News

  • Announcing the Revision of Complete Musician Books 4 for Violin, Viola and Cello!

    Books 4 for Violin, Viola, Cello have been completely revised. Rather than include materials only in the major keys, I found that the delay of gett...
  • Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward men

    Harmonia Mundi is sung by faculty and students at the closing of every Intermuse Academy, and presumably at the closing of every other Kodály funct...
  • I Had No Idea He Could Play...

    My dad passed away in 1966 so he has been gone fifty-two years.  I was reading his biography recently in preparation for a trip Cynthia and I were...
  • Concert of the First-year Class – 2018

    This was a great year for the first-year violin class, 2017-2018, at the School for Strings.  Here is their performance in the May concert. Here...
  • School for Strings Continues — Are you interested?

    I am excited to start a new first-year violin/viola class for 2018-2019. Check out the results of last year’s class at the post entitled Concert o...
  • Reading Words and Reading Music

    Reading words and reading music have parallels. Some people can’t read at all. Some know what the letters say and they can sound out unfamiliar wo...
  • Moveable Do or Fixed Do?

    Wondering what I might add to the fixed-do versus moveable-do debate, probably the best thing would be to relate my own experience in becoming a m...
  • Are You Frustrated?

    String teachers!  Are you discouraged by a lockstep approach using the same songs over and over without a way to adapt the method to the needs of ...
  • Complete Musician School For Strings

    It’s been a long time since I posted on my blog, so here’s what’s new. Last year, after the school district decided to charge me a lot of rent for...
  • How Does Kodály Compare To Suzuki and Traditional Methods?

    The best way to describe this comparison is with a table and a few explanations. Each row in the table corresponds to the paragraph of the same nu...
  • To Hear or Not To Hear: That Is The Question

    Until about 15 years ago, I had been teaching my own blend of Suzuki approach and traditional violin methods. But, I wasn’t satisfied with the res...
  • What Is Solfege and Why Is It Important?

    One of the principal tools used in Kodály music education is the movable-do system of solmization, or solfege, or sol-fa which was originated by G...