A lively string masterclass

Katie Heller volunteering to give a Masterclass! Wow - there must be a viola joke in there somewhere....? But then it turned out my students were violinists, phew!

In a very hot room with fans whirring thirty people were sitting, waiting for words of wisdom. I welcomed the students through my very able interpreter. I told them this was going to be fun and not to worry!

Walter, a very talented young boy began with the Bach A minor violin concerto and played confidentally from his scrappy page of music (as with all the students it was a dreadful edition). We spent most of our time experimenting with different bow strokes and he was like a hoover, learning so fast! Gradually he corrected his own bad habits and I think found the changes we had made worthwhile. Oh, to have a student like him at home!

Joanna played next, the Mozart D major concerto. By now the room was boiling and very uncomfortable to play in. I asked for a passage to be played in a more 'mischievious' way - she looked blank, so I tried 'cheeky' - still blank, so I had to settle for 'naughty' which isn't what I meant at all!! I was very well taught as a youngtser, which is, I think, why I love teaching and believe that I have a sort of duty to pass this on. The students seemed startled when I suggested they must sing a phrase in order to be able to play it, even if they do this in private.

Next, we had some Handel, a sonata which I told them I had performed very badly as a student, refusing to use a metronome to work out all the tricky little notes! The class enjoyed my portrayal of Mr. Handel as a big fat man who enjoyed his food and took up a lot of space. (I was trying to get the student to widen her playing, not her stomach)! At which point...enter the photographer!! Oh well... I am looking forward to another session and will try to get through more students.

Having taught for a month in Calcutta many years ago and worked with a string orchestra from Soweto recently I notice that children from these colourful, lively countries all have some natural energy and oomph that sadly many English children seem to lack. They are a joy to teach and I hope we can come here again!

Katie Heller, viola