The masterclass with Benjamin Beilman lasted 90 minutes, and it included the work with three students: Henry, Casey, and Anne, who played different musical compositions. The teacher began to work with Henry, who was playing the fragment from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata no. 1 in G minor, noting what a violinist should do before performing Bach’s works. First, a student should listen to many other Bach’s sonatas and cantatas to determine the accents made by Bach for violins (Booth 38). Second, a violinist should always refer to manually marked scores in order to follow each note and represent the composition’s mood (Kaplan 12). Finally, all strings need to be tuned well to achieve the perfect sound (Katz 54). These notes are important to be mentioned by the teacher because they are basic for playing the violin.
When Henry was in the mood to continue playing, the teacher emphasized the role of the intonation in the composition. The teacher asked Henry to listen to the tonal pattern of the work carefully and accentuate chords that seemed to be important to make the tones emphatic. The teacher also asked the student not to forget about the whole composition’s musical picture to make the piece sound completely and meaningfully in the context of the whole sonata (Kempter 22). When the student stopped playing his fragment, the teacher noted the positive aspects of the student’s playing, and he also stated that the first chord should not be released too soon. Finally, the teacher asked Henry about the role of syncopation in the rhythmic picture of this composition and noted that it is possible to try playing with the metronome to emphasize the syncopated rhythm.
Casey was playing Samuel Barber’s Concerto, Op. 14, Allegro, and the teacher started with asking the student about the piece’s background. These statements were important to feel the mood of the composition (Galamian and Thomas 112). The teacher noted that listening to the piano is important to regulate the vibrato that should be rather relaxed in this piece to achieve the necessary effect on the listener. Therefore, Casey should not use the bow intensively for the piece’s beginning to add more intense movements to the culmination part. The teacher explained that this approach could help making the color of the tones more expressive (Burnard and Murphy 21). Commenting on Casey’s overall technique, the teacher advised to focus on distinguishing clearly in which passage the bow should be close to the fingerboard and in which passage it should be close to the bridge to help the violinist achieve the necessary sound. The teacher’s comments are rather practical for a student to improve the playing technique and understanding of the piece’s mood.
Anne was playing Henryk Wieniawski’s Scherzo–Tarantelle, Op.16. The teacher started with encouraging the student to practice each tone properly to make the melody and tones clear. He also demonstrated that the student could sing the melody in order to understand better all differences in tones (Katz 57). The teacher noted that this piece allows a violinist to play with phrases even if the same phrases are heard because they can be played differently. The teacher was logical in discussing the approaches to playing the piece and explained how the necessary effects can be achieved with the focus on distinguishing the most important melodies and how the manipulation of the bow can add to playing the melody differently. Finally, the teacher demonstrated how more vibrato can add to the depth of the melody.
Benjamin Beilman, as the teacher in the observed masterclass, used such pedagogical tools and methods like the emphasis on the piece’s background, work with scores, work with the intonation, focusing on manipulating the bow to achieve the desired result, practical comments, demonstration, and positive feedbacks. The students were encouraged to focus more on the pieces’ mood to improve their understanding of melodic shifts and colors of tones. The students participating the masterclass were able to develop their skills in placing accents, emphasizing tones, and the rhythmic precision.
Works Cited
Booth, Eric. The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible: Becoming a Virtuoso Educator. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Burnard, Pam, and Regina Murphy. Teaching Music Creatively. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Galamian, Ivan, and Sally Thomas. Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching. New York: Courier Corporation, 2013. Print.
Kaplan, Burton. Practicing for Artistic Success: The Musician’s Guide to Self-empowerment. New York: Perception Development Techniques, 2004. Print.
Katz, Mark. The Violin: A Research and Information Guide. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Kempter, Susan. How Muscles Learn: Teaching the Violin with the Body in Mind. New York: Alfred Music, 2003. Print.