On December 31st 2018, the string world received the sad news that Kato Havas had passed away. Kato was an inspiration to many generations of violinists, leaving behind a legacy of knowledge and wisdom with regards to string playing that can be handed down to future generations. But who was Kato and why was she such an important figure in the world of string teaching?  

Kato Havas was born on the 5th November 1920 in the tiny village Târgu Secuiesc, Transylvania among the Carpathian Mountains, on the Romanian Hungarian border. Having been introduced to the instrument at the age of five, she soon showed an immense natural talent for the instrument. Havas learnt to read music before she could read words, her first teacher making her sing every piece with note names whilst clapping the pulse before playing it (much later she realised that she had been taught the Kodály system). By the age of seven, she had already given her first professional recital. This recital, in Kolozsvár (Cluj), included Brahms’s Hungarian Dances and Franz Schubert of Dresden’s The Bee, Op 13.

The Hungarian style

Kato had a strong affinity with the Hungarian gypsy violin style. In her words, this began ‘before I could even talk.’  She often told the tale of how, aged 9, while staying with friends, she dressed as a gypsy child, begging the guests to allow her to play a few tunes, telling them that her family were sick and dependent on her to provide for them. Later she owned up to the deception, but when she tried to return the money she had collected, the guests had enjoyed her playing so much they refused to take the money back. Kato often described this as her first professional fee.

The violinist Emil Telmányi heard her play and was so impressed that he arranged for her to study with Imre Waldbauer at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Imre was the first violinist of the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet and gave Kato the traditional virtuoso violin training of the period. Whilst a student, Kato was fortunate enough to meet Bartók, Kodály and Dohnányi.  All three composers turned up to watch her first recital at the Academy. It was during her time at the Academy that the pressure of performances began to affect her playing physically.

The roots of the ‘New Approach’

When, aged seventeen, Kato gave her Carnegie Hall debut in New York, she became acutely aware of the link between the mental state and performance quality of a performer. ‘My violin went into a sulk and so did my left hand,’ she recalled of her time in America. Luckily the Hungarian–American conductor Eugene Ormandy introduced her to the violinist David Mendoza, who in turn introduced her to the natural left-hand motion. This, along with the playing style of the Hungarian gypsy violinists had a profound influence on her the development of the ‘New Approach’.

Most child prodigies find a period out of the public eye essential if they are to achieve maturity as an artist, but for Kato Havas, this happened quite naturally.  She married at eighteen and while concentrating on bringing up her three daughters, her professional life naturally ceased. It was during this period of enforced removal that she evolved her revolutionary method of teaching.

The Teacher

A magnetic teacher, Havas found herself lecturing at Oxford University, gave talks and demonstrations on television, and travelled the world delivering as a series of lecture demonstrations.  Kato was also the founder and director of the Purbeck Music Festival in Dorset, the Roehampton Music Festival in London and the International Festival in her adopted home town of Oxford.

Recognition

Kato Havas received many accolades. In 1992, the American String Teachers Association’s International Award in recognition of her “unparalleled achievements”; in 2002, the Order of the British Empire for services to music; finally, in 2013, the European Teachers’ Association presented Kato Havas with its Award “in celebration of a life-long contribution to music”.

Legacy

Kato Havas’ biggest legacy to the world of string playing is her ‘New Approach’. In this, she explores problems inherent in string playing, demonstrating ways of dealing with them based on the theory of understanding ‘inward-to-outward energy impulses’.  In it, she emphasises a sense of well-being, in both physical balance and mental attitude. Through active rhythmic pulse and the sensation of having no violin or bow “hold,’’ players experience a newfound sense of freedom. ‘Two right arm motions or swings encompass all “bow strokes,” and balanced and dancing left-hand movements responsible for tone quality, intonation, vibrato, free string players from anxiety about shifts, double-stops, and string crossings’. The New Approach is a highly organised system, preventing and eliminating tensions and anxieties whilst highlighting the physical, mental and social aspects of performance with special reference to violin playing, although these principles can be applied equally to any other instrument.  The approach concentrates on unifying mind, body and spirit; coordinating the natural balance of the body into a powerful and effortless whole.

Kato Havas’ books have long been translated into Chinese, German, Spanish, Swedish, Czech, Hungarian, Japanese, Italian and Dutch.

Kato Havas was a strong supporter of ESTA UK and a great advocate for the correct training of those wanting to embark upon a career in string teaching. If you are interested in a career in string teaching, why not look to ESTA UK to see what training options are available to maximise your potential in the profession. Visit www.estastrings.org.uk or www.estaeducation.co.uk for more details.

Nannie Jamieson and the Nutshell Fund

It is probably safe to say that without the hard work and dedication of Nannie Jamieson, the UK branch of ESTA would not have been as successful as it now is. The foundations she created have proved excellent for future generations of ESTA UK officers to build upon, and she would no doubt be proud of all they have achieved. Nannie was, by all accounts a formidable character and her memory lives on not only through ESTA UK but also in the Nutshell Fund, a source of funding that has helped many string teachers enhance their careers through enabling their attendance on courses and individual lessons. Whether you are thinking of attending the ESTA Summer School in 2019, attending any other string teaching courses or even contemplating some individual study with a specialist teacher, it is worth your while finding out more about Nannie Jamieson, what she stood for and her legacy.   

Nannie in a Nutshell

Nannie Jamieson (1904-1990) had a persona that was, to all intents and purposes, ageless. She had a character that was truly larger than life; generous, critical, impulsive, self-questioning, wanting the best from everyone and never suffering fools gladly. As her niece, Kate Beresford put it ‘She lived life in the fast lane long before the phrase had been invented!’ (The Red Hot Magnet pub ESTA page 4). Nannie was born in Edinburgh in 1904 and was first introduced to music by her viola playing mother, Ann. Her first teacher was James Winram, followed shortly by Esther Cruikshank and Gladys Clark until she went abroad to continue her musical education at the recommendation of Donald Tovey. The violinist, Alma Moodie made all the final arrangements and Nannie ended up staying in Germany for ten years. During her time in Berlin, Nannie studied with Joseph Wolfsthal and Carl Flesch, but the teacher to whom she perhaps owes the most is Max Rostal. Max gave Nannie violin and chamber music lessons in return for her teaching him the basics of the English language.  Berlin was an exciting place to be in the late 1920s and early 1930s; but when the climate of the city changed in the years preceding the Second World War, it was Nannie, with the aid of her parents, that were instrumental in helping Rostal out of Germany and away from the Nazi persecution. Nannie was later to become the representative of Max’s method in Britain.

Professional life

Nannie’s professional life started upon her return to England with an appointment to teach violin in 1935 at Dartington Hall, where in 1939 the Robert Masters Piano Quartet was formed – Robert Masters, violin; Nannie Jamieson, viola; Muriel Taylor, cello; Kinloch Anderson, piano. It was soon attracting favourable attention for its repertoire, stretching from Mozart to Herbert Howells, and was heard at the Wigmore Hall and, after the war, the Edinburgh Festival. The quartet gave several performances of chamber music by the English composer William Wordsworth, and undertook three world tours. During the war, Nannie was also an active performer for CEMA (Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts) and ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association), also performing in the National Gallery Concerts set up by Myra Hess. After the war there followed playing work with Yehudi Menuhin in the Bath Festival Orchestra, the Menuhin Festival Orchestra, the Thames Chamber Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. There was also from 1946, a long tenure as a teacher at the Guildhall School of Music, where she gained her Fellowship in 1956; and periods teaching at Chetham’s School, Manchester and Homerton College, Cambridge.

More than just a teacher

Nannie was more than just a teacher; she was a mentor, a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear. To her students, she showed complete commitment. Her standards were high, and in return, she expected complete commitment from them in their studies. Nannie helped these fledgling musicians, encouraging them to obtain wide experiences of teaching and attend courses both in Britain and abroad, often paying their fees out of her own pocket. Nannie didn’t just encourage violists, but all young musicians. When her close friend, Muriel Taylor passed away after a battle with leukaemia in 1971, Nannie founded a scholarship for cellists in her memory. This scholarship is still enabling gifted cellists to study almost fifty years later – www.murieltaylorscholarship.org

The birth of ESTA UK

In 1973, Max Rostal asked Nannie Jamieson to start a British Branch of ESTA, the European String Teachers Association, originally founded in Austria by Marianne Kroemer the year previous. Nannie, aged 69, put her formidable energies into setting up the branch as its first organising secretary. She knew personally the majority of the most influential string teachers in Britain and gathered these around her, along with likeminded friends with the purpose of forwarding the cause of string teaching in Britain. At the inception of the British Branch of the European String Teachers Association, those gathered included Yehudi Menuhin, Max Rostal, Yfrah Neaman, Martin Lovett, Robert Masters, Joan Dickson and Muriel Anthony.    This original group of highly enthusiastic and effective string players was soon augmented by Christopher Bunting, Louis Carus and Elspeth Iliff. There was input from abroad with frequent visits from Igor Ozim and Paul Rolland, who also brought across other fabulous teachers from the longer established American String Teachers Association (ASTA). Sheila Nelson also came on board, as did Britain’s first exponent of the Suzuki Method, Helen Brunner. With such firm founding parents, the British Branch of the European String Teachers Association was bound to be a success and the early membership recruited in the early 1970s was a strong one, including ESTA UK’s current Chair, John Shayler.

Always learning

Nannie always recognised the need as an individual to keep learning, setting about learning as much as she could from others with the same level of enthusiasm and determination that she showed in every other aspect of life. She never lost the sense of excitement in either her own teaching or her thirst for knowledge. Nannie’s niece Kate Beresford recounts ‘She never lost her excitement for teaching and recognised when she herself needed to learn from others. A case in point is when Helen Brunner first introduced the Suzuki method in the UK, Nannie was quick to want to understand the method and realised she had no experience whatsoever of teaching very little children who were taking their actual very first steps into music. So what did she do? She harnessed the energy of her three great-nephews who had never played a note on a stringed instrument, aged  3,5 & 7, set them up with instruments and attended several sessions with Helen Brunner and watched the results. Several years of happy music making followed where Nannie was able to ‘cherry pick’ from her amassed experience of techniques making for lessons that were never dull, and always with the emphasis on getting it ‘right’ through patience and fun. She did not accept second best with the children any more than she would with her more grown-up students.’  

Her legacy

Nannie passed away in 1990. In 1981, her outstanding work for services to music had been recognised through the award of an MBE and she was also a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (1956), but it seemed very fitting that a fund be set up in her memory for string players. The resulting ‘Nutshell Fund’ was named after her demonstration lectures covering much of the basic techniques needed for violin and viola playing and subsequent book, titled ‘Technique in a Nutshell’.

The fund  

Nannie truly believed that it was the greatest privilege to be a teacher and the fund set up as her legacy really holds true to her ideals and philosophies. The Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Fund awards bursaries enabling ESTA UK members to develop and broaden their teaching skills on all bowed orchestral string instruments. These bursaries are awarded to attend short courses on string teaching, including the ESTA Summer School, and to enable established teachers to take a limited number of one-to-one private lessons in ESTA’s Play Better, Teach Better programme. Nutshell bursaries have been provided since 1990 and currently (January 2019) a total of 200 bursaries amounting to over £60,000 have been awarded. These bursaries were funded from initial contributions of £30,000, collected shortly after Nannie’s death in 1990 and overseen in the early years by Robert Masters, Christopher Wellington and Sylvia Palmer. Since then, the assets of the Nutshell Fund have grown through specific fund raising activities and generous donations. Now the fund also receives corporate sponsorship, allowing many more bursaries to be awarded. ESTA UK graciously acknowledges the considerable assistance for these bursaries provided by Stentor, Pirastro, Thomastik-Infeld, Partplay, Barenreiter, Jargar and Universal Edition. The ESTA Bursary Committee, which administers the Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Fund, is always delighted to receive further donations to help more and more ESTA members develop and broaden their teaching skills. In 2003, the committee of the Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Fund published an appreciation of her life and work. The booklet, ‘The Red Hot Magnet’, was aptly named from a phrase borrowed from one of Nannie’s exercises for the left hand. Copies of the booklet may be obtained from bursary@estastrings.org.uk. The high respect which Nannie earned from everyone is clearly apparent in the articles from all of its contributors.

“I can still hear Nannie Jamieson’s voice as we discussed over decades so many subjects, musical, human and, of course, ESTA.” –  Yehudi Menuhin “I remember her in many ways: the oriflamme of her hair atop her twinkling eyes, her enthusiasm for music and people, and her outstanding dedication to her students.” –  Christopher Bunting “That the musical world should go on as before without Nannie Jamieson seems inconceivable. Her warm personality, her charm, her great humanity, her helpfulness to her students, to her colleagues, to her innumerable friends and particularly ESTA, as well as to myself, were certainly unique. Her wonderful and infectious sense of humour was always a delight to me.” –  Max Rostal “Who will not remember Nannie’s great sense of humour and her tremendous perseverance – it was virtually impossible to say ‘no’ to her.” – Igor Ozim

For more information about the Nutshell Fund, the ESTA Summer School and the many other opportunities that ESTA UK has to offer in terms of career development visit www.estastrings.org.uk or www.estaeducation.co.uk

As a string teacher in the UK, I frequently have been exposed to workshops and training in ideas that stem from the work of Sheila Nelson, developed in 1976 after joining the Tower Hamlets String Teaching Project. So much of the string teaching literature currently in vogue in the UK stems from the groundbreaking work of this project, yet how many younger string teachers have heard of Sheila and her work? Her name may be familiar with covers of various publications, but few will have experienced her first hand at one of the many workshops she led for the UK branch of ESTA? Sheila is now getting on in years and we are unlikely to have any further input from her directly in terms of string teaching. Being such an important figure, she deserves a blog in her own right, but many years ago in the early 1970s, Sheila was fortunate to go and study string pedagogy in America under the tutelage of another seminal string teacher, Paul Rolland. I suspect that name draws even blanker faces on many younger string teachers in the UK. Yet Paul Rolland is possibly the most pivotal figure in string teaching of the twentieth century, with a legacy that could carry on indefinitely.

Paul Rolland (1911-78) can be listed among the most influential of twentieth-century violin teachers. He was a native of Hungary and studied music at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. For a while, he played professionally, as a first violinist in the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, then as the violist in the Pro Ideale and Lener string quartets.  Rolland then made teaching the main focus of his career.

In 1966, the United States Office of Education funded a five-year research project in String Teaching, based at the University of Illinois. The resulting research was ‘The teaching of action in string playing’, the findings of a project covering the first two years of violin instruction by Paul Rolland. In his approach, Rolland can be found to emphasise a rhythmic foundation to playing, using movement that is free from excessive tension.

The Rolland Philosophy

‘Get them started right and aim them in the right direction and they will reach the top…..It is a fallacy to believe that the careful teaching of fundamentals will slow down the pupil…..Most elements of string playing can be introduced in embryonic form during the first year of instruction and refined thereafter…..One would be quite surprised at what pupils can be started on during the first and second years…..Music educators should strive to develop players who not only play in tune with a good sound, but who also feel comfortable and happy in doing so, and who use well-coordinated movements without excessive tension as they play…..It is of paramount importance to develop a well-balanced stance, balanced right and left arms and a balanced hold…..Good balance is the key to efficient movements…..stressed in freedom of movement; trying to inculcate the pupil with a feeling of kinaesthesia, a feeling of lightness, both with the bow and the instrument…..naturalness, naturalness, naturalness.’ – P.Rolland. ’Young Strings in Action’ revised by Sheila Johnson (Boosey and Hawkes, 1971)

Rolland’s research started from a scientific standpoint, using knowledge acquired from the pedagogical aspects of dancing and sport, incorporating Gestalt theory; along with the principles of kinesiology and physiology. He had knowledge of the methods of Suzuki and Flesch and spent the first period of his study researching all previous and current methods of instrumental teaching. For his own work, Rolland felt he had to develop a method of teaching that had its basis in good motion techniques. In order to develop such motion skills, he concentrated on the development of highly refined physical actions, coordination, timing and patient practice. Rolland labelled the idea ‘total body action’ and made a great emphasis on the use of the whole body in the development of performance skills.

Rolland advocated that teachers learn and teach freedom of movement using clear, specific and concise instructions. His approach was highly analytical, his teaching systematic and logical. In his studies, every possible movement in string playing was analysed. Through his studies, he developed the science of playing the violin through the knowledge of what physical body movements were needed to execute each technical action. Rolland was a strong advocate of teaching in classes, with his own work in this field modelling itself on the masterclass style.

Rolland left a record of his work on a film, now available in DVD format. The Paul Rolland Papers along with the audio and visual recordings are held with the Sousa Achieves and Center for American Music at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.   

Rolland summarised his work in the book ‘The Teaching of Action in String Playing’, written in conjunction with Marla Mutschler (his research associate) and a series of fourteen films, each linked to a different pedagogical aspect of the project. There are also a series of tutor books called ‘Young Strings in Action’(revised by Sheila Johnson in 1983) and various related materials commissioned as a result of the project, including ‘New Tunes for Strings’ by Stanley Fletcher.  

Outside of the University of Illinois String Teaching Project, Rolland was a founder of the American String Teachers’ Association, the first editor of the journal ‘American String Teacher’; and published numerous articles on string pedagogy in ‘International Musician’, ‘The School Musician’, ‘Violins’, ‘The Instrumentalist’ and the ‘Journal of Research in Music Education’.

If this has developed an interest in finding out more about the work of Paul Rolland, why not think about attending the ESTA UK Summer School 2019. ESTA UK is fortunate to have Joanne Erwin (lower strings) and Joanne May (upper strings) running the daily basics classes. Both are experts in the research and approaches used by Paul Rolland and will be able to guide you through his unique approach to string teaching.

Visit www.estastrings.org.uk and www.estaeducation.co.uk for more details.

‘It is a grounding experience to place yourself in the shoes of your students, even if only for 25 minutes!’

Practising what you preach

I am a firm believer in practising what you preach, and sometimes this can lead me into some potentially stressful situations. Within my work as a teacher this means that I tend to practise at least as regularly as my students, including scales, studies and exercises; I keep myself active as a performing musician, usually through orchestral playing, but also frequently participating in chamber music and also throwing in the occasional solo recital, although these possibly do me more good than my poor audiences; and very occasionally I will take an exam just to remind myself what kind of experience it is that I am actually subjecting my students to!

Take an exam

When I say take an exam, I do not mean taking a nice medium level violin or viola examination, where my years of experience as a player give me all the skills necessary to overcome the nerves and multitude of other obstacles that one can encounter in this situation. Neither do I mean participate in one of those ever-popular sponsored ‘grade oneathons’ on an instrument I have never tried, although as I have never managed to get any sort of sound out of a flute at all that could be a real challenge! No, my choice is this time was a higher level grade on an instrument that I really am uncomfortable performing on, the piano!

Don’t get me wrong, in comparison to many I can actually play the piano! I did have three years of piano lessons at college and have played it continuously since; using it as a work tool, predominately adding some sort of musical padding to my students’ lessons, but also accompanying them to a certain level in their own examinations and performances. I have even played for school Harvest Festivals, Christmas productions and village Church services. Everything the average music teacher should do, I guess. But I seldom play proper pieces, and definitely never solos to a listening audience!

Nerves and the holistic approach

These days I seem to spend more and more of my teaching time with adult students, and despite all the advantages of them over children one area that seems to be far more of an issue with them is nerves! Yes, time and time again they seek advice on overcoming nerves, with bow shake and memory lapses being the two most frequent symptoms.

I like to think that I have a holistic approach to teaching, so along with the more obvious remedies one could offer for these inflictions I talk about breathing and the role oxygen has in making muscles work effectively for us. It is amazing how many people simply forget to breathe when they play! I emphasise the importance of thorough preparation for any performance situation, and how it really does not matter if we go wrong! Musical performance is a transient art form unless it is being recorded, so if a mistake is made just move forwards with the rest of the performance; not as many people will notice as you think!  Yes, as a teacher I have all the usual glib answers and strategies for such situations! And my students trust me and assume that I am speaking the truth!

Preparation is key

So, back to my piano playing. In early September I decided that I simply had to experience the delights of a graded examination once again, so entered myself for grade seven piano, announcing what I had done on Facebook so there could be no backing out.

I already had a good basic knowledge and ability at the scale requirements, and was just about ready to refine my choice of the three pieces. I felt my sight reading should be ok, particularly as I had spent so many hours over the past twenty eight years fumbling my way through a plethora of piano accompaniments in a wide variety of keys; and as for aural, well I had passed it in my degree and taught it for years, so now was the time to see if the online apps really worked as a learning resource.

My goodness, I was the model student. I practised every day, with about thirty minutes of it being devoted to the scale requirements. True, those contrary motion scales in minor keys were a bit like tongue twisters for the fingers, but with grim determination I mastered them – no Bb minor with hands going in the opposite directions was going to get the better of me! All I really needed was a teacher, but despite many offers from local colleagues I made the brave (or possibly foolhardy) decision to ‘go it alone’ and see how much I could achieve without help!

Everything was going so well, and then I got the date! I have often noticed how, with students once a set date arrives their playing often takes a turn for the worse. Why was that, I used to wonder? Well, suddenly I found things I had previously managed with no issue at all seemed to be eluding me. Silly mistakes were creeping in. Was it that I was becoming more self-critical, or could it just be a subconscious reaction to the imminence of the examination? I would be practising one of the pieces and suddenly realise that I was not doing the dynamics quite as marked, using my own musical judgement! But was I doing this too much? Should I be sticking to the printed directions more? And as for fingerings, yes that way may be comfortable for me, but was it technically the tidiest way to do it? Slowly I found my certainties being undermined and my playing becoming more flawed than previously. How many students have I seen this happen to over the years, only to reassure them that it was quite natural, all part of the process and it boded well for the actual exam as overcoming the mistakes now would add to technical security when under pressure. And, like my students I went back to a slow and analytical way of practising the pieces, sound in the knowledge that it was exactly the right thing to do.

All this time my scales were getting better and better, more secure every day. I had even started to practise them in different orders and pick slips of paper with them written on out of a bowl so that my choices were more random. Yes, I really knew my scales well, I could even go so far as to say I enjoyed them!

Sight reading and aural

About four weeks before the examination, I got the official grade seven sight reading book. I was organised and did one a day; actually they were fairly easy, giving me a very positive feeling.

As far as the aural was concerned, I had not only been playing through aural tests myself and sight singing any scrap of music that came into my sight line, but I had also subscribed to an online package. I was very sensible. I built it up from the beginning. Yes, I started at grade one and went right up to grade eight. I was not perfect at the higher grades; there were the odd slips, usually linked to my concentration levels, but basically I could do it. Actually, I did so many grade seven online aural tests that I ran out of them.

The exam

The day of the exam. Apart from not being familiar with either the venue or the piano, I felt as fully prepared as I could be. It is a strange thing to be a pianist, turning up and playing whatever instrument is presented in front of you; nothing like being a string player at all, where you have the comfort of your familiar instrument to support you through the situation!

After waking way before my alarm, I braved the traffic into the city and exam venue, but quite frankly every commuter must have realised that I needed a clear passage that day, resulting me arriving with an hour to spare. So many exam students do this, arrive too early! But what can you do besides let the inevitable nerves start to set in?

The waiting room was a very relaxing experience, the steward knowing exactly how to put candidates at their ease. There was much cheerful banter, and despite me being about four times the age of any other candidate in the vicinity, I felt absolutely fine.  The warm up piano however was possibly placed there as some sort of booby trap to highlight any faults I may still have had, and trust me when I say that it suited its purpose admirably; but it was only the warm up piano and a good workman never blames his tools.

Then, the examination itself…..

A lovely, understanding and warm examiner greeted me and during a brief chat reassured me that many teachers subject themselves to the experience of taking the occasional exam to find out what their pupils go through. A learning experience, I think we call it?

Then the offer to try out the piano first. ‘No, I think I had best get stuck in’ was my response; foolhardy in retrospect, as was the decision not to start with my scales, but we all live and learn!

The three pieces actually went ok’ish. There were the normal silly mistakes, and incredible hand shaking moments combined with the odd uncontrollable giggle on my part, with the examiner admirably stifling any she may have felt like making! But years of playing for primary school Christmas plays has given me the skill to keep going whatever, so at least I didn’t stop!

In the first piece I started well, but it is actually quite long and looking back on it, I simply didn’t pace my performance of it properly. That initial adrenalin rush only got me so far, to the rather awkward page turn if I am to be exact. Yes, despite all my preparation and the decision that I should turn the page rather than use a number of photocopies to aid me, the piece ground to a rather embarrassing if momentary halt whilst I whipped the page over with less grace than would have been desirable. But I did keep going. The key change happened as planned, and the piece was suddenly over.

As the examiner wrote her notes, I looked at my right hand. Why on earth was it shaking uncontrollably? As far as I could tell I didn’t actually feel nervous but there it was, shaking all over the place. Unfortunately, vibrato has no place on the piano! I thought of all the advice I had given to students about how to overcome bow shake. I even used my own techniques for overcoming it on the rare occasions I need to; usually at the end of a very long, slow, quiet and exposed note as I reach the tip of the bow! None of my internal advice worked, but it was now time for the second musical offering.

Now the second piece was the one I had the least confidence in. At least my hand shakes stopped the moment I began to play; but possibly the added blues note, despite creating an entirely new feeling to the piece from the outset, was not the best way to start and certainly the giggle from me didn’t help matters? Apart from that, it went surprisingly well. There was a moment of uncertainty in one of those highly pianistic arpeggio figures, but it ended on the correct note. Like all of our less confident repertoire, this actually seemed to have the least new mistakes within it and yet again I managed to keep going throughout!

The third piece was my favourite. We all have our favourites, don’t we? The piece that will go well whatever! Guess what, it ended up being my worst performance. The inner teacher was telling me all the way through not to get carried away or too comfortable. The thing that did it was dynamics. I suddenly took more notice of them than ever before. A big mistake. If you decide to concentrate too fully on something new in that sort of situation it is bound to go wrong. Hindsight is a great thing, but playing from memory or closing my eyes would probably led to a far more effective performance. With younger students I often actively encourage performing from memory as it takes away the whole element of written notation and music stands from an already stressful situation, often they thrive on it. Next time, I shall follow my own advice!

Then scales. The first thing that occurred to me is that I had possibly reverted to string playing mode with a preference for three, rather than four octaves? Why on earth that happened, I am not sure. Possibly because I simply started with my hands in the wrong place? Then, after innumerable scales in similar motion we went on to the other scale requirements, seemingly ignoring the syllabus request for some to be in contrary motion; I promise I was listening acutely out for them, having practised them more than anything else, but the key word CONTRARY was never uttered, or I never computed it!  The mark sheet will clarify any hearing impediment I may have experienced, I am sure. In the main, apart from the obvious glaring mistake of not enough notes in the first instance, the rest of the scale requirements seemed to go ok.

Sight reading next, a kind choice and my sight reading skills are usually up to the challenge anyway; particularly as on the piano, even after months of practising every piece possibly still feels like I am playing it for the first time, regardless of preparation. I was in my comfort zone and that section of the examination was as it should be.

The aural tests also went smoothly after the initial panic of ‘oh my goodness, I am actually doing an aural test’. When listening for the lower part, it struck me how good a pianist the examiner must be with tests at this level. To get the correct voicing in the hands to bring out the lower part well enough for the examinee to define it is no mean feat! No wonder the requirements as a pianist are so high to be considered to train as an examiner. On the whole the tests went well, with me even anticipating the question about the chords that make up the cadence and answering before the examiner even had the opportunity to ask.

The aftermath

Then as quickly as it started it was over. My initial reaction was the same as any well-meaning, encouraging and misguided parent, I walked over to the music shop and brought the grade eight book! But then, after travelling home, came the opportunity to evaluate the experience properly.

Taking the examination certainly gave me a sense of focus and purpose in my practising. It placed certain technical challenges in front of me that I did not have the option to circumnavigate. I needed to work on them, overcome them and put them in to practice in my playing. It also made me look at my overall development as a musician. It was not just about playing pieces I liked. Along with the technical challenges at the piano, there were musical challenges. There was also the refinement of my listening skills through both my playing and the aural training necessary to pass the tests. In my case the aural was a case of revisiting and redefining skills that I use on a daily basis anyway, but the links to my overall musical learning and progress became highly evident. I have always thought the aural training aspect of learning an instrument is essential; this experience merely reinforced that belief.

Evaluation

For me, the outcome of the examination has little importance. It was the journey of how I reached taking the exam that I gained the most benefit from. Obviously, it would be nice to have a pass or even a good result, but I am not holding my breath! I have improved my piano technique and am enjoying playing it more than I have for years. I also know that I need to develop a ‘safety net’ for moments when even the strongest aspects of my playing could let me down. The most important thing is that, by putting myself through the experience, I can have more empathy with my students as they prepare their own examinations and performances. The main thing seems to be providing them with a full range of coping strategies, should things go unexpectedly. It was those that got me through the situation on the piano, not my years of experience as a string player.  In gaining further insight into the entire process, whatever the outcome in terms of marks on a piece of paper, in my own mind I have achieved what I set out to. In short I can highly recommend we all place ourselves in the shoes of our students, even if only for 25 minutes!

And for those that are interested, I did achieve my grade seven piano. The least successful area of the exam was that in which I had put the most effort, my scales. There must be a lesson to learn there, but I shall leave exploring that conundrum for another time.

The European String Teachers Association offers a community through which likeminded string teachers can explore and discuss all aspects of their profession. Visit www.estastrings.org.uk for more details.