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Guides
String Courses 2023: Start your course hunting here!
Before you start combing through the string courses listed in our guide, take a look at these suggestions to help find the course that’s right for you
6 tips for empowered recording: Susanna Klein
In the first of a three-part guide to practice strategies, the violinist gives advice on how to reap the benefits of recording yourself in your practice sessions
20 reminders for musicians: Cellist David Finckel
David Finckel shares 20 pieces of advice on big-picture topics often forgotten in the teaching room
A Musician’s Ten Commandments: Cellist David Finckel
How to enjoy a sustainable and fulfilling musical career through ten guiding principles
Ask the Experts: how to help a beginner pupil with intonation issues
Strad readers submit their problems and queries about string playing, teaching or making to our experts
Opinion: How learning a language can inform musical practice
Naomi Yandell’s efforts to learn a language using Duolingo have inspired her to rethink the way she teaches her own students, particularly with regard to repetitive practice
Neesa Sunar: How I use the mutuality of Intentional Peer Support in my music teaching
To aid students who have hit a barrier in learning, violist and clinical telehealth therapist Neesa Sunar provides four teaching scenarios which benefit from the empathetic approach of Intentional Peer Support
‘I can see good tone’ - Suzuki’s tonalisation exercises
With musical examples, Helen Brunner examines how Suzuki’s tonalisation exercises are used to create a beautiful sound on the violin. From the September 2021 issue
5 ways to engage teenage string students in learning and performing a piece of music
Violist with the Bath Festival Orchestra, Cameron Howe, shares his experiences of teaching teenagers as part of the orchestra’s outreach work
Looking after your instrument: a beginner’s guide on how to change your strings
From the Women in Lutherie community: Munich-based luthier Lisa Hellmich provides a handy picture guide on how to change your strings with ease
Looking after your instrument: a guide to cleaning and polishing
Luthier Nurgul Comak offers a guide on instilling good cleaning habits and techniques to ensure the health and longevity of your stringed instrument
Looking after your instrument: an introduction to soundposts
What is a soundpost? What does it do? Luthier Cecilia González from the Women in Lutherie community illustrates the enormous role of the little cylindrical piece of wood in an aim to demystify the subject for players
Looking after your instrument: the secret to bridge placement
Is a reluctance to adjust your own bridge resulting in unnecessary trips to the luthier? Paris Andrew from the Women in Lutherie community explains how it’s done
How to teach adult string students
Teaching adults need not be a daunting prospect. For Alice McVeigh the rewards outweigh the problems, as she reveals in her guide for tutors. From 2014
Learning a violin as an adult: How do you progress beyond practising for exams?
How can an adult amateur, beginning or relearning an instrument, progress beyond practising for exams? Three tutors examine the various options – as well as suggesting ways to combat shyness
How should string teachers approach an advanced adult pupil?
Understanding the physique and psyche of a new adult pupil should not be taken lightly, writes Pauline Harding
5 insights on mental health from The Strad archives
To mark World Mental Health Day on Monday 10 October, take a look at some views on mental health from the perspective of students, luthiers and players
The Strad Podcast Episode #40: Naomi Yandell on teaching beginner bow holds
A must-listen episode for anyone flummoxed by the tricky concept of teaching new string players how to hold a bow
Applying for funding: an insight from Tina Vadaneaux, Continuo Foundation
Founder and CEO of Continuo Foundation Tina Vadaneaux answers some frequently asked questions for those stumped by grant applications
A string quartet is an ‘instrument’ that students must master
Graham Oppenheimer, senior chamber music tutor at Chetham’s School of Music, shares some of his teaching strategies for school-age students
Guides
String Courses 2023: Start your course hunting here!
Before you start combing through the string courses listed in our guide, take a look at these suggestions to help find the course that’s right for you
6 tips for empowered recording: Susanna Klein
In the first of a three-part guide to practice strategies, the violinist gives advice on how to reap the benefits of recording yourself in your practice sessions
20 reminders for musicians: Cellist David Finckel
David Finckel shares 20 pieces of advice on big-picture topics often forgotten in the teaching room
A Musician’s Ten Commandments: Cellist David Finckel
How to enjoy a sustainable and fulfilling musical career through ten guiding principles
Ask the Experts: how to help a beginner pupil with intonation issues
Strad readers submit their problems and queries about string playing, teaching or making to our experts