Teaching Violin with Diverse Repertoire: ASTA Session with Claire Allen
When I was a young violin student, I truly do not remember playing even one piece of music written by a female composer or a person of color.
In fact, I never even asked about it - because it didn't occur to me that female composers might exist!
But about 10 years ago, the question did occur to a violin student named Hannah, who was six years old at the time. She asked her teacher, Virginia-based violinist Claire Allen: "Why are the only composers I've learned about men?" It made Allen think: Why indeed? Around the same time, another of her students observed: "I've never played a piece by a composer who is Black, like me."
Allen knew that this was not because such composers didn't exist - it was because they have been overlooked. Allen - like many other teachers - made it her mission to uncover more music by women and people of color, and fortunately she has found good number of collections.
Violinist and teacher Claire Allen at the 2024 ASTA/SAA Conference.
But the next question for Allen was an equally important one: How do you incorporate this newfound music into an effective teaching sequence? If you already have a general order of repertoire that is working well for students (one obvious example being the Suzuki books), then where do you put the new stuff? How do you make sure that it's at the right level, that it's helping your students practice the techniques at the right time to encourage their growth?
This was exactly the issue that Allen addressed in her presentation called "Creating a Diverse Repertoire Sequence for Intermediate Violinists" at the 2024 American String Teachers Association conference in March in Louisville, Ky. In her lecture, Allen took a half-dozen pieces from newer anthologies and placed them in the context of Suzuki sequence, going over what a student would face, musically and technically, in each piece. (Scroll to the bottom to get right to those pieces, with descriptions and links of where to find them).
Allen focused on the "intermediate student," that is to say the student in Suzuki Volumes 4-6, or ASTACAP levels 4-6, and much of the repertoire she presented came from two sets of progressive repertoire books: Violin Music by Women a graded anthology compiled and edited by Cora Cooper, which presently includes four volumes (beginning through advanced); and Music by Black Composers, compiled and edited by Rachel Barton Pine, which currently includes three volumes, with more on the way.
Integrating these pieces into one's teaching involves some decision-making. For example, it is important to consider the individual student: his or her age, level of commitment and general personality. Is this a student who loves a challenge, or who is easily overwhelmed? Would this student enjoy playing a piece that other students have not played?
And then, what is the pedagogical reason for assigning this repertoire? Some of the reasons might include: to teach a particular skill or style; to step sideways (or even backward) when things have become too challenging; to contrast with other repertoire; to explore musical tastes; to build stamina; and/or to have a piece for a performance or audition.
It's important to plan the next three to five pieces a student will play, analyze the skills needed for each piece, and then within that context, assess whether the mix of pieces is diverse.
Allen gave some more specific examples of matching students with pieces: the student who needs a slow piece to practice their vibrato; the teen who might like something moody and minor; an ambitious student who needs something that pushes their technique; the student who has played too much Vivaldi and needs something non-Baroque; or as stated before - the student seeking out a piece written by a composer who looks like them.
"If you are adding new pieces," Allen said, "you might need to remove others so that they don't remain too long on one level."
Here are the pieces that Allen highlighted in her lecture, along with where you can get them (hyperlinked here), the level of the pieces (compared with Suzuki books), and techniques involved. It's a very helpful assessment!
Concertino in G Major, by Grazyna Bacewicz
Source: Johnson String Instrument
Suzuki Book Level: 4-5
Techniques: G major; first, second and third position; slow; elaborate piano part
BELOW: Concertino, by Grazyna Bacewicz, played by violinist Agata Szymczewska and pianist Wojciech Szymczewski.
The Deserted Garden, by Florence Price (1887–1953)
Source: Music by Black Composers, Vol. 2
Suzuki Book Level: 3-4
Techniques: D minor and F major; can choose fingering, expressive timing; vibrato development; a lyrical piece that is relatively short
BELOW: “The Deserted Garden,” by Florence Price, played by violinist Hannah White and pianist Matthew Hagle.
Impromptu, by Grace White
Source: Violin Music by Women, Vol. 2 (print book or digital)
Suzuki Book Level: 4-5
Techniques: sul G and D options; third position; four-voice chords; two contrasting parts, slow and fast
Tanglefoot's Mad Chase, by Florence Morey
Source: Violin Music by Women, Vol. 2 (print book or digital)
Suzuki Book Level: 4-5
Techniques:
In A Spanish Garden, by Josephine Trott
Source: Violin Music by Women, Vol. 3 (print book or digital)
Suzuki Book Level: 5-6
Techniques: A minor; extensions; spiccato; first and third positions, shifting;
Tar Hollow, by Lauren Spavelko
Source: LaurenSpavelko.com/tar-hollow
Suzuki Book Level: 4-6
Techniques: G minor; unaccompanied; first, second and third position; doublestops; lyrical and expressive playing
BELOW: Tar Hollow, by Lauren Spavelko, performed by violinist Cora Cooper.
Unlikely Stories (three movements), by Reena Esmail
Source: ReenaEsmail.com
Suzuki Book Level: 6 +
Techniques: I. D minor (ish); 7/8 time signature, uneven pulse; doublestops; 2 slurred-1 separate bowing pattern. II. slow double stops; consonance/dissonance; bow control. III. G minor (ish) fast perpetual motion; coordination with piano; third position
BELOW: Unlikely Stories by Reena Esmail, performed by Advithi Sriram.
You might also like:
- Exploring the VIOLIN Music of Rebecca Clarke
- Experiencing the ASTA Conference with Composer Lauren Spavelko
- Rachel Barton Pine Introduces 'Music By Black Composers, Vol. 2 + 3
- Past and Present ASTA Conference Coverage
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Replies
This is fantastic, thanks!
Wonderful! Thank you, Claire and Laurie! (And Cora Cooper plays beautifully!)
Laurie - you have been secretly reading my mind!! This is EXACTLY what I, too, have been looking for. I will mention these pieces and others to my teacher as I look through the works. Thank you so much for this info!
My cello teacher once looked after a child from South East Asia, and he was learning violin. I had found a couple of books on folk music from the Asia Pacific region, and I photocopied the scores for music from his country and handed them on to her to hand on to him. I don't know what he did with them, but yes, I think a set of songs from Vietnam, Korea, Japan, China, India, etc, or say Africa or South America, would make a wonderful supplement to the Suzuki method if you ever find yourself teaching someone from that or any other region.
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June 6, 2024 at 12:20 AM · Great resources! Thanks Laurie and Claire!