Deborah Young – research write-up

The presenters of the Haringey Music Service INSET, which took place on 9th January, are grateful to the SNSF for supporting the research into development of the Nelson Way which followed and which will inform the planning of sessions to be given at ESTA’s Summer School in August.

The INSET was attended by fourteen HMS teachers who, between them, have a wide range of experience, from two former SMN pupils to those at the beginning of their teaching careers, including those who trained in other countries. Most have some experience of whole class or small group teaching, but a few only teach individuals.

The workshop was based on the ideas and strategies developed by Sheila Nelson, starting with a group of songs, both historic to her sessions and some more currently used. It continued with some heavy vs light arm exercises with the teachers working in pairs, and explored active vs passive movements. The following activity took simple songs from the Essential String Method bk.1, including sol fa and hand signs. Katherine Chibah’s backing tracks for Tall Red Bus were much admired! Next came a wide variety of games using rhythm cards; ranging from the very simple to the extremely challenging. The teaching of pulse and movement was discussed. Bow hold teaching and the importance of big arm movements ended the session; Stir the Magic Pot from ESM bk 1 was demonstrated.

The teachers were asked to try some or all of these activities in their spring term teaching and evaluate their effectiveness.

Almost all tried the sol fa and rhythm card activities, which many had not used before, finding the rhythm
cards generally easy to use and incorporate, but some found pupils shy about singing and sol fa and found hand signs tricky. Many tried the bow holding exercises and big freeing movements to improve string crossing and general physicality. There was mention of some behaviour problems when children worked in pairs to find light vs heavy arms. Many tried different songs and repertoire and were enthusiastic about getting backing tracks for ESM. The opening up of a more playful way of teaching and more relaxed pupils was mentioned.

Of the 11 teachers who responded, all were very positive and said they would continue to use the activities and welcomed further training. In summary this was an extremely useful preparation and basis for planning what to include in the summer.

Project Bursary report – JDCMF

.........We are utterly delighted with our young string quartets' development over the last term .

Having the generous grant from JDCMF has meant we have been able to provide a professional string playing coach for each ensemble at every session . Every group has been supported and encouraged by professionals who are passionate to share their own love of chamber music and it is exciting to see our young people gain a knowledge of this magical and rich repertoire .

We have a string quartet playing Borodin No 2 and have thrived with guidance from Thelma , leader of RLPO , and Sarah , viola player in the same . The viola player in this quartet has just accepted a place at the RCM to study from September and the other players will probably follow him when they are of age !

We have two quartets playing Haydn and they are loving it . Four of these players have been with us since our early endeavours ( rehearsing at a friend 's farm in their outbuildings !) and to see their development as chamber musicians is immensely inspiring and encourages us to do more !!!

Our youngest group are coached by the excellent Sally Anderson who has been a massive part of the In Harmony Everton project . She builds their musicianship skills and makes it fun and effective . They stand to play and always perform with rhythmic excellence ageing from 8-11 .

We have a group playing some Mozart and when their viola player has not been able to attend due to ill health they have been coached from the viola chair by Nadia Debono who is had just joined the Liverpool Phil as No 2 vla . She is Maltese and superb with the youngsters ! I think it has also been wonderful for her to get to know the children and for them to meet someone who has just relocated and is new to the orchestra.

Our newest ensemble , which would not have been possible without your help is made up of 2 eleven year olds , one 14 year old and an 18 year old and I am moved sometimes to witness the cooperation between them all . They are not a combination that would naturally flock together were it not for chamber music and they are wonderful together ! They are respectful and helpful to each other and there is much laughter and hard work too .

We return to rehearsals this coming Saturday after our Christmas break and I look forward to seeing more development , enriching and fun this term !

We are truly grateful to you for causing this to happen for these young people and thank you so much for your generosity.

Celia Goodwin

National Strings: Xiachu (7)

My name is Xiachu. I am 7 years old. I want to let you know that I had a great time at National Strings in Norfolk. The best thing about the course was to play my violin together as a group. My favourite music piece was "Tops and Tails". And it was my first time away from home. I really enjoyed this course. Thank you!

Xiachu's mother writes:

Many thanks to the Joan Dickson Chamber Music Fund for supporting Xiachu to attend the National Strings Junior Chamber music course, held in Norfolk for two days at Easter.

On this course, Xiachu was taught to play various chamber music, working in a variety of mixed instrumental small ensembles. She learnt how to practise efficiently in order to achieve a good performance.

During this course, Xiachu has developed her listening skills, helping her to follow every detail of the music so that she knows how her part fits into the overall musical idea. She has also learnt that collaboration (teamwork) is so very important in chamber music. For example, when she played one of her pieces, she became able to respond straight away by listening, fitting her part in, and taking into account the other musicians involved. She has learnt awareness of the other musicians' parts, and that she needs to interact more sensitively with other players in a chamber music ensemble.

Xiachu could identify the characteristics of the different instruments on this course. For example, she knows that because a cello is larger in size than a violin, the notes produced by a cello are lower in pitch when compared to a violin.

Due to this course, Xiachu can now play and perform with an improved sense of rhythm. For example, her ability to keep accurately to a regular beat and synchronise with an ensemble has improved. She also learnt how to adapt to the rhythm and timing in different compositions and to keep these elements in the front of her mind.

In general, Xiachu has benefitted a lot from this Chamber Music Course. Thanks again to the Joan Dickson Chamber Music Fund. We really appreciate it !

Young Grittleton: Melissa (11)

During my two weeks at Young Grittleton I had so much fun playing violin and viola with other people instead of on my own. On the first week I played viola, and on the second week I played violin. Although it was my second year of going to Young Grittleton, I still found setting up my bed challenging. I also had to help one of my room-mates set up hers.

My first instrument is violin, so it was good to play viola for a change, but when I went home I couldn’t read the treble clef! Playing with my friends was great, but besides that we also had the talent show, which was brilliant. There were amazing card tricks, competitions between the staff and a lot of other fun stuff. We got to listen to the Senior Grittleton staff play in their concert. They were all fantastic. It went on for a long time but it was great.

Then we had our concert. The days all passed too quickly. I was having so much fun. At the end of the concert we all said goodbye to each other and went home. I really hope I can see everyone again next year! 

Thank you very much to the Joan Dickson Chamber Music Fund for giving me this opportunity.

Melissa (age 11)

Melissa’s mother added: 

‘Thanks again for the precious opportunity you provided to her. We wish you all the best.’

Priory Farm Music Camp: Olivia (12)

Dear JDCMF,

I am just back from my PFMC+ course and had an amazing time! I played in a string orchestra, a string quartet and sang in a group ensemble. In my string quartet I played Hungarian Dance no.5 by Brahms. I found this piece fun to play but it had some challenging passages. I played the 2nd violin part, which consisted of off-beat rhythms and hard semiquavers. To help the piece come together we were encouraged to clap the rhythms before playing. We also worked on our posture and one of the main pieces of advice from the tutor was to make sure our sitting bones were comfortable. Ceri (our chamber coach) worked on the dynamics and showed us how to tilt the bow to change the volume and colour of the sound. She also talked about the importance of always having both feet on the ground. In the string orchestra we played The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams and Divertimento for Strings by Paul Martin. Before playing we used drumsticks on the back of our chairs to help us with the rhythms. I also had a solo in The Lark Ascending! In the singing I enjoyed using my voice to express myself and we focussed on vocal warm-ups. We learnt Wester Caputh by Brendan Taaffe and Royals by Lorde.

To sum it up, I had a really fun time, and I learnt a lot of new skills. I made lots of new friends and the teachers were really nice and informative. It really helped to fine tune my listening skills, awareness of others and finding different colours in the music using different techniques. Thank you to the Joan Dickson Chamber Music Fund for helping to make this possible for me. I had an amazing time and learnt so much over the four days.

Many thanks once again!

Olivia (age 12)