News

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

    by Cynthia Richards
    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

    by Brendan brendan.anderson93@gmail.com
    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...

    by Brendan brendan.anderson93@gmail.com
    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

    by Brendan brendan.anderson93@gmail.com
    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?

    by Brendan brendan.anderson93@gmail.com
    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

    by Brendan brendan.anderson93@gmail.com
    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?

    by Brendan brendan.anderson93@gmail.com
    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?

    by Brendan brendan.anderson93@gmail.com
    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

    by Claude Richards
    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?

    by Claude Richards
    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

    by Claude Richards
    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?

    by Claude Richards
    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...