Carl Stross

When it comes to expressive capabilities a cello runs circles around violins.

Even shorter reply : careful teachers avoid asking for things pupils can't yet control by ear. Takes a fair amount of time for a youngster to figure out what a half tone is. Playing on autopilot intonation wise corrupts the ear, probably the most common affliction of the average violin player.

Yes, that seems to be the modern take on things and I am sure it works well for the modern way of playing. I do think it reflects negatively in tone, articulation and vibrato but those don't seem to carry the weight they used to a loooong time ago. Eastern folk players keep the thumb under the neck and if need be they crawl-shift around 3 positions. That way they get maximum articulation speed and excellent trill like vibrato. Modern violin playing ( can't comment on cello... ) is basically a "best overall" thing in which nothing is really excellent though everything is really good.

Clear. I got it know - it's how I thought I understood it. I'll have to think about it. It might work pedagogically but the frame of the hand is not right. But that won't matter if you move ahead quickly... Very interesting. Anyway, I noticed ( and so did you ) that your thumb is very low - East European style. I learned mid way - the nail fully out but I see most everybody has the thumb projecting very high - they could almost use it for fingerings. This matters A LOT later.

I thought I might not've understood you first time : I do not see how what you propose is workable in practice.

Very true. But I am having a nagging thought we are misunderstanding his question, somehow. Well, we'll work on it....

Interesting question, indeed. I think it's habit. People believe children are VOCALLY at their easiest in C Major / A minor . That might come from how piano keys are configured. I was told and tend to believe it, that children do better in A Major/Minor and then D Major ( and not D Minor) . Again, VOCALLY. Also, children are first taught to sing / recognize a major scale. I see ( and hear ) a lot of problems with/caused by this system and I am of the opinion one should start in A/D Major . Connected to this discussion one should listen to the difficulties many present day soloists h

He must be doing something right then....

This is very smart. A wonderful idea. I noticed many times that on violin certain bow strokes are rendered by the player in a book-way manner i.e. too short allow the development of tone quality ( PER EACH NOTE ) and pitch. In Hora Stacc. a good staccato should sound like bearing balls not like a succession of twigs being broken. I like how your idea causes the pupil to develop a mental reference : Pavarotti like to say ( and often... ) that to sing like Pavarotti you need to hear like Pavarotti. The rest being just work and memory.

Yep. As Suzuki seems to be targeting grass root levels for the most part it follows you have made an excellent point.

That's commendable. Parents should always aim a bit lower : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwOWu6ZMdKM

He was an incredibly gifted individual and taught music. It wasn't violin, it was music using the violin. But at that time I was way too young and too stupid to understand how much I could've learned from him. He was a real gypsy violin player who later in life, after a bad car accident, went to night school and later to Conservatory and got a degree in Music Pedagogy. Had serious gaps in his knowledge of violin classical repertoire - pretty amusing, I must say. I remember meeting him by accident some 10 years after I stopped playing - he was as usually teaching a group of 10 y/o's . The nig

1. In other words, she did it the traditional and proven way with the usual effect on the poor kids. We often forget that for a long long time learning violin was not supposed to be fun and children getting bored not a concern. 2. Well, nobody can. I know at least 20 people teaching at various ( some prestigious ) Conservatories OR being teachers of some "weight" in NY or LA ( for example ). Not a single one understands what Suzuki method consists of. Or if they do, they did not want to tell me.... Quite a number of teachers or professionals teaching in Europe will not take as p

Wonderful ! Absolutely wonderful. I always envy cello players - they actually do have a reasonable idea of what is coming out. That's not at all the case with violin unless a couple of things really do come together. I long ago noticed that lot of people are very expressive performers on guitar and some people are very expressive on cello. You have to look hard for the ones who are expressive on violin...

Not really - never thought about looking for some either as I stopped playing ages ago and never gave lessons. Or would. There must be some books / exercises for drummers out there on YT - I'll look for and send links. My 2nd teacher would always start the class by having everybody copy rhythms he would bang on his desk. He would look for and try to develop in his pupils an ability to imitate. He would tolerate some intonation mishaps but never bad rhythm. Wonderful man - one of those people whi lived for teaching young children. Always a but drunk and always with a cigarette in his mouth. He