About this course: Join us as we explore the fundamental principles and early stages of teaching violin and viola through a series of engaging video lectures and lesson demonstrations, including: 1) Master classes with some of the world’s top string pedagogues, 2) Individual lesson demos of teaching violin/viola set up, left and right hand technique and pieces from the early violin/viola repertoire, 3) Group lesson demos of teaching music theory, ear training and fun activities that encourage good playing habits, and 4) A “field trip” to the violin shop, where we will outfit a new beginning student with a proper instrument and bow. You’ll also engage in a series of discussions and reflections with colleagues and peers across the globe. Upon completion of this course, we hope you’ll return to your studio with confidence, a new curriculum, and a renewed approach to sharing with your students the joyful experience of making beautiful music.

Created by: Northwestern University

Taught by: Stacia Spencer, Senior Lecturer
Bienen School of Music

Commitment	6 hours of videos, quizzes and peer assessments
Language	English
How To Pass	Pass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings	4.7 stars Average User Rating 4.7See what learners said

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Beginning Stages

Welcome to Teaching the Violin and Viola: Creating a Healthy Foundation! We will begin by covering leading philosophies and pedagogical theories about teaching children the violin and viola. The beginning stages will cover the child’s setup, posture and first ...

6 videos, 5 readings

Graded: Beginning Stages

WEEK 2

Bow Arm and Hand

To introduce the use of the right hand, we start by creating a “pinky house” for the child’s bow. We delve further into the violin setup and positioning through various creative exercises.

4 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Bow Arm and Hand

WEEK 3

Putting It All Together

Now we get to put it all together by slowly incorporating the different movements of the right and left hand through four different pieces.

4 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Putting It All Together

WEEK 4

Pieces in the Key of A Major

After good setup and posture have been established, we start teaching the fundamentals through elementary pieces in the key of A Major. We also get to learn our first scale!

6 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Pieces in the Key of A Major

Graded: Peer Review

WEEK 5

Playing with the Whole Bow

To transition to using the full bow, we introduce the “adult “ bow hold and a series of exercises to extend the bow stroke. Pieces include Long, Long Ago, O Come, Little Children, and Butterfly, Flutterby.

4 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Playing with the Whole Bow

WEEK 6

Pieces in the Key of D Major

We can now introduce the key of D Major. Students learn the D major scale along with pieces such as Bach Musette and Hushabye Lullaby.

6 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Pieces in the Key of D Major

WEEK 7

Pieces in the Key of G Major

When we progress to the G Major scale and arpeggio, we start adding etudes and more advanced technical concepts. Pieces covered include Minuet and Happy Farmer.

6 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Pieces in the Key of G Major

WEEK 8

Note Reading, Vibrato, and the Group Class

To teach note reading, we will cover the best-practice teaching techniques for note reading and vibrato. We will also explore group teaching, group games, and group dynamics.

8 videos, 1 reading

WEEK 9

Favorite Exercises for the Older Student

Now that our students are getting more advanced, we can begin to cover our favorite exercises for the older student. Exercises include "Poof Bow" and the "Invisible Violin."

5 videos, 1 reading

Graded: Favorite Exercises for the Older Student

Graded: Peer Review

WEEK 10

The Master Class

In our final segment, we will learn from top pedagogues Mimi Zweig and Roland and Almita Vamos in a master class setting.

2 videos, 1 reading

FAQs

How It Works

Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

Help from Your Peers

Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.

Certificates

Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.

Creators

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university with campuses in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, and Doha, Qatar. Northwestern combines innovative teaching and pioneering research in a highly collaborative environment that transcends traditional academic boundaries.

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.7 out of 5 of 95 ratings

Excellent course, very well developed and systematic with curriculum.

The course is set up very well--the handouts provided are excellent, the videos are fun and informative, and the peer review activities are a great way to get feedback and also see other students' ideas and points of view. The reason it gets 4 instead of 5 stars is because, when I took the course, there was some trouble getting timely feedback from the peer graders (and delayed feedback will negatively affect your grade). Also, this is a tiny thing, but the Vivaldi music at the beginning and end of every single video got old really quickly, especially since there's a mistake in the recording.

An amazing course that was just what I was looking for as a violinist who is interested in learning to teach. My kids are working through the curriculum now and we are all having a great time!

Stellar! Great concepts explained well and demonstrated on real students. Will help me immensely in my own teaching.

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