Yamaha Education News

Switched-On Strings in East Sussex Service

Pictured: East Sussex Music Service string teacher, Alexandra Dalton (centre) leading an improvisation activity during the electric violin workshop at St Andrew's School, Eastbourne

East Sussex Music Service pioneered its first electric violin improvising workshop on 6 and 7 July 2009, for 14 young string players of grade 5 standard and above from the county's schools, with Yamaha providing four- and five-stringed instruments from its Silent Violin and Electric Violin ranges for students on the course who didn't otherwise have access to an electric violin.

The workshop was the brainchild of East Sussex Music Service primary music curriculum leader, Alexandra Dalton, who plays in her own swing band and has a keen interest in jazz and improvising. She ran the workshop with string teaching colleague Lynne Ratcliffe with the aim of introducing the creative possibilities of electric violins in an improvising context to their young string players.

All the instruments were connected to the PA and the students enjoyed trying out a range of effects and tonal settings. One student was using a guitar-tye foot pedal to create some exciting sounds. With only two days for this first workshop Alex Dalton was clear that they could only scratch the surface. So they focussed on two improvisational pieces. In one, the students split into several smaller sub-groups, each of which improvised some very adventuorous melodic material which was accompanied by a rhythm backing track. The second piece was a simple swing tune in which each of the students improvised 16 bars, topped and tailed by unison playing of the head in jazz style. They performed both pieces as part of the music service's concert, at the end of the second day.

While a few of the participants either owned their own electric violins or were able to use some provided by the music service, Yamaha's instruments were very well received and enjoyed by the students. The company's education liaison manager, Bill C Martin, was particularly keen to hear from the student who was using Yamaha's unusual five-stringed EV-205 electric violin, which adds the low C from the viola to provide an enhanced range and tone from a single instrument. This was Tabitha Birch (pictured here), a Year 10 pupil at Willingdon Community School, Eastbourne, who commented: "I found it strange at first because the strings are slightly closer together than on my ordinary four-string violin, but I got used to it very quickly and prefer it! I wanted to try one of these anyway and really like the range of sounds and effects I can get with it. I'd like to use it maybe in a rock or a jazz band."

The students all worked hard and enjoyed the workshop so much that Alex Dalton is considering setting up a group to provide this kind of opportunity on a regular basis. She hopes to run the workshop again next year but over five days, to give students more time to explore the electric instruments, effects, tonal controls via the PA, as well as more concetrated time to develop improvising skills.

As Yamaha Music UK contrinues to develop its activites in jazz and in the world of strings it plans to support this event next year with a session led by one of its string artists, who might help inform and inspire the young musicians further.

For more information about Yamaha's education projects using electric strings click here. The annual Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe scholarships will also focus on strings in 2010.

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(Posted 15/7/09)