Royal Conservatory of Music Launches Online Strings Teacher Course

This inaugural program is designed to refine pedagogical techniques for teaching elementary-level violin students

 

With 50 hours of learning across a 10-week course, The Royal Conservatory of Music’s (RCM) new Online Strings Teacher Course: Teaching Elementary Violin offers insights from leading pedagogues throughout North America such as Martin Beaver, Rebecca Henry, Barry Shiffman, Timothy Ying, and Mimi Zweig, among others.

This course gives you the opportunity to deeply engage with and contemplate your teaching practices, portfolio, and journey in pedagogy. Participants will explore the nuanced aspects of teaching, specifically tailored for Elementary students. Through thoughtful reflection, you will analyze crucial teaching skills and develop inclusive strategies suited to the unique context of your studio or classroom.

This Teaching Elementary Violin course requires four to six hours of work during each of its 10 weeks and outlines a curriculum to support the development of well-rounded musicians.

Upon completion, teachers will be equipped with a solid foundation for teaching elementary strings students Valuable insights on The RCM Certificate Program, a globally recognized and comprehensive music study and assessment program, are shared to support teachers who are interested in preparing students for examination experiences.

Teachers will benefit from the course’s coverage of physical development for music training, theory, ear training, sight reading, music literacy, musicianship, and artistry, plus hone the skills to develop students’ goals. This course will also provide teachers with insights to approaching the selected repertoire, technique, and etudes from The RCM Elementary levels (Preparatory Level to Level 4).

 

In Week 1: Fundamentals of String Pedagogy, participants will reflect on the “why” behind their teaching, goal setting for students, teaching inspirations, plus compose a teaching philosophy statement which can be submitted for feedback.

Week 2: Teaching Beginners: First Year of Lessons will cover how to encourage good habits in the left-hand set-up and balancing system of the bow, drafting a lesson plan for the first lesson, plus Shinichi Suzuki, and Colourstrings.

 Week 3: Physical Approach features Jennifer Johnson, the author of “What Every Violinist Needs to Know About the Body” who will share tips on Body Mapping from the early stages of learning the violin.

Weeks 4–8: Comprehensive Study at the Preparatory Level to Level 4, selected etudes and repertoire excerpts will be analyzed for their pedagogical merit, with insights from teaching experts.

In Week 9: Preparing Students for Success, topics will include teaching memorization and intonation, fostering independence in learning, and practicing for performance. Baroque specialist, Ingrid Matthews, offers her insights on Baroque dance and how to integrate this into playing, through breathing, bow direction, and gestures.

Lastly, Week 10: RCM Certificate Program will give participants the chance to understand more about the exam experience and the approaches to assessment; participants are also invited to create an exam program and study plan for students in Preparatory Level to Level 4.

The 2024 Summer session, available to musicians and teachers aged 16 and above, will be held from June 5 – Aug 14, 2024. The enrollment deadline is June 2, 2024, at 12 AM PST. To enroll, click here. You can also get a sneak peek into the course on May 30 by signing up here.

Other course highlights will include professional development and weekly discussions within a network of up to 25 like-minded and dedicated teachers, a portfolio built from the course assignments, and a completion certificate.

Additionally, successful completion of the course is a pathway to achieve RCM Certified Teacher status at no additional cost. In January 2025, the Teaching Intermediate Violin will be launched and offered along with Teaching Elementary Violin. Course dates can be found here.

 

See what VC Artist Timothy Chooi has to say about the violin course below.