Professor Jan Sedivka, who had few peers in his knowledge of the workings of the left hand, left an important legacy of thought on the subject. Here are some of his ideas on tackling the problem of left hand asymmetry. Gleaned from my experience in teaching as his assistant for ten years and also from the video tapes he...
How would you make progress with this challenging student? Let
The teaching of stringed instruments in groups is both well established and widespread in Australian schools as in many other parts of the world. There are a number of reasons for choosing to teach strings in groups such as budgetary constraints, timetabling and staffing efficiency, integration into the school curriculum, as support and extension activities for individual tuition, ensemble...
The ideal of most parents of musical children is be involved with practice in ways that maximises usefulness and minimises interference. No one knows your child the way you do - this can be a help but also a hindrance when it comes to music practice. Most teachers agree that for children of primary school age, and sometimes older, parental...
Is there any value in learning a stringed instrument? As teachers we try to inspire, and make lessons enjoyable. So much time, effort and money is spent in learning to play. Surely there is more to it than simply learning notes and tunes? How may we help our students get the most out of learning and doing the best...
Practising is what we do for ourselves. It is solitary. It is where we work in harmony with ourselves and teach ourselves everything we will ever know. A good outside teacher is essential, and skills are learned in lessons. However it is that time on our own, where we make those skills our own, through our own brains and...