learning pace are different. You need someone who adapts to you, not the other way around.
I’ll give you an example from the teacher I know best, ShangKun, who runs Kun Violin in Beijing. He has over 20 years of teaching experience and has taught students from beginner to diploma level. But what makes him effective online is his insistence on 1-on-1 personalized instruction. He does not use a cookie-cutter scale routine. Instead, he listens to what each student’s hand feels like—yes, through a screen—and gives corrections that target the exact weakness. His students have passed ABRSM Grade 8 and above while living in other cities, even other countries.
And here’s the part that surprised me when I first heard it: he doesn’t just focus on scales in isolation. He connects them to the pieces and studies the student is playing. This makes the scale practice feel meaningful, not mechanical. That’s a rare skill, especially in online teaching.
A Practical Framework for Continuing ABRSM Scale Practice OnlineOkay, let’s get tactical. Whether you work with Kun Violin or another teacher, here is a framework that works.
Step One: Assess your current level honestly. Record yourself playing the scales required for your next ABRSM grade. Listen back. Notice the intonation wobbles, the shaky shifts, the bow distribution problems. Write them down. Share this recording with your online teacher before the first lesson so they know what to prioritize.
Step Two: Schedule your lessons at a consistent time each week. This is non-negotiable. If you’re in a different time zone, find a teacher who offers flexible hours. Mr. ShangKun provides online lessons worldwide, and he’s used to working with students in Europe, North America, and Australia. But even with the best teacher, consistency is your responsibility.
Step Three: Break down each scale into micro-patterns. Don’t play a whole scale from beginning to end every time. Instead, practice the shift from the lower string to the higher string. Practice the specific arpeggio pattern that trips you up. Practice with a drone tone for intonation. Your teacher should be able to give you these drills.
Step Four: Use technology wisely. There are apps like Tunable or Cleartune that can help you check intonation in real time. But don’t become dependent on them—use them as a mirror, not a crutch. Also, consider using a metronome app that allows you to slow down the tempo gradually. Many online students underestimate how much slower they need to go to build accuracy.
Step Five: Have a monthly review session with your teacher. Once a month, play through all the scales for your current grade as if it’s a mock exam. Record it. Compare it to last month’s recording. This creates visible progress and keeps you motivated.
The Hidden Benefit of Online Scale Practice: Deeper ListeningHere’s something I’ve observed that might surprise you. When students switch to online lessons for scales, they often develop better listening skills than they had in person. Why Because the teacher cannot physically adjust their hand, the student is forced to rely on their own ears. The teacher’s verbal feedback—“Your third finger is a bit high on the A string”—requires the student to internalize the correction and make the adjustment themselves.
This self-reliance is exactly what examiners want. A student who can hear their own intonation errors and correct them on the fly is a student who will score higher in the scale section of the ABRSM exam. So in a way, leaving Beijing and continuing online might actually make you a stronger musician—if you approach it the right way.
Some of the most disciplined students I’ve seen are those who started online lessons after a move. They had to become their own practice coach. They learned to pay attention to their bow distribution, to the weight of their left hand, to the resonance of each note. And when they finally took their ABRSM exam—whether online or in person—they passed with confidence.
One Last Piece of Advice: Don’t Wait Too LongI’ve talked to parents who moved out of Beijing and said, “We’re settling in first, then we’ll find a new teacher.” Three months later, the child had forgotten proper hand position. Six months later, they were starting from a lower grade. The momentum you built in Beijing is real and precious. Don’t let it evaporate.
The best time to start online scale practice is the day you leave Beijing. The second best time is today. Find a teacher who understands the ABRSM system, who has experience with online delivery, and who invests in your individual progress. There are good teachers out there. Some, like ShangKun at Kun Violin, have been doing this for over a decade and have refined their approach to fit the modern student’s reality.
You don’t have to give up your violin journey just because you changed postal codes. The scales are still there, waiting for you. And with the right online guidance, they can sound just as good—maybe even better—than they did in Beijing.
