All teaching articles
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ReviewBook review: Teaching Violin, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass: Historical and Modern Pedagogical Practices
Philippa Bunting peruses a volume on historical teaching methods penned by US educators Dijana Ihas, Miranda Wilson and Gaelen McCormick
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ReviewBook review: Up Bow, Down Bow: A Child with Down Syndrome and His Journey to Master the Cello
Jacqueline Vanasse reads an account of teaching a child with Down’s syndrome written by his mother and principal cello teacher
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ReviewBook review: Violin Junior
Celia Cobb reviews Ros Stephen’s latest collection of method books aimed at younger players
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ReviewBook review: The Living Art of Violin Playing: Progressive Form
Philippa Bunting reviews Maureen Taranto-Pyatt’s well-described account of her theories on ’progressive form’
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Blogs‘Making music makes your soul grow!’: exploring the legacy of the Colourstrings method
Géza Szilvay recently turned 80 and began to develop his world-famous Colourstrings method more than 50 years ago. Anna Grundström discovers the sources of his inspiration
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BlogsPedagogy and playing resources: a reading list from cellist Guy Johnston
Alongside his interview for The Strad Podcast, the cellist shares the manuals and resources that have informed his playing and teaching career so far
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ReviewBook review: Wee Violin: World Music Preparatory to Twinkle
Celia Cobb reads Crystal Boyack’s introductory work for very young students of the violin
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ReviewBook review: Violin in Action
Celia Cobb reviews Kristina Mirkovic’s four-volume course on violin playing, including books on scales, positions, and intervals and arpeggios
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FocusThe Strad Podcast #106: 3D learning and creative teaching with violinist Rachel Cooper
String teachers must focus on how something sounds and feels - rather than solely what something looks like - when teaching students, says the violin teacher
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ReviewBook review: Stringstastic: Double Bass
Eloise Riddell reviews Lorraine Chai’s two volumes of double bass theory books for younger students
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ReviewBook review: Viola Mix, books 1-3
Alex Laing reviews Kathy and David Blackwell’s books for young viola players seeking to improve their skills
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FocusThe Strad Podcast #105: active string teaching and learning with violinist Mahaliah Edwards
Mahaliah shares how she aims to get pupils to enjoy music making, as well as how she strives to be the teacher she would’ve liked to have had
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Premium ❘ FeatureInheriting others’ pupils: a fresh start
Taking on other people’s ex-pupils can be a tricky business – especially when they come with ingrained unhealthy habits. Focusing on upper strings, Alun Thomas outlines what may need to be addressed to make progress
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FocusTop tips for dealing with parents of string pupils
It’s important to lay out boundaries and expectations of both the child and parent with clear communication. From 2010
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Premium ❘ ArticleAnalysis August 2023: Changing teaching approaches for adult beginners
With an increase in the number of adults taking their first steps in playing, how do teachers adapt their teaching methods to this different discipline?
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ReviewBook review: A Notebook for Viola Players
Carlos María Solare reviews a new edition of Ivo-Jan van der Werff’s classic handbook of tips and hints for violists
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FocusWords of wisdom from cellist Aldo Parisot
As Yale School of Music announced the official retirement of the cello guru in 2018, we looked back at some of the inspiring quotes from an interview for The Strad conducted by one of his most illustrious students, Ralph Kirshbaum
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FeatureStudying the violin with Carl Flesch: Yfrah Neaman
Lebanese violinist Yfrah Neaman, who died in 2003, shared memories of his teacher with Evelyn Chadwick in December 1994
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Focus10 views on dynamics for bowed strings
Advice on how to produce effective dynamic contrasts from The Strad archives
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FocusCan bowing-wrist suppleness improve intonation?
John Krakenberger has made a number of interesting connections between good tuning and loosening the bowing wrist in his teaching