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Teaching the Youngest Violin Students: Crystal Boyack's New 'Wee Violin' Curriculum

October 2, 2023, 12:05 PM · Teaching violin to a three-year-old beginner certainly is a lot different from teaching a nine-year-old, or a teenager, or an adult. For one, they need simple tasks, broken down. They need to spend more time on each task. They need profound patience from parents and teachers.

But what the biggest thing both parents and children need, to avoid crashing and burning by age four? They need joy in the music-making!

That's what violin teacher and parent Crystal Boyack was seeking, when she started creating Wee Violin, a program she officially launched in spring 2023.

Wee Violin is a collection of 33 traditional tunes from around the world that Boyack put together over a period of five years, designing a curriculum to support "Pre-Twinkle" beginners ages three through seven. The songs are meant to support instruction with singing, not necessarily to be played in their entirety on the violin. The idea is to make things like drills and directions and more enjoyable and musical.

"When my daughter was three, I thought it would be a great idea to teach her to play the violin," said Boyack, who is based in Albuquerque, N.M. and teaches Suzuki violin and viola, as well as Music Together. "I had taught hundreds of students, moving them successfully from first lessons to concertos - why should my own daughter be any different?" Keep reading...

Performance Anxiety: Learning from Theater Improv's 'Freedom to Fail'

Holly Mulcahy

September 30, 2023, 10:34 PM · An interesting article is circulating from BBC Music Magazine examining stage fright or performance anxiety. The article touches on several musicians’ antidotes, philosophies, and analysis.

One point the article doesn't really lean into is something I've learned from taking improv classes: the use of failure. Musicians are so tightly wound and so focused on perfection that we forget that we're human. Improv class (theatrical improv, not musical improv) allows you to embrace a failure, lean into it, learn from it, and use it without shame. It's a hard concept to understand, but once you do it's like a freedom of sorts. When you grant permission to make a mistake, it actually can free your mind for a better overall performance.

The first time I learned of permission to fail was in an improv class. The class was in a giant circle, and we were playing one of the many improv games designed to help free minds and cultivate creativity. Someone in the class messed up, and then yelled: "I failed!" to which the entire class celebrated along with the person by cheering and clapping in support. I was utterly confused! Why would anyone celebrate a failure? Keep reading...

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V.com weekend vote: What (software) do you use for music notation?

Laurie Niles

September 30, 2023, 3:54 PM · What software do you use for music notation? When asked this question, I had to answer - umm, pencil and paper?

Yes, somehow I've worked around the need for notation software for a long time. I'm not a composer - I certainly write more words than I do music notes! But now and then I need to write out an exercise for a student, or I want to write out something in my head. So I'm finally seeing the advantages of being able to write into a tidy template, so that it can be legible, savable and easily shareable.

So this leads me to the question: which kind of software works best for music notation, particularly for a violinist and teacher? I'm curious about what kinds of software everyone else is using. Also, are there others, like me, who have been on the sidelines for a while, when it comes to music notation software? Others who still use a pencil and manuscript paper? (I know at least one professional composer who composers at least the first draft this way!) Please participate in the vote, and then share your experience, when it comes to notating music.

Keep reading...

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For the Record, Op. 255: Renaud Capuçon; Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective; Tosca Opdam

Laurie Niles

September 29, 2023, 5:39 PM · Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!

Mozart: The Violin Concertos
Renaud Capuçon, violin
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Capuçon conducting

Assuming the dual role of soloist and director, Capuçon turned to the subtle musical complexities of the Mozart violin concertos armed with a feeling for their spontaneity and a determination to bring them to life in the moment. Recorded last September at Lausanne’s Théâtre de Beaulieu, the 2-CD album also includes the Rondo in C major K 373 and Adagio in E major K 261. BELOW: Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219: I. Allegro aperto