Summer School 2019: Phil D’Arcy

Phil Darcy                  ESTA SS Report 2019

 

I recently attended the ESTA Summer school in Chichester. This was a wonderful opportunity to meet other string teachers and learn from each other, as well as the wealth of classes on offer, and to enjoy some marvellous concerts. I am extremely grateful for the bursary I received from the Nannie Jamieson Nutshell fund, sponsored by Lark, towards my attendance.

Each day began with a yoga class, tailored for musicians, led by Jane Fenton (I bet you didn’t know that ‘pedagogy’ could rhyme with ‘yogi’). After a short break ‘the two Joannes’ (May and Erwin) shared their experience of Paul Rolland’s pioneering work in string teaching. It was a great privilege to meet and learn from two people who studied with Paul Rolland himself, and I was not alone in feeling these sessions could have been much longer, and perhaps continued into the afternoon. Further classes during the day included a session with Paul Harris, whose approach and extensive range of books on teaching have been an inspiration to many. Evening concerts included fine performances of the Barber and Dvorak American quartets given by the Artesians.

The following is a very brief summary of some key elements from the Rolland basics sessions as I perceived them, if you haven’t watched the films already I would recommend doing so. The goal of free movement and the release of tension is naturally paramount.

Bilateral and unilateral movement; we practised using bilateral movement in the flying pizzicato, shifting the weight from the left to right foot as the pupil plucks the string. The teacher holds the scroll to support the instrument. By contrast, a unilateral movement would be appropriate in slow bowing.

A strategy I particularly liked; play a scale 2 notes at a time, swinging the instrument and bow out for two counts in the gaps.

We looked at many ways of working on the early bow hold, including the use of a straw to practice with (if the fingers are tense, they will crush the straw). A ‘pinkie house’ for the early stages. Ways to encourage flexibility of the fingers, hold the bow as high as possible, then go higher using the fingers; rest the bow on your knee, then write your name on the ceiling.

The whole event appeared to be held together by two unsung heroines. Sheila Holdsworth and Julia Atkinson, who worked tirelessly in the background throughout and capped it all with an hilarious double act hosting the last night party. The experience would have not been the same without them.

A guiding principle I will take with me; don’t talk more than necessary and don’t repeat yourself!

Footnote;

I’d personally love to see Geza Szilvay doing some Colourstrings sessions next time.

I was not alone in finding it hard to sit through the ‘other’ morning session, which was a great lesson in how to lose a room full of people by talking about how wonderful you and your books are for almost an hour.

 

Summer School 2019: Georgia Morrison

ESTA Summer School Bursary Report 2019

Georgia Morrison

This summer I was incredibly grateful to receive a Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Bursary sponsored by Lark which made it possible for me to attend the 2019 ESTA Summer School. Thank you so much to Lark and ESTA for their help. I was only able to attend three days of the course, but the schedule was jam-packed with wonderful workshops and concerts, so I have come away with many exciting new ideas and feel invigorated for the start of the new school year!

The ‘Upper Strings Basics’ sessions with Joanne May were particularly interesting. These focused on the pedagogy of Paul Rolland, which I was not familiar with before. At the beginning of each session we were able to watch a clip from the films that Paul Rolland made himself and it was invaluable to be able to see his teaching first-hand, especially since movement is so central to his philosophy. I particularly liked the imaginative ideas about how to use left hand pizzicato, for example plucking in low, medium and high positions and on any string, and asking the students to come up with different combinations and rhythms. I am also looking forward to trying out left-hand pizzicato on the D, G and A strings for chords I, IV and V to accompany well-known melodies in D major – it will be a great way for students to learn about harmony and also to have fun with melodies while they are still playing open strings. I have already bought Paul Rolland’s book ‘The Teaching of Action in String Playing’ and am looking forward to using it in the coming term.

I really enjoyed Paul Harris’s talk about how to get the most out of your students - his approach to teaching is refreshing and inspirational. I found the concept of ‘judgemental praise’ versus ‘appreciative praise’ really interesting, as well as the Pygmalion effect he spoke about: ‘As the teacher believes the student to be, so the student becomes’. I also liked his ideas about using questions more effectively in lessons – using them to check a pupil’s understanding before they play and avoid falling into the dangerous trap of mistakes and then criticism, and also using them to give the pupil a sense of power in the lesson, perhaps by asking them what they would like to do next in order to improve an aspect of their playing.

As well as these inspiring workshops, there were many other aspects of the course which made it a really special few days. There was ample time to chat to fellow delegates about music and I met so many lovely people and gained insight into different areas of teaching. The yoga sessions run by Jane Fenton were brilliant and I also loved the evening concerts by incredible performers - Steve Bingham and Jeremy Harmer, and Mark and Maggie O’Connor.

Thank you again to ESTA for planning and running a wonderful course!

 

Summer School 2019: Sarah Allen

ESTA Summer school report 2019

Sarah Allen

 

I was delighted to receive a Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Bursary sponsored by Lark, to attend the 2019 ESTA Summer School. I was particularly attracted to the Rolland classes, which were taken by the 2 Joannes, both of whom had learned with Rolland himself.

What a pleasure it was to experience well-paced sessions, which started with a short extract from the famous 1969 films (now on DVD, which have been slightly speeded up, affecting vibrato and pitch), immediately followed by hands-on, detailed demonstrations of the principles, and the incremental steps to achieve efficient, curved movements. This was no dry lecture; we tried everything out for ourselves. I was in the violin group led by Joanne May, who was quirky and inventive – like any good teacher, she found solutions that worked for her, which weren’t necessarily identical to those on the films.

She had an ingenious selection of thrifty props, ranging from empty toilet rolls (to be placed on the left shoulder for shadow bowing, which encourages good parallel bowing, while not leaving rosin on clothes) to miniature clothes pegs placed just above the balance point on the bow for the early bow hold. She cuts up Velcro to help establish the “pinkie”(4th finger) position on the bow, and covers the chin-rest with moleskin to make it softer. Some children complain that the violin hurts, where the violin meets the neck, so I will try this with my students with chamois leather, which is also non-slip.

Emphasis was placed on freedom of movement, for example with “marshmallow” knees and moving the head in “yes” and “no” movements to loosen the jaw. She encouraged circling the students to check for stiffness and incipient bad habits. A great phrase she used was “Practice makes permanent”.

It was good to see so many PGCE students, many from China and Hong Kong, experiencing Rolland principles for the first time. The consensus among fellow professionals was that we would have loved a whole morning of Rolland, rather than just 90 minutes a day, but I hope the new teachers will be inspired to continue building on what they learned in Chichester.

Another delight on the course was the morning yoga session, led by Jane Fenton. As a practising cellist, Jane is well aware of the stresses musicians put their bodies under, and had gentle exercises based on Scaravelli, which anyone can learn, to help counteract them. The role of breathing from the core, using the whole rib-cage, in facilitating stretches, was emphasized, and I left every session feeling lighter, looser and calmer. One inevitably spends an inordinate amount of time sitting during a course, and this was a wonderful corrector and counter-balance.

The two Joannes have been invited back to ESTA for the 2022 Summer School, and I would urge everyone to put it in their diaries!