Diploma or diplomas?

I apologise for my last post, I accidentally deleted that post and when I tried to copy and paste from an archived page, the background turned red.

Now on to the topic at hand, shall we?

Back in the 80's, while I was still a student, there were only two exams locally, the LTCL and the LRSM. The LRSM was issued by the ABRSM and the LTCL bt the Trinity College in London. These were notoriously almost impossible to pass ( failure rate for LRSM was more than 90% as was rumoured, LTCL was somewhat more lenient) that many failed repeatedly. The passing prerequisite was that you have to play as well as a undergraduate degree holder from a conservatory. Even my former classmate(in RJC) Yew Shan, who eventually played 3rd chair, first violins SSO, had to take it twice(he worked very hard for the second round). He also won the grand prize in the national competition in'89, playing Tzigane by Ravel.

The exam boards soon realised that to entice more people to sign up for their exams and to continue learning, they had to come up with something less daunting-thus they introduced dipABRSM and ATCL, both a far cry in standard from LRSM and LTCL, as the only requirement was the candidate plays at the level of a first year student at a conservatory. (A normal course at a conservatory takes 4 years to complete nominally)

Now anyone can say they have a diploma

My students only go for 2 exams-the lesser ones LTCL, and the better ones LRSM.

Call me if you are interested in lessons from me 90097430 or browse through my website www.efficientviolinist.com

It's been a while, but I'm back, and lamenting. I frequently get inquiries about my lessons, and fees, and then the callers don't call back. I would suppose it may have something to do with my rates, but trust me, they aren't expensive in the local context and what I can do/my qualifications. What most parents don't realise is when they go for the lower rates teachers($50-$$75/hour) is that very often their kids take up to 10 years to pass their grade 8 ABRSM and very often because of bad/wrong technique, these young violinists are too handicapped to progress on to a diploma. These bad technique stay for life and are very difficult to undo.My passion is teaching the violin, and I take it seriously-my students pass grade 8 within 5 years(talk about savings for the long term) and I charge merely somewhat higher than the average teacher. My fees are still lower than my colleagues from the SSO and I have had one student pass grade 8 within 1 year(he was obviously motivated and did practise and follow my instructions and was an older child). I've also had many students who came to me after grade 8 who have so much problems accrued it took me 2 years and different bowings of Kreutzer no. 2 to somewhat undo them so that they may have a chance at a diploma or a professional career. Enough ranting for now, for more on my teaching, please visitwww.efficientviolinist.com.

down or up bow staccato

This has got to be the most difficult bow stroke ever conceived by man, and is a rapid up or down sequence in one bow of many notes of staccato notes. If done right, it sounds absolutely exciting, if done wrongly, I doubt anyone can play fast past the fourth note before they stall. What is the secret then then? It is to be able to play from a strong foundation of relaxation and the use of only one muscle, you learn to strengthen that muscle and off you go. I have many bow studies for making that muscle strong and supple at the same time. Please visit me, www.efficientviolinist.com or call me 90097430. Oistrakh couldn't play a note of it, as famous as he was, and Heifetz did it differently from me, that is a flexing of his triceps and biceps. But it took a long time for Heifetz to assert mastery over control of speed doing it this way. Oistrakh simply used separate bows and got away with it because he's already famous. Try doing that in a competition now....

Gingold's 5 minute bow

The late pedagogue, Josef Gingold, was famous for his demonstrations of his 5 minute bow stroke,yes,one stroke. If you can do one minute without the sound wavering, it means you have very good control of your bow arm already.

Instruments for sale

1) Stefano Scarampella,1910, for collectors only, with an appraisal from per Oveson-SGD$200,000

2) Celeste Farotti,1901, with certificate from eric Blot, good enough to be a concert violin-SGD$95,000

3) German/Czech violin labeled Johann Cuypers, late 18th century, very sweet and robust sound-SGD$18,000

4)Bow by CN Bazin, with certificate from Raffin(Paris), good playing stick-SGD-$15,000

Spiccato

Spiccato, or in french,sautille, means bouncing bow and is one of the showcase achievements of a violinist, except that most students play it wrong. Sautille means bouncing bow, and it is the bow that is bouncing, not the player controlling the bounce. When done right, the violin sings freely and when done wrongly, the instrument plays sluggishly.Some resort to swinging the wrist to mimic a bounce, but that is a pseudo-bounce.Spiccato when done right sounds like bouncing marbles. There is a way to master spiccato very quickly, in weeks instead of years, or never getting it at all-I've had my students master spiccato in as few as one lesson. The trick is to allow the bow to bounce all by itself. Call me and I'll teach you how, 90097430, of course, you need a good bow as well.

Seventeen versus One

When I was in the SYO, now the SNYO, I've always admired the very few violinists who could wield play the bow in a straight direction. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. Now all my students, yes, even the beginners, can play with a straight bow. The answer? It's just to use one joint in your arm versus using all the joints(17) at the same time. You will sound much better too. Give me a call at 90097430, and within one lesson, I'll show you how.

Real motivation for practice

Now this is a subject that at the heart of most parents-how would I know if my child would enjoy and be motivated to practise the violin? The answer is analogous to that of an aspiring chef. Would you reckon that the wannabe chef would give up after a while if all the dishes he makes taste bland and uninteresting? He would start to lose interest and think maybe this is not the right path for him then move on. The same goes for the violin: if a child plays badly and produces a bad tone(bland taste), do you think he/she would stay motivated? I always encourage the purchase of better instruments, and with my methods, my students never produce a bad sound(correct technique), and as with the analogy of the chef, would be inspired to want to practise more. Too much of a good thing is never enough. If you are looking for a really good violin teacher, or are finding something amiss with your current teacher, give me a call at 90097430, you would see the difference within a lesson.....until the next post

DSA-direct school admission

The ministry of education has introduced a scheme, known as DSA, or direct school admission, wherein if a student is sufficiently proficient in an instrument of their choice(ie the violin), they may through the violin gain admission to a secondary school of their choice. Call me for more info 90097430

My Journey with the violin

My name is Yeo Wee Soon, and I have been playing the violin for 35 years, 26 of which I had been teaching. The violin is a wonderful invention, of which musicologists have said is as beautiful as the human voice, but without its accompanying limitations.
Since its inception in the 16th century, the violin has been both lauded for its beauty of voice and its portability, as it's easy to transport around. It soon found favour with kings,nobility and composers,who found the tone pleasing to their educated ears.

Fast forward a few centuries, in modern Singapore,circa 1978, when I was introduced to the violin whilst a student at Nanyang Primary School. I never liked nor disliked it, just that I never found the inclination to practise it. It wasn't until the age of 15 when I was exposed to good playing and a wide repertoire that I started to have a keen interest in it, which developed into a lifelong passion. Yes, I had already passed my grade 8 ABRSM by then was the principal violist in the SYO, but I never knew violin playing could be so alluring, exciting. But to my surprise, when I tried those pieces I liked, I couldn't play them at all, at least not up to my expectations. It was then that I realised that the training I have got up till then was all wrong, and with the the wrong technique, I couldn't play those pieces I liked, it was just enough to get me through grade 8.
I then initiated my quest for new teachers, non which have really brought me any closer to my quest, that is to play as well as the visiting artistes who come to Singapore to play with SSO. I then went to the States to further my training, with the former teaching assistant to Josef Gingold, one of the greatest teachers of the last century, and began formulating my own method for teaching.
Simplicity, is the key to really mastering good technique.
Came back to Singapore, put my ideas to the test, and what do yo know, I've had students pass grade 8 in less than 5 years. I've had students master technique where it would normally take a talented student years to master in weeks, all because of my understanding of the physiological makeup of a person, and the principal of simplicity.
I will have videos of my students put up soon, but if you wish to learn from me, call me at 90097430
or visit my website at www.efficientviolinist.com, the rest for another day......