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It's August and the last time I connected with you was January. It has since been such a crazy time, right?
Life holds such stress these days and the role of the musician has never been so important. Music can touch a part of us that no other art form can and we, as artists, have the unique ability to reach out and offer our music to heal and connect with others. I'm proud of the way we musicians have embraced new learning platforms to unite us during this extraordinary time. And The Grossman Method™ is here as your resource to help you play healthy, aligned, and happy so you can share your musical talent with others!!!
TGM™ inducted into the
Louisville Business Hall of Fame
American String Teachers Association
Covid-19 Guide
The Grossman Method™ was asked to contribute to the American String Teachers Association COVID-19 Guide this summer. I was delighted to be a part of this document and I hope you will find the guide useful. The ASTA Wellness Committee is comprised of wonderful string playing professionals who care deeply about musician’s health issues and
I’m proud to be a member.
Please check it out here!
Summer Music Festivals
My online music festival teaching this summer has been invigorating and I applaud my music festival directors for their online preparedness. I’ve taught at The Nevada School of the Arts Violin Intensive, ICT Young Artists Academy, ARIA International Summer Academy, The Grossman Method Violin and Viola Teacher Retreat, and Inside Music Academy and given virtual master classes and workshops in Missouri, Illinois, Delaware,
Oregon, California and New York.
I’m so good at Zoom now 😊
I wish you the best for a healthy and prosperous fall. Please reach out to me with any
questions or comments HERE.
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Ask The Teacher
A violin student from California asks, "I've heard about Dalcroze. What is that?"
Answer from Barbera Beechey, Viola Faculty, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
One of the most useful associations in Dalcroze and that of string players is the concept of space and energy in the beat, and how that correlates to bow distribution As an example, with a troubling rhythmic passage, I would have a student clap vertical claps (top hand moves and the bottom hand is stable), with the vertical spaces varying depending on the rhythms involved. A quarter note would have a taller vertical space than that of an eighth note or sixteenth note. After the student mastered the vertical claps, then I would have him or her play the passage on the violin or viola with separate bows, corresponding the bow distribution to the note values like we did in vertical clapping. Finally, once the rhythm is solid on the instrument, we add back in the original bowings, and the resulting accuracy gives the student confidence in his or her ability to play the passage correctly.
Another method of using Dalcroze in the string studio is successful with a very young beginner, although one should not be afraid to try the same method with age appropriate modifications for older students. I teach the child the names of notes by introducing the musical alphabet. Then, we walk and sing the scale, using big steps for whole steps, and tiny steps for half steps. Children love to play this game, and it helps them learn the note names while we start putting the fingers on the violin/viola. Later, when we learn our first scale, stepping different spaces for half and whole steps helps to transfer the concept to the fingerboard.
Finally, I have found racquetballs to be a useful tool in the studio They can be useful in understanding beat duration by trying to bounce the ball to match the beat on the metronome. It's harder than it seems. Another useful application with racquetballs is learning to subdivide. I give the student one ball, and I take a second ball. Then, we pass the ball between our own hands. For example, if a student is having trouble changing between duples and triples, I would have him or her pass the ball between his or her hands in duples with the metronome before switching to triples. We would repeat many times until the concept is learned and reliable.
The above techniques are just a few in the methods I've used to apply Dalcroze Eurythmics in my studio. Because Eurythmics means "good flow," I try to model everything I teach using Dalcroze in a musical manner. My students really enjoy the methods I've employed, and I've absolutely loved watching their musical growth.
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