A Pedagogical Guide: Using Sassmannshaus's Early Start on The
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A Pedagogical Guide: Using Sassmannshaus’s Early Start on the Violin, Volumes 1 and 2 as a supplement to the Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1 A document submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the Performance Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music Nov 12, 2011 by Suhnah Yu MM, University of Cincinnati, 2003 BM, Seoul National University, 1998 Committee Chair: Won-Bin Yim, DMA ABSTRACT The Suzuki method is one of the most popular methods for teaching the violin in the twentieth century. However, there are some problems that arise as a result of the approach taken in Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1. The purpose of this study is to identify these problems, which include the two lower strings, string crossings, fingerings, bow strokes, and bow division, and to provide solutions through the use of Egon Sassmannshaus’s Early Start on the Violin, Volume 1 and 2. Through a comparison of these methods, analysis of the difficulties and solutions and a detailed lessons guide, this document presents a plan to teach better key concepts and techniques of the first volume of the Suzuki method in a more thorough and gradual matter. ii Copyright © 2011 by Suhnah Yu All Rights Reserved iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to my Committee Chair Dr. Won-Bin Yim for his contributions of time, interest, and excellent guidance. It has been an honor to work with him. I also would like to thank my Committee member Professor Lee Fiser for his time and insightful comments. I am so grateful to my Alexander Technique teacher Jennifer Roig-Francolí for her help and encouragement. The passion and enthusiasm she has for her teaching was contagious and inspiring for me. Above all, my Committee member and violin teacher Dr. Piotr Milewski has been my great teacher and incredible supporter in my time at CCM. I appreciate his enormous patience even during tough times in the DMA pursuit. I am also thankful for the excellent example he has shown as a successful violinist and professor. My years in Cincinnati have been so special in large part due to many friends that became a crucial part of my life. I am grateful for continuous support and prayers, and faithful encouragement from my precious Korean friends; Yera Lee, Jay Jang, Hyunjoo Son, Kwang Jeon, Shinyoung Yang, Woohyung Lee, Saerom Kwon, and Saejin Yoon. I am especially indebted to my formal church pastor and wife, Pastor Chang and Sunyoung Kim, for their support, prayers, and mentorship. I would like to thank Katya Janpoladyan and Denny Lynch for warm, caring, and enormous support. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my deepest and the most sincere appreciation to Naeri Kim and Beom-Shik Shin, whom I consider as my family, for their unconditional love, persistent support, and enormous encouragement. I also would like to thank my family for all their patience and understanding. For my parents who raised me with a love of music and supported me in all my pursuits, and for my sisters Mina and Jung-a, my brother Hoon, and my sister-in-law Sora whose love and support during my times of the DMA pursuit are so appreciated. And most of all, I thank God to give me strength and hope, and to prepare everything I needed for this long journey even before it had been begun. Suhnah Yu University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music November 2011 iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv CONTENTS v LIST OF FIGURES AND MUSICAL EXAMPLES vi CHAPTER I 1 Introduction . 1 CHAPTER II 10 Comparison of the First Volumes of Suzuki’s Suzuki Violin School and Sassmannshaus’s Early Start on the Violin Audience . 11 Structure . 20 CHAPTER III 25 Problems in Suzuki and Solutions from Sassmannshaus The Two Lower Strings . 25 String Crossings . 28 Fingerings . 31 1. The Fingering of E0-A3 . 32 2. The Fingerings of E0-A2 and A3-A1 . 34 3. The Fourth-Finger Fingering . 35 4. The Low Second-Finger Pattern . 36 5. The High Third-Finger Pattern . 38 Bow Strokes . 39 Bow Division . 41 CHAPTER IV 43 Lesson Guide . 43 BIBLIOGRAPHY 81 v LIST OF FIGURES AND MUSICAL EXAMPLES LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Shape of the Left Hand (Suzuki, p. 23) Figure 2: Allegro (Suzuki, p. 32) Figure 3: Open Strings (Sassmannshaus, Vol. 1, p. 6) Figure 4: The First Finger (Sassmannshaus, Vol. 1, p. 24) LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example 1: Four Sixteenth and Two Eighth Notes (a) in Twinkle Variation A and Eight Sixteenth Notes (b) in Twinkle Variation E Example 2: The Basic Rhythmic Motive in Twinkle Variation C Example 3: The Rhythmic Motive in mm. 1–2 of Lightly Row vi CHAPTER I Introduction The Suzuki method is one of the most well-known methods for string instruction. For over thirty years, it has been used all over the world and it remains for many musicians their first foray into music. Indeed, with its emphasis on ear training, imitation and repetition from a motivation that student should learn music the way they learn to speak their language, the Suzuki method has changed or at least influenced musical instruction since its inception. However, there are some problems that arise as a result of Suzuki’s approach, and over the years many educators have seen the need to provide supplements. Two of the most thorough of these are Charlene Wilson’s Teaching Suzuki Cello: A Manual for Teachers and Parents, which provides many suggestions for teaching cello with the Suzuki approach, and William Starr’s The Suzuki Violinist: A Guide for Teachers and Parents, which is a comprehensive guide to Suzuki’s entire method.1 In my teaching experience, I have found that I also needed outside sources to supplement the Suzuki method. 1Charlene Wilson, Teaching Suzuki Cello: A Manual for Teachers and Parents (Berkley, CA: Diablo Press, 1980); William Starr, The Suzuki Violinist: A Guide for Teachers and Parents (Miami, FL: Summy- Birchard Publications, 1976). Due primarily to the reliance on the ear as opposed to note reading—Suzuki delays an explanation of notation until the end of the book, and students learn the music by ear—, the early books include complexities in rhythm and melodic writing that one simply does not find in other methods. The first book is especially problematic in this regard. In order to learn each piece, a large amount of comprehensive preparation is required by both student and teacher due to the rapidity with which Suzuki introduces concepts and the complex rhythmic and musical material that accompanies them. Students often have trouble learning a new technical principle within the context of the difficulty of the piece in which it is introduced. In this document, I have isolated five specific techniques introduced in Volume 1 that benefit from supplemental instruction, exercises, and pieces: the delay in teaching the lower strings, string crossings, fingerings, bow strokes, and bow division. Despite these problems, the Suzuki method is a very good method, largely because, by relying so much on the ear, it concentrates the student’s attention to the development of a good tone. Therefore, I still prefer to use the Suzuki method as my primary approach. While there are many violin methods that could be used in lieu of Suzuki, or as a supplement, I find that Early Start on the Violin by Egon Sassmannshaus is a particularly useful method that compliments instructions in Suzuki. Sassmannshaus’s approach differs from Suzuki in many crucial aspects. For one, note-reading is introduced from the very first lesson. For the purpose of teaching pitch and rhythm, the method uses familiar folk songs, and frequently recycles a piece later to introduce a new technique, such as new fingerings, rhythms, and positions. Geared especially to children, it also utilizes a large-print format, a multitude of illustrations, and age-appropriate texts (lyrics), that 2 along with the familiar melodies make this book more approachable than other beginning books. The innovation of this method lies in that Sassmannshaus introduced shifting and playing in positions, usually considered advanced techniques, at a much earlier stage. However, the thoroughness of this method also ensures that it takes a long time to get through, which is why I prefer not to use it by itself. But, due to this thoroughness and gradual approach, the method’s organization by technique as opposed to piece (Suzuki), and its child-friendly format, it complements the Suzuki method well. So, in this study, I will examine deficiencies in Suzuki’s approach to technical problems in Suzuki Violin School, Volume 1 and provide solutions using Sassmannshaus’s Early Start on the Violin, Volumes 1 and 2. My analysis of these problems as well as the lesson plans I provide can benefit teachers as they instruct students in the Suzuki method and provide them with a means for making the Suzuki method more successful for students. Japanese pedagogue Shin’ichi Suzuki (1898–1998) was born in Nagoya, Japan. When he was seventeen, he heard a recording of Schubert’s Ave Maria, played by the famous violinist, Mischa Elman (1891–1967), which he credited with his desire to learn to play the violin. After a few years of lessons with a local teacher in Tokyo, Suzuki went to Berlin in 1921 and studied with Karl Klingler (1879–1971). Upon returning to Japan, he began teaching violin and gave string quartet concerts with his brother. In 1930, he became president of the Teikoku Music School and conductor of the Tokyo String Orchestra.