Council for Research in Music Education

Development and Trial of a Two Year Program in String Instruction

Author(s): Paul Rolland and Richard Colwell
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, No. 8 (Fall, 1966), pp. 36-43
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Council for Research in Music Education
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40316915 .
Accessed: 17/11/2012 06:51

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

University of Illinois Press and Council for Research in Music Education are collaborating with JSTOR to
digitize, preserve and extend access to Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:51:20 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 -36-

DEVELOPMENT AND TRIAL

OF A TWO YEAR PROGRAM IN STRING INSTRUCTION

by Paul Holland and Richard Colwell

Purpose

The purpose of the research is to develop a course of study which

will systematically present the requirements necessary to establish
tension-free and natural playing movements, good tone production and a
firm basic technique for the string student.* This course of study is
to include an accompanying handbook with musical examples, exercises
and explanations usable as a companion to any method book and which
can be effectively used regardless of the age of the student. It will
include a series of recordings to serve as a guide for the home practicing
of the student. Finally, it aims to develop a series of films to be used
for the orientation applicable to public school string instruction.

Background

In this study, it is assumed that proper movements in violin

playing can result only through a natural and coordinated use of the
whole body and its components. Development of the movements in the most
suitable and expedient manner requires the use of studies that deal
directly with these movements and which are aimed at the effortless
production of good tone and technique.

Ve
Principles developed for the violin are applicable to other string
instruments with minor adjustments.

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:51:20 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 -37-

In sports, dancing, and activities which require timing, coordina-

tion and rhythmic response, these principles have long been accepted.
Traditional violin pedagogy, on the other hand, is primarily concerned
with the more obvious use of fingers, and hand and arm movement during
playing. Because of its preoccupation with the complexities of technical
and musical problems, traditional methods fail to give proper attention
to the development of natural physical and body responses necessary to
the acquisition of sound performing skills.

Good violin playing possesses a specific "Gestalt quality11 which

is not determined by the individual elements it contains, but rather by
the structural relationship between these elements and the whole. Within
this whole each element serves a specific and significant function but
only through the smooth coordination of all elements will successful
performance result. As stated by Mathei1: ffThere exists a primacy of
the whole. The whole and the parts determine each other mutually.11

Hence, successful violin playing is not synthetically determined

by its component parts, as one would tend to believe upon reading
Carl Flesch's famous and widely accepted MUrstudienfl (Basic Studies),
followed by practical methods of many authors. In this work, Flesch
broke down the complex structure of violin performance into small
components for the purpose of intensive study of isolated parts, and
thus established, in the first part of this century, a pedagogy that is
still dominant today.

It has been the experience of this writer in applying this approach

for a number of years to young people, enrolled in the University of
Illinois SummerYouth Music program (and to his own students) , that
dramatic results can be obtained by freeing the body from static tensions,
and by inducing slight movements beneficial to the type of bowing
involved. Young students demonstrating the techniques during clinic
demonstrations receive high praise, and the pilot film showing some of
the techniques was shown with considerable success in a number of states.
Some of the principles of this approach are discussed in the investiga-
of Violin ffJ However, these
tor^ pamphlet: "Basic Principles Playing.
principles remain to be incorporated and evaluated in a regular public
school string curriculum.

The Problem

It has been commonplace since the mid-nineteen-thirties to talk

about the string problem. String instrument study has declined
spectacularly with the phenomenal rise of wind instrument playing
following the depression. During the mid-nineteen-forties an acute
was in evidence which gave rise to a wholesome reaction
string shortage
the American String Teachers Association. A vast number
spearheaded by
of articles have been written on this subject in the musical and
educational journals, among which was the American String Teacher journal,
edited by this investigator during its first ten years of existence.
The early articles dealt primarily with the string shortage and proposed
ways and means of motivating children to string study, and described
procedures to organize and conduct string classes. Some of the more
significant pamphlets on the subject were "Organizing String Programs11

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:51:20 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 -38-

by Dr. Frank Crockett, published by the American Music Conference and

Dr. Robert Klotman's "Success with School Orchestras,11 published by
ASTA. As the shortage of student string players gradually diminished with
the rise of string classes and orchestras in schools, a new problem became
evident. Vast numbers of children in these orchestras played very poorly
and they usually gave up playing once out of school. The two Symposia
held at Tanglewood during the summers of 1963 and 1964 by the Boston
SymphonyOrchestra were quite vocal in their reports concerning the poor
quality of student players, and the subsequent lack of professionally
oriented talent. Indeed, as one observes the individual quality of
playing of the multitude of children, their poor approach to string
playing is evidenced by inferior tone quality, intonation, poor positions,
and uncoordinated angular movements.

It is the opinion of this writer, based on over 25 years of teaching

experience, that the problems mentioned above can be significantly
improved by a direct approach that treats the playing mechanism as an
organic unit. By developing a perception of the whole during the act
of playing, and by acquiring the kinesthetic sensation necessary for
performing the various motion patterns necessary in playing, a surprising
improvement can be effected in the learner, helping him to achieve a more
natural, tens ion- free approach to playing and a better tone and technique.*
This perception and treatment of the whole does not mean to imply lack
of analysis or ignorance of detail. As stated by Scott : "....the
analysis of activities should make for better and easier teaching. Few
students are sufficiently visual minded or have adequate kinesthetic
sense to imitate immediately or accurately a demonstrated skill. Nor
can most activities be completely taught as a single unit. At some
time, during the learning process, parts must be singled out for emphasis,
perhaps one part for one student, and another part for another student.
Then these parts must be brought together in proper sequence as a
coordinated whole."

Hence, this proposal is based on a "whole-part-whole approach,"

stressing a mental image of the functioning whole through expert
demonstration by the instructor and/or filmed example; the improvement
of the detail within the whole, whenever necessary; and the final
mastery of skill by frequent repetition and review for uninhibited
recall and application. In this approach, the playing movements are
purposefully developed, unlike in common practice, where they come
about indirectly upon playing certain tunes and exercises. For instance,
a single whole-bow stroke is developed with a preparatory movement and
a graceful and natural "follow through," with the inclusion of small yet
beneficial movements in the legs, trunk, head and of course, the arm, as
single repeated strokes are practiced in a rhythmic manner with appealing
chord structures. This type of action study resembles the golfer's
approach, which is painstakingly directed toward the performance of his
singular act, through repetition, and improvement of form.

*
Compare with the statement of Morehouse-Miller in Physiology and Exercises
(1959): "....learning and perfection of skill can proceed through reading
and thinking about technique of the event. Thus a golfer during the winter
season may improve his swing by studying texts written on the subject.
Divers commonly repeat in their imagination the movements of a new dive
before attempting to perform it " This finds it most
investigator
helpful to practice and memorize his repertoire while driving long
stretches on the highway.

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:51:20 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 -39-

Obviously, in the case of the violin, the learning of such skills

represents only a phase of the total study repertoire, which must deal
with a multitude of forms, in addition to musical values. Contrasted
with the typical approach in violin teaching* which enlists a vast
amount of contrived material without real musical value for the develop-
ment of technique (so much so that often little time is left for genuine
musical progress), this approach coupled with sound musical materials
and with the use of a minimum amount of contrived materials deals
directly with musical values on one hand, and with the development of
playing actions and forms on the other.

Emphasis is given to developing a sense of comfort to the player,

and to free all parts of the body from static muscular tension. The
body and its parts remain supple.

Body tensions, the various ailments of form, and fumbling, which

stem from incoordinate movements are removed by inducing slight movement
in the limbs and joints that have a tendency to "get set.11 Movements
are to be performed with the support of the entire body and its
musculature because: nThe greater the number of (synergic) muscles
engaged in a movement, the more accurate and graceful is the movement.
The more complete the relaxation of antagonistic muscles, the more
"5
rapid and powerful is the movement.

It appears that, with little exception, teachers pay no attention

to the principles discussed, known and widely used in other fields and
that "end-gaining11 or looking for shortcuts for quick "results" is the
rule rather than the exception. Evidence exists that these principles
are applicable to violin students of all ages and can be used both in
an instructional and remedial program.

The project, simply stated, is to apply the investigator's action

studies as a basis for teaching physical movements as an integral part
of the string curriculum in the early stages in coordination with
judiciously selected musical materials.

Action studies as defined in this study mean total body action,

apparent in the playing of fine players, in the performance of musical
materials, however simple.

As past President of the American String Teachers Association, the

investigator is in an advantageous position to secure expert consultant
help and to disseminate results.

Objectives

1. Develop and test materials for the teaching of natural and

tension- free violin playing movements, applicable to students
of any age, and supplementary to any standard method book of
instruction.

When speaking of the violin, other instruments of the violin family are
implied also.

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:51:20 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 -40-

2. Develop violin skills in a direct manner with action studies

which relate to musical materials and ignor much of the
commonly used contrivances.

3. Develop a manual of instruction with explanations and musical

examples to assist the teacher and the student with his homework.

4. Develop a series of recordings based on action studies to assist

the student in his homework.

5. Select musical materials for a two-year curriculum.

6. Develop a series of films that demonstrate specific procedures

in teaching the various aspects of playing for demonstration
to students and for the orientation of teachers.

7. Develop groups of elementary school age players in a two-year

course, and demonstrate their acquired skills to groups of
experts.

8. Use the Action Studies as remedial work to junior high and high
school age students in short-term courses and demonstrate any
improvement .

Related Research

There is a considerable amount of literature which discusses the

technique of string instrument playing. Some of these works have been
based on sound research procedures. Curiously, no important research
has been conducted on the actual teaching level, and it appears that
the majority of the string teachers are ignorant of sound principles,
stressed in the literature as long as 60 years ago.

For example, the classic work of Dr. Frederick Steinhausen, Die

Physiologie des Bogenfuehrung6 stresses the importance of curved bowing
motions as early as 1902, yet his sound principles are yet to be
realized by the majority of the string playing fraternity. Similarly,
Percival Hodgson, in his Motion Study and Violin Playing, first published
in London, 1934 (reissued by ASTA in 1958) asserts that practically all
(expert) bowing movements follow a curved path. The current action
studies realize these principles by curved string crossing movements and
by released follow through movements. These studies are described in
some detail in Rolland's "Basic Principles of Violin Playing,11 1959.

There are significant contributions in related fields. For instance,

the Physiology of Exercise by Morehouse-Miller^ supports many of the
principles advocated by the proposed research. To quote from this book:
". . continued curved motions require less effort than straight line motions
involving sudden and sharp changes in direction. Hesitation, or
temporary and often minute cessation from motion should be eliminated
from the performance. Work is accomplished at a faster rate if component
movements are in a continuous curved rate than if movements involve
abrupt changes of direction. Movements are made more quickly and
accurately with the right hand in a counter-clockwise direction....11

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:51:20 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 -41-

A significant aspect of the proposed approach is the modification

of the violin angle during the course of the stroke: A flatter position
at the tip and increased tilt at the frog. While this tendencyis quite
obvious in the playing of the finest artists and professionals, it has
not yet penetrated the violin teaching fraternity; nor is it mentioned
in any of the methodbooks which are most conservative with their static
presentation of violin playing with its rigidly presented positions and
forms. This changingangle allows the exploitation of desirable curved
motions to a greater degree, bringing about the beneficial counter-
clockwise motion pattern of the right hand, mentionedearlier. Furthermore,
the increased tilt at the frog and flatter and somewhathigher position
at the tip helps to equalize the weight of the bow by increasing its
gravity at the tip and reducing its weight by a morevertical placement
at the frog.

Anotherprinciple stressed in the proposed research is an increase

of total body motili ty as a means of overcomingbody tensions and poor
coordination. Carl Flesch, in his Art of Violin Playing, a classic in
the field, already speaks of the advisability of a reasonable amountof
body movement. The tendencies described are obvious enough in the
playing of professionals and artists, yet most of the teachers are
unaware of the laws governingthese motions and the methodbooks in use
show ignorance in their static presentation of violin playing with
their depicted frozen positions. The principle of body motility is
stressed in the study of Dr. F. F. Polnauer (1952)9, published by the
Franklin Institute, and in his latest book: Senso Motor Study, and Its
Application to Violin Playing (ASTA, 1964). 10 In what he describes as
"Bilateral Bowing,11 he advocated a relatively high degree of motility
in the body, as this increases skill and workefficiency. He accepts
Buytenkijk1s11 argumentwhich states that alternating leg motions are
easier to performthan undirectional movements,therefore, he advocates a
mild swaying tendencywhich is twisting in its nature rather than
pendulous. At least a reasonable amountof body motility can be observed
in the playing of the finest performers, in contrast with the poor
players, who are either still or use the wrongchoice of movements.
This research intends to establish the proof that body freedomand
motility benefits tone production and technique.
In addition to the materials developed by the research, standard
musical repertoire will be used to present a balanced course of study.
Selection will be based on musical excellence as well as technical
suitability.
Procedures

1. With the cooperation of the University of Illinois and other

universities in Illinois, violin classes will be organized in
selected public and laboratory schools. The instruction will
be for a period of two years directed to grade school children.

While the result of this research will benefit the instruction

of the other string instruments,violin classes will be organized
primarily in this project because of the pronouncedneed for the
study in connection with the violin.

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:51:20 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 -42-

2. The study will be developmental in its nature. This investi-

gator has used the materials for some ten years with junior
and senior high school students during short term summer sessions
with notable success. The extended two-year period of study
will help to perfect the approach, and to develop systematic
materials for applications to elementary students.

3- Phase I of the study will call for beginning of writing

conferences by project staff and consultants. The specific
phasing will be outlined.

Phase II. Designated for the development of a syllabus for the

students and a manual for teachers. Cooperating teachers will
be consulted and three consultants used to assist in preparing
materials.

Phase III. Develop records to aid students in their homework.

Develop films. Plans call for 20 short films, each of six to eight
minutes duration, dealing with a specific problem of playing. The films
will use student subjects, who will demonstrate the various techniques.
The films will be used for teacher orientation and student demonstration
as well. It is conceived, that with proper projection and sound equipment,
simultaneous playing in classes with the film will be possible. The role
of the film is identical on a visual level with the function of the
records on the aural level: It helps to establish a firm image in the
student's mind to facilitate learning, and it helps teachers to visualize
a systematic and efficient approach of teaching.

Phase IV of the study will call for a workshop meeting of cooperating

teachers from the various schools. At this meeting which will last five
days, the approach will be thoroughly discussed, and plans for developing
the materials will be laid out. While this investigator will assume the
responsibility for developing the materials, he will disclose his outlines,
present films and recordings, and demonstrate groups of his students to
the participating colleagues and will encourage them to experiment
informally prior to the formal trial.

Phase V. Organize short-term junior high school and senior high

school classes for remedial work.

Phase VI. Organization of classes and actual teaching in the

various centers by faculty members and assistants. Demonstration of
progress at the end of first year. Classes will meet at least three
times per week during the first six weeks of instruction, and at least
twice a week thereafter. Preparation of second year's materials by
consultants and project staff.

Phase VII. Another teacher's workshop conducted and the experiences

of the first year of teaching are evaluated; revisions made in the
curriculum.

Phase VIII. Short-term remedial classes for junior high school

and senior high school students.

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:51:20 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 -43-

Phase IX. Second year of teaching of the original class.

Phase X. Preparation of final syllabus; provisions made for

distribution.

References

1. Mathei, R. Das Gestalt problem (Muenchen,1929).

2. Flesch, Carl. Urstudien (Basic Studies). NewYork: Carl Fischer,
1911.

3. Rolland, Paul. Basic Principles of Violin Playing, Washington,D.C.

Music Educators National Conference, 1959.

4. Scott, M. Gladys. A Textbook in Kinesiology, NewYork City: Crofts

and Co., 1947. Analysis of HumanMotion, NewYork City: Crofts and
Co., 1947.
5. L. E. Morehouseand Miller. Physiology of Exercise. Third Edition,
St. Louis C. V. MosbyCompany,1959.

6. Steinhausen, Frederick F. Die Physiologie des Bogenfuehrung,Leipzig:

Breitkopf and Haertel, 1902.
7. Hodgson, Percival. Motion Study and Violin Playing. London: J. H.
Lavender and Company,1934.

8. Flesch, Carl. Art of Violin Playing. NewYork: Carl Fischer,

1930-1939.

9. Polnauer, F. F. Franklin Institute, Philadelphia.

10. Polnauer, Frederick, F. Senso-Motor Study and Its Application to

Violin Playing and MortonMarks, Urbana, Illinois: AmericanString
Teachers Association, 1964.

11. Buytendijk, F. J. Allgemeine Theorie der menschlichenHaltung und

Bewegung. Berlin, Springer, 1956.
The research reported is supported throughthe Cooperative Research
Programof the Office of Education, U.S. Departmentof Health, Education,
and Welfare.

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:51:20 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions