(11) At what stage in students' development do they begin vibrato and shifting?
Interesting to pair shifting and vibrato, since they really are in so many ways, related concepts. I have some ancient Paul Rolland tapes (I haven't seen the new ones—assuming there are any, which I imagine there are), where *beginning* students are doing tapping and other exercises to develop the flexibility necessary for both of these practices.

By the time the student gets to Suzuki Bk. 4, shifting is necessary for Seitz concerti, and vibrato should be online by then, also. (See: Suzuki Repertoire list). Towards the end of Bk. 3 I introduce the Wohlfahrt studies and numerous exercises for developing a freer left hand, even in the Hrimaly. [I don't think it's wise to get into the habit of practicing scales with vibrato, all the time, but according to Dr. Michael Kimber you can practice scales with or without vibrato, but it should be either with or without, but not both, and deliberately, not habitually. If you're not careful, vibrato can be a hindrance to developing pure intonation, "frame," and "ringing tones."]

Depending on the age of the student—with adults there is *much* more verbalization—ideas about both vibrato and shifting are mentioned early on, but not addressed directly until maybe mid- Bk. 3. But indirectly addressed by seeing that the left hand is flexible, free, and able to operate independently of holding the instrument, which should be more a function of the collarbone and shoulder.

(12) Should a teacher who is primarily a violinist teach viola?
I've played the violin for many decades, teaching and performing, and then started studying viola seriously several years ago. I am enamoured of the sound and what the study of this instrument does for my overall musicianship.

The question is, should a violinist, however familiar with the violin etude and chamber music repertoire, be teaching viola? Even beginning viola? (I mean privately, private studio). I wonder about the ethics of doing this, particularly if there are good viola teachers available. Same with cello. In a rural area, with no other options, perhaps it's excusable. But in a larger city, with numerous other teachers, I wonder.

While many of the standard studies for violin are available for viola (Mazas, Rode, Dont, Kreutzer, etc.), one ought not to neglect the original etudes for viola: Hoffmeister, Campagnoli, Fuchs, and others. Violin etudes of course have to be selected and/or edited judiciously for study on viola: ones that feature useless extreme-high positions (that are VERY stressful on the left hand on viola) and nearly or literally impossible reaches (tenths—ouch!) are not going to do an advancing viola player much good, and indeed can easily lead to counterproductive frustration. Even such a thing as over-use of the fourth-finger extension in first position is going to be an issue for most players on a adult-sized viola.

I think Fuchs has a note in the introduction to one of her collections mentioning that a lot of violin etudes fairly well neglect the middle range of the instrumentand —she's right. You could play violin etudes all week without learning that the instrument has a third string (slight exaggeration only!), thus without playing much in the register that is the bread-and-butter, most highly characteristic part of the viola's range.

In general, the responses on the newsgroups support the idea that a teacher in this situation would need to be aware of the needs of advanced students, or students with exceptional potential, whereas teaching beginning students would probably be okay, at least initially or until the student was ready for more advanced studies. Care should be taken, however, that the teacher who is primarily a violinist continues to study the viola and continues to understand the pedagogical aspects of viola playing. These differences include but are not limited to: broader vibrato, differences of tone production with the bow, more use of second position, and different fingerings.

Viola Resources Orchestra Excerpts for Viola William Primrose: Viola Transcriptions The Elegant Viola: Yizhak Schotten Orchestral Excerpts for Viola, with written and spoken commentary Suzuki Viola books and CDs http://beststudentviolins.com/sheetmusic.html#viola Viola Fingerboard Chart http://beststudentviolins.com/fingerboard.html#viola_fingerboard_chart Viola Resources http://beststudentviolins.com/resources.html#violaresources Barbara Barber Books and CDs http://beststudentviolins.com/sheetmusic.html#barber Viola Literature (études) http://beststudentviolins.com/sheetmusic.html#violalit Advanced Chamber Literature http://beststudentviolins.com/lit.html#adv_chamb_lit Viola Concertos http://beststudentviolins.com/lit.html#viola_concertos Viola Scale Books http://beststudentviolins.com/sheetmusic.html#violascales Free Viola Music http://beststudentviolins.com/freemusic.html#freeviolamusic Advanced Viola Literature http://beststudentviolins.com/lit.html#adv_vla_lit 20th Century Works for Viola New! http://beststudentviolins.com/20thCen.html#viola Fiddling for Viola New! http://beststudentviolins.com/Fiddle.html#viola Slapin-Solomon Viola Duo Forum New! http://www.violaduo.com/forum/index.php Viola List http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/viola/ American Viola Society http://www.americanviolasociety.org/ International Viola Society http://www.internationalviolasociety.org/ Duets Violin/Viola, Viola/Viola, Viola/Cello Trios with Viola http://beststudentviolins.com/lit.html#trios Viola Outfits http://beststudentviolins.com/violas.html#oldworld Viola Only http://beststudentviolins.com/OldWorldViolas.html#violas (Gamba and Tertis patterns) Budget Student Violas http://beststudentviolins.com/violas.html#PeccardVLA Viola Cases Core • GEWA • Bobelock, Shaped • Bobelock, Half Moon Bobelock, Oblong • Double Violin/Viola Viola da Gamba http://beststudentviolins.com/lit.html#gamba Barrett, Henry: The Viola: Complete Guide for Teachers & Students Dalton, David: Playing the Viola Giorgetti, Ferdinando, Franco Sciannameo An Historical Introduction Hoffheimer, Michael: Fiddling for Viola Madden, Maxine: Sounds on Strings: Getting to Know Your Viola Maurice, Donald: Bartók's Viola Concerto: The Remarkable Story of His Swansong Menuhin, Yehudi and William Primrose: Violin & Viola Stowell, Robin: The Early Violin and Viola : A Practical Guide Tertis, Lionel: My viola and I: A complete autobiography Williams, Amedee Daryl: Lillian Fuchs: First Lady of the Viola Zeyringer, Franz: Literatur Für Viola Also see: Tuning instructions for Violin/Viola which includes ranges and link to chromatic tuner.

(13) How can I get my child to practice?
This is often, for parents, a very serious and sometimes troubling issue in music study. They should be told that it is normal for students to not want to practice, and home practice should be supervised by the parents until the child is older and has developed more independence. There is an excellent book about this: How to get your child to practice without resorting to violence. In general, the recommendations in the book include:

1. Remain calm but firm; don't nag, threaten, get angry, or give up. Brushing teeth is not optional, and neither is practicing. 10 minutes a day is fine at the beginning.
2. Create a musical environment: this will include listening to the Suzuki CD's, other CD's of classical music or other musics, going to concerts, and listening to NPR (National Public Radio) programs with classical music. Have music on all the time, or at least during meals and before bedtime.
3. Make it fun and enjoyable. Let the child be happy and loved at all times. Never make being loved contingent on whether they practice, or whether they do well.
4. Use lots of praise, even for the smallest thing, and even if it sounds awful. There is always something positive to say: "You really worked hard" "That sounded pretty good" "That was much better than last time." No negative or derogatory remarks!!

(14) Why we play.

1. The feeling of being a part of an ancient tradition
2. Sharing, if only briefly, with the greatest minds of the past
3. The sense that you are pursuing the thing which you are most suited to do
4. The pleasure of accomplishing something difficult and highly competitive
5. The pleasure of the audience
6. The sensual pleasure of the music, particularly when it goes well
7. The pleasure of working with your colleagues
8. The identification of the self with the profession
9. The joy of forgetting the Self
10. Dressing up, making money, the pleasure of having good equipment
11. The sense that you are contributing in some small way to the peace and intelligence of the world
12. The sense that you may be inspiring people with hope and beauty --and perhaps inspiring some children to have a better life

(15) I have been playing for some time but my technique is not very good. What is your recommendation?
If you will look at Question 9 in this FAQ, there is a section listing études. What I do with my students and myself is to divide the time spent with the instrument into three sections: Scales/arpeggios, études, and pieces. To develop a firm foundation, I would start with Wohlfahrt and Hrimaly, and then progress forward in the order mentioned above. [Wohlfahrt-Kayser-Dont Op. 37-Mazas-Kreutzer, followed by Rode, Gavinies and Dont Op. 35. Scale books: Hrimaly-Schradieck-Flesch-Galamian (in that order).] You could also add the Whistler, Introducing the Positions and the Trott Melodious Doublestops. It goes without saying that you will need a teacher to guide you; someone who is closely acquainted with this literature and has a history of developing students to a high level of proficiency.

Good luck with your work!

(16) If there is an harmonic alteration, that alteration is good for the whole measure: is the alteration also good in all octaves, or just for the note that's altered?

Brad Lehman: Depends on the composer, country, and century. At least! In music before the late 18th century (maybe the early 19th), all bets are off on what's going to come up. There was no international convention that all composers had to agree with, in any of their notation, as to the normal duration of accidentals.

There are also some spots, for example in CPE Bach, where the sharp or flat is supposed to be carried forward *across the barline*, if we happen to be within a port-de-voix, and preparing a note that becomes an appoggiatura. That is, for example: last note in bar 1 is an F#, and the first note in bar 2 is that same F# (but the # is missing), as an ornament to a G or whatever...the F in bar 2 needs to get a sharp anyway. BROADER PRINCIPLE ON THIS: No chromatic slithering within a complex ornament: if a note is being sharpened or flattened, it stays sharpened or flattened all the way through that same ornament, even if it extends across a barline that would normally cancel it.

Example: To the right is a short example from one of CPE Bach's sonata movements. In the first note in the right hand, bars 3 and 5, the C-flat has to be carried across from the anticipation in the previous bar, even though it doesn't say so. (Anticipation + appoggiatura + resolution = port de voix.) This happens similarly in other pieces of his, as well: a bunch of notes together comprising an ornamental unit, and a sharp/flat needing to be carried all the way through...even if it crosses a barline.

Joel Jacklich: You're getting this from a college music professor who taught theory for many years (now retired). I am writing this out off the top of my head without footnotes and references. You can look up these things yourselves later, if you wish; but I think you'll get the general drift from this narrative of what went on.

Historical background: Back in the days of "musica ficta," (later Medieval, Renaissance, and earliest Baroque), rules governing proper intervals meant that certain notes above the bass (or, in the earliest days the tenor, which used to be the lowest voice before the advent of the contratenor bassus or "bass") had to be altered to avoid the tritone (the augmented 4th or diminished 5th, the "so-called "devil's interval," which was considered so unstable as to be avoided at all costs) EVEN IF THOSE NOTES WERE NOT SO NOTATED. EVERY "good" musician knew these rules, so there was no need to notate them in the music. Also, in general, until Petrucci in 1501 and his first PUBLISHED music book for polyphonic music printed from moveable type, there wasn't much argument about what the notes were. The composer himself generally passed out the manuscript parts, rehearsed the musicians, and he would be the arbiter of correctness. After music began to be published, the music could be purchased by someone hundreds or thousands of miles from the composer. The composer was no longer there to "put things right." It became the responsibility of the publisher to make things clear to the performer (many times an amateur performer who didn't always know "the rules"). Each publisher set up his own essential "house rules" for where to include accidentals. There was no common agreement. Remember that in the days of Bach, key signatures would often be one accidental off from our current system. A piece in D major might have only one sharp (F#) with the C# (the "leading tone," most often the most prominent old musica ficta note in the old days) getting a written accidental. Key signatures, as we know them, weren't standardized until starting about 1750.

Now to today's point of discussion: The idea of whether to put an accidental in ALL octaves of a chord, or just in one (and assume that the others were also thus affected), again, comes from INDIVIDUAL publishers. One will find some 18th century and even 19th century publications that include only one accidental. HOWEVER, as we get to the late 19th c. and into the 20th c., the Garner Reed quote (given in earlier posts) becomes the generally accepted norm for the music publishing industry. The accidental must appear in any (all) octave(s) in which the note must be altered. Once written, an accidental remains in effect (but only for the single line or space upon which it is written) for the rest of the measure until cancelled by the bar line. If such an altered note (whether it has an accidental attached to a note, or whether it is a later note in the measure on the same line or space as an altered note) is TIED across the bar line, then the accidental is ALSO tied across. In that case, the accidental will continue until the tie (or continuous UNBROKEN series of ties) ends, even if that is many measures later. And in such a case, no accidental is needed on any of those later continuously-tied notes.

The above rules generally cover TONAL music.

With the advent of ATONAL (particularly dodecaphonic [12-tone, serial]) music, SOME (but not all) composers look at things a little differently. For SOME 20th c. composers, an accidental covers only the note to which it is attached. If it is followed by another note on the same line or space, then it, too, needs an accidental, IF it is to be altered. Otherwise, without the accidental, an unmodified note (even if it follows a modified note on the same line or space within the same measure) reverts back to its plain, white-note state. In the case of atonal music, it seems to make sense to notate each individual note requiring an accidental with an accidental even if it is in the same measure as a previous accidental on the same line or space. It does make the music easier to read for the performer. Again, not all 20th c. composers do this, only some. Many still follow the standard rules (i.e., Gardner Reed). [From Viola List]

(17) How can I produce a blues scale on the violin/viola?

Doesn't matter what instrument you use, or what key you're in, a blues scale consists of:

(18) What is the best method to produce a straight bow?
Getting students to play on the so-called "Kreisler Highway"** is a difficult task for the teacher. Some of the ideas that I use to get a straight bow include:

1. We discuss the math notion of "parallel." The bow needs to be parallel between the bridge and the fingerboard;

2. We discuss the terms (and sounds of) "Ponticello" and "Sul tasto." [See: Violin Terms] Ponticello is the sound, used primarily in contemporary music, produced by playing on or very near the bridge; alternatively, sul tasto is the sound produced by playing on the fingerboard, a softer sound requested in the score by some composers, for affect. Neither are appropriate for most playing;

3. We discuss how the arms of humans beings, specifically the right arm, naturally move in a circular motion. So in order to maintain the parallel placement of the bow, it is necessary to push outwards, toward the front of the player (sorry -- difficult to express verbally);

4. We discuss the notion of "cutting the string." Not a nice image, I realize, but useful in sound production on the violin: the bow "cuts" the string at the "sounding point" (Galamian's "point of contact"); sound is produced by the "spinning out" of the vibrations, created by a perfectly parallel "cutting" of the string, controlled by the second joint of the index finger of the bow hand.

Simon Fischer's Basics: Simon Fisher was a protégé of Dorothy DeLay, who was of course, Galamian's assistant. His articles regularly appear in Strad. The book has some wonderful exercises, and is the best book for self-teaching on the violin that I know of. The book has very explicit, detailed directions and explanatory photographs. I use these exercises in my teaching. The first chapter of the book is about the bow hand, and well worth examining.

One of my favorite exercises is #36, page 20 (Peters ed., 2004):

Fig. 23 Moving the hand along the bow In this exercise the hand moves along the bow while it rests on the string without moving. Because the bow is parallel with the bridge the arm has no choice but to make exactly the correct movement. This is one of the best exercises because it gives you the feeling of drawing a straight bow. The exercise requires an assistant [2] who rests the bow on the string at the point holding it exactly parallel to the bridge (Fig. 23). Use only the screw of the bow to hold it, to leave as much room as possible for the player's hand. Position the violin so that the end of the down-bow, which remains...etc..

I would encourage anyone to get this book; I think used copies are available on Amazon, on occasion...

Chapter Outline (with numerous subheadings, not listed here):
A. Right Arm and Hand
B. Tone Production
C. Key Strokes
D. Left Hand
E. Shifting
F. Intonation
G. Vibrato

** Occasionally a reader will use the search engine on my page, looking for this phrase, but spells it "Chrysler," which of course, yields no results. :-)

(19) How can I develop a private teaching studio?
Important question, especially for those of us whose income is primarily from teaching and performing. [Also see: Teachers Resources]

Ideally, you want to have such a good reputation as a private instructor, that all your referrals come in by word of mouth. But you may, initially, need to hang flyers in the local shops. I like designing a flyer with my phone number listed numerous times at the bottom, so that prospective students can take a strip of paper with the phone number.

Some of the places where you could place ads (bring your own box of pins) might include:

grocery stores (United allows it; Walmart does not) laundromats any school (higher education; often need to get permission) some coffee houses some libraries churches (get permission) some copy places have bulletin boards all the local music stores (I mail two flyers and a small stack of business cards every six months or so) Montessori schools, religious schools (sometimes they have newsletters, also) some privately owned, "hippy" type restaurants will let you tape a flyer to their door glass some other private businesses will sometimes allow you to tape a flyer to their glass door some bookstores may allow you to post your flyer (ask first) some teachers who teach instruments other than the one you teach will not mind having a few of your business cards; I send these periodically in a nice card

MUSIC STUDIO Violin, Viola and Piano Lessons For Studio Policy & fees, please see: http://beststudentviolins.com/Studio.html Or call: (806) 317-xxxx Email: techfiddle@yahoo.com See pdf file: Example flyer

1. Develop a contract (set boundaries); see mine at Studio Page
   
   
2. Design a webpage:

   Free sites: • GeoCities • Angelfire • FreeWebs

   Pre-designed sites: • Music Teacher's Helper • PracticeSpot: YourMusicStudio

   
   
   
3. Advertise regularly in a local paper.
   
   
4. Get business cards and include email address, URL, and phone.
   
   
5. Play as much locally as you can.
   
   
6. Contact music schools, music stores, luthier shops, any and everyone associated with string music in your area
   
   
7. Develop a quartet for weddings and social functions
   
   
8. Contact the newspapers to see if they will do an article on you
   
   
9. Announce your studio in university publications
   
   
10. Design a flyer and post at schools, and any public bulletin boards. Montessori Schools are good.
    
    
11. Contact local public music teachers and see if you can give demonstrations, guest conduct, and get referrals
    
    
12. Join the local Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and the local; musicians' union (AFM); American String Teachers Association (ASTA); and the Suzuki Association if you're a Suzuki teacher. Attend all functions. Follow up all calls.

(20) What areas might be covered in a private teacher's studio policy?

Click on Studio Policies to review Policies in my Studio, which include:

§1. Cancellations: Request 24 hour notice.
§2. Dismissals: The student's feelings are key.
§3. Illness: Children who are ill should stay home.
§4. Instruments: 100% trade in policy for student instruments.
§5. Fees: About middle ground for this area.
§6. Lesson Time: Not early, not late.
§7. Makeups: Only with two week advance notice.
§8. Parents: Observations.
§9. Parking: On the street but not in anyone's driveway.
§10. Recitals: Two per year, adult students not required.
§11. Retainers: Monthly fee remains stable.
§12. Time-out: Vacation policy.

(21) What are some of the techniques teachers use to approach beginning students?

Students are required to have a three-ring, loose-leaf notebook with filler paper, in order to keep track of their assignments and handouts. I take a blank sheet of paper and put it in *front* of the student's notebook, to write out the current assignment each week. Sometimes I can get two or three weeks on one page, but more frequently I cannot because I write on the page, reminders of note values, articulations, etc. I also put those little post-it bookmark strips on the pages in their books they're working on, I date every assignment (and of course date the notebook entries), and I use lots of stickers. I find that even my adult students want stickers "if that's part of the experience," they say. A lot of them are taking lessons which they had wanted to take, as children, but couldn't. I buy stickers specifically for boys, girls, men and women. (I use stickers for decoration, not rewards for practicing, so they can "have something nice to look at" while they're practicing.)

If the student is playing something in the notebook, then the notebook is on the stand. Otherwise, it is open, next to me, so I can refer and notate. It is important to put the assignment in the front of the notebook, so student doesn't have to shuffle through paper to locate current assignment.

Don't let students try to let you use a spiral notebook (you can't put handouts in it - I have a three-hole punch nearby), a notebook which is too small, or one which is more like a folder and won't sit on the stand. They try all of that. Also, don't let them put anything else in the notebook: only music lesson stuff.

I email the student a one page document of large type manuscript paper. And I ask that they make 10 copies for their notebook. That way, I can use it to demonstrate where the notes are located, scale patterns, chord structure, etc. I also start scales very early on, one and even two octave:

http://www.practicespot.com/scaleschef/

Specifically, here's the large print manuscript paper I use, which is good for children, and easy on the eyes. If the staff is too small, it makes it hard to see:

http://www.practicespot.com/files/manuscript/manuscriptbig.pdf

I also use the scale printouts here:



Initial notebook entries/techniques:

1. I draw the violin and bow and we study parts of instrument and bow
   
   
2. finger numbers; if student is also studying piano with me, the distinction is made between piano finger numbers and violin finger numbers
   
   
3. ask parents and student permission to place tapes on violin and bow: three finger tapes (for "frame") on fingerboard, and two tapes in centre of bow, to begin "Pepperoni Pizza"
   
   
4. "left hand technique" (violin hand) and "right hand technique" (bow hand)
   
   
5. how to hold violin (1-2-3): (1) violin is held at arm's length, scroll up, parallel to student's body; (2) position of violin is reversed, with scroll down; (3) violin is placed in correct position to left, on collorbone, with violin parallel or above to floor, and elbow under violin. Next step is to practice holding violin without hands, and then shaking hands under violin
   
   
6. how to hold the bow (1-2-3): (1) thumb is placed, under frog for little ones, crooked near grip for adults and older children (thumb and 2nd finger make "doggie" circle); (2) first three fingers are dropped across stick, tilted slightly toward the tip, with space between 1st and 2nd finger (importance of 2nd joint of 1st finger for the purposes of controlling articulations is later examined—often); (3) pinky finger is curved on inside of bow (add Pinky Pad)
   
   
7. "rocket ships": bow is held in correct position, and "launched" (with rocket noise) from floor towards ceiling
   
   
8. "tick-tock": bow is held in correct position, slowly making windshield washer movement
   
   
9. "the spider": bow is held from the back, careful not to touch the hair, and hand crawls up bow—up is easy, going down is much harder
   
   
10. "the stretch": (for adult or older students), bow is held in correct position, then fingers are extended flat, and then bow is drawn into the palm
    
    
11. "squeelies": start with bow at tip and draw slowly to frog, while running finger up and down strings (great for Halloween)—is preparation for shifting and vibrato exercises
    
    
12. "ticks": hold bow in correct position, and make tiny notes at frog and at tip—this is to develop strength in hands and focus on straight bow
    
    
13. son filé: start at one end of bow and slowly draw bow to opposite end, counting, with bow parallel to the bridge
    
    
14. "choo-choo train": very small bows in the middle, spaced notes, getting faster and faster—is prelude to "Wish I Had a Watermelon" variation, i.e., two sets of 16th notes, each starting down bow
    
    
15. "hovering" fingers: develop notion of hovering, e.g. the bow is hovering over the pencil
    
    
16. "Moon Man Silent Landing": bow is brought down, between the two centre tapes on the bow, on sounding point ("point of contact"); "Pepperoni Pizza" is developed from there, starting on the E string.
    
    
17. "pump handle": the seven levels of the right arm, four string levels and three combination levels

Galamian and his students refer to the "pump handle," consisting of the seven levels of the right arm. Each of the four strings has a level and there are three combination levels, double stops with G/D, D/A and A/E.

If the configuration of the right hand remains consistent (the shape and the notion of the bow hanging from the hand like fruit), then it is the whole arm that moves up and down to remain in the plane of the string(s).

Developing the shape of the right hand is so important! Isaac Stern referred to it as a "series of springs." It has to be rounded and sensitive. It's very elegant and very difficult to develop at first.

Most students—whether they're three years old or adults with doctorates—make the exact same errors I have found: pancake hand in the left hand (wrist flat and touching the body of the violin), elbow not directly under the violin, and right hand fingers too far apart with a stiff pinky. All of the right hand needs to be rounded, with

1. the second joint of the index finger the focus for controlling articulations,
2. a finger's space between left index and middle fingers,
3. middle finger across from thumb,
4. thumb bent against the stick NOT between hair and stick (rounded),
5. 4th finger on or above the eye of the frog
6. pinky curved with the tip on the top or slightly inside the stick

(22) I'm a music teacher with an online Studio Policy (as you recommended) but I receive a lot of odd emails that I suspect are phoney. What should I do?
This is, indeed, a very serious issue and I have designed a separate page to archive these types of emails. I have a Teachers Directory and an online Studio Policy and I daily receive one or two of these attempts to defraud. I am archiving these messages, with their IP addresses at: Fraud against Music Teachers. If you want to, send me any such messages, with the IP addresses, and I will post them. Instructions for getting the sender's IP address are on that page. The IP address tells the whole story, because usually the IP address is completely different than the stated or implied information in the email. Music Teachers need to stick together and fight these people.

(23) What are some of the advantages of studying music?
I believe that music study is productive for anyone, at any age. The benefits may be said to include (a) Sense of accomplishment, self-esteem; (b) informs one's knowledge of human history and aesthetics; (c) teaches self-discipline and awareness; (d) is enjoyable and pleasurable; (e) gives meaning and purpose to life; (f) inspires self-knowledge and psychological insight; (g) teaches patience and persistence; (h) promotes physical coordination; (i) develops attention to fine detail; (j) teaches humility; (k) provides a release of emotions; (l) allows one to share concepts with some of the best minds in human history; and in chamber music performance (m) teaches one to work with and respect others.

For children, in particular, it is thought that music study supports high academic performance and positive socialization. Individuals responsible for decision making on college entrance applications look at private music study and orchestral experience, as very positive factors. For adults, it is an aide to memory and physiological coordination and wellbeing. [See also: Why We Play.]

It has been amusingly pointed out by a denizen of the Early Music forum (rec.music.early) that the same advantages may be had by baking bread. I think that is accurate; anything done well will produce similar results.

(24) How much music history and music theory do you cover, or attempt to cover, in the private lessons?
I have found that I follow pretty much the "Unit Objectives" from the Lesson Plans in my Math/Music Curriculum unit: [See orig.: UNIT OBJECTIVES.]

1. Drawings of how a piece of music makes the student feel.
2. Drawings of staves, notes & rests, dynamic markings, clefs; creating a collage of music symbols.
3. Numbers as they relate to music (pitch, rhythm, conducting).
4. Acoustic properties of sound. Meaning and importance of A=440.
5. Use of electronic instruments (metronome, pitch devices).
6. Simple 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 conducting patterns (down-beat & up-beat).
7. Recognition of instruments, sight and sound.
8. Recognition of major and minor chords.
9. Recognition of major and minor scales.
10. Recognition of V-I and IV-I cadences.
11. Recognition of steps and half-steps.
12. Vocabulary of dynamics: Italian, French, German, English (say aloud in class).
13. Vocabulary of keys, scales and intervals.
14. Vocabulary: pitch, timbre, dynamics, duration, rhythm.
15. Learning of parts of the scale via solfeggio, numbers and letters.
16. Improvisation using all black keys (pentatonic scale) and percussive instruments.
17. Passing around of musical artifacts: things from the violin case.
18. Introduction of personalities: Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Cage.
19. Student conducting.
20. Student repetition of rhythmic patterns.
21. Student repetition of pitches.
22. Student singing of one-measure pitch-rhythm patterns.
23. Concert decorum; coaching of how students should behave during demonstration visits by guest musicians.

A timeline for determining when these subjects are understood, depends upon whether the student has begun lessons: