THE INTERMEDIATE

VIOLIN COURSE 

 A COMPREHENSIVE 2 YEAR PROGRAM TO TAKE YOU FROM BEGINNER TO ADVANCED LEVEL  

 September to December 2019 

in London!

Earlybird Enrolment - Save £25! Register by 5pm, Friday 2nd August 2019

Any Questions? Call us on +44 (0) 20 3051 0080 or email [email protected]!

Booking Now Open for Course D and Course E!

Earlybird Enrolment Discount ends 5pm, Friday 2nd August

The Intermediate Courses D and E are NEW for September 2019. The course content is designed by Simon, David and Caroline from ViolinSchool, and taught by Simon (Hewitt Jones) in Year 1.

To keep to schedule, we have to launch the programs without testimonials or videos, but we guarantee that the programs will be the same quality as our existing A, B and C Courses!

The courses are fully guaranteed - if after the first week of the course you decide that it is not right for you, we will make it right or refund you in full.

Credentials & Our Guarantee

Course Fee

These are new courses. Therefore, for an introductory period, Intermediate Courses D and E are included in the ViolinSchool Term Pass (£300 - or £275 during the Early Booking period).

The Term Pass gives you unlimited access to all ViolinHub Ensemble Sessions and the Violin Orchestra, as well as Courses D and E.

There is no extra course fee - you just need to book a Term Pass and let us know whether you're coming to Course D, Course E, or both (if you're unsure, come to both to start with!).

Registration

Please click here to register for a Term Pass, or contact us on [email protected] or 020 3051 0080 if you have any questions about the courses!

The course is repertoire-centric, and most of the 45 minute classes introduce a new piece of violin music for you to learn. 

After a brief warm up, which will include a wide variety of scales and arpeggio exercises, we'll study any new technical concepts that are needed for the pieces that we are going to learn.

In Course D, the Topics and Repertoire that we learn will be drawn from Levels 3 and 4 of the ViolinSchool Curriculum, and in Course E they'll include topics from Levels 4 and 5 of the curriculum:

What You'll Learn

You've got the hang of the basics, you can play fluently in first position with a good sound, and you're more or less in tune... most of the time!

So, what comes next?

On the one hand, you want to keep improving what you can already do... to make it more accurate, and more consistent. On the other hand, you want to forge ahead and learn new repertoire, new styles, new techniques, and new musical experiences.

Without a map, it's easy to get lost along the way. And the gradient has to be right. If you tackle repertoire that's too hard too soon, then you'll get frustrated... and lose motivation. And if you don't move quickly enough through new challenges, then you'll become bored... and lose motivation too!

A Smooth Sequence

As our Beginner Violin Courses have become established over the past few years, we've helped increasing numbers of people master the basics of violin-playing through carefully structured courses that provide a step-by-step sequence of skill acquisition.

It's now become obvious that we need to offer a similarly smooth sequence to help players who already have 1-3 years of experience, to work towards an advanced level!

For this reason, we're delighted to introduce Intermediate Courses D and E on Saturday afternoons in London.

Experience & Consistency

Intermediate Courses D and E take a different format to the Beginner Courses A, B and C. This is because once a basic level of fluency has been achieved, the sequence of topics becomes less rigid; so long as everything is covered, the exact sequence is less important.

This means that every class will be different, even if you're exploring a topic for the second or third time - so you're more likely to come across new perspectives and insights about topics that you already know well.

This is why it's extremely important to be exposed to different topics multiple times. Some violin techniques are complex, so although a one-off class might be enough to gather information, it's not enough to truly understand, implement and internalise ideas so that you can play freely.

To achieve this kind of 'mastery' of different topics, we have designed Courses D and E so that you can attend simultaneously for two, or even three cycles. This flexibility means you can also join the course at any time - though we recommend beginning at the start of one of our 3 terms (September, January or April).

A Comprehensive 2 Year Learning Program For Violinists Serious About Growth and Development

Weekly on Saturdays - from 2.15pm - in Central London

LEVEL 3

Topics
Second Position — Shifting (1st and 2nd Position) — Chromatic Patterns — Double and Triple String Crossings — Spiccato — Martelé — Hooked Bowing — Double Stops (One Finger Plus Open String) — Understanding the Motions Involved in Vibrato — Basic Vibrato Exercises — Rubato — Col Legno — Changing Quickly Between Arco and Pizzicato

Scales & Arpeggios
1 Octave: Ab Major, C major, Eb major — Ab, C, Eb minors
2 Octaves: Ab major, C major — G#, C minors
Chromatic:
1 Octave: Starting on Open G, Open D, Open A
2 Octaves: Starting on Open G

Music Theory
Upbeats — 32nd notes (demisemiquavers) — 64th notes (hemidemisemiquavers) — Octave Transposition — Octave Signs — First and Second Time Bars — Intervals in Detail (Perfect, Augmented, Diminished)

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LEVEL 4

Topics
3rd Position — Shifting (1st through 3rd Position) — Exploring Different Types of Shift — Expressive “Slides” (Glissando and Portamento) — Sautillé — Basic Natural Harmonics (Octave Above Open String) — Double Stops (Using Two Fingers) — Irregular Time Signatures — Continuous Vibrato on Long Notes — Sul Tasto — Sul Ponticello — String Crossings with Détaché, Staccato, Slurs, Martelé — Good Tone Quality at All Dynamics — Chamber Music: Collaboration and Interaction With Other Musicians

Scales & Arpeggios
2 Octaves: Db, D, Eb, E majors — Db, D, Eb, E minors
Diminished Sevenths: 
2 Octaves: Starting on G, Ab, A, Bb
Dominant Sevenths:
2 Octaves: In the keys of C, D, Eb
Chromatic:
2 Octaves: Starting on Ab, A, Bb, B, C

Music Theory
Double Whole Notes (Breves) — Double Dots — Duplets and Other Tuplets — Double Sharps and Double Flats — Enharmonic Equivalents — Technical Names of Notes in the Scale — Chords — The Chromatic Scale — Ornament Signs — The Circle of Fifths

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LEVEL 5

Topics
4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th Positions — Shifting (1st through 8th Positions) — Reliable Intonation When Shifting — Vibrato With Variation of Speed and Width — Triple and Quadruple Stops (Chords) — Spreading Chords — Advanced Pattern Building (Left and Right Hand) — Rapid String Crossings  — Rich Variety of Tonal “Colours” — Idiomatic and Sensitive Musical Shaping — Fingering and Bowing Choices to Maximise Expression (Not Safety!) — Bartók (“Slap”) Pizzicato

Scales & Arpeggios
2 Octaves: F, F# majors — F, F# minors
3 Octaves: G major, Ab major, A major — G minor melodic and harmonic, G#, A minors
Diminished Sevenths:
2 Octaves: Starting on B, C, C#, D
Dominant Sevenths:
2 Octaves: In the keys of Db, E, F, G
Chromatic:
2 Octaves: Starting on Db, D, Eb

Music Theory
Regular and Irregular Time Signatures — Transposition — Compound Intervals — Identifying Chords — Inversions of Triads — Cadences

Topics Include:

The Intermediate Violin Courses D and E lead on directly from our A, B and C Beginner Violin courses. If you haven't already learned with ViolinSchool, then to join the Intermediate Courses (D and E), you'll need to be able to read music and play fluently in the first position.

If you're unsure, consult the ViolinSchool Curriculum (or see below), and compare it to your current experience. And then if you're still unsure, contact us for advice!

Course D covers Level 3 and Level 4 of the ViolinSchool Curriculum, and Course E covers Level 4 and Level 5 (there is some overlap).

If you are new to ViolinSchool, but you've been playing for a while and our Beginner options are too basic for you, then we can offer you a complementary one day pass for our Hub sessions, which includes Courses D and E.

You can then come along to listen, meet everyone, have a cup of tea, and try taking part if you wish! If you're not already ready to commit to a course, then it's the best way to find out if the level is right for you.

Is This Right For Me?