String Tech: An Introduction to String Basics

Description

String Tech: An Introduction to String Basics is a textbook for preservice teachers or for current teachers who find themselves teaching a traditional string ensemble. The material is introductory and presents itself as a “mashup” of string pedagogy and school instrumental method books.

The textbook is divided into three parts:

Part I – Basic Concepts covers the essential ideas you need to begin the journey of playing the stringed instruments violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Topics covered are:

1. Instrument Nomenclature
2. Bow Nomenclature
3. Instrument Care
4. Tuning String Instruments
5. Instrument Set-up
6. Pizzicato
7. Left Hand Setup and Finger Placements
8. Hand Frames
9. Intonation
10. Shifting
11. Bow Holds
12. Bowing
13. Bow Placement and Drawing the Bow
14. Tone Production
15. Dynamics

Most of Part I follows the usual pedagogical insights found in the literature, with a slight variation in terminology. Hand Frames is not a new concept, but the term is not widely used. Finger patterns or hand shapes are often used in the literature to describe the same thing. In terms of intonation, Hand Frames is the most important concept to understand, because without it, the player will constantly play incorrect notes.

Part II – Workbook, Exercises, and Music is similar to instrumental method books a teacher might use in a middle school classroom. Good string pedagogy divides performance concepts into left side and right side topics. The left side is about things like instrument setup, hand frames, intonation, vibrato, and more. The right side is about things like bow hold, tone production, articulation, rhythm, slurs, bowing, and more. Part II follows this by arranging the left side topics on the left side and the right side topics on the right side.

Part II is presented with only six different key signatures. Again, this text is an introductory in nature, and it is unnecessary to create materials in every key signature. In addition, these key signatures are sequenced in the same way many middle school method books do. Therefore, the key signatures are in the following order:

1. D major / B minor
2. G major / E minor
3. C major / A minor
4. F major / D minor
5. Bb major / G minor
6. A major / F# minor

The left page begins with a fingerboard diagram in a specific key signature. All fingerboards are arranged by key signatures because this is the way string players think, i.e. the fingerboard is understood through key signatures. Here is an example of a fingerboard (viola, D major / B minor).

Once the student has filled in the fingerboard, each string is displayed separately with the corresponding notation.

Next, a scale-like exercise helps the student demonstrate knowledge of every note in the chosen key on each string in first position (double bassists go to third position). This is followed by “noodling” exercises to practice finger placement on each note on each string.

The right page begins with a one-octave major scale to help the student begin working on right side issues of tone production. There are also short melodies from both folk music and orchestral literature to help the student practice playing in each key signature. Finally, every key signature introduces at least one new bowing.

Part III – Bowings and Rhythms details many specific types of bowings a string student will use when playing in an amateur orchestra. There are also several pages devoted to understanding bowings in both simple and compound meters.