String instrument pedagogy

An approach towards outlining a practical understanding of ancient music. Particularly dealing with aspects of ancient Greek music, as recounted by the translated fragments of Aristoxenus, Ptolemy and others. In brief, a summary guide defining a method for practically realising harmonic relations, rhythmic poetics, the varieties of the tonal genera, and tetrachord theory using standard techniques of rational string division.
(Please note: This is an incomplete review copy and as such does not contain the full text of this manuscript. If you would like the full picture, please do get in touch with me.)

From the performer’s point of view, so many of the technical aspects of post-1950 works require specialized, advanced study. Interpreting this music often demands a radically different mindset from earlier repertoire. It requires familiarity with new kinds of notation, new techniques or unfamiliar concepts. It may even rely on us being familiar with elements derived from musical cultures other than our own. All this can be intimidating.

Composers, for their part, may be looking for ways to refine their writing for the cello, making it more idiomatic, accessible, or personal. Alternatively, they may be wanting to discover new directions and possibilities, either in terms of instrumental techniques or in exploring new sonorities. With all these issues in mind, I decided to write this book, which is informed by my twenty years of performing post-1950 composers in a variety of mediums and genres around the world, and is supported by my doctoral research at the University of Montreal.

I do not consider this book to be an academic treatise, but rather a practical handbook, an instruction manual for those wishing to expand their knowledge of the cello and the repertoire of the recent past, providing both technical and practical advice on the execution of complex contemporary works for the instrument. Performers and composers: you will discover new ways of playing, new technical concepts, composers who you have not yet encountered. My wish is that my book will open up new avenues for your future research.

Continuing my exploration of contemporary techniques for strings which began in my Viola Spaces, in this thesis I explain how I wrote the Violin Spaces and Satellites for string quartet as both learning paths for  extended techniques and concert pieces in their own right.

Este trabalho, uma pesquisa qualitativa e um estudo de caso, trata da experimentação de uma proposta de iniciação coletiva em instrumentos de cordas friccionadas, inspirada no ensino das filarmônicas baianas (bandas de música) e seus mestres. O objetivo foi apurar quais resultados seriam obtidos com a formatação e aplicação de uma prática de iniciação coletiva de cordas que tivesse as filarmônicas baianas como inspiração para a sua estrutura e características principais. Essa pesquisa gerou uma proposta de ensino que neste trabalho é chamado de “filarmônica de cordas” e um perfil de professor chamado de “mestre de orquestra”. Para isso, foi feita uma revisão bibliográfica e entrevista com especialistas a fim de se definir quais elementos dos ensinos das filarmônicas eram comuns e preponderantes à maioria dessas formações, definindo-se assim as características de seu ensino. Em seguida, o autor, através da análise de tratados, livros, métodos, matérias didáticos, trabalhos acadêmicos e sua própria experiência como professor, definiu quais e como essas características pedagógicas das filarmônicas eram aplicáveis no universo do ensino das cordas. Depois, o ensino foi aplicado no contexto da Extensão da Escola de Música da Universidade Federal da Bahia, onde foram gerados dados através de gravações, formulários semiestruturados e anotações. Esses dados permitiram a melhor compreensão dos resultados obtidos a fim de se determinar a eficiência do ensino. Essa pesquisa gerou um trabalho de seis capítulos: revisão da literatura, fundamentação teórica, a proposta de ensino, metodologia, coleta e interpretação dos dados e perspectivas do ensino. Esses capítulos descrevem todo o processo da pesquisa, assim como seus resultados e seus possíveis desdobramentos. A pesquisa concluiu que o ensino proposto e experimentado, no contexto em que foi aplicado, apresentou resultados muito positivos tanto no campo técnico, como no musical e pedagógico. Tendo boa aprovação não só dos alunos, mas também dos professores convidados a avaliarem o ensino. Isso revelou a “filarmônica de cordas” como uma abordagem de ensino-aprendizagem de grande potencial e possibilidade de desdobramentos positivos no campo do ensino coletivo de cordas.

ABSTRACT: This work deals with a teaching proposal for group of beginners in strings instruments. It`s a qualitative research and case study based in the teaching and pedagogic practices of the traditional successful wind bands of Bahia (Brazil), the filarmônicas. The objective was to determine what kind of results could be obtained through application of filarmônicas main characteristics and teaching style to a beginners group in strings instruments. It resulted, in this work, in a teaching proposal called "philharmonic of strings" and in a kind of teacher`s profile called "orchestra master". For this, a bibliographical review combined to interview with specialists were made. It helped to define which elements of the filarmônicas teaching style were more common and preponderant in these groups. Then, the author, through the analysis of treaties, books, methods, academic works and his own experience as teacher, defined what and how these pedagogical characteristics of the filarmônicas were applicable in the practices of strings teaching. Then, the teaching proposal developed was applied in the context of the school of music of the Federal University of Bahia, where several data were generated through recordings, applications forms and notes. These data allowed a better understanding of the results and permitted to determine the efficiency of the teaching proposal. This research generated a thesis of six chapters: literature review, theoretical foundation, the teaching proposal, methodology, data collect and interpretation, and, for conclude, perspectives of the teaching proposal. These chapters describe the whole research process, its results and possible outcomes. The research concluded that the teaching proposal presented very positive results in the technical, musical and pedagogical fields, in the context in which it was applied. It had good approval not only of the students, but also of the teachers invited to evaluate the teaching proposal. It showed that the teaching proposal has great potential and possibility of positive outcomes in the field of string instruments teaching.

This article will present a single case study of the acoustic attributes of sound production techniques that are involved in the expansion of performance practice with the violin. In this study, four elements were chosen from the multidimensional network involved in playing a normal tone, and then each was intentionally decoupled from ordinario. These elements (bow speed, bow placement, bow angle, and bow portion) were scaled between minimal and maximal values for any single parameter. Then, between minimal and maximal values, a series of scalar degrees were chosen to more or less uniformly link these extremes. This article will present acoustical attributes of these methods and discuss implications for musical usage. This study found that decoupling of any single parameter will result in perceptible differences that range from timbral to dynamical (sound) class change.

There has been much debate centering on the relationship between performer and teacher identities in the lives of preservice and inservice music educators. Often, these two identities are thought to be in tension with one another, especially for preservice string teachers (Froehlich & L'Roy, 1985; Woodford, 2002). Although recent literature has expanded and deepened the understanding of music teacher identity and some literature suggests that preservice and inservice music teachers seek balanced or integrated identities, the performer/musician identity and teacher identity continued to be addressed as distinct entities in recent research (Dust, 2006; Isbell, 2006, 2008).

Instead of studying music teacher identity as consisting of two separate components of performer and teacher, this study focused on activities associated with these identities, music-making and teaching, and their relationship to each other. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine the meanings and values of music-making in the lives of string teachers and to explore the intersections of musicmaking and teaching.

Research questions included, (a) How do participants describe their journeys to becoming string teachers and the meanings they constructed about their past musicmaking
experiences? (b) Why do participants continue or discontinue to engage in musicmaking at different points during their teaching careers? and (c) How do participants' past and present music-making experiences intersect with their teaching? Data sets were
generated through background surveys, multiple individual interviews, videotaped classroom observations, focus group interview including music-making and conversation, researcher's self-interview, and researcher's journals.

Participants connected meanings of music-making with the formation of identity and with their well-being. Music-making intersected with teaching in multiple ways. Music-making outside of the classroom reminded participants why they valued playing, provided insight into pedagogical issues, and helped them be more compassionate towards their students as learners. Participants' music-making inside the classroom helped them be more present in their teaching. They used music-making to inspire their students and themselves, to proactively address classroom management, to gain credibility with students, and to model technique, musicality, and their love of musicmaking. The findings from this study provide insights to inform music teacher education and professional development programs.

The purpose of this study was to examine the current status of undergraduate string teacher education curriculum in Turkish universities in both eastern and western regions. To accomplish
this task, the relative strengths and weaknesses of Turkish string teacher education were investigated through an intensive literature review and a survey. Seventy-one string professors at nineteen university music teacher training schools in Turkey were sent a questionnaire for the purpose of this investigation. The questionnaire was based on the following subjects: (1) the types of courses in the string teacher training area; (2) the nature of the teaching methodologies used in the string education courses; (3) the existing problems in the string teacher education curriculum; (4) the strengths in the area; and (5) the necessary changes and reforms that should be implemented to improve the level of Turkish string teacher education. Sixty-one of the professors (85.92%) responded. The findings indicated that there were significant differences in the application of the centralized string teacher education curriculum in universities in eastern and western Turkey. Some of these differences are: (1) the number and the quality of string faculty; (2) the conditions of teaching facilities; (3) the use of Turkish music in instructional level; and (4) the number and weekly hours of string education courses. According to the respondents in both regions, the string teacher education curriculum should be restructured and new courses in string teacher training (such as String Skills/Techniques, String Methods, String Laboratory, Public School Orchestra Conducting and Public School Orchestra Literature) should be added to the curriculum. Based on these findings, a model undergraduate curriculum for string teacher education was developed and included at the end of the study.

Jazz lore has it that the tuba was the initial bass instrument of choice until, in the 1930s, it was supplanted by the double bass. When the latter was used, it slapped out roots and fifths on every strong beat, a practice that persisted until Walter Page introduced the ‘walking bass’ concept, so the story goes. The reality, however, was far more nuanced, and the above myths, in part the result of judging performances made with imperfect recording and playback technology, lessened the attention given to early jazz bassists. As a result, their techniques are rarely used today beyond parody or pastiche.
In this paper I look beyond the mythology and dispel the myths by surveying the music of early jazz’s most important bassists from a historical and technical perspective. Furthermore, I demonstrate how their performance practice can still be relevant today, even in a modern idiom.

It’s no coincidence that Bill Johnson, Pops Foster and Wellman Braud, to name but a few of the most influential early jazz bass men, all hailed from New Orleans. It has been suggested that their stylistic approach and performance techniques originated in NOLA’s cross-cultural melting pot, with influences from visiting Afro-Cuban orquestas típica and local klezmer kapelyes. The result was an original, sophisticated style that incorporated a wide variety of techniques and timbres: slap- and snap-style, arco, two-beat, walking, eight-note lines, solo, often all used within the same tune.
Informed by a methodological approach combining oral history, transcription, analysis and performance, this multimedia presentation yields valuable insights into the historical role of the bass in the first decades of jazz history, which, given the central place of tradition in jazz education, is not just relevant for bassists and music historians, but for every jazz educator.

A case study was conducted on an expert cello teacher and a 7- year-old student, to analyze the relationships between the teacher's constructive conceptions and instructional practices, by means of the System for Analyzing the Practice of Instrumental Lessons. This article describes a constructive teaching model based on: (a) the student's learning processes, (b) fostering conditions that enable learning and (c) achieving long-lasting learning outcomes which are student-driven and applicable to other situations. Results suggest that many of this teacher's practices reflect the constructive profile to which her conceptions are associated.

O presente artigo mostra, com uma visão crítica, uma parte do panorama atual do ensino coletivo de cordas no Brasil, dissertando sobre as suas possibilidades e a sua abrangência. O autor do artigo também faz propostas para o futuro deste tipo de ensino na Bahia, apresentando o modelo do mestre de banda e das filarmônicas como uma possível inspiração para uma nova proposta de iniciação em instrumentos de cordas na Bahia.

The scrutiny of the score of Mozart's string quintet K. 516 shows that one of the most popular passages in this masterpiece's slow movement is usually being performed with a wrong bow articulation. The way Mozart intended it to be performed greatly improves the beauty of this passage.

Swiss educator, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze observed over 100 years ago that often music conservatoires focus primarily on the development of technique and repertoire, at the expense of musicianship. His embodied approach to music education aims to connect all our faculties, emotional, corporeal and intellectual, through experiencing music making, in and through movement. This arts practice research addresses how embodiment in classical music instrumental education can be enhanced by an embodied teaching method such as Dalcroze Eurhythmics. The research journey culminated with 'Dance of Shadows', a multidisciplinary , multi-sensorial interpretation of Eugène Ysaÿe's second sonata for solo violin, opus 27. To document the intrinsic reflexivity of the research, the researcher utilises the tools of artistic research and other arts practice methods. The findings of this investigation revealed not only an enhancement of the researcher's embodied preparation and performance practice but also a transformation in the experience of engagement for the audience.

O presente artigo trata de como didaticamente as filarmônicas baianas e seus mestres podem contribuir para o ensino coletivo de cordas. São levantados os principais elementos do ensino das filarmônicas e o seu potencial impacto na iniciação em cordas. Para isso, através da revisão da literatura, é feita uma breve contextualização histórica a respeito das filarmônicas na Bahia. Em seguida é feita uma contextualização acerca do ensino de cordas na Bahia. Passando em seguida para a parte principal do artigo onde são apontadas as principais possíveis contribuições do ensino das filarmônicas para a iniciação em cordas.

Recent research on music teaching and the curricula proposed in different countries increasingly insists on moving towards teaching centered on managing students’ mental processes according to the constructivist approach. However, studies on conceptions and practices of teaching–learning show that these still largely focus on transmitting the musical and technical knowledge needed to produce the correct sound. Our main aim was to study the conceptions of teaching–learning held by 53 string teachers at elementary levels, and to test how they are affected by the variable teaching experience (in three groups: [a] less than 7 years; [b] 7–14 years; and [c] more than 14 years). We also wanted to determine whether these conceptions give rise to consistent profiles in three pedagogical dimensions: teaching, learning, and evaluation. We collected data by means of a multiple-choice questionnaire, and applied cluster analysis, correlations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and post hoc tests. Agreeing with prior research, we found three distinct profiles in the answers to the questionnaire: direct, interpretative, and constructive. Teachers’ beliefs were more constructive regarding teaching and evaluation than regarding learning, although younger teachers held more complex positions regarding teaching and learning music, in contrast to much research on teaching-expertise.

This paper investigates the impact of Dalcroze Eurhythmics on fostering creativity and autonomy in classical instrumental pedagogy. The research took the form of an arts practice investigation which included devising, rehearsing, performing and documenting two performance events, drawing on Dalcroze Eurhythmics techniques rather than conventional classical music approaches. Autoethnography and other arts-based methods were utilised to develop and gather data. The paper presents an overview of Dalcroze Eurhythmics from the perspective of a performer, namely this researcher, and discusses how the method informed my arts practice investigation. It concludes with a discussion on key findings around creativity and autonomy, and the proposal that this approach has the potential to greatly enhance students experience of performance music education, as well as improve performance quality and satisfaction in their ensuing professional careers.

In this study I investigate the challenges that music teachers face when selecting repertoire in public school orchestra classes. Acknowledging that tensions are inherent between a teacher’s philosophy, history, and training and student motivation and interests, I explore the challenges that are presented when teachers include student concerns in their curriculum choices. Six orchestra teachers and 27 students were interviewed. Limited to secondary school settings, data collection includes individual and group interviews, document review, and rehearsal observations. Participants came from urban and suburban communities. Case studies illustrate the nuanced and thoughtful ways in which the teachers in this study, with their students, negotiated spaces of mutuality. While the orchestra teachers spent considerable time listening to their students, their methods were intuitive, democratic, and authoritative all at once. Some used surveys to gauge student interest; others honored student requests. Pull-out lessons were prime spaces for negotiation, as well as sight-reading. Various strategies for voting were employed. Final determinations, however, came down to arrangeability, differentiation, multicultural exposure, challenge, tradition, and “quality.” Some teachers also shared the ways in which they teach through repertoire, offering examples of pedagogy through musical and sociocultural lenses. In some cases, students reported a satisfaction with the balance of repertoire studied in their orchestra class; in others, they shared a desire and wonder to explore other styles and expand their role in selection. The study brings a critical perspective to the selection of musical repertoire and how directors of ensembles might look for and embrace negotiation as a generative ideal.

Instrumental or vocal teaching in music schools and general music education in compulsory schools represents primary elements of German music education. Both directions are combined on a professional basis by string, wind, singing or band classes. Music pedagogical theories describing instrumental teaching and school music, respectively, have evolved differently in the past - a fact that is scarcely addressed in the literature. In this article both problem-centered interview and video-assisted thought-reconstruction techniques are employed to use differences in the corresponding theories for building empirically grounded explanations of string classes. Major findings indicate that the instrumental teacher's background in traditional teaching structures strongly influences the realization of certain characteristics of aesthetic practice.

Yuiko Asaba's Masters dissertation (2005, Royal Holloway University of London) focuses on the aesthetics of Argentine Tango performance, analysing the techniques of Tango violin performance. This study is based on the extensive fieldwork in Argentina, funded by "The Helen Shackleton Fund" (Royal Holloway). The ethnography of this study derives from Asaba's lessons with Tango violinist Fernando Suarez Paz, the former violinist of Astor Piazzolla's "El Quinteto Tango Nuevo". Furthermore, tango concerts and rehearsals at "Orquesta Escuela de Tango" of the Ministry of Culture of Buenos Aires' city government is analytically annotated - the Tango Orchestra School in which Asaba became an active member as violinist. Asaba was fortunate to be its violinist in the last year during which the legendary Emilio Balcarce directed the Orchestra. This investigation provides the last and the only ethnographic accounts of rehearsals with the late Emilio Balcarce.

This article explores the process of determining an approach to the analysis of qualitative data collected as part of a case study research project involving children and teenagers from a community of musical practice—an all ages community- based fiddle group in central Scotland. The researcher’s overarching goal is to find ways to increase ongoing participation in playing a musical instrument by people of all ages. The article does not present the findings of the study, but instead explores the notion of the reciprocal leap of trust that occurs between researcher and case study group, and the effects the arising mutual obligations and responsibilities have on research decisions regarding data analysis. The author describes her experience of data collection in the field and suggests that decisions regarding data analysis are influenced equally by the research participants and herself, as researcher. Theirs is a shared narrative. The research itself a reciprocal leap of trust.

Key words: case study, community of musical practice, enjoyment, motivation, musical participation, traditional fiddling.

We often think of creative activities in music as those that produce a tangible musical product, such as a piece of music through composition or an improvisation. However, we can also expand the concept of creativity to include the musical gestures we use to communicate ideas. This article deals with a simple suggestion: put your students on the podium as conductors.