Violin Pedagogy: How Did They Learn?

Definition of Amateur Musician

By Dr. Robin Kay Deverich
What is an amateur musician? The word amateur is a derivative of the Latin
ver amo meaning: to love! Therefore" an amateur musician is one who loves
#laying music! $ommon usage of the term" however" often differs from this
meaning! %ome of the definitions of amateur found in the &'ford (nglish
Dictionary include: )*+ ,one who loves or is fond of", and" )-+ ,one who cultivates
something as a #astime" as distinguished from one who #rosecutes it
#rofessionally. hence" sometimes used dis#aragingly" as/daler" or su#erficial
student or wor0er!,1*2 3t is this second definition" a condescending view of amateur
musicians as eing inferior dalers" that often #revails in our era! Historically" this
has not always een the case! As one author noted: ,At other times and #laces"
musical amateurism has carried with it a very high level of status indeed" a status
significantly higher than that of #rofessionalism!,1-2 4or e'am#le:
3n the Medieval and 5enaissance #eriods" distinctions of aility etween
#rofessional and amateur musicians were not at all clear: the #rofessional made
his living with music" whereas the amateur/often of the aristocratic class/had the
lu'ury of ma0ing music for the sheer love of it" and amateurs often outstri##ed
#rofessionals in the 6uality of their training and musical s0ills7 History is dotted
with such musical amateurs: 8ing David" singer and lyre #layer. 4rederic0 the
9reat" flutist. Thomas :efferson" violinist! The late 5enaissance com#oser
9esualdo was an aristocratic amateur whose economic inde#endence freed him to
ma0e audacious e'#eriments with harmony" and/more recently/$harles 3ves;
#rofession as an insurance mogul gave him the financial resources to e'#eriment
oldly without worrying aout #andering to the #ulic or even to the critics!
Amateur musicians" no less than their #rofessional rethren" follow in the footste#s
of giants!,1<2
=# through the early twentieth century" it was fairly common for individuals
to e amateur musicians! Musicologist 5al#h P! Loc0e e'amined factors which
sha#ed the develo#mental #ath of art music in America" and found that one of the
#rimary differences etween those who attended concerts in the early twentieth
century and those who go to concerts today" is that concert attendees in the #ast
were often musical amateurs! Loc0e e'#lained:
Art music was hardly a new or foreign e'#erience for many first/time
concertgoers" whether they were housewives or lawyers" schoolteachers or college
students! >uite the contrary" the music of the o#era house and the concert hall was
a direct e'tension of the #rimarily (uro#ean or #lainly (uro#ean/derived
re#ertories that many memers of the audience/from the rising classes as well as"
or even more than" the elite/regularly sang or #layed with relatives or friends at
home" or in the church choir or amateur choral society )than0s to Lowell Mason
and his co/reformers+" or in the town and! This is #erha#s the most stri0ing
difference etween the concertgoer of a hundred years ago and of today: whether
interested in ,classical, or ,#o#ular, music" she or he was often not only a
consumer ut an active and sometimes interactive #layer or singer!1?2
@umerous factors contriuted to a decline of musical amateurs in the
twentieth century" including technological advances that led to the wides#read
availaility of recorded music! Musicians such :ohn Phili# %ousa #redicted that
the #honogra#h and other music recording devices would #roduce dire
conse6uences:
%ousa feared the re#lacement of music ma0ing with #assive listening. the
gradual silencing of the town and" the amateur singer and #ianist" ;until there will
e left only the mechanical device and the #rofessional e'ecutants;! ;Wherever
there is a #honogra#h the musical instrument is dis#laced! The time is coming
when no one will e ready to sumit himself to the ennoling disci#line of learning
music! ! ! (veryone will have their ready made or ready #irated music in their
cu#oards;!1A2
Another interesting factor that led to a decline in musical amateurs in the
early twentieth century" was a trend for concert audiences to ecome educated"
#assive" listeners: ,Active amateurism was su##lanted y a culture of musical
connoisseurshi# grounded in the cultivation of high orders of ordinary literacy!
Musical education ecame highly de#endent on reading aout music!,1B2
%ome individuals" alarmed y a decline in active music ma0ing" suggested
that an increase in musical amateurs would hel# elevate musical culture" a view
that is a##licale today:
Cerlin music critic and #olemicist 8arl %torc0 closed the second edition of
his History of Music with the lament that musical culture was at a startlingly low
#oint! The cause of the ,im#overishment, of musical culture" %torc0 thought" was
that music was no longer #racticed in the home! $hamer music" for e'am#le" had
ecome e'clusively concert music! The level of musical education left the #ulic
without the ca#acity for true musical Dudgment" a fact that" in turn" made vulgar
#o#ular musical taste the norm! Des#ite the growth in the siEe of the audience" the
numers of those who could ,ta0e #art, in musical life had grown smaller! The
need was for a new form of Gebrauchskunst)#ractical art+" written y
#rofessionals" which could encourage the revival of a high level of amateurism!1F2
Amateur violinists" those who love #laying the violin" have e'isted since the
early days of the violin! Whether they were memers of the aristocracy" #laying for
#leasure" or schoolchildren learning how to #lay the violin in a grou# class"
amateur violinists have #layed an im#ortant role in the history of string education!
1*2 ,Amateur", Compact Edition of the Oford En!"ish Dictionary! &'ford
=niversity Press" *GHA: BF!
1-2 3rving" Howard! ,Amateurism", #he $merican Music #eacher! :an! *GHF: *<!
1<2 Huang" Hao! ,Music and the Amateur", Mu%ine! &#! GF" @o! *: */-! =5L:
htt#:IIwww!nmsu!eduIJmuEineIinde'!htm!
1?2 Loc0e" 5al#h P! ,Music Lovers" Patrons" and the ;%acraliEation; of $ulture in
America", &'th Century Music. Vol! *F" @o! -! 4all *GG<: *AG!
1A2 %ousa" :ohn Phili#! (e) *ork Mornin! #e"e!raph+ *- :une *GKB and ,The
Menace of Mechanical Music", $pp"eton,s - %e#t! *GKB: -FH" -H*! >uoted in
(mily Thom#son" ,Machines" Music" and the >uest for 4idelity: Mar0eting the
(dison Phonogra#h in America" *HFF/*G-A", #he Musica" .uarter"y. %#ring"
*GGA: *<G!
1B2 Cotstein" Leon" ,Listening through 5eading: Musical Literacy and the $oncert
Audience", &'th/Cenury Music. 4all" *GG-: *<H!
1F2 %torc0" 8arl! Geschichte der Musik. %tuttgart" *G*K: FH-/H?. cited y Cotstein"
*GG-: *?</*??!
Cefore discussing the history of violin #edagogy" it seems relevant to first
consider: when did the violin emerge" who #layed the violin" and why did they
#lay it? %cholars have found it difficult to determine the definitive origins of the
violin! :ohn Dilworth noted this when he stated:
Tracing the origins of the violins is not easy! 3nstruments #layed with a ow
a##ear in (uro#ean carvings and illustrations from around GKK AD" ut
inter#retation is difficult" and the names given for them in te'ts vary and overla#!
Croadly s#ea0ing" however" they fall into four categories: the reec" the medieval
and 5enaissance fiddle" the lira da raccio and the viol! 1H2
Although it is outside the sco#e of the #resent #a#er to consider in detail
contriutions early stringed instruments may have made towards the evolution of
the violin" research y Peter Holman indicates that the violin family emerged
etween *?GA/*AKA in 3taly! Most histories of the violin tend to rely on
iconogra#hical evidence such as visual de#ictions of the violin in artwor0 in order
to date its eginning! Holman" however" sought to estalish the date of the violin;s
ince#tion y e'amining how the early violin was used and #layed! He determined
that the first usage of the violin was in a consort! Violin music seems to su##ort
Holman;s assertion" ecause the maDority of violin literature from the *Bth and
early *Fth century a##ears to e for violin consorts" and it was not until the mid/
*Fth century that solo re#ertoire for the violin develo#ed! 1G2 @eal Laslaw
descried who was li0ely to #lay the violin during these early years:
During the first #art of its meteoric career" the violin was #layed in #ulic y
formally trained #rofessionals" servants" and illiterate fol0 musicians! Ladies and
gentlemen" when entertaining themselves in #rivate circumstances" #referred the
elegant sounds of viols and lutes to the raucous #ower of rash fiddles! The violin
a##ears first to have entered ;#olite society; as a consort instrument! 1*K2
Holman suggested that the viol consort and violin consort were develo#ed
for the same reason: ,to #rovide an alternative to wind instruments in #oly#honic
music!, Holman further clarified the different uses for these consorts:
Throughout the *Bth century the two families were used as alternatives y
#rofessional musicians. the soft sonorous viol" with its reedy" incisive tone" was
ideal for contra#untal music" and for accom#anying the voice" while the s#rightly
violin 6uic0ly ecame the favourite instrument for dance music!1**2
There is even some indication that in the early years of the violin;s
introduction" violin and viol consorts may have een used interchangealy!
Holman stated: ,4rom the way that the string consort is descried in court
documents in the first decade of its service in (ngland" it loo0s as if it used viols
and violins interchangealy until the end of Mary;s reign!, 1*-2
Viols and violins also differed in terms of their difference in social status!
David Coyden referred to this when he stated:
4or the most #art" re#utale #eo#le and musicians in the si'teenth century
thought of violins as instruments of lowly origin #layed mainly y #rofessionals!
3n com#arison" viols and lutes" oth elonging to an older and more aristocratic
tradition" were #layed not only y #rofessionals ut also y amateurs and
gentlemen" who ardently admired these instruments! To #lay the viol or es#ecially
the lute was considered an admissile" even highly desirale" #art of the general
education of the well/orn. and these instruments enDoyed a vogue among #ersons
of social standing" who as amateurs generally regarded music as a commendale
avocation" ut not as a #ro#er #rofession! The violin enDoyed none of this social
#restige! 1*<2
:ame de 4er" author of the *AAB treatise" (#itome musical" descried the
fretless a##earance of the violin" how it was tuned" and noted that the violin was
#rimarily used to #erform dance music" or sometimes doule vocal #arts! His
views regarding the lowly status of the violin are a##arent in the following
#assage:
The violin 1violon2 is very different from the viol 1viole2! 4irst of all it has
only four strings" which are tuned in fifths ! ! ! and in each of the said strings there
are four tones 1tons2 in such a way that in four strings there are as many tones as in
the five strings of the viol! The form of the ody is smaller" flatter" and in sound it
is much harsher 1rude2. it has no frets ! ! ! 1tuning instructions follow2 and the
4rench and 3talians differ in no way as regards #laying the instrument! Why do you
call one ty#e of instrument viols and the other violins? We call viols those with
which gentlemen" merchants" and other virtuous #eo#le #ass their time ! ! ! 3 have
not illustrated the said violin ecause you can thin0 of it as resemling the viol"
added to which there are few #ersons who use it save those who ma0e a living
from it through their laour! 1*?2
(arly writings aout violin #laying tend to e descri#tive such as de 4er;s
descri#tion of the violin! This dearth of #edagogical information can e attriuted
to the a##renticeshi# system of musical instruction that #revailed during this era
among #rofessional musicians! Walter Woodfill referred to the a##renticeshi#
system when he stated:
While originally develo#ed #rimarily to serve economic ends" the system of
a##renticeshi#" the means y which guilds and com#anies discharged their
educational function" had ta0en on inde#endent life of its own y the late Middle
Ages" so dee#ly had its roots grown into the social faric: many com#anies tried to
maintain the system of a##renticeshi# long after its economic usefulness to them
had disa##eared! Musicians found it as valuale in the si'teenth and seventeenth
centuries as it had ever een" and the educational function of their com#any ran0ed
second to none! Cesides serving economic ends" the system #rovided the sole
school for #rofessional secular musical training" contriuted to the #reservation of
order and morality and tended to maintain or raise standards of musical
#erformance and #rofessional disci#line! Traditionally a##rentices lived with their
masters" who were e'#ected to ring them u# in religion and good citiEenshi# as
well as in the customs and techni6ues of their trade! 1*A2
3t should also e recogniEed that #rofessional musicians" #articularly those
em#loyed y the court" were often family memers" therefore" written instructional
treatises would e unnecessary" #articularly when information was #assed down
from father to son! Holman descried the connection etween family relationshi#s
and how court musician #ositions were awarded!
Li0e most court usiness" the outcome of such contests 1royal musicians
chosen y the sovereign2 tended to de#end more on family connection" influence"
or chance than on the merits of the case! The instrumental consorts" in #articular"
em#loyed memers of the same family over large #eriods of time! 4our generations
of Lu#os served in the court string consort" from *A?K until the $ivil War. there
were Cassanos for even longer in the wind consorts" for Henry Cassano did not die
until *BBA! %uch ne#otism was unremar0ale in a system founded on family
interest" and in an age when #rofessional musical s0ills were commonly #assed
down from father to son! 1*B2
1H2 Dilworth" :ohn! ,The Violin and Cow/&rigins and Develo#ment", #he
Cambrid!e Companion to the 0io"in. (d! 5oin %towell! $amridge =niversity
Press" *GG-: A!
1G2 Holman" Peter! 1our and #)enty 1idd"ers. &'ford =niversity Press" *GG<: '!
1*K2 Laslaw" @eil! ,The 3talian Violin %chool in the *Fth $entury", Ear"y Music *H"
*GGK: A*A!
1**2 Holman" #! GKF!
1*-2 Holman" *GG<" #! HG!
1*<2 Coyden" David D! #he History of 0io"in 2"ayin! from 3ts Ori!ins to &45& and
3ts Re"ationship to the 0io"in and 0io"in Music. London : &'ford =niversity Press"
*GBA: ?!
1*?2 Coyden" *GBA: <*/<-!
1*A2 Woodfield" 3an! ,Viol #laying techni6ues in the mid/*Bth century: A %urvey of
9anassi;s 4ingering 3nstructions", The %trad! &ctoer" *GG<" ##! A??/A?G!
1*B2 Holman" *GG<: <G!
1*F2 :ennings" :ohn! ,Lu#o", #he (e) Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
(d! %tanley %adie! London : Macmillian" *GHK! **:<<B/<F!
As mentioned earlier" during the si'teenth century" music for the violin
#rimarily consisted of consort music for dancing! 1*H2%ome scholars have
oserved that some of this consort music may have een used for #edagogical
#ur#oses! ,%urviving manuscri#ts suggest that" in (liEaeth 3;s reign" consort music
was used for didactic #ur#oses as much as for social recreation!, 1*G2
3n the seventeenth century" a new form of violin music emerged: solo violin
music! Laslow descried this occurrence:
3n the early *Fth century" in 3taly again" as the #oly#honic style was giving
way to a new style of solo singing in madrigals and motets as well as in the newly/
created genres of o#era" the violin struc0 out on its own! 3talian com#osers egan
to write autonomous music for one" two" or more violins" usually with asso
continuo! @o longer su##orting singing and dancing or serving as an anonymous
memer of a consort" the violin! ! ! as#ired to the same flights of fancy and ursts
of virtuosity granted the heroes and heroines of o#era! 1-K2
3n addition to the develo#ment of solo violin music" the seventeenth century
also mar0ed the emergence of #edagogical directions for violinists! Treatises such
as 4rancesco 5ognoni;s %elva de Varii Passaggi )*B-K+" #rovided e'#licit musical
e'am#les and directions for violinists to follow in order to #erform #assagi
#ro#erly" and 9as#aro Lanetti;s 3l scolaro ! ! ! #er im#arar a suonare di violino" et
altri stromenti )*B?A+" contained numerous owing indications" as well as a violin
talature of the music! Pedagogical information relevant to the violin can also e
gleaned from instrumental treatises written for other instruments such as 9anassi;s
two/volume viol tutor : 5egola 5uertina )Venice" *A?-" *A?<+" one of the most
significant instrumental treatises in the *Bth century! Technical instructions
#rovided in 9anassi;s tutor included: #osture" owing and fingering techni6ues"
string crossing" shifting" doule/sto#s and diminution guidance! 1-*29eneral
musical directions for a variety of instruments were also #resent in treatises such as
9iulio $accini;s Le nuove Musiche )*BK-+" one of the earliest codifications of
ornamentation" and emellishment treatises such as those y Diego &rtiE )*AA<+
and 9iovanni Cassono )*AHA+!
1*H2 Holman" *GG<: <K!
1*G2 Ashee" Andrew and Cellingham " Cruce" (ds! $"fanso 1errabosco the
*oun!er. 6/2art 1antasias for 0io"s. Musica Critiannica" vol! B-! London : %tainer
M Cell" *GG-: 'v!
1-K2 Laslaw" *GGK: A*B!
1-*2 Coyden" $harles. %chwarE" Coris. %latford" 5odney et al! #he (e) Grove
0io"in 1ami"y. (d! Cy %tanley %adie! London : Macmillan Press" *GHG: <B!
During the *Bth century" large numers of instructional treatises for amateur
musicians were #ulished! Thurston Dart and William $oates commented on the
heightened interest of amateurs in music instruction during this time #eriod:
Cy *AFA or so there was every sign of a steadily increasing #ulic and
#rivate demand for vocal and instrumental music! London oo0sho#s sold tutors
for the lute and cittern" oo0s of #rinted music #a#er" and collections of #rinted and
manuscri#t music mainly im#orted from the Low $ountries. musical instruments
were ecoming less costly" music teaching less e'clusive" musical notation less
astruse! 1--2
David Price offered several reasons why amateurs ecame so interested in
music literacy and #erformance during this era:
Cy the middle decades of the si'teenth century" and in some #laces even
efore then" the reading and writing of music had ta0en its #lace within a
roadening s#ectrum of educational #ossiilities! Literate musical aility was
reflected in and stimulated y literature" y travel" y the entertainment or
imitation of royalty" and y social amition! Perha#s this develo#ing literacy was
to e seen most clearly in the lives of memers of the governing classes ut
nonetheless sim#ler e'#ressions of the #leasure of reading and writing music
revealed themselves among all classes of society! 3ndeed the growing numer of
musical tutors" #rimers and treatises suggest that a revolution in musical education
accom#anied that in general standards of literacy" therey creating its own class of
#otential musical #atrons! 1-<2
('am#les of musical instruction for amateurs include vocal tutors such as
Thomas Morley;s A Plaine and (asie 3ntroduction )*AGF+" lute tutors geared for
amateurs such as Adrien Le 5oy;s (nglish version of A riefe and easye instrution
to learne the taleture )*ABH+" William Carley;s A new oo0e of taliture )*AGB+"
Thomas Morley;s The first oo0e of consort lessons )*AGG+" and Alfoanso
4erraosco;s Lessons for *" -" and < viols )*BKG+!
1--2 Dart" Thurston and $oates" William" (ds! 7acobean Consort Music. Musica
Critannica" vol! G! London: %tainer M Cell" *GBB: 'v!
1-<2 Price" David $! 2atrons and Musicians of the En!"ish Renaissance.
$amridge: $amridge =niversity Press" *GH*: ?F!
Towards the end of the seventeenth century and eginning of the eighteenth
century" numerous violin instruction oo0s were #ulished! These violin tutors
were designed for amateurs" not #rofessional violinists:
3n the #rofessional tradition of the violin" instruction was given orally from
master to #u#il" and when violin methods first a##eared in the *Fth century they
were aimed #rimarily at the amateur" not the #rofessional violinist! Methods for
advanced #layers hardly a##eared efore *FAK! 1-?2
Coyden commented on the #o#ularity of these early violin method oo0s:
The first violin tutors were essentially ;do/it/yourself; oo0s! &ften regarded
as a modern #henomenon" such oo0s flourished during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries not only in music ut in many other fields as well" and they
furnish a vivid social commentary on the times!! Perha#s more im#ortant" the
a##earance and continuing #ulication of these elementary manuals show that the
violin had ceased to e the sole #ro#erty and concern of #rofessional violinists and
that it had egun to a##eal to a far roader social grou# among #layers! 1-A2
Cetween *BAH and *F<*" over thirty amateur violin instruction oo0s were
#ulished!1-B2 %ome of the more notale #ulications include :ohn Lenton;s The
9entleman;s Diversion )*BG<+. :ohn Playford;s A Crief 3ntroducion to the %0ill of
Music0" second revised edition )*BAH+" which contains a section entitled ,Playing
on the Trele Violin., @olens Volens or Nou shall learn to Play on the Violin
whether you will or no )*BGA" author anonymous+ and The %elf/3nstructor on the
Violin )*BGA" author anonymous+!
A minimal amount of technical advice was found in these early instruction
oo0s" and most sim#ly contained fingeroard directions and a few sim#le #ieces!
Many of these #ulications a##ear to have een #ulished solely to satisfy #ulic
demand for new violin music:
The latter1violin tutors2" #rinted in considerale numers in the last years of
the seventeenth century and first 6uarter of the eighteenth century" #oint to the rise
of a #otent numer of amateur violinists and to the voracious a##etite for violin
music! (ach violin tutor and each suse6uent edition of the same tutor used
entirely different #ieces of music/oviously to satisfy the demand for new" if easy"
music! 1-F2
The rising amateur mar0et a##arently led com#osers to egin com#osing
instrumental music s#ecifically for amateurs! Historian Michael Talot oserved
that com#osers egan sim#lifying their music to ma0e it more a##ro#riate for the
amateur mar0et:
3talian com#osers egan to write music with the #artly amateur northern
(uro#ean mar0et in mind! The result was an increased sensitivity to fashion" a
certain cosmo#olitanism" a restraint in matters of instrumental techni6ue and an
avoidance of those elements of iEEarria )delierate strangeness+ which might
ca#tivate an 3talian connoisseur ut would e found frea0ish and unnatural y a
Dutch or (nglish gentleman! There were also commercial conse6uences: it ecame
#rofitale for the #ulisher actually to #ay the com#oser for his wor0s/#rovided" of
course" that he 0e#t for himself the recei#ts from sales! 1-H2
An e'am#le of music com#osed and #ulished with amateurs in mind" is the
following e'cer#t from Vivaldi;s &#! A Violin %onatas" #ulished in *F*B y the
Amsterdam #ulisher (stienne 5oger!
%ome com#osers" such as violinist @icolo Matteis" wrote music that
contained clear #edagogical enefits for amateurs! Peter Walls commented on the
didatic nature of Matteis;s violin music:
Matteis has a very s#ecial claim to having taught the (nglish the 3talian
style! There is a didactic strain running through the Ayres which ma0es it #ossile
to regard them almost as an advanced tutor" or at least as a set of graded etudes! ! ! !
Thin0ing of the third and fourth #arts of the Ayres almost as a tutorial manual and
com#aring this with the naive instruction oo0s of Playford and even Lenton" it
seems that Matteis more than deserves his re#utation for showing the (nglish a
new way! 1-G2
Although amateur violinists had no im#act u#on technical advances in early
violin #erformance #ractices" some scholars claim amateur musicians hel#ed
elevate the social status of violin #laying!
The #henomenon of the amateur violinist is of no im#ortance in the
technical advance of the violin in the eighteenth century" ut the increasing numer
of amateur violinists/literally" ;lovers; of the violin/has an im#ortant effect in
raising the social status of the violin to a #osition it had not enDoyed when solely in
the hands of #rofessionals! 1<K2
1-?2 Coyden" *GHG: <B!
1-A2 Coyden" *GBA: -?A!
1-B2 %towell" 5oin! ,The Pedagogical Literature", #he Cambrid!e Companion to
the 0io"in. (d! 5oin %towell! $amridge =niversity Press" *GG-: -FF!
1-F2 Coyden" *GBA: -<-!
1-H2 Talot" Michael! ,Vivaldi;s &#! A %onatas", #he 8trad ! Vol! GK" *GHK: BFH!
1-G2 Walls" Peter! ,The 3nfluence of the 3talian Violin %chool in *F th /century
(ngland ", Ear"y Music. Vol! *H" *GGK: AH*!
1<K2 Coyden" *GBA: <BA!
3nstructional material designed for #rofessional violinists did not egin to
a##ear until the mid/eighteenth century! Many authors consider 4rancesco
9eminiani;s treatise" The Art of Playing on the Violin )*FA*+" to have een one of
the first violin treatises to detail s#ecific instruction for #rofessional violinists!
9eminiani;s treatise is a systematic e'#lanation of violin #laying! He covered
to#ics such as: the #ro#er #laying #osition for the violin and ow" scales" fingering"
#osition/wor0 and shifting" owing and owing variations" doule/sto#s"
ar#eggios" ornamentation" e'#ression and dynamics! Twelve new com#ositions
towards the end of the tutor were sim#ly laeled ,com#ositions," and are the
e6uivalent of modern etudes!
Musicologist 5oin %towell oserved that it was not until the late
eighteenth/century that #edagogical material s#ecifically laeled as etudes ecame
widely availale for students of the violin:
(arly writings aout violin #laying were descri#tive and included little of
musical content! However" as violin treatises egan to multi#ly and their te'ts
ecame more detailed" their musical content generally ecame more co#ious" many
incor#orating short dance #ieces or even sustantial etude/li0e com#ositions
designed to assist in the mastery of #articular technical #rolems! Pieces in inary
form were most common" ut sonata" variation" fugue and other forms" including
two/movement structures" were also em#loyed! Cy the end of the eighteenth
century" several oo0s com#osed solely of studies had egun to a##ear
inde#endently as #edagogical wor0s in their own right" mar0ing the eginning of
the enormous etude literature of the nineteenth century! 1<*2
Although the focus of this #a#er is the amateur violin student" the following
selected list #rovides a chronology of traditional violin instructional material!
1<*2 %towell" *GG-: --G/-<K!
%elected $hronological List of Traditional Violin 3nstructional Material
*F
A*
9eminiani! #he $rt of 2"ayin! on the 0io"in! London!
*F
AB
MoEart" Leo#old! $ #reatise on the 1undamenta"
2rincip"es of 0io"in 2"ayin!! Ausurg!
*F Tartini!9,arte de" arco. Paris!
AB
*F
B*
L;ae le fils! 2rincipes du vio"on! Paris!
*F
F*
Tartini!#raite des a!remens! Paris!
*F
H-
$orrette! 9,$rt de se perfectionner dans "e vio"on! Paris!
*F
G*
9aleaEEi! E"ementi teorico/pratici! 5ome!
*F
GB
8reutEer! 6: ;tudes ou caprices!
*F
GH
$artier! 9,$rt du vio"on! Paris!
*F
GH
Woldemar" Michel! Methode pourl e vio"on. Paris!
*H
KK
9avinies! 9es vin!t/<uatre matinees. Paris!
*H
K<
Caillot" 5ode and 8reutEer! Methode de vio"on. Paris!
c*
HKKs
4iorillo! Etudes de vio"on formant =5 caprices. Vienna!
c*
H*A
5ode! :6 caprices enforme d,etudes. Cerlin!
*H
-K
Paganini! :6 capricci. Milan!
*H
-?
$am#agnoli! (ouve""e methode de "a mecani<ue
pro!ressive du >eu de vio"on+ op. :&. Lei#Eig!
*H
<-
%#ohr! 0io"inschu"e! Vienna!
*H
<?
Caillot! 9,$rt du vio"on! Paris!
*H
??
Alard! Eco"e du vio"on. Paris!
*H
AK
Dont! Etudes for the vio"in.
*H
A?
Wieniaws0i! 9,eco"e moderne+ op. &?. Le#iEig!
*H
AA
Dancla! Methode e"ementaire!
*H
AH
de Ceriot! Methode de vio"on+ op. &?:. Paris!
*H
B?
David! 0io"inschu"e. Lei#Eig!
*H
BF
8ayser! =5 8tudies for vio"in+ op. :?.
*H
F<
$ourvoisier! #he technics of vio"in p"ayin!.
*H
FA
%chradiec0! 8choo" of vio"in/technics!
*H
HK
MaEas! 4@ Etudes me"odi<ues et pro!ressives pour vio"on+
op. =5. Crunswic0!
*H
H*
%evci0! 8chu"e der 0io"intechnik+ op. &. Prague!
*H
GA
%evci0! 8chu"e der Bo!entechnik+ op. :. Lei#Eig!
*G
K-/A
:oachim and Moser! 0io"inschu"e! < vols! Cerlin!
*G
*B
$a#et! 9a #echni<ue superieure de ",archet. Paris !
*G
-*
Auer! 0io"in 2"ayin! as 3 #each 3t! @ew Nor0!
*G
-</H
4lesch! Die Kunst des 0io"in/8pie"s! Cerlin!
*G
?*
Dounis! (e) aids to #echnica" Deve"opment+ op. :4.
London!
*G 9alamian! 2rincip"es of 0io"in 2"ayin! and #eachin!!
B- (nglewood $liffs" @:!
*G
B<
9alamian and @eumann! Contemporary 0io"in #echni<ue!
@ew Nor0!
*G
B*
Havas" 8ato! $ (e) $pproach to 0io"in 2"ayin!! London!
*G
B?
Havas" 8ato! #he #)e"ve 9esson Course in a (e)
approach to 0io"in 2"ayin!. London!
*G
BG
%uEu0i" %hinichi! (urtured by 9ove! @ew Nor0!
*G
FK
8u%uki vio"in schoo"! Princeton" @ew :ersey!
*G
F*
Menuhin! 8i 9essons )ith *ehudi Menuhin. London!
*G
F*
5olland" Paul! 2re"ude to 8trin! 2"ayin!! @ew Nor0!
*G
F?
5olland" Paul! #he #eachin! of $ction in 8trin! 2"ayin!!
@ew Nor0!
*G
H*
Havas" 8ato and :erome Landsman! 1reedom to p"ayA $
strin! c"ass teachin! method! @ew Nor0!
*G
HB
Menuhin! #he Comp"eat 0io"inistA #hou!hts+ Eercises+
Ref"ections of an 3tinerant 0io"inist. @ew Nor0!
3t should e noted that two string #edagogues listed aove" Paul 5olland and
%hinichi %uEu0i" have also e'erted an influence on many contem#orary amateur
string #layers! 5olland #ioneered new conce#ts regarding freedom of motion in
violin #laying as demonstrated in The Teaching of Action in %tring Playing" a
=niversity of 3llinois %tring Teaching 5esearch ProDect! 5olland #roduced
seventeen demonstration films that correlated with his method oo0 Prelude to
%tring Playing " and many string educators have utiliEed his theories in teaching
strings!
%uEu0i;s methodology" also referred to as Talent (ducation" is centered
around the ,mother/tongue method", defined y %uEu0i in the following terms:
Talent (ducation has realiEed that all children in the world show their
s#lendid ca#acities y s#ea0ing and understanding their mother language" thus
dis#laying the original #ower of the human mind! 3s it not #roaly that this
mother language method holds the 0ey to human develo#ment? Talent (ducation
has a##lied this method to the teaching of music: children" ta0en without #revious
a#titude or intelligence tests of any 0ind" have almost without e'ce#tion made
great #rogress!1<-2
8ey elements of %uEu0i;s Talent (ducation include:
*! The #hiloso#hy that all children can e educated through the #ro#er
environment" and that environmental factors are more im#ortant in the musical
growth of a child than so/called talent!
-! Listening is em#hasiEed" and students are encouraged to fre6uently
listen to recordings of music they are learning!
<! Parents are active #artici#ants in the student;s learning #rocess
?! %tudents egin lessons at an early age" sometimes as young as two!
A! %tudents learn to #lay y rote!
B! (ach #iece is memoriEed" even after reading music has commenced!
F! Techni6ue is learned through the re#ertoire found in %uEu0i;s music
oo0s!
H! Teachers are encouraged to use #hysical activity games to free the
ody from tensions!
G! 4re6uent #erformances are encouraged!
*K! Teachers em#hasiEe #ro#er #osture" good sound #roduction" and
secure intonation!1<<2
A *GGB article cited the following statistics regarding the numer of %uEu0i
#u#ils in America: ,More than A"KKK teachers elong to the %AA 1%uEu0i
Association of the Americas2 and use %uEu0i;s #hiloso#hy and methodology with
more than *AK"KKK students!, 1<?2
1<-2 8endall" :! ,%uEu0i;s Mother Tongue Method", Music Educators 7ourna"+
*GHB: ?G!
1<<2 Landers" 5! #he #a"ent Education 8choo" of 8hinichi 8u%uki/$n $na"ysis! @ew
Nor0: ('#osition Press" *GH?!
1<?2 %tarr" 8athleen! ,%uEu0i Association of the Americas", $merican 8trin!
#eacher! %ummer *GGB: <*!