Teacher profiles
Should vibrato exercises be practised separately from the repertoire?
Teacher Talk: your string teaching questions answered by our panel of experts. From 2011
‘Is it too late for me?’: Teaching adult students
Cellist and teacher Ragnhild Sannes shares her experience teaching adult cellists and how the question of being too late to start needs reframing
Teaching adult students: Find a teacher with passion and dedication
Finding the right teacher can eliminate many of the insecurities associated with learning an instrument as an adult. Cellist and teacher Ariane Zandi shares her experience from a teacher’s perspective
‘Don’t take yourself too seriously, but take what you do seriously’: Johannes Moser answers your questions
Cellist Johannes Moser shares his expertise on performance, life as a busy musician, plus his favourite concert to date
A little every day goes a long way: Teaching adult students
The key to learning an instrument as an adult is to emphasise the love of music making and to work in small, manageable steps, shares violinist Laura Rickard
The Strad Podcast Episode #46: Billy Tobenkin on starting the cello at 25
’I encourage adults that I encounter to dream bigger than you would imagine’
‘I try to teach the students to think for themselves’ – the singular teaching legacy of Dorothy DeLay
Dorothy DeLay was born on this day in 1917. In this excerpt from September 2017, Laurie Niles speaks to former students about the legendary pedagogue’s teaching methods
Born on this day: Otakar Ševčík
Happy 170th birthday! Read about the legendary violinist and pedagogue that influenced string players worldwide
Musical groundbreakers: Ševčík’s female pupils
At the beginning of the 20th century, a small number of female violinists became internationally renowned. Linking the members of this intrepid group was the famous Czech string teacher Otakar Ševčík, as Rosalind Ventris discovers
Leila Schayegh's top 5 tips on historically informed vibrato
The Baroque violinist shares her wisdom on how to use vibrato authentically
Violinist Lihay Bendayan: Fourth finger vibrato
In this extract from the March 2022 issue, violinist Lihay Bendayan provides tips on how to improve a weak fourth finger vibrato
‘Don’t expect perfection – seek improvement’: Anne Akiko Meyers answers your questions
Anne Akiko Meyers shares her expertise on violin techniques, learning methods and music education, as well as insights from the unpredictable world of performance
‘A teacher should be most aware of a student’s health, both mental and physical’ - bassist Mary Condliffe
The Cardiff-based double bass pedagogue explains why her students’ health is her biggest concern, in this interview from April 2012
The final five bars of the Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite in D minor
Mats Lidström, the Leo Stern Professor of Cello at London’s Royal Academy of Music, examines the curious and sudden omission of rhythm and flow in the final five bars of Bach’s Prelude in D minor for solo cello, in this extract from the January 2022 issue
Should Scale Systems Come With A Health Warning?
Violinist Hector Scott examines how players can use scales to exercise curiosity and exploration of musical expressivity, as opposed to excessive, grinding, repetitive practice
The Strad Podcast Episode #26: Alun Thomas on Alexander Technique
’We need to find a way of getting out of our own way, to stop the things that we don’t need’
Masterclass: Jennifer Koh on ‘Méditation’ from Souvenir d’un lieu cher
The violinist offers practical tips on the first piece of Tchaikovsky’s set of three short works, including audio and sheet music
Masterclass: Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro op.70
Cellist Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt discusses how to produce a true legato and varied tone colours appropriate to this tempestuous work. From February 2016
Double bass beginners should play in all left-hand positions
Thomas Martin pinpoints some common technical problems for young bassists and insists that beginners shouldn't be restricted to playing in the lower positions. From the May 2014 issue
The Strad Podcast Episode #22: Chad Hoopes on interdisciplinary teaching and learning
’Every student is different, every lesson is different. You have to teach according to the student’