Page 16 - Info magazine Strings Class nr 1 january 2021

The Strings Class it is a two-year project in which the children go
Irene van den Heuvel, teacher Strings Class
In a period when music teachers like myself
had to broaden their teaching range, we also
started working in primary schools. And as a
cellist, I received refresher training in didactics
for groups and classes at the Centre of Arts Tri-
ade (Den Helder), with which I am associated.
As a cello teacher I was and am always looking
for various possibilities to play together in all
kinds of contexts.
Group lessons in schools were part of the di-
dactics in which I had little experience at that
time, but which I was interested in. After the first
experiences with lessons in primary schools, I
got the taste for it and looked for possibilities
and challenges in the area of teaching stringed
instruments in primary schools.
From that interest I came into contact with
group projects and educational activities in the
Netherlands and that is how I got to know the
Class Band. This method immediately appea-
led to me. I oriented myself on the presence
of a strings class...but this did not yet exist in
the Netherlands. I first came across the term
strings class as a form of ensemble playing
for beginning students at a music school. But
that had nothing to do with a string class at a
primary school! At that time, I discovered that
there were already 180 Class Bands in primary
schools in the Netherlands but no strings class
yet. I soon came into contact with Vincent de
Leur, who enthused me to start, after which
further steps followed.
Instruments I was able to purchase with the
help of Triade in the spring of 2016. A school
was found to run a pilot of 6 weeks. This proved
to be an immediate success! This paved the
way to start a Strings Class at the same school
from the new school year. A violin and viola tea-
cher were quickly found and so the string team
was ready to go.
What is the strength of the Strings Class? That
through a learning process both individually
and in class. How special it is to enter such a
totally open-minded class, to let them try out
the various string instruments (cello, viola and
violin) and then to give them the choice! And
then to give them an instrument to take home
the following week! They are so proud!
Playing together as a class for an hour every
week on the three different string instruments,
and in between every three weeks a separate
lesson group with only your own instrument - it
brings them to a higher level faster than you
think. And regularly performing together for
parents and others speeds up the learning cur-
ve considerably!
Playing together like this for two years and re-
ally taking every pupil with you: that is an ad-
ded value that I heartily wish for every child
and heartily recommend to every school. After
two years, every child can really play something
on his/her instrument and produce a beautiful
pre-sentation as a group. Many subjects have
then been worked on, such as musical qualities
and social-emotional development.
For me, this was the beginning of a new deve-
lopment.
Playing together has a strong socialising effect
on the class feeling. That's why I think it's so
important that you take every child with you
and don't allow them to do anything else, even
if they have a 'backpack'.
After the first Strings Class, more followed. Pri-
mary schools differ in their curricula and the
presence or absence of a musical learning line.
As a string teacher you adjust to this.