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Music studies in China: Tianjin Juilliard School
Tom Stewart examines how students from China and abroad may be tempted to pursue studies at the new Tianjin Juilliard School
Long read: Playing Baroque and Classical
Current trends encourage stylistically informed performances of Baroque and Classical music, but how does an uninitiated player get started? Pauline Nobes offers some advice in this feature from September 2003
Baroque cello playing: Going for baroque
You don’t need years of study to play Baroque cello with style and panache, argues Daniel Yeadon in this article from June 2000 - just a willingness to think differently
Global impact of Suzuki: The method and the movement
From humble beginnings in a Japanese music school, Suzuki teaching has become one of the most popular forms of music education worldwide. In this feature from September 2012, Laurie Niles reports on the programme’s global impact
Masterclass: Rainer Moog on Brahms’s Viola Sonata in F minor op.120 no.1
Viola pedagogue Rainer Moog revisits the original score for clarinet and reveals some alterations that may be better left unchanged, in this article from the August 2015 issue of The Strad
Ševčík’s legacy: how important is he to string players today?
Leading performers and teachers share their views on the use of Ševčík today, in this article from September 1998. By Sarah Mnatzaganian
Opinion: Relaxed body, focused mind
The art of Chinese calligraphy has much to teach us about playing a stringed instrument, writes violist Hsin-Yun Huang
The ‘Ševčík Colony’: the global spread of a master pedagogue
In this extract from the December 2009 issue, Endre Granat outlines the international movements of violin professor Otakar Ševčík in the early 20th-century
Playing Concertos the Ševčík Way
His method books transformed violin pedagogy, but Otakar Ševčík’s later studies based around the concerto repertoire languished until rediscovered by Endre Granat. In this article from December 2009, Granat argues that Ševčík’s analytical approach can be applied to any work
Yampolsky study: Wrist-crippling finger-twister
Rok Klopčič gives tips on getting your hands around the fiendish Yampolsky study in this article from June 2009
Violin Masterclass: Co-ordination and Trilling in Dont's Etude op.35 no.6
In the first of two articles, violin teacher Zakhar Bron provides tips for practising the op.35 no.6 etude by Dont
Violin Masterclass: Playing Thirds in Dont’s Etude op.35 no.8
Violin teacher Zakhar Bron provides tips for practising the op.35 no.8 Etude by Dont
Pedagogues’ top studies: Etude of choice
There’s a wealth of variety when it comes to the studies string teachers can use with their students. Vicky Hancock asks some leading pedagogues which ones they find most useful
Popper cello etudes: Rites of passage
To mark 100 years since the death of cellist and composer David Popper, we ask top cello teachers from around the world: how valuable are his notoriously tricky cello studies to today’s students and players?
‘I Got Rhythm’: using ‘rhythm changes’ to explore improvisation on the double bass
In this excerpt from the April 2011 issue, bassist John Goldsby writes about using the harmonic structure of Gershwin’s classic song as a basis for new jazz melodies and improvisations
From the archive: Interpreting ‘I Got Rhythm’
Practical steps towards improvising like the greats on one of jazz’s most frequently performed progressions. Taken from the April 2011 issue
Top tips for putting the joy into practice
Violinist Maren Bosma offers seven helpful tips to make practice sessions fun, varied and productive
Masterclass: Rock string technique
Emmy award-winning composer and electric violinist, Mark Wood, outlines some exercises to ease classically trained players into rock technique, and explains how experimenting with alternative styles can benefit your playing
I was living a left-hand dominated musical existence - Benjamin Baker
Violinist Benjamin Baker explains the importance of not becoming fixated on the left hand and how focusing on the bow arm replenished his creative juices
Masterclass: Using classical music in jazz improvisation
John Goldsby, bassist with the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany, and author of Jazz Bowing Techniques for the Improving Bassist and the Jazz Bass Book. This article first appeared in the June 2010 issue