4.2 Human Anatomy.................................................................................. 82
4.3 Re-pull Demonstrated by Kim Kashkashian ...................................... 85
4.4 Over the Bow ....................................................................................... 87
4.5 Karen Tuttle’s Markings in Brahms Sonata No. 2 in E-flat ................ 90
4.6 Karen Tuttle’s Markings in Schubert’s “Arpeggione” Sonata ............ 90
viii 1. INTRODUCTION
My interest in this project stems from my current teaching position, where my duties
include teaching viola lessons to college students as well as large string classes for young
beginners. I was very interested in teaching Karen Tuttle’s ideas about sound production and
musicality to the college students, but I found that they often needed remedial work on the basics
before this was feasible. At the same time, I was also interested in teaching Paul Rolland’s ideas
to the beginners, to escape the poor technique and rigidity that I often saw in children who learn
to play in school classes. The purpose of this project is to explore the teachings of Rolland and
Tuttle in depth so that the two methods may then be used together as a pedagogical system for
teaching viola at any level.
a. History of Viola Pedagogy
The viola, as an instrument in its own right, has existed since the 1500’s with a similar
history to its smaller relative, the violin. Although Hoffmeister, Campagnoli, and Bruni authored
method books specifically for viola in the eighteenth century, there was no mention of teaching
viola in music schools at this time. Unfortunately, the viola player was often an inadequate
violinist, and his/her repertoire reflected this deficit. Berlioz summarized the inferior status of
the viola, the prevailing view in the nineteenth century, when he wrote:
It is to be regretted that there is no special class for the viola. This instrument, notwithstanding its relation to the violin, needs individual study and constant practice if it is to be properly played. It is an antique, absurd, and deplorable prejudice that has hitherto handed over the performance of the tenor part to second or third-rate violinists…a condition of inferiority in any one part with regard to any other is not recognized.1
1 Maurice W. Riley, The History of the Viola, Volume 1 (Ann Arbor, MI: Braun-Brumfield, 1993), 184.
1 In addition to problems related to pedagogy, repertoire and technique, additional
limitations arose because of the viola’s size and range. The viola is an awkward instrument, too
large for a typical person to maneuver when it is proportioned for proper acoustics, but lacking in
resonance when it is cut down into a manageable size. In the nineteenth century, violinists did
most of the viola teaching, using transcriptions of common violin etudes, like Kayser, Mazas,
Kreutzer, and Fiorillo, rather than unfamiliar viola repertoire. These pedagogues believed that
the viola was played exactly like the violin and considered these basic studies to be sufficient.
Maurice Riley, a historian of the viola, wrote, “Violinists, who had not analyzed special
fingering or bowing problems as related to the viola, used identical teaching procedures for the
two instruments. Furthermore, they felt more comfortable using etudes and techniques with
which they were familiar.2
The first champions of the viola appeared around the turn of the twentieth century:
Maurice Vieux and Louis Bailley in France; Vladimir Bakaleinikoff and Samuel Belov in
Russia; Leo Van Hout in Belgium; and Lionel Tertis in Great Britain.3 These violists performed
as virtuoso soloists, commissioned new music for viola, arranged known pieces for viola
ensemble, and established viola curricula in the conservatories. In so doing, they paved the way
for the great William Primrose, who enabled the viola to finally “emerge as an equally rewarding
string instrument to other members of the string family.”4
These viola virtuosi and pedagogues did so much performing, teaching and
commissioning that they established the viola as a solo instrument in its own right. Today, it is
possible to study viola at virtually any school of music; however, it first became available as a
2 Ibid., 183. 3 Gregory Barnes, ed., Playing and Teaching the Viola: A Comprehensive Guide to the Central Clef Instrument and Its Music (Fairfax, VA: American String Teachers Association, 2010), xix. 4 Barnes, Playing and Teaching, xix.
2 course of study when the Paris Conservatory appointed a viola professor in 1894. In the United
States, the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY established a viola curriculum in 1922,
and the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia followed suit in 1925.5 After the Second World War,
universities in the United States began to hire string quartets in residence, with the violist also
functioning as the viola professor.
Thus, violin and viola pedagogy were considered to be virtually the same until very
recently. Players were expected to perform adequately on both the violin and viola and have
only specialized in viola for the past sixty or seventy years. Born in the early 1900’s, both
Rolland and Tuttle trained as violinists in their formative years and then added viola as young
professional adults. Rolland trained as a violinist at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest,
Hungary, and he added viola for chamber music and as a co-requisite for a violin diploma.
Tuttle trained as a violinist in Washington and California in the United States and then switched
to viola to study with William Primrose at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Since there were
no established schools of viola pedagogy in the early twentieth century, we must instead trace
their pedagogical lineages from the prominent schools of violin playing in the nineteenth
century. A player’s pedagogical lineage is informative when studying his/her technical approach
to the instrument, because there are several distinct European traditions that can combine with
prevailing philosophies of the time in unique ways.
Paul Rolland’s Pedagogical Lineage
Paul Rolland’s pedagogical lineage was a synthesis of intuitive European traditions,
passed down to Jenő Hubay in Hungary via Joseph Joachim and Henri Vieuxtemps, combining
5 Riley, History 1, 184.
3 the European traditions of the “Franco-Belgian” school with the “Hungary-Vienna” school.6 His
training with Imre Waldbauer also included analytical modern pedagogy developed by Carl
Flesch, Lucien Capet, and F. A. Steinhausen.7 Carl Flesch, one of the primary influences on
Rolland’s teacher, wrote that “the most important of bodily hindrances… [is] excessive, incorrect
or entirely missing rhythmic movements of the body.” Improper usage of rhythmic movements
influences the “capacity for expression in an unfavorable manner.”8 Flesch advocated swaying
in the lower body, using the arms as craftsmen and allowing movement in the head, upper, and
lower body. F. A. Steinhausen, a physician, was the first to analyze string playing from a
biomechanical point-of-view, publishing the Physiology of Bowing in 1903. Steinhausen argued
that traditional pedagogy focused mainly on skill development in the fingers, hands, and arms in
an atomistic way that encouraged motions that were too small. This type of teaching failed to
address the importance of muscular relaxation and natural physical responses in the whole body.9
Steinhausen applied Gestalt theory to movement and violin playing, teaching that when the body
is properly balanced and relaxed, the parts assume their most natural positions for optimal
function. He aimed to reduce tension in small joints by assigning control to the main joints and
teaching “whole body” technique rather than isolating motions within each hand. Gestalt, when
applied to teaching, means that whole facets of technique such as slurring, full bows, staccato,
6 Hilary Behrens, “Paul Rolland Interviewed by Hilary Behrens, July 1977,” The Strad 89, no. 1066 (1979): 963. 7 Marianne Murray Perkins, A Comparison of Violin Playing Techniques: Kato Havas, Paul Rolland, and Shinichi Suzuki (Bloomington, IN: Tichenor Publishing, 1995), 29. 8 Paul Rolland with Marla Mutschler, The Teaching of Action in String Playing: Developmental and Remedial Techniques (Bloomington, IN: Tichenor Publishing, 2000), 30. 9 Perkins, Comparison, 94.
4 and finger patterns are introduced as soon as possible.10 The teacher then isolates and refines
each specific technique before re-introducing it into repertoire.11 Rolland wrote:
Good violin playing possesses a specific “Gestalt” quality, which is not determined by the individual elements it contains but rather by the structural relationships between these elements and the whole. Within this whole, each element serves a specific and significant function, but only through the smooth coordination of all elements will successful performance result.12
Paul Rolland’s philosophy of string playing displayed such ideas about the unity of the human
organism. Rolland taught that whenever we make a change in one part of the body, it alters the
use of the whole; therefore, faulty adjustment in one joint would necessitate readjustment
elsewhere, creating extra muscular effort and strain as a result.13
Another notable method from this time period is the Alexander Technique, originally a
technique for breathing and speaking promoted by the Australian reciter, F. M. Alexander.
Alexander explored balance and alignment, focusing on the head and neck relationship as it
relates to ordinary tasks like sitting and standing. He then taught students how to apply his
discoveries to complicated tasks like playing music or sports, after bringing the head and neck
relationship under conscious control during mundane tasks. Paul Rolland developed an interest
in this technique after Alexander Murray, an accomplished Alexander Technique teacher,
became his colleague at the University of Illinois-Urbana in 1977. Carol Porter McCullough, an
Alexander Technique teacher, wrote, “Rolland knew that the Alexander Technique had much in
10 Henry Barrett, The Viola: Complete Guide for Teachers and Students (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1978), 94. 11 Ingrid Kovacs, “The Influence of Gestalt in Paul Rolland’s Theory of Pedagogy,” American String Teacher 61, no. 3 (2011): 47. 12 Gerald Fischbach, “A Comprehensive Performance Project,” (DMA thesis, University of Iowa, 1972), 26-27. 13 Rolland, Teaching of Action, 30.
5 common with his own pedagogical ideas,” and he was on the verge of incorporating it into his
teaching at the time of his death.14
Rolland studied the role of movement as it relates to each technique and analyzed the
almost undetectable movements that occur in the whole body when a player is well balanced and
relaxed. “Tenseness, awkwardness and poor timing of a beginner performing a complex skill,”
he wrote, “are due to a combination of superfluous movement, use of unnecessary muscles, and
either excessive or insufficient applications of power.”15 Rolland stands out as “one of the first
pedagogues to discuss free physical motions of the body and their importance for playing
musically with technical fluidity.”16 Rolland created a method for introducing these concepts to
young children, enabling beginners to learn advanced techniques in their embryonic forms with
freedom and ease. His Action Studies booklet, published in 1974, introduces playing techniques
sequentially with a series of games and exercises; other teachers can easily use the resource to
train proper motions in a beginner or to rehabilitate a student with technical problems.17 The
simple exercises that Rolland set forth are easy enough for a young child, but they develop
advanced skills such as shifting, vibrato, spiccato, and string crossings that had hitherto been
reserved to older, more advanced students.
Karen Tuttle’s Pedagogical Lineage
A student and teaching assistant at Curtis, Karen Tuttle’s lineage as a violist comes
directly from her teacher, William Primrose. Primrose was initially a violin prodigy whose early
training was with Camillo Ritter, from the Austro-Hungarian tradition of Joachim and Sevcik.
He later studied for three years with Eugène Ysäye, who encouraged him to change to the
14 Carol Porter McCullough, “The Alexander Technique and The Pedagogy of Paul Rolland,” (DMA diss., Arizona State University, 1996), 3. 15 Ibid., 31. 16 Mimi Zweig, “Paul Rolland and His Influence,” American String Teacher 61 (May 2011): 20. 17 Perkins, Comparison, 95.
6 viola.18 Ysäye was from the Franco-Belgian pedagogical tradition, having studied with both
Henryk Wieniawski and Henri Vieuxtemps. Therefore, Tuttle also has roots that combine the
Austro-Hungarian and Franco-Belgian traditions; however, Tuttle’s pedagogy is more specific to
the viola. Primrose, “did not consider the viola as a large-size violin, but rather as a separate,
autonomous instrument, with its own individual bowing and fingering problems.”19 He was one
of the first pedagogues who taught the viola exclusively.
The other hallmark of the Tuttle-school of playing is “a holistic approach to the study of
the instrument, a seeking of physical comfort with the viola and using natural reflexes and
impulses instead of following an absolutely prescribed way of playing.”20 Tuttle’s teaching
stands out as one of the first true systems of viola pedagogy, and like Rolland’s method, it
prioritizes naturalness and ease in the whole body.
b. Why Rolland and Tuttle?
This project compares Paul Rolland and Karen Tuttle, two prominent pedagogues of the
past century, who independently analyzed how and why great players get results on the
instrument. They radically transformed viola pedagogy by training students to think about their
playing in this way. Their methods of teaching marked a radical departure from contemporary
violin/viola pedagogy, which relied heavily on demonstration by the master teacher. Students
would merely mimic the teacher without any understanding of why they must do something a
certain way. It is easy to imitate a teacher but difficult to learn to think for oneself, a process
which both Rolland and Tuttle valued. Julie Lieberman believed that if a teacher instead focuses
18 Watson Forbes. "Primrose, William." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/22359 (accessed August 18, 2012). 19 Riley, History 1, 283-4. 20 Hanani, “Intuitive,” 309.
7 on the principle behind the issue addressed in the lesson, students could progress more quickly
and learn to become independent thinkers. She wrote:
This enables the students to develop the ability to think for themselves and to apply these principles in an accelerated fashion on their own, automatically developing their technique on a consistent basis rather than waiting to be spoon-fed the next morsel of information.21
Rolland and Tuttle both focused on naturalness and ease as general principles behind all aspects
of good technique, and they trained students to think through these concepts and to apply them to
their playing.
Traditionally, string players were labeled “talented” if they could use their bodies well
and create musical gestures and good motions for sound production and basic technique. The
teacher taught by example and students with the natural athletic ability to catch on instinctively
did very well, while others with less natural coordination did poorly and developed habits of the
“untalented” student. Tuttle and Rolland were unique as teachers because they both analyzed
string-playing motions in incredible detail as they corrected their own faults and poor usage
habits from improper training in the beginning stages. They then spent their lives
communicating their discoveries to students, teaching coordinated patterns of motion that the
naturally talented player does instinctively. Rolland and Tuttle both worked to correct habits of
tension and to train correct actions with well-balanced and coordinated motions.
Rolland and Tuttle also stand out as pedagogues, because they both promoted a whole
body approach to string playing, emphasizing natural motions analogous to sports. Although
they seemed to have developed their ideas independently, Rolland and Tuttle were
contemporaries who taught simultaneously at major American institutions. Initially, both began
as violinists with poor training and rigid technique. In their late teens and early twenties, they
21 Julie Lyonn Lieberman, You Are Your Instrument (New York: Huiksi Music, 1991), 86.
8 both encountered master artist-teachers who overhauled their playing and enabled them to
progress to a professional level by using their bodies in more natural and relaxed ways. Both
players, moreover, learned viola and began performing careers as violists within string quartets.
In spite of their similar backgrounds, Rolland and Tuttle chose to focus on different age
groups when they began careers in teaching. Rolland’s interest in teaching led him to devote his
life to researching and developing materials for beginners in an effort to revolutionize string
education in the United States. Rolland realized that a teacher must sow the seeds for proper
technique on the violin or viola in the very first lessons, because this early training establishes
the foundation for everything else, for better or for worse.22 Rolland’s studies were mostly
geared towards beginners, with his teachings remaining somewhat violin-centric, since most
young players begin to train on the violin at a young age and then switch to the viola during the
teenage years as intermediate or advanced players. He was one of the first pedagogues to discuss
free physical motions of the body and their importance to playing musically with technical
fluidity.23 Tuttle, on the other hand, began teaching viola as Primrose’s assistant and then as a
chamber music and viola faculty member at several of the most prominent conservatories in the
Northeast, including Peabody Conservatory, the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute. Tuttle
taught only college-aged students at relatively advanced levels in these environments. In spite of
this difference, both Tuttle and Rolland understood and explained technique in similar ways.
The analytical teaching style and whole body approach, employed by both Rolland and
Tuttle, provides rationale for comparing the two methods with the intent of integrating the
teachings into one system. My study attempts to fuse Rolland and Tuttle’s pedagogical systems
to create a comprehensive resource for teaching technique and musicality to a violist at any level.
22 Zweig, Rolland, 21. 23 Ibid., 20.
9 I propose that the two systems could complement each other very well, each providing necessary
information and skill-development where the other method is lacking. Paul Rolland’s method is
already clearly laid out in his Action Studies booklet, and excerpts from this work provide a step-
by-step process for developing the fundamentals of posture, right hand, and left hand technique.
Karen Tuttle’s method can then develop the fundamentals of artistry and musicality if we create
a similarly accessible resource for teachers called “Coordination” Studies. To develop these
“Coordination” Studies, I will distill the main concepts from Tuttle’s teaching system into
several categories and then provide step-by-step exercises for developing skills in each area.
Then, I will provide the strategies that Tuttle and her students used to integrate these techniques
and teach “coordination” between the physical body and the musical expression.
My study begins with biographies of Paul Rolland and Karen Tuttle to provide
background for each pedagogue. In the following chapter, I compare the teachings of the two
pedagogues to discover areas of similarity or difference in regards to the teaching philosophy,
posture, bowing, and left-hand technique. This section will include many of Rolland’s exercises
for each category, excerpted from his Action Studies publication, which viola teachers may use
for developing good fundamental technique or correcting mechanical flaws in a student’s
playing. Next, I set forth “Coordination” Studies, based on the teachings of Tuttle and her
students, and explore how to integrate the two methods, using Rolland to develop basic technical
fundamentals and using Tuttle for teaching musicality, expression, and artistry. Taken together,
I argue, the Action Studies and the “Coordination” Studies offer the viola teacher a
comprehensive resource for teaching technique and musicality to the viola student at any level.
10 2. BACKGROUND
a. Paul Rolland Biographical Summary
Perhaps Paul Rolland’s greatest contribution to music education in American was his set
of values from Hungary, where “the teaching of the violin to children is considered most
important… [It is] a sacred duty and only those of the highest dedication are entrusted with it.”24
Previously, very few professional musicians had devoted time or interest to improving string
instruction at the elementary levels. It is important to know Paul Rolland’s biography to
understand his unique dedication to string pedagogy.
Paul Rolland was born in 1911 in Budapest, Hungary as Pali Reisman, the second child
of Julius and Ethel Reisman. He was exposed to music at an early age because he lived in an
apartment for a period of time with three pianists - his grandmother, mother and sister. He
showed interest in traveling Gypsy violinists and had a toy violin from the age of four, but he did
not begin formal instruction until the relatively late age of eleven. Rolland built and sold crystal
radio sets and later taught lessons to young students to pay for his education.
Rolland’s first teacher was Arpad Kigyosi, a member of the nineteenth-century German
school that traced its roots to Joachim, notorious for “posture utilizing a low right elbow
accompanied by a very elastic wrist which tensed up the entire body.”25 Teachers of this school
believed that a violinist could create a big sound by using lots of bow pressure near the bridge.
To this end, Rolland began with pages of long tones and was told to practice with a book under
his right arm to force the low elbow. Needless to say, there were so many errors of usage, sound
24 Fanelli, “Paul Rolland,” 294. 25 Michael Paul Fanelli, “Paul Rolland: His Teaching Career And Contributions To String Pedagogy And Education.” (DME diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2001), 51.
11 production, and physical well-being that Rolland does not acknowledge this teacher, except
perhaps as an important example of how not to teach.
Rolland credits his second teacher Dezós Rados at the Fodor School of Music for his
early training. Rados embraced the “latest ideas concerning theories of biomechanics in string
playing” and taught free body motion for performing in a relaxed manner with emphasis on
releasing tension in the bow arm and left hand.26 Although it is an ordeal to completely overhaul
one’s playing, Rolland valued the experience because he learned analytical thinking during the
transformation of his technique, which made him a better performer and teacher.27 After five
years of study, Rolland had improved enough to be accepted by Imre Waldbauer at the Franz
Liszt Academy in Budapest.
Waldbauer was known as first violinist of the Waldbauer-Kerpely or Hungarian Quartet,
famous for premiering works of Bartók and Kodály, but he was also highly regarded as a
pedagogue, especially for remedial teaching. Trained by Jenő Hubay, who had studied with
Joseph Joachim and Henri Vieuxtemps, he was also familiar with the contemporary teachings of
Carl Flesch and Lucien Capet and was profoundly influenced by Dr. F. A. Steinhausen.28
Steinhausen was a German physiologist who set forth his theory of biomechanics in his book The
Physiology of Violin Bowing, which “advocated leadership of large limbs rather than wrist
activity.”29 Waldbauer’s teaching was highly analytical and all verbal. In contrast to the usual
method where the master demonstrates for students to imitate, Waldbauer would explain
technical and musical concepts in detail, often using analogies to sports. A few of the key ideas
which would resurface in the teaching of Paul Rolland include: body balance, good natural
14 level students and develop a preparatory division. He was “in need of culturally inspiring
circumstances” that could only be found amidst the resources of a city and large university.34
In 1945, Rolland was appointed Professor of Violin and Chair of the String Division at
the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a position that he held until his death in 1978. His
first fifteen years there were very active, building the reputation of the string department as he
worked with the other faculty members to raise standards for admission and graduation with the
idea of making the university a center for string education first within the state of Illinois, then in
the Midwest and finally in the country. He was concerned that many of the current university
students at the University of Illinois had enrolled at a remedial level, because their educators had
not been properly taught. He cited an inadequate methods course as well as a lack of
observation, apprenticeship teaching, and public school experience and as the primary problems
in teacher-training curricula. Rolland rewrote the curriculum and began outreach to students and
teachers in area schools to improve the quality of developmental training.
Initially, Rolland spent time visiting school districts for clinics and workshops, and later
he began broadcasting a weekly string class on the radio for Illinois private and public schools.
In 1946 he founded the Illinois Summer Youth Music Program and started a string festival for
school orchestras and teachers that included master-class teaching and intensive remedial work
for students at the university campus. Rolland was also very active in forming the American
String Teachers Association in 1946, and he edited its affiliated journal, the American String
Teacher from 1950-60.35 These activities gave him a platform for sharing ideas nationally with
other leading teachers and performers.
34 Ibid., 116. 35 Michael Paul Fanelli. "Rolland, Paul." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 23, 2012, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2087558.
15 By 1960 Paul Rolland had become one of the leading string pedagogues in the United
States, showing tireless dedication to the profession by the amount of time and energy that he
devoted to all areas of string education. Michael Fanelli, a Rolland student who has written
extensively about his teacher’s life and work, described Rolland’s unique contribution as a
pedagogue in this way:
What was unique about Rolland in comparison to other string educators was that he had a classically trained background, oriented to a professional performance level, and yet he purposefully involved himself in string education in the schools, both public and private, because he believed that these students in the schools were the future string educators and performers in this country.36
Rolland’s methods used media and the latest technology to reform string education and to
uniquely address the “biomechanical, kinesthetic, musical, and technical aspects of string
teaching and its totality, especially with regard to young beginning students.”37
Before taking on the monumental task of reforming string education in the United States,
Rolland wanted to travel internationally to learn about current methods of string pedagogy
around the world. By 1960, the string program at the University of Illinois had exhibited great
transformation and growth, and Rolland was well-established on the national stage. During
1960-61, he took a sabbatical to tour post-war Europe and to observe string teaching in Austria,
Germany, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Turkey using grant money from the US State Department.
While visiting the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, he traveled to a nearby gypsy school,
where rote teaching produced students with “meticulously clean intonation, [and] warmth of tone
not to mention dazzling technique.”38 Rote teaching would later become a prominent factor in
both Rolland and Suzuki methods for beginners. Impressed with string instruction in Hungary,
Yugoslavia, and Israel, Rolland found the Turkish system poorly funded and felt that the
16 Austrian system produced orchestral musicians as if in a factory. His travels also afforded him
the opportunity to meet with Oistrakh and Menuhin and to give lectures about the American
system of music education.
On Rolland’s return to the United States, education as a whole was entering a period of
reform, motivated by Sputnik and the race to space. Music education was no exception: artists
and teachers gathered at two summer conferences at Tanglewood in 1963 and 1964 to discuss
performance level and curriculum standards in string programs in America. String education
was at such a low ebb that the renowned conductor Sir Georg Solti complained that it was
“difficult to find young players of sufficiently high standard” for the Chicago Symphony.
Participants in the Tanglewood Symposia identified the main problem in string education as a
lack of qualified string players willing to serve as public school teachers: first class performers
were not interested in teaching. Allen Britton, a music educator on the panel in 1964, discussed
the harmful bias of conservatory-trained performing musicians as superior to music educators.
He wrote that the “high disdain for music education often expressed by musicians stems in part
from the fact that many music educators are not as good musicians as they should be” and causes
the “hesitancy with which good young musicians go into music education.”39 Unfortunately, the
result was poor elementary training for young people and a generation of poorly trained
musicians. The summit proposed many ideas including magnet schools and public music
schools, and Paul Rolland was inspired to make a documentary about the recent success of
Suzuki, winning a 1965 grant from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
After completing the Suzuki film project, Paul Rolland began plans for a major project
about the basic principles of violin playing that could be applied to any method and adapted for
use in the private studio, homogeneous group class or a heterogeneous public school setting for 39 Ibid., 184.
17 students in any age group. Rolland’s purpose was to develop materials useful to any method
teaching natural and tension-free violin playing movements, good tone production, and solid
basic technique.40 His materials would include musical examples and exercises as well as
recordings for use during at-home practice as well as a series of films for the purpose of teacher
training and demonstration. Rolland’s proposal entitled, “Development and Trial of a Two Year
Program of String Instruction” was approved by the US State Department, and he received a
$270,000 grant from the Department of Education in 1966 to complete his research in string
education. The Illinois String Research Project that ensued between 1966 and 1970 became
Rolland’s life work. Here Rolland defined his teaching philosophy and methods, tested his ideas
on children in private and group settings and shared his discoveries with other teachers in his
publications, clinics and workshops after the project was completed.
Rolland implemented the Illinois String Research project in two phases. The first phase
of the project included planning and developing books, manuals and recordings in consultation
with a panel of other leading pedagogues and performers. During the second phase, cooperating
teachers tried the new materials for two years on elementary school aged beginners at twenty-
two in-state and five out-of-state laboratory sites. Graduate students visited sites and collected
data, and Paul Rolland himself taught the Urbana groups and made films of his work with the
children. Paul Rolland also held a short course for middle school and high school players for
rehabilitation and remedial teaching, wherein he would try to improve the “stiffness, excessive
tension, and lack of coordination”41 of hundreds of students. He believed that knowledge from
kinesiology and physiology, currently used for dancing and sports, could benefit string teachers.
40 Ibid., 208. 41 Nancy Kredel, “Paul Rolland, Teacher of Teachers,” The Strad 89 (1979): 1029.
18 Rolland decided to apply these fields of study and to research a method of string teaching based
on good motion techniques.
In Rolland’s final report, the results of the study were inconclusive because of the
difficulty in gathering and measuring data in a quantitative way and in some cases because of
non-compliance and a lack of cooperation from participating teachers at test sites. The
performance level and technical facility of participating students document that Rolland’s
method for teaching biomechanical motions was indeed successful; however, it is difficult to
evaluate this qualitative judgment with empirical data. After watching Paul Rolland’s group of
children with eighteen months of instruction, Ishaq Arazi published an article that provided the
following qualitative evaluation of the students:
[The] kids played with classical form. The stance, the holding of the instrument, the placement of the left hand, the holding and drawing of the bow, the use of generous vibrato added to a magnificent tone production…featuring such items as harmonics in altissima, many forms of bow articulation, détaché in variato, arpeggios, chromatics, string crossings, tremolos, sul ponticello and sul tasto, sautille and many other techniques…characterized by a sense of involvement…done with much élan and spirit…They played with an ease and freedom that many older persons could well envy.42
Rolland’s own qualitative evaluation was that his research proved that “an awareness of the body
and its movements will benefit the well-being, comfort, and free movement of the player.”43
According to Fanelli, the greatest impact of the project was that it produced teaching
materials that were “new, innovative, and applicable to private and school teaching,”44 examined
the traditional string teaching approach, and analyzed physiological components of violin-
playing motions. Rolland’s study resulted in the publication of the film series, The Teaching of
Action in String Playing, in 1974 and its accompanying text co-authored with Marla Mutschler
with an additional chapter on kinesiology by Dr. Frances Hellebrandt, MD. These materials are
42 Ishaq Arazi, “ ‘Pied Piper’ of Urbana,” American String Teacher (Summer 1969): 13. 43 Gerald Fischbach, “A Letter From Paul Rolland,” The Instrumentalist (January, 1987): 35. 44 Fanelli, “Paul Rolland,” 292.
19 incredibly useful for teacher training because they demonstrate how to teach an effortless good
tone and technique via “natural and coordinated use of the whole body and its components.”45
The series is comprised of seventeen films that isolate technical problems in violin playing by
topic: Young Violinists in Action; Principles of Motion in String Playing; Rhythm Training;
Establishing the Violin Hold; Holding the Violin Bow; Violin Playing At The Middle Of The
Bow; Principles Of Left Hand Finger Action; Establishing Left Hand And Finger Placement;
Extending The Bow Stroke; Developing Finger Movement; Basic Shifting Movements;
Bouncing The Bow; Martelé And Staccato; Developing Flexibility; First Steps In Vibrato
Teaching; Sustained And Détaché Bowing; and Remedial Teaching. The project also produced
teachers’ manuals, wall charts, curriculum guides, recordings of tunes, a beginner’s method book
called Prelude to String Playing with piano accompaniment, and the Action Studies in booklet
and poster forms. Action Studies provides an accessible and user-friendly summary of Rolland’s
exercises for developing each technique, intended for display on a classroom wall or for use by
the teacher as a quick guide. Another offshoot of the project was “Tunes for String Players” by
Stanley Fletcher, contemporary violin music for children based on nursery rhymes and American
folk songs. Patterned after the training of gypsy children in Hungary, Rolland commissioned
appropriate material so that the children could begin by rote from their own folk tradition.
Rolland spent the following six years giving more than two hundred clinics and
workshops around the United States and Europe in addition to teaching full-time at the
University of Illinois. In 1978, at the apex of his influence, he experienced a sudden heart attack
and passed away at the age of 68. Since that time, Rolland’s method has been somewhat
45 Ibid., 209.
20 eclipsed by popularity and accessibility of the Suzuki Method.46 At the University of Illinois,
Rolland’s successor had no interest in continuing his studies and they faded into obscurity
although many teachers around the world continued to use his ideas and methods without
knowing their source. Fanelli wrote, “Had Rolland lived another ten years, his method would be
more widely recognized today.”47 Rolland’s method had no formal teacher-training system as
found in the Suzuki method, and his action studies were never neatly packaged into a user-
friendly method book. Rolland intended for teachers to adapt his materials and use them along
with any other musical material or method book most appropriate for the age of the student(s)
and setting for instruction. This philosophy burdened the teacher with preparation and planning,
and many instructors opt for systems that have this work already laid out for them.
In spite of the problems with dissemination and propagation of Rolland’s method, his
influence can still be found today in a method book widely used in public school settings since
1994: Essential Elements by Robert Gillespie. Although it is a traditional method book, it has
content inspired by Rolland’s theories of movement and the author adapts some Rolland’s ideas
for use in a public school group setting. For example, the student first learns the third finger to
encourage a good hand frame, and there are many bow hold and position exercises included
which encourage fluid mobility from the beginning stages of development. A teacher with
training in the Paul Rolland method could use it to achieve effective results with a beginning
class of string students.48
Another indirect source for Rolland’s teaching methods is the master pedagogue, Mimi
Zweig. Zweig apprenticed to Nancy Kredel, one of Rolland’s students, and learned from Paul
Rolland’s video series. She cites Rolland as a major influence in her pedagogical approach.
46 Perkins, Comparison, 202. 47 Fanelli, “Paul Rolland,” 294. 48 Gillespie, Essential Elements for Strings, (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Publishing Co, 2000)
21 Zweig has spread her ideas widely via stringpedagogy.com and its accompanying teacher-
training CD-rom, and she hosts an annual retreat for professional violinists and violists at the
Indiana University String Academy where she has been working since 1972.49 There has been a
revival of interest in Rolland since ASTA republished Basic Principles of String Playing and The
Teaching of Action in String Playing (book and DVD) in 2000. More recently, several of
Rolland’s students, Nancy Kredel, Lynne Denig, and Gerald Fischbach, have established an
annual teacher-training workshop as an outreach program of George Mason University in
Fairfax, VA. The inaugural workshop was held in 2011, which would have been Paul Rolland’s
100th birthday year.
The resurgence of interest in Paul Rolland, more than thirty years after his death,
indicates time-tested truths in his method of teaching. His biography shows his qualifications,
capabilities, renown, and influence, but it especially gives an appreciation for his lifelong
dedication to teaching. Rolland’s unique attention to elementary and remedial music education
led him to devise a step-by-step system for skill development that continues to serve as a useful
aid for the pedagogue today.
49 Zweig, “Rolland,” 20.
22 b. Karen Tuttle Biographical Summary
Karen Tuttle’s personal life and musical influences contribute to her unique approach to
the viola and influenced her teaching methods. Tuttle was famous for her free spirit and vitality
as well as her passionate dedication to teaching. She created a unique synthesis of ideas, that she
later named “coordination, based on a few pivotal characters in her musical development. She
applied these ideas both to her own life and to her teaching.
Born March 28, 1920 as Katherine Ann Tuttle in Lewiston, Idaho, Tuttle later changed
her name to Karen. Tuttle began her musical studies on violin in Walla Walla, Washington at
age twelve, but she had been exposed to music at an early age because her father played fiddle
and her mother sang and directed church choir. Tuttle explains, “The reason I started to play the
violin was that after eighth grade I made an announcement that I was not going to go to school
anymore.”50 She disliked the rigid discipline and hours spent taking notes, and her parents
agreed on condition that she spend the same amount of time doing something that she liked.
Karen chose violin but said, “If I ever ‘goofed off,’ [her mother would] pick up the phone and
give me a look to warn me.”51 In her article about Karen Tuttle’s influences and approach to
teaching, Hannah Hanani wrote that Tuttle’s decision to quit school was indicative of her free
spirited personality: it was the “first in a lifelong series of pivotal decisions she made based on
instinct and gut feeling about what was right for her.”52 While officially a home-schooler, Karen
read avidly and studied violin with Joan Heers, a young teacher whose rebellious personality
endeared her to Karen in spite of her rigid playing habits.
After a few years, Tuttle left home to study in Pullman, Washington with Czech violinist
Karel Havliček, a student of Leopold Auer, and she ultimately followed him to Berkley,
50 Hannah Hanani, “The Intuitive Path,” The Strad 98, no. 1164 (April 1987): 309. 51 Karen Ritscher, “An Interview with Karen Tuttle,” American String Teacher 43 (Autumn 1993): 86. 52 Carol Rodland, “In Honor of Karen Tuttle as She Retires,” American String Teacher 54 (May 2004): 45.
23 California. Tuttle began touring the Pacific coast with him in a duo, performing showpieces and
earning about $100 per week playing as many as four or five school concerts per day. On the
tour, she absorbed her teacher’s passion and enthusiasm for music, but she also picked up some
terrible technical shortcomings. She was physically miserable playing the violin and would later
mock her own rigidity by striking a distorted virtuoso pose with a grimace and crunched hands.53
This affected posture caused her to play the violin with too much tension and effort, and
ultimately with too much pain.
In spite of her discomfort, Tuttle regularly practiced seven or eight hours per day,
eventually quitting the duo tour and moving to Los Angeles to work as a freelancer. Tuttle
worked at NBC and occasionally played in the orchestra as a substitute, very rare for a woman at
that time. Tuttle studied briefly with Henri Temianka but found that he could not explain how to
be comfortable while playing the instrument, and he was not interested in helping her change her
technique. Tuttle complained about pain to her teacher who responded, “Don’t worry, Honey,
you’ll get used to it.”54 In an interview with former student, Susan Dubois, Tuttle explained, “I
was physically miserable on the violin. At age sixteen, I was in pain while I was on a concert
tour. I then met Primrose, and he changed my life.”55
Tuttle reached this pivotal life moment when she attended a concert of the London
Quartet and heard William Primrose play the viola. She thought, “Is it possible for one to play
so beautifully and still look so comfortable?”56 Watching Primrose, she noted how “he looked so
beautiful; I couldn’t conceive of anyone being so natural with the instrument.”57 She greatly
admired the natural beauty of his playing and immediately asked to study with him. Primrose
24 agreed on the condition that she switch to viola and move to Philadelphia to study with him at
the Curtis Institute of Music. Tuttle happily complied and studied with Primrose for four years,
unraveling her technical problems by analyzing and mimicking Primrose to learn his playing
habits. She described Primrose’s playing as the most natural and effortless that she had ever
seen. Primrose had been a boxer in his youth, and his athletic inclination enabled him to use his
body well for the viola. Because of this natural aptitude, however, Primrose found it difficult to
explain technical concepts to students who did not possess such innate facility, and he began to
send students in need of a technical explanation to Tuttle. In an article honoring her former
teacher upon retirement from Juilliard, Carol Rodland wrote, “It was she who could articulate
what he actually physically did to achieve his beautiful sound and virtuosity.58 Because she
started viola as a young adult, Tuttle was very analytical about her playing and teaching.59 In
contrast to young children who imitate the teacher in instinctive and intuitive ways, older
students, like Tuttle, tend to have an intellectual approach to instrumental technique and sound
production.
Primrose made Tuttle his assistant in 1945, and she acted as his substitute while he
toured. After graduating in 1948, Tuttle moved to New York to perform but commuted to
Philadelphia to continue as Primrose’s assistant. When Primrose left Curtis in 1951, Tuttle
became head of the viola and chamber music departments until 1956, coaching musicians such
as Michael Tree, John Dalley, Arnold Steinhardt and Joseph Silverstein. In New York, Tuttle
was violist of the Gotham, Galamir, and Schneider quartets and also the first female member of
the NBC Orchestra. She refused the job as Principal Viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra because
of her distaste for the city, but she would eventually return to live there nonetheless.
58 Rodland, “Retires,” 45. 59 Emmanuella Reiter-Bootiman, Karen Tuttle’s Heritage: The Theory and Practice of Co-ordination (Boston: Allegra Print & Imaging, 2008): 36.
25 In her search for “musical and technical health,”60 Tuttle credits a few others in addition
to William Primrose: Marcel Tabuteau, Pablo Casals, Alexander Schneider, Demetrius
Constantine Dounis and Wilhelm Reich. From oboist and conductor Tabuteau, Tuttle learned to
“make every note count, to mean something and have some intensity.”61 Tabuteau used a
numbering system for grouping notes together to enable phrasing beyond the dictates of regular
bar lines. She found this useful for developing pacing, attaining an intuitive feel for musical
direction and energy, and for learning how and why to organize notes within a phrase.
After meeting Pablo Casals at the Prades Festival in 1950 in France, Tuttle stayed in
France for six months to study with him and bore the wrath of the Curtis Institute’s
administration for her long absence. Casals was naturally comfortable at the cello, and his
teaching focused on discovering the inherent character in music, especially in solo Bach. He
taught Tuttle to find the musical character of a piece, to show it in the facial expression, and to
evoke an emotional response while playing Bach. When Tuttle asked Casals if he had analyzed
what he did on the instrument technically, he answered simply that he had disregarded a
teacher’s advice to hold a book under his arm while bowing because it did not feel good. In a
later interview with her student Karen Ritscher, Tuttle explained, “This reinforced my feeling
that if it doesn’t feel good, it’s wrong!”62
Tuttle also met Alexander Schneider at the audition for the Prades Festival, and they later
formed the Schneider Quartet along with Madeline Foley and Isidor Cohen. Together they
aspired to record all of the Haydn Quartets. The project remained unfinished because of funding
problems, but the quartet did perform all of the quartets in a series of twenty-one concerts at New
York’s 92nd Street Y. Tuttle and Schneider had a fiery love-hate relationship marked by intense
27 that emotional barriers or character armoring has an identical effect.66 Reich addressed muscular
tension and emotional issues as equal problems and worked from the physical point of view,
after determining where a person held excessive muscular tension in the body due to emotional
or psychological reasons.67
Tuttle integrated Reichian ideas into her teaching to develop a system for teaching
expression and communication of emotions, fully expanding the concept of musical character
that she learned from Casals. Tuttle taught that music has basically five emotions - love, anger,
fear, joy, and sorrow – and she distributed a chart to her students with each category subdivided
into about twenty nuances to help them pinpoint the exact meaning. She believed that the goal
for a musician was to connect physical and emotional realms and to convey this to an audience in
a musical performance, while overcoming excessive tension that could often form “physical
barriers that inhibit one’s full expression of emotions.”68 Healthy physical habits enhance
powers of expression and help to rid the performer of inhibitions; therefore, musicians need to
work diligently to prevent injury and enjoy professional longevity. Tuttle encouraged students to
journey inward and to understand their emotional lives, to live richly and communicate from a
“deeply felt well of personal experience.”69 The controversial aspect of Tuttle’s teaching was
that she also applied Reich’s research about the sexual orgasm to musical performance on the
viola. Tuttle made frequent references to sex in her teaching, because it was “indispensable for
her understanding of the phenomena of the physical release and pulsation in the realm of musical
performance.”70
66 Dane, Coordinated Effort, 14-15. 67 Weinberger, “Body and Soul,” 69. 68 Rodland, “Retires,” 47. 69 Ibid., 47.
70 Robert Dew, “In Response to Instinct,” The Strad 104, no. 1241 (September 1993): 838.
28 In 1960, Karen Tuttle made her Carnegie Hall début performance with a program of
Vaughan Williams, Hindemith, Bach and Brahms and was described in the review by Harold
Schonberg as, “a superb instrumentalist with decided ideas” who gave a concert that “seemed to
be attended by every string player in town.”71 She also participated in summer festivals in
Norfolk (CT), Marlboro (VT), and Kneisel Hall (ME) during this time.
During the 1970’s Tuttle’s teaching career included the University of Albany in 1970 and
the Philadelphia Musical Academy in 1971. She began teaching at the Peabody Conservatory in
Baltimore, trying out her ideas about “coordination” on students such as Karen Ritscher and Kim
Kashkashian. In 1978, she began teaching and coaching unofficially at Curtis and then added
Mannes and Manhattan in 1980. During the summers, Tuttle taught at the Aspen Festival from
1979 until 1986 and established an annual master class at Banff in 1983. Curtis officially
reappointed Tuttle to teach viola in 1986 and Juilliard appointed her in 1987. At this point, she
quit Peabody, Manhattan, and Mannes to split her time equally between the two schools for the
next fifteen years, continuing the master classes at Banff during the summers. In 1994 she won
the Artist Teacher award from the American String Teachers Association and an honorary
doctorate from Curtis in 2005. Tuttle died on December 16, 2010 at the age of ninety from
complications from Alzheimer’s disease at her home in Philadelphia. 72
Karen Tuttle had a profound influence on a generation of more than 1500 violists: her
former students work as soloists, quartet players, principal and section players in orchestras, and
teachers at conservatories and universities all over the world. She taught her students how to
teach and insisted that they become a supportive family of good colleagues. A group of these
former students (i.e. Jeffrey Irvine, Carol Rodland, Karen Ritscher, Susan Dubois, Michelle
71 New York Times (New York), 28 February 1960. 72 New York Times (New York), 27 December 2010.
29 LaCourse, and Kim Kashkashian) now co-host an annual Karen Tuttle “Coordination” Workshop
to pass on Tuttle’s ideas to young violists. Jeffrey Irvine first hosted the “Coordination”
Workshop at the Cleveland Institute of Music, but the event changes locations as each teacher
hosts the event in turn. Tuttle participated and taught at the workshop after her retirement from
Juilliard until 2006, when her health made it impossible to continue. The Tuttle workshop
continues to be popular since much of her teaching survives only by oral tradition, imparted to
students in one-on-one private lessons. Written sources include Matthew Dane’s 2002
dissertation, “Coordinated Effort: A Study of Karen Tuttle’s Influence on Modern Viola
Teaching;” Emmanuella Reiter-Bootiman’s book and DVD, Karen Tuttle’s Heritage: the Theory
and Practice of Co-ordination; and numerous journal articles by Karen Tuttle, her students and
Dr. Robert Dew, M.D.
Tuttle used the term “coordination” to describe her teaching method, a unique synthesis
of a broad range of principles drawn from the divergent sources. It would be difficult to grasp
Tuttle’s specific meaning for this word without full knowledge of her life and influences. Dane
wrote that the operative function of Tuttle’s teaching philosophy is integration, wherein “our
physical bodies and sound combine to serve as a conduit connecting our emotional lives with
those of others.”73 A full understanding of Tuttle’s background will enable us to align her
methods with Rolland’s for accurate comparison.
73 Dane, Coordinated Action, 19.
30 3. COMPARISON AND CONTRAST
This section compares the teachings of Rolland and Tuttle with the purpose of integrating
the two methods. Rolland’s materials are intended for beginning children, while Tuttle’s
techniques are generally reserved for very advanced college students and professionals. Rolland
built solid technique by distilling advanced concepts into basic motions, simple enough for a
beginner to grasp. He introduced these methods sequentially using a series of exercises and
games, which he then published in an illustrated booklet called Action Studies in 1974. Tuttle’s
method, by contrast, requires technique that functions at a relatively advanced level. I will
describe the views of each pedagogue and discuss specific areas of concurrence and
disagreement between Rolland and Tuttle in the following categories: teaching philosophy,
posture, bowing, and left hand. I will include Rolland’s most relevant exercises, illustrations,
and examples to demonstrate consistency between the pedagogues. This synthesis will provide
tools for building technical skills in young students and rehabilitating problems in students with
deficiencies so that the viola teacher may then introduce Tuttle’s teachings without difficulty.
a. Teaching Philosophy
Great natural players generally use the same principles for basic techniques, because the
laws of physics dictate that all fine players must be doing the same kinds of things physically.
Most string pedagogues, therefore, will agree on certain areas in teaching correct technique on
the instrument. Beyond this reality, however, the teaching philosophies of Rolland and Tuttle
bear remarkable similarities regarding freedom of motion and emphasis on beauty of sound.
Rolland taught the following formula for technical success: players should strive to
achieve maximum results with minimum expenditure of energy. “Music educators should strive
31 to develop players who not only play in tune with a good sound but who also feel comfortable
and happy in so doing, and who use well coordinated movements without excessive tension as
they play,” he advised. The key concept for Rolland is “naturalness, naturalness, naturalness.”74
Rolland taught students to transfer the instrument’s weight onto large muscle groups so that the
arms and fingers remain free to move, keeping both hands as close as possible to their natural
resting positions. He prepared students for advanced techniques from the beginning stages of
instruction, instilling fundamental patterns of motion that would prevent the development of
physical problems.75 Rolland believed that “all static tensions in the body caused by playing
could be dissolved by movement.”76 Static tensions often occur unconsciously in the ankles,
knees, waist, shoulders, and neck, affecting the arms, fingers and hands in a negative way. Since
the primary muscles, joints, and limbs remain flexible while moving, he believed that good
motion habits would preclude immobility and its consequences.77 Therefore, excessive tension is
the enemy of good technique and musical expression. Good movement patterns produce a better
tone and technique, which provides the player with the necessary tools for musical expression.
Rolland’s highly analytical teaching style displays his interest in biomechanics and
Gestalt theory for analyzing how the body works. As he developed his whole-body approach to
playing, Rolland spent countless hours at the mirror analyzing all muscular movements used in
playing and applied kinesiology research from colleagues in dancing and sports, “knowledge that
has not penetrated into the string fraternity.”78 He addressed physiological concepts such as
balance, synergy, movement, tension, and relaxation. Rolland stated, “If I will be remembered at
74 Mark Joseph Eisele, The Writings of Paul Rolland: An Annotated Bibliography and a Biographical Sketch (American String Teachers Association, 1980), 11. 75 Ibid., 196. 76 Rolland, Teaching of Action, x. 77 Ibid., 31. 78 Behrens, “Interviewed,” 965.
32 all, it will be the awakening of body awareness, and the use of sensory stimuli in teaching.”79
Rolland believed that in both developmental and remedial work, “an awareness of the self, in
feeling and visualizing the efficient movement, will help to develop a good technique, tone and
style.”80 Learning repertoire must remain secondary to eliminating faults and weaknesses as a
player, and sensory images, metaphors, and analogies might prove more helpful to young players
than rational explanations.
Karen Tuttle agreed with Rolland about the importance of finding the most natural
approach to playing the instrument. She asserts that the player should continuously experiment
to find the most comfortable, free and natural way of playing with a full understanding of the
balance between tension and release. Self-awareness is key because it can be difficult “to get rid
of muscular habits you’ve counted on for so many years.”81 The goal is to “integrate a player’s
emotions with the physical expression of music”82 so that the player, like a child, can
communicate directly and whole-heartedly without inhibition. The “Tuttle School” is based on
Primrose’s viola technique, but it allows some variation from one individual to the next. The
player’s primary goal is physical comfort using natural impulses and reflexes for actions on the
instrument. Tuttle emphasized the importance of subtle body movements, which she described
as a rippling sensation throughout the body. She often referred to the ease and freedom of great
jazz players as exemplars of this technique.83 “It is vital that students become aware of how they
are using their bodies, so that they can identify and relax areas of tension.”84 Her methods relied
Rolland also uses balancing games where students establish the proper angle, tilt, and
location of the instrument hold by balancing a ping pong ball on the lower two strings of the
instrument near the bridge. Students may also develop skills and awareness of balance by
leaning the side of the bow across the strings at the balance point in the same fashion.
Like Rolland, Tuttle agreed that comfortable posture is vital for sound production,
because it provides secure balance and freedom of motion. Good posture is also necessary for
feeling comfortable on the stage in spite of nervousness or long hours of playing. In his article
reiterating the basic tenets of Tuttle’s method, Dr. Robert Dew wrote, “any positioning of the
body, head and limbs that creates superfluous muscle contraction or tension interferes with
40 necessary movement, absorbs energy, inhibits pleasurable sensation and the flow of
excitement.89
Postural misalignment or faulty positioning of the instrument can cause tension that
prevents release and contributes to a sense of instability. This instability or insecurity, in turn,
can become an additional source of tension, creating a vicious cycle. When balanced from foot
to head, the body is aligned and has the greatest range of motion; however, as Tuttle notes,
“without body freedom, one cannot balance.”90 In her article about projection, Tuttle wrote:
Free musculature must be nurtured, guarded, and cherished as one would a newborn baby. This is the most serious responsibility of a teacher. Methods of position and posture are devastating to healthy mobility. They bind muscles, stop the natural flow of rhythm in the body, and build in rigidities that take a lifetime to overcome.91
Tuttle believed that learning to stay free and open was not only good for instrumental technique,
but it was also fundamental for developing the ability to communicate and project musical ideas
without inhibition. The mental fortitude to perform and the emotional capacity to express
oneself are inextricably tied to good body balance without unnecessary tension.
According to Tuttle’s method, a violist’s feet should be hip-width apart and turned out
slightly when standing, grounded and firmly planted as if continuing underground like the roots
of a tree. Tuttle stated, “one also needs to get a grounded feeling, from the bottom up instead of
the top down.”92 The body’s weight is balanced between the heels and toes on the floor, never
hovering or tenuous even though calves are active and knees are ready to spring. The feet must
remain flat and toe tendons loose as well as the backs of the thighs. Knees can be problematic,
because players have a tendency to lock them for a false sense of security. The pelvis, chest,
89 Robert Dew, “Technique Without Tension,” The Strad 106 (1995): 934. 90 Karen Tuttle, “ ‘Staying Open’ = Projection = Musical Excitement.” American String Teacher 35 (Winter 1985): 66. 91 Ibid., 65-66. 92 Dubois, “Current Methods,” 176.
41 shoulders, neck, and head must be aligned and supported on the spine and sternum so that the
body does not become hunched, working against the force of gravity. The pelvis and hips must
be balanced so that the player can maximize leverage, balancing gravity and counter-gravity in
order to stand upright. The lower back and pelvis are also very important in sound-production,
tension release, and Tuttle’s technique of “re-pull” that will be addressed in the section for the
right arm.
In the upper body, the shoulders are back, chest is open, stomach is loose, and the player
is body-aware and balanced before approaching the instrument at all. The shoulder blades can be
a source of pain and problems for string players, who must understand that the arms begin at the
bottom of the shoulder blades in order to access their full capacity of arm weight. The common
mistake of hunching the shoulders prevents the arms from being strong. Tuttle explained:
When I see someone hunched over, I explain that gravity is working against them if they carry themselves that way. The shoulders should be back and the chest area open, without looking like a soldier – otherwise, you’re creating a different set of problems.93
With proper posture, a violist can gain access to the strength and power of the back.
The body’s weight should be centered on a vertical axis, as if a third leg continues from
the end of the spine, and balanced on a horizontal axis or circle that surrounds the player.94
When seated, the feet should remain active so that the player could jump up at any time. Seated
posture remains upright with an open chest and loose belly, so that motions remain free and
breathing unhampered. Raised shoulders are a common problem that can cause tension in the
neck, back, and arms. The head should remain in a neutral position, facing forwards to keep the
neck free from tension. Turning the head to look at the instrument can interfere with the nerve
93 Weinberger, “Body and Soul,” 69. 94 Reiter-Bootiman, Heritage, 6.
42 supply to the arm and fingers, and it can create tension that radiates to the whole body.95 If the
neck and jaw are free, the player should be able to talk freely while playing. Michelle LaCourse,
one of Tuttle’s prominent students, describes Tuttle-school playing posture as, “weight on both
legs, springy knees, grounded feeling, and weight over hips.”96 When grounded, the player is
securely and flexibly connected to the floor. “If a person is not aware of proper body alignment
and balance before a viola is placed under the jaw, the probability of discomfort and injury is
greatly increased once the instrument is added.”97
When bringing the instrument to playing position, body weight should remain settled on
the hips so that the instrument comes to the body rather than vice versa. When students are
accustomed to clutching rather than balancing the instrument with the passive weight of the
body, they will complain that they have no control until they come to realize that the control is in
the balance. Primrose advocated balancing the instrument as a bridge between the collarbone
and left hand. He “opposed a vice-like grip between the chin and shoulder, and suggested that
the violist raise his head frequently and gaze at the ceiling while playing as a way of unlocking
the chin and shoulder grip.”98 Tuttle’s advice is similar but suggests kinesthetic and emotional
issues as well. She wrote, “Let him snuggle the instrument in and around between shoulder and
chin until he finds a balance that fits his physical mold. It is the only way he will ever feel it part
of himself.99 The passive weight of the head holds the viola so that neck clenching and shoulder-
raising are unnecessary. Generally, the left ear faces the scroll so that the chest and back may
remain open. Keeping the left shoulder down, the head is straight and the neck muscles are at
ease. The neck muscles are often overused and contracted, making complex passages overly
44 the neck muscles…(The) relaxed weight of the head is sufficient with gentle support of the left
arm and thumb.103 The shoulder rest becomes unnecessary with the proper chinrest and a well-
balanced left arm. For players with long necks, he advocated a raised chin-rest. Rolland stated:
The holding of the violin without the aid of the left hand is not encouraged and since the instrument is balanced, rather than held tightly, the use of a pad becomes unnecessary in most cases. The chinrest, however, should be high enough for a long-necked person, and it should have a well-shaped ridge to keep the instrument in place during descending shifts.104
Although both Tuttle and Rolland agreed on the main points of balance and posture, they differ
about the use of shoulder rests for correct instrumental posture. However, all of Rolland’s
advice about the instrument hold applies just as clearly to players who use a shoulder rest. Tuttle
helped players rid their bodies of excess tension by completely filling all space between the head
and left shoulder while Rolland worked towards the same result by removing any pads or
shoulder rests that the player habitually used as a crutch to prop up the instrument in faulty ways.
Rolland and Tuttle also differ on the exact instructions for placement of the feet and the
head. Rolland wrote that the feet should be shoulder width apart, and he also allowed the feet to
turn out with the left foot slightly forward and the body weight shifting back and forth. Tuttle
generally advised that the body weight remain centered and grounded over the feet at all times,
keeping the feet generally symmetrical and neutral in position. Jeffrey Irvine, one of Tuttle’s
students, described a relaxed standing posture as follows: the feet are shoulder-width apart, and
one foot is forward with the weight on the back foot and knees slightly bent.105 This description
is indeed similar to Rolland’s stance since one foot is forward. Both pedagogues are in
agreement about the importance of a relaxed upright posture that is supported from the feet at
45 Both pedagogues also agreed philosophically that the instrument is supported by the
passive weight of the head without undue strain on the neck muscles, but there is a slight
difference about the angle of the head. Rolland wrote that the neck should not strain or twist
severely to the left, and he advised students to align the left eye with the fingerboard. Tuttle
advised students to align the left ear with the fingerboard so that the head remains straight. In the
illustrations for Rolland’s method, the students turn their heads more significantly to the left than
do the students in Tuttle’s method. Irvine wrote that the head should remain upright and face
forwards as much as possible:
“The more one turns one head to the left, the more strain is put on the back, neck, and shoulders. Imagine walking around all day with your head turned to the left – the effect is not much different if one is playing for several hours a day. A slight turn to the left will not cause too much strain, however.”106
Therefore, both methods advise against a large turn to the left and agree that students must find a
position for the head where the neck muscles remain relaxed.
106 Irvine, “The Advanced Violist,” 94.
46 c. Bowing
Rolland’s ideas about sound production and bowing actions align well with Tuttle’s
because both teachers taught the Franco-Belgian bow hold, a ringing and open core sound, and
naturalness and freedom in bowing gestures that involve the whole body. Rolland taught that the
bow hold should be as natural as possible, just as
when the arm is resting by the side. “A relaxed
! free-bowing style may be achieved by a natural,
flexible but firm bow grip.”107 The thumb and
middle finger form the axis of the bow hold and
all other fingers are used for leverage (Fig. 3.6).
The bow and arm move as one unit and the whole body continues to participate in the gesture in
a free and relaxed manner that matches the character and pulse of the music. Done correctly, the
scroll and right hand will move in opposite directions on the down bow, and the body weight will
transfer to the left foot as when taking a step. This exercise helps to train curved tone releases
54 and arced follow-through motions as well as subtle gestures that anticipate changes in direction,
all of which contribute to a resonant sound.112
Rolland also trained “up-down” and “down-up” releases, where two notes result from one
impetus in the basic détaché bow stroke. After students show mastery of the “silent bow
transfer” exercise by maintaining a right angle with the bow, they may add a “ta-da” sound,
creating two short notes with one impulse from the arm. Students may also practice long, slow
strokes in this way to refine a smooth bow change. This exercise is useful in all parts of the bow
for developing awareness of placement, speed, and pressure while refining tone beginnings and
releases.
Tuttle’s teachings about the right arm in regards to the bow hold, sound production and
bowing mechanics, are important because they go beyond the basic technical mechanics. Like
Rolland, Tuttle’s bow hold is best described as Franco-Belgian, with emphasis on keeping the
hand in a natural position so that it can efficiently use the weight of the arm (Fig. 3.15). Based
on advice from Primrose and Ysaÿe, Tuttle promoted a technique in which the right hand should
fall naturally as if not worried about
holding the bow. The thumb and middle !
finger create a circle to hold the bow with
the other fingers acting as support. The
depth of finger-contact on the frog can vary
according to the player’s personal
preference as long as the bow hold is “solid
! and secure while at the same time supple Figure 3.15. Karen Tuttle’s Bow Hold. Reproduced by permission from Reiter, 23.
Figure 3.6. Karen Tuttle’s Bow Hold. Reproduced by permission from Reiter, 23. 112 Rolland, Teaching of Action, 97.
55 enough to permit fine and rapid adjustments.”113 Students can find this bow hold by setting the
bow onto the right fingers while the hand is relaxed and open. The thumb is opposite the second
finger when the fingers wrap around the stick and it rests on the curve of the frog, rounded as
when in its natural position when making a fist. The student rotates the bow onto the string,
keeping the fourth finger rounded and “on its pulp”114 and placing the index finger close so that
it does not stretch the natural frame of the hand or create unnecessary tension. The center of the
right palm stays soft and round so that arm weight can transfer evenly onto the fingers, which
remain relatively square to the stick during the down bow stroke. In legato playing, the fingers
passively drag the bow regardless of its direction, allowing a side-to-side paintbrush motion to
smooth out the bow change at the frog. It is very important to monitor the right thumb because
extra tension or upward pressing can prevent the arm weight from sinking into the strings.115
The third and fourth fingers can scoop out the up-bow in a motion similar to kneading dough or
scooping ice cream. In spiccato bow strokes the fingers are more active.
Tuttle’s philosophy of sound production deals mainly with “getting into the string,”
transferring the natural weight of the arm into the string for a full, rich sound with center and
core. A big sound is not merely loud, but it is penetrating and focused - even at a soft dynamic.
Students often try to produce sound with muscular effort, pressing and forcing the instrument so
that they suffocate the vibrating string. For the amount of effort expended, we see diminishing
returns in quality and quantity of sound produced. On the viola, she argued, less is more.
The first task in sound production is to allow a light arm to generate pressure on the
string without excessive pronation from the index finger or force from the right shoulder. Any
113 Robert Dew, “The Coordinated Action, Part 2: Instinctive Responses,” Journal of the American Viola Society 18, no. 2 & 3 (2002): 65. 114 Reiter-Bootiman, Heritage, 25. 115 Dubois, “Current Methods,” 58.
56 squeezing could interfere with the freedom of motion of the elbow, wrist and fingers, preventing
legato bow changes or variations in intensity. Ideally, the bow rests on the strings with the
passive downward force of gravity, and the strings provide enough support underneath to counter
this force. The right arm feels light and well supported and any excess arm weight is transferred
to the bottom of the shoulder blades, using the right elbow as a monitor for the desired arm
weight. The elbow and wrist are usually at or above the hand and stick, and the bow feels
suspended in the hand with a passively curved thumb. The right shoulder never holds weight or
tension, but it stays down with the feeling of sinking into the waist. A student may experience
the hanging weight of his head and arms upside down and then feel the shoulder blades drop into
position as s/he stands upright.
If the arms are lightly balanced and the shoulders are supported in this way, the bowing
action is no more complicated than merely opening the arm, changing directions, and closing the
arm. On the down-bow, the arm weight transfers from the pinky at the frog to the index finger at
the tip as the arm opens. A downward scooping action of the elbow transmits the arm weight
into the string on the up-bow. Tuttle taught that the elbow should remain on the same plane as
the rest of the arm, explaining:
[The bow arm] is organic. I think that not only the elbow, but the elbow allows the wrist, arm, and shoulder particularly to go in, so that you are using your whole right side to make a sound, rather than getting it from a low elbow or wrist…A low elbow generally tightens the pectoral muscle, which in turn tightens the chest.116
Power comes from the back, and the player merely steers the bow and regulates arm weight with
little strain or effort, feeling stable as if there is traction to spare. A student can find a way to use
the back for sound by releasing any tension held in the chest and armpit areas.
116 Ibid., 188.
57 The contact point is also crucial for good sound production: it must remain the same from
frog to tip, and the change of bow direction cannot affect the sound or dynamic. It can be helpful
to think of threading a needle or of opening the arm diagonally away from the body on the down-
bow and closing it towards the body on the up-bow, in order to counteract the common fault of
an arced bow path. Players with short arms must reach the shoulder blade forward for the last
few inches of bow, and they might not be able to reach the tip at all. Players with long arms
might have trouble when approaching the frog, needing to raise the wrist and focus on staying
open across the collarbone. Power comes from pulling the bow towards the bridge, as if there is
an elastic band connecting the contact point to the bottom of the right shoulder blade. The elbow
lifts slightly to remove excess weight from the bow at the frog and to sustain sound at the tip.
Tuttle’s system, like Rolland’s, also emphasizes circular patterns of motion in the bow arm.
Susan Dubois, another of Tuttle’s students, points out the following:
The student has a tendency to play over the fingerboard and on the side of the bow hair rather than to play closer to the bridge and through the flat of the hair; and bow strokes are conceived from horizontal motions and angles, rather than from a circular system that should allow a smoothness and connection to the strokes.117
Beyond the basic mechanics of bowing action, Tuttle offered specific ways to connect
expression and musicality with the right arm. She taught students to appreciate the visceral
sensation of sound production, tasting the vibrating string with the fingers and tongue as if
singing. Although it can be helpful to sing along, make guttural phonations, or choreograph the
breathing with bowing actions, these exercises must not become a habit or crutch. Students
instinctively make the minute adjustments necessary to maintain the desired sound after
connecting with the vibrating string in this way. Tuttle said, “The main thing is to listen for a
117 Ibid., 56.
58 core sound, then usually a student with a good ear will make small adjustments.”118 When
dealing with chronic anxiety, students must learn to release any tension held in the belly along
with all of the air from the chest before initiating sound with the bow. It can also be useful to
stamp the foot or take a step to overcome inertia when beginning to play. The bow is used to
coax out maximum vibration from the instrument only after the character and pulse of the music
are fully established in the mind.
A frequent problem among violists is holding the breath or stiffening the neck for fear of
disrupting the bow change. This is detrimental to sound production and musical expression, and
it is restrictive to freedom of motion, spontaneity, and the generation and transmission of
excitement. Tuttle created specific terminology for release-actions around the changes in bow
direction that have become trademarks of her method. The “re-pull” occurs around the balance
point during the down bow stroke and can best be described by a melting sensation accompanied
by a release in the lower back, knees and pelvis and an exhalation on the syllable “ha.” The right
hand rolls towards the pinky side (supination) during the “re-pull,” found by stopping the bow at
the lower 1/3 and rebalancing the hand with a tug-of-war in the opposite direction. The sound
intensifies in richness and core, enabling sostenuto for the full length of the bow and allowing
the vibrato to adjust and the bow speed to slow in response. Tuttle often taught this technique on
dotted or tied long notes, filling them with musical direction and purpose within a phrase.
Analogies such as a roller-coaster, springboard, a crouching dancer, or a singer opening the
vowel sound from “oh” to “ah” can help students to understand the function and musical concept
of the “re-pull” action.
“Over the bow” is Tuttle’s name for the accompanying action in the upper third of the
bow, a release after the intensification of sound provided by the “re-pull.” A neck release is 118 Ibid., 181.
59 programmed into the bow change at the tip, done at the exact point where most players
instinctively want to press and squeeze the neck. “Over-the-bow” creates a smooth bow change,
enabling legato playing and long phrases that are not dictated by the bowings. The head tilts
back slightly just before the bow-change as when nodding and saying “uh-huh” in assent or as
when singing an ascending octave glissando. Dew described a neck release in his article about
Tuttle:
The physical movements of the neck, etc., are collectively referred to as a ‘release.’ The aptness of this term can be appreciated from a simple experiment. If one sings a glissando of an octave interval on the consonance, “Ah,” one observes that in preparation for (and simultaneous with) the shift from the low to the high note, the head tilts back slightly…If one intentionally prevents the movement of the head alone, one is immediately aware of greater difficulty in performing the glissando…It is evident that the movement of the head – actually a yielding, backward flexion of the neck – in this instance has a ‘releasing’ effect upon the throat which profoundly influences the modulation of the sounds produced.119
Just as extra neck tension affects the sound of the voice in a negative way, it is detrimental to
viola sound production. This head motion, described as a neck release, serves to help the player
get out of the way of the bow, keeping the sound open, ringing, and continuous during the
change of direction. Done properly, notes with an “over-the-bow” feeling should come out in a
group with increased bow speed and musical direction. The motion is best described as whiplash
in response to the active motion of the right arm. Images such as a bobble-head toy or cueing in
chamber music can be helpful for teaching this response.120
Rolland’s exercises for bowing actions are essential for teaching viola students the basics:
how to hold the bow, how to perform basic bow strokes, and which muscles to use in bowing
actions. Tuttle’s refinements for sound production and bow changes may then complement
Rolland’s basic bowing actions. The one area of difference is the function of the right index
119 Robert Dew, “In Response,” 835. 120 “Re-pull” and “over the bow” will be explained in further detail as “Coordination” Studies in Chapter 4.
60 finger: Rolland recommended that students add pressure to the index finger for accents and forte
dynamics, and Tuttle advised that students transfer the arm weight from the back through all four
fingers onto the bow stick. Many violists overuse the index finger so that the back does not
participate in bowing action. This can contribute to too much tension overall in the bow arm.
Irvine wrote, “One should release the pressure on the first finger in the lower quarter of the bow,
letting the pinky support the bow and using the weight of the frog to get the sound.”121 He
believed that releasing the index finger, thereby eliminating the extra tension in the bow arm,
would enable the viola student to gain more control and colors in his/her sound.
121 Irvine, “The Advanced Violist,” 101.
61 d. Left Hand
Left hand technique on the viola involves issues of hand shape, finger action, shifting and
vibrato, which Rolland and Tuttle addressed with similar focus on naturalness, ease, and
impulse. Rolland taught that the back of the hand, wrist and forearm should form a straight line
with the elbow in the first position and that the balanced “native” hand favors the second and
third fingers. The wrist may adjust in for vibrato, third and fourth fingers, or it may briefly lean
out for a trill. The left hand should maintain flexible contact with the neck of the instrument
with the thumb, base of the first finger, and the fingertip, always allowing for movement and
slight adjustments. The base of the first finger is in line with the edge of the fingerboard beside
the highest string, and the index finger leans towards the peg of the lowest string. Some players
do not use contact with the base of the first finger, and all players must release this contact for
vibrato or notes higher than the fifth position. The thumb is important for providing slight
70 speed from slow to fast. This is similar to Rolland’s exercise, where a player would pretend to
touch a hot stove and then spring back into position. For shifting, it can be useful to lengthen the
note prior to the shift, encouraging the feeling of release during a relaxed and unhurried shift. To
prevent a student from rushing into a shift, it can also be useful to think of an upbeat or an extra
subdivision of the pulse on this note. It can also be useful to release the left hand but not the
right during a slow shift, producing an audible glissando while navigating the distance between
shifting notes.
Rolland and Tuttle both advocated a relaxed and natural shape for the left hand, with
reflex and impulse causing finger action and vibrato. In shifting, both pedagogues emphasized a
relaxed gliding motion with the finger’s weight released from the string. For this reason, the
exercises provided are compatible with both approaches to playing and teaching the viola.
71 e. Differences/Integration
Paul Rolland’s method is ideal for building technical fundamentals because of its step-by-
step approach that can be used for any stage of developmental or remedial training for a violinist
or violist. Rolland’s brilliance was that he realized that the first lessons have bearing on
everything to come; therefore, a teacher must approach the basics with advanced techniques in
mind. According to Zweig, Rolland was “one of the first pedagogues to discuss free physical
motions of the body and its importance to playing musically with technical fluidity.”131 Rolland
created exercises and games to distill advanced techniques to their most basic components and to
train proper patterns of motion for students at any level, beginner to advanced.
Rolland’s exercises are invaluable for the teacher who must provide some remedial
training for intermediate and advanced viola students, since Tuttle’s methods require as a
prerequisite that the basic technical fundamentals are already functioning at a relatively advanced
level. There is enough common ground in the two methods because both pedagogues constantly
emphasized naturalness, fluidity, whole body action, and minimal effort in all technical
categories. These themes prevail throughout the discussion of teaching philosophy, posture,
bowing, and the left hand in spite of minor differences between Rolland and Tuttle on specific
techniques (i.e. the exact position of the feet and head in proper playing posture and the use of
the right index finger). Rolland and Tuttle are in agreement that a player can be most musically
expressive when using natural movements with minimal muscular tension in the whole body.
Therefore, their explanations of proper technique are remarkably similar, although they provide
different exercises, analogies, and images to arrive at the same goal. A student with proper
patterns of motion developed by Rolland’s method would be well prepared to begin exploring
131 Zweig, 20.
72 Tuttle’s ideas, and a viola teacher may use Rolland’s exercises for children to prepare students
for Tuttle’s advanced techniques.
In spite of their kindred ideals, Rolland and Tuttle differ on two additional points: how to
release tension and how to enable artistic expression. Rolland’s basic assumption, that
movement will release tension, leads him to teach students to sway and swing and make
preliminary shifting and vibrato movements from the onset of their training. He argues that a
moving muscle cannot remain rigidly contracted and create detrimental habits of static tension.
The problem with this idea is that some students exhibit excessive movements that detract from
music making and do not, in fact, help to release tension. It is possible to fidget, readjust and
wiggle without actually letting go of muscular tension which may be caused by emotional
inhibition, fear, holding the breath, or any number of things that are addressed in Karen Tuttle’s
teachings. Susan Dubois, the teaching assistant of Tuttle, wrote:
Teachers will occasionally find students who play with excess body movement. Just as tension will inhibit the natural outpouring of music, so will superfluous movement. The body has to be moving in conjunction with the music. Most students are unaware of how they look and move when they play.132
Students need “coordination” training in Tuttle’s system so that they can deal with the root of the
problem for excessive tension and then learn to use their bodies in the most efficient and
musically appropriate ways, so that their gestures begin to match the musical content. Static
muscular tension must be released and body movements must be coordinated with the music;
used together, Rolland’s and Tuttle’s methods can complement rather than contradict each other.
The other point of difference, how to enable artistic expression, provides another instance
where the two methods can again be complementary rather than contradictory. Rolland’s
pedagogical system teaches functional technique, but it expects musicality and artistry to emerge
132 Dubois, “Current Methods,” 38.
73 spontaneously if the body is moving properly. Musical imagination and expression are expected
to evolve naturally. Potential problems such as a lack of creativity, emotional or psychological
inhibition, and other barriers to artistic projection are not addressed and appear to be an area of
weakness in Rolland’s methodology. However, these issues are discussed in great detail in
Tuttle’s system of “coordination.” “Coordination” can facilitate a student’s artistic development
by teaching projection and emotional communication and by addressing inhibition and the
psychological aspects of playing.
Teachers may utilize Rolland’s exercises provided in the previous sections to develop
basic posture, right hand, and left hand fundamentals and to prepare students for Tuttle’s
“coordination” ideas. Students must have functional right and left hand technique, basic set-up,
and sound production as a prerequisite for “coordination” training, and Rolland’s exercises are
ideal for developing or repairing the necessary fundamentals. Rolland’s action studies provide
short explanations, photos, drawings, and musical examples to explain each technical concept in
detail and to build skills in a progressive fashion, and we need a similar user-friendly guidebook
for teaching “coordination” that can be applicable to students at any level of training. Because
Tuttle addressed each student as an individual in the context of a private lesson, her ideas are not
laid out in a step-by-step, formulaic way for other teachers. In addition, they are generally
geared towards the advanced student or professional, because Tuttle spent most of her teaching
career in the conservatory setting at Curtis or Juilliard.
In the next section, I will set forth “coordination” studies, based on interviews, articles,
books and teachings by Tuttle and her students. These will develop a student’s ability to
communicate as an artistic performer by integrating good posture, right arm motions, and left
hand actions with the emotional and expressive demands of the music. I will use photos, short
74 descriptions, and/or musical examples to clearly illustrate each concept, as Paul Rolland did in
his Action Studies. Used together, Rolland’s Action Studies and Tuttle’s “Co-ordination” Studies
will provide the viola teacher with a comprehensive pedagogical system for training a viola
student in basic technique and musicality at any level of development or remediation.
75 4. KAREN TUTTLE “COORDINATION” STUDIES FOR ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT
The viola student must learn to coordinate all of the technical aspects of playing into the
movements of the whole body, in such a way that displays and communicates the emotional
intent of the music to listeners. Tuttle named her particular approach “coordination” wherein
“our physical bodies and sound combine to serve as a conduit connecting our emotional lives
with those of others.”133 “Coordination,” simply defined, is a state of harmonious adjustment or
functioning, but in Tuttle’s usage it is meant to describe “a method of adapting the mechanical
movements of the body to both the technical and musical aspects of playing.”134 A player of the
“Tuttle School” learns to coordinate the physical features of playing with the musical ones to
reach his/her fullest capacity as a musician, healthy and free from over-use injuries that are
common in string players. “Coordination” is beneficial to technical and musical health, because
the violist avoids injury by using his/her body in the most natural way and then finds that sound
production and musical expression improve as a result. Tuttle’s genius is that she developed
“coordination” as a technique for being musical, and she taught the average student how to play
like the naturally gifted artist-performer.
Tuttle’s teaching emphasized the release of physical and mental tension while playing a
note or phrase, largely by choreographing subtle release gestures in the neck, pelvis, lower back
and knees. Students understand “coordination” in different ways, since the teacher can only
suggest analogies, images, and movements, but each individual must experience his/her own
release. Tuttle used creative approaches, such as getting her students to more fully experience
the sensation of vibrating wood against the skin, by cutting holes in their clothes. The main
concepts of Tuttle’s technique will be discussed in detail later, but the most salient benefits
133 Matthew Dane, “Coordinated Effort: A Study of Karen Tuttle’s Influence on Modern Viola Teaching,” (DMA diss., Rice University, 2002), 19. 134 Reiter-Bootiman, Heritage, 37.
76 include an open sound with resonance felt throughout the entire body, musical releases at the end
of a note, phrase or musically tense moment, long phrases and a full palette of colors and
dynamics, and increased body-awareness to eliminate any extra muscular effort used while
playing that could later result in injury.
“Coordination” can be tricky to teach because it is a process that will happen naturally
and spontaneously if nothing interferes with it, but it cannot overcome barriers of rigidity if the
basic mechanics of playing are not already in place at a relatively advanced level. Dr. Dew
noted, “A flexible bow technique, the capability of a true sostenuto over the entire length of bow,
and smooth, assured bow changing are necessary prerequisites for the successful operation of co-
ordination.”135 “Coordination” depends on the student’s innate capacity for release; the teacher’s
role is to help eliminate obstacles like excessive tension, depending on metaphor and
demonstration when verbal descriptions fail. If the student has tension or discomfort from
technical weaknesses, “coordination” could only be haphazard at best. When performing, this
student would focus physically and psychologically on getting through the piece rather than
expressing himself musically.136 In other words, when technical fundamentals and proper
patterns of motion are in place, “coordination” can integrate the function of the whole body with
the musical demands of the moment.
In interviews, articles, books and other writings, Tuttle and her disciples elucidate
“coordination” teaching through the following five categories: emotional connection, body
awareness, breathing, intensity, and articulation/grouping. A viola teacher may cycle through the
exercises in each category to integrate all of the technical fundamentals in an advancing student.
77 As the student learns “coordination” in this way, s/he learns how to play expressively and
approaches artistic maturity.
a. Connect Emotionally with the Musical Character
Tuttle’s method enabled students to connect with the musical character of a piece. This
skill was useful for bridging the gap between technical proficiency and artistry and for enabling a
student to fully define and express the music’s intent. Tuttle created a chart that divided many
different emotions into the five basic categories that she considered to be the most important:
love, fear, joy, anger, and sadness. Tuttle’s students continue to use this chart and describe the
process several different ways. Jeffrey Irvine, the most technically specific teacher in the Tuttle-
school, describes how a student might make changes to express an intended emotion. He wrote:
I ask my students to try to feel that emotion as they play, in much the same way that a “method” actor tries to feel what his character is feeling. Then I ask them what kind of sound would put across that emotion; for instance, close to the bridge with a slower bow and more weight, or further from the bridge with more bow and less weight. What kind of vibrato would reflect that emotion? What attack, articulation, and timing would support that emotion? There is no one right answer, but again, the teacher can be a guide.137
Irvine also recommends getting the student to make up a story to coincide with the musical
meaning of the piece, as an additional way to connect with the character and artistic content.
Tuttle’s ultimate goal was to have the student access feelings from the “solar plexus,” a
person’s core and the center of all feelings, defined as the round concentration of nerves shooting
in every direction surrounded by muscles in the pit of the stomach. She said:
That really is the toughest thing to teach, especially if the students had a lot of garbage in their life to contend with. You have to watch out for the red flag when you’re talking about emotions. However, deep-down, people are really eager to hear and understand
137 Jeffrey Irvine, “Chapter Three: The Advanced Violist,” in Teaching and Playing the Viola, ed. Gregory Barnes (Fairfax, VA: American String Teachers Association, 2010), 122.
78 emotion and the solar plexus, but I always feel that’s the most discomfort I’ve had in teaching, to get at that; but that’s where it is.138
Students may discover the solar plexus by softening the eyes and mouth and imagining
something in life that has had a deep emotional effect while letting out a long, slow exhale.139
The teacher can also “get them to go ‘ruarrgh’ [a deep, accented guttural sound] or laugh from
deep down in the belly”140 to find the location of the solar plexus. In an interview, Tuttle
described the solar plexus as follows:
[The solar plexus] is where you clutch when you’re sad or happy or experiencing grief - all different emotions. But to get from one note to another with feeling, this opening up of the solar plexus is crucial. Because it’s always in the space between the notes that one must learn to feel.141
Tuttle also mentioned that serious armoring often occurs in the genitals, and she was well known
for making purposefully shocking references to sex to help students let go in this area. She often
referenced jazz players to describe the desired body freedom.
79 A violist may try several different exercises when learning to connect emotionally with the
musical character of a piece. First, choose an emotion from the list (Fig. 4.1) and do your best to
make the corresponding facial expression while playing. Next, think of a life experience or
create a story that fits this emotion and try the exercise again. Third, locate the solar plexus by ! trying the following exercises: LOVE% JOY% ANGER% FEAR% SORROW% Abandon! Buoyant! Grim! Terror! Lost! Amiable! Twinkle! Tortured! Awe! Bleak! exhale slowly until all air is Cry! Sprightly! Anguish! Reverence! Pensive! Flirt! Frank! Torment! Torment! Stale! emptied from the torso; make a Forthright! Rollick! Morose! Urgent! Tragic! Frolic! Capricious! Stormy!! Anxious! Torment! Gracious! Naïve! Frenzy! Ominous! Sad! deep belly laugh or sharp, Languor! Peaceful! Complain! Shock! Longing! Laughter! Effusive! Restless! Startled! Tortured! Longing! Tickle! Agitated! Agitated! Stark! forceful busts of air saying “ha” Lust! Boisterous! Kvetch! Mystery! Cry! Majestic! Inner!Joy! Rage! Ghostly! Supplicant! with one hand on the belly; and Melancholy! Luminous! Snarl! Evil! Despair! Noble! Whimsy! Madness! Pain! Doldrums! Nostalgia! Exaltation! Frustrated! Beg! Plead! make a “ruarrgh” growling or Passion! Ecstatic! Grouch! Timid! Wail! Plead! Mischief! Fury! Apprehension! Shriek! Quiet! Gay! Sarcastic! Suspense! Heartbreak! moaning sound from deep inside Rejoice! Vigor! Nettled! Grind! Prayer! Sentimental! Comic! Irritated! Uneasy! Stagnant! while playing open strings or a Supplicant! Sassy! Violent! Depressed! Yearning! Tease! Caricature! Vehement! Panic! Agony! Tender! Frolic! Fierce! Cold! Melancholy! simple scale. After locating this ! Buffoon! Crotchety! Ophelia! Death!toll!bell! ! Mimic! Cranky! Insane! Passion! spot, connect emotion and sound ! Elegant! Hate! Eerie! Noble! ! Wonder! Peevish! ! ! ! Glory! Impatient! ! ! production to the solar plexus, the ! Flutter! Irascible! ! ! ! Skittish! Provoke! ! ! ! pit of the stomach, or “gut” by Figure 4.1. Karen Tuttle’s Emotion Chart. There are five basic categories, each containing many different nuances. singing along while playing.
Finally, try playing a musical example with all mental and kinesthetic energy remaining centered
and focused on this spot.
b. Body Awareness
Tuttle’s teaching focused on using the body in a healthy way with minimal muscular
effort, ensuring that all motions match the musical context. A player must find a way to use
80 natural leverage by balancing and polarizing the forces of gravity and “counter-gravity.”142
Michelle LaCourse, another of Tuttle’s students who is now a prominent teacher in Boston,
created a body-awareness checklist that requires a player to monitor breathing, balance, right and
left hand technique, and mental state. She also mentions Yoga, Progressive Relaxation,
Feldenkreis, and Alexander Technique as useful tools for increasing body awareness.143
Although Tuttle herself did not follow these particular methods, she acknowledged that some
students find them very helpful. Susan Dubois’s Body Checklist, located in the appendix of her
dissertation, categorizes areas of focus into stance, balance, right and left hands, and bowing
motions.144 Dubois also recommends that teachers make use of video equipment so that students
can become aware of how they are using their bodies when nervousness and negative habits
become apparent in a performance setting. Body awareness is the first step in learning to play
without excessive tension. Students may initially walk around or move excessively in an effort
to release tension, but they must then learn to internalize the release motions or minimize them
into subtle swaying motions that are appropriate for the musical context.
Figure 4.2. Human Anatomy (Reproduced from “Fitnwell,” accessed August 8, sure that the chest and armpits stay free 2012, http://www.fitnwell.net/exercises.htm)
and open and that large motions initiate from the back. Beware of extra muscle groups that
contract and participate in actions that should be reserved primarily for the large back muscles.
Try using a checklist to continuously scan the entire body while practicing in this way. Another
group of exercises are intended to minimize any interfering extraneous motions in the body and
to increase awareness and stability in the lower half of the body. Lean body parts against the
wall to eliminate extra motions, and plant the feet on two pieces of paper or stand on a chair
while playing to work on stability and awareness in the feet and legs. Finally, try body
awareness classes such as Yoga, Alexander Technique, Feldenkreis, or Progressive Relaxation to
further increase awareness skills. Tuttle acknowledged the unity of these methods, and several
of her students strongly continue to advocate for them.
145 “Fitnwell,” accessed August 8, 2012, http://www.fitnwell.net/exercises.htm.
82 c. Breathing
Michelle LaCourse also noted the importance of breathing for good coordinated playing
on the viola. She wrote, “The relationship between full breathing and virtually every function of
the body is indisputable. Fluid motion, manageable nerves, and good concentration are all
extremely dependent on healthy breathing.”146 Breathing is absolutely vital for sound production
and musical expression, but many students will hold their breaths or use shallow chest breathing
while playing. This problem usually intensifies during shifts, difficult passages, or in
performance situations where nerves may become a factor and a student stops breathing
normally as a reaction to fear, fright or anxiety. Students may learn to correct this problem by
singing before or pretending to sing while playing, allowing the ear to lead the voice which in
turn leads the hands. Singing while playing is also useful but must not become a crutch so that a
student forms the habit of singing or making guttural noises while playing. Like a singer, a
violist must learn to coordinate his/her breath with body motions and the musical phrasing,
enabling fluid expression and instinctive musicality to emerge. Susan Dubois recommends that
student smile while playing in order to encourage natural patterns of respiration. The chest, rib
cage, and middle section should not collapse during exhalation, but should remain open,
balanced and stable.147 Students may find more freedom and ease in breathing by walking
around while playing and then trying to replicate the same feeling with subtle rocking in a
stationary position.148
A violist who wishes to learn coordination must first breathe well, since movements
become jerky and uncoordinated and the tone sounds strained whenever breathing habits are
poor. Tuttle’s students recommend several breathing exercises in the pursuit of “coordination”
83 on the viola. First, practice open strings and simple scales while coordinating exhalations with
down bows and inhalations with up bows. Second, monitor exhalations while playing, regulating
a consistent air stream as if singing. Third, play while hissing. Next, sing while performing the
bowings with the right arm in the air. Finally, count aloud, talk or smile while playing to
encourage regular, natural breathing patterns.
Since “coordination” is an abstract concept, a violist must approach it from all angles and
work on each category independently. After the student exhibits a basic understanding and some
mastery in each area, the teacher will help him/her integrate all of these ideas so that
“coordination” can occur. Most students are ready for this training at the college level if they
have good technical fundamentals in place.
d. Intensity and “Re-pull”
Tuttle’s students are known for producing a big, rich sound that keeps its clarity and core
even within a soft dynamic. Quality and volume are both important for good sound production;
the student must eliminate excess tension and use only natural weight so that s/he can play freely
and musically with uninhibited shifting and vibrato actions.149 Proper sound production is
achieved by pulling the bow towards the bridge with appropriate speed and weight, scooping out
each up-bow to get the string vibrating fully. Tuttle developed a unique technique that she
named “re-pull” that was already described in some detail in the section on right hand technique.
Simply stated, the “re-pull” enables the violist to release into the depth of his/her core sound and
to sustain the sound all of the way to the tip by supinating the right hand towards the pinky near
the balance point of the bow. The effect is that long notes are no longer straight tones, but they
are filled-up with emotional and rhythmical content. The added intensity occurs after the first
third of the down-bow due to forearm supination, a slower bow speed, and responsive vibrato 149 Ibid., 87-88.
84 action. This is accompanied by a melting feeling as the bow sinks further into the string with a
release in the lower back, knees, and pelvis. The change in timbre is like the sound when a
singer opens an “oh” vowel to an “ah” without changing in dynamic.
There are several exercises that will help a
violist learn to sink into the string with a “re-pull” !
action. First, use the photo provided as a model (Fig.
4.3) for a correct “re-pull” hand position. Next, stop
the down-bow after the first third of the stroke, and
supinate the right hand using the tug-of-war exercise,
pulling the bow in the opposite direction with the left
hand. After learning a segmented “re-pull” motion in
this way, take out the pauses for a continuous down-
bow motion. Notice a melting or sinking sensation,
saying “ha” or “ah” and allowing the knees to bend
Figure 4.3. Re-pull Demonstrated by Kim Kashkashian. Reproduced by permission from Reiter, 45. slightly when the “re-pull” occurs. Susan Dubois
describes the sensation as relaxing into a Jacuzzi that seemed much too hot initially, and Karen
Ritscher describes it as finally finding a bathroom when in desperate need of one. The bow
speed slows slightly as the sound deepens in core. When the “re-pull” is continuous and the
whole body has learned to participate in the sinking sensation, try adding the left hand. Observe
how the vibrato responds sympathetically to the change in timbre provided by the “re-pull.” The
vibrato intensifies to match the depth and core in the sustained sound.
85 e. Articulation, Groupings, and “Over the Bow”
Tuttle’s overarching idea of balance requires that any tension must be followed by a
musical or physical release. The accompanying physical release motion to the intensifying “re-
pull” action is called “over the bow.” In the lower third of the bow, a violist uses “re-pull” to
intensify or sustain a big sound and then employs “over the bow” as a release gesture. “Over the
bow” occurs approximately in the upper third of the bow, the location where many violists tend
to press out of fear of the bow change or in an excessive effort to sustain sound. When
approaching the tip, the violist should tilt the head back slightly as if nodding and saying, “aha.”
It may be useful to think of getting out of the way of the bow, cuing the up-bow, or making a
whiplash movement in response to the action of the right hand. The effect of “over the bow” is
an increase in bow speed, a neck release, an exhalation, and a smooth bow change at the tip.
Just as the musical feeling of “re-pull” applies to long tones (especially when dotted or
tied), an “over the bow” feeling pertains to groups of notes that occur as a release between strong
beats. Note-groupings are very important for articulation and timing within a phrase: they allow
for small inflections and nuances to become audible while the phrase remains long and coherent.
Groupings decompose a difficult passage into a series of easy ones, making it musically clear to
both the performer and the listener.
86 !
Figure 4.4. Over the Bow - Kim Kashkashian demonstrates a neck release. Reproduced by permission from Reiter, 49-50. There are several exercises that students may practice while developing the skills and
understanding necessary for the neck release gesture known as “over the bow.” First, refer to the
photo provided (Fig. 4.4) of Kim Kashkashian, one of Tuttle’s students, before and after the neck
release motion. Try to imitate both positions of the head and neck. Secondly, make fast détaché
right arm motions in the air and notice how the head bobbles in response. Purposefully stiffen
the neck and notice how the right arm motion becomes much more labored. In the third exercise,
the teacher must surprise the student by yanking his/her arm, pointing out the whiplash motion in
his/her head. Try this exercise at the mirror so that the student may observe the head motion.
Next, sing a pitch and note how the head tilts back when ascending to a pitch one octave higher.
After developing a full understanding of the head motion and a kinesthetic awareness of the neck
release gesture, practice the bow change in the upper 1/3 of the bow, tilting the head back, saying
87 “uh- huh,” and tracing a circular pattern with the bow during the change. Prepare for up-bows as
if cueing in chamber music. After isolating and practicing the neck release as a technique
employed during a bow change, try applying the concept to a larger musical example. Find the
large pulse in a musical excerpt and play the small notes as pick-up notes belonging to each beat.
The image of a roller coaster or bouncing pulse may be helpful. Walking while playing or
clapping large circles in the air while singing will also facilitate this concept.
The concepts of “re-pull” and “over the bow” are essential to Tuttle’s understanding of
tension and release in music as both physical and musical gestures that organize a passage.
Together with breathing, body awareness, and an emotional connection to the musical character,
a student with good technical fundamentals will have all of the tools necessary for achieving
“coordination” and can begin to integrate all of these skills to become a performing artist who
communicates with mature musical expression.
f. “Coordination:” How All of These Things Work Together
“Coordination” is Tuttle’s overarching word for the manner in which all of these
techniques work together to create a fully integrated musical performance. A technical
definition, provided by Tuttle’s student Dubois, is as follows: “[coordination is] the relationship
between the horizontal movement of the bow and the instrument, and discrete movements of the
neck, shoulders, chest, and pelvis.”150 However, “coordination” is most significant because of its
musical purpose: it permits the inner excitement of the performer to be transmitted into the sound
that s/he is producing, making nuances audible with small changes in dynamics and intensity.
150 Dubois, “Current Methods,” 87.
88 “Coordination” breathes life into the music and enables the player to transmit emotion directly
through the sound.151
After a violist has mastered all of the exercises provided in the previous section, s/he may
begin to work on “coordination,” combining all of the new skills while working on a short,
lyrical, and expressive musical example. Tuttle preferred to use Brahms’ Sonata No. 2 in E-flat
(Fig. 4.5) and Schubert’s “Arpeggione” (Fig. 4.6) to illustrate the combined concepts of “re-pull”
and “over the bow” applied to a musical example. The intensifying moments of “re-pull” on
long or tied notes are marked with R, and the release gestures of “over the bow” are marked with
a horizontal s-shaped symbol.
151 Dew, “In Response,” 835.
89 ! Figure 4.5. Karen Tuttle’s Markings in Brahms Sonata No. 2 in E-flat. Reproduced by permission from Reiter, 67.
! Figure 4.6. Karen Tuttle’s Markings in Schubert’s “Arpeggione” Sonata. Reproduced by permission from Reiter, 38.
After studying the musical examples provided, choreograph these movements into the
music, practicing the techniques of “re-pull” and “over the bow” in a musical context and using
them to improve sound production as well as grouping and timing within each phrase. Next,
revisit some of the exercises for developing emotional connection to the musical character, body
awareness, and breathing in the context of the same musical example. Go through the steps of
choosing a musical character word for each musical example, locating the solar plexus and using
method-acting skills to express it. Use a mirror and body-awareness skills to monitor muscular
90 use while playing each example. Finally, mark in places to breathe or say “ha,” and practice
counting, hissing, or singing to regulate airflow. All of these exercises integrate technical skills
and musical expression, but ultimately the artist must learn to do these things instinctively.
Spend enough time cycling through all of the steps provided until they begin to feel comfortable
and natural. Then, try the following exercises to return to simplicity and ease: imitate a singer
while playing and strive for the loose, easy groove of a great jazz player in the musical pulse.
91 g. Problems with Teaching “Coordination”
We would be remiss if we did not also consider potential problems for teaching
“coordination” to students. Because the concept of release is somewhat abstract, many of the
exercises are heavily dependent on imagery. Each individual experiences release in a different
way, and it could be difficult for a teacher to communicate this in a concrete, technical way for
introducing the concept to a beginner. Much like a vocal pedagogue, the viola teacher must lead
by analogy and example and rely on changes in sound for feedback while teaching
“coordination.”
Another potential problem may occur if a student has any tension or discomfort that is
caused by a technical weakness. A teacher will remain focused on remedial technical training
and the student will be preoccupied with getting through the piece until enough technical
fundamentals are in place to address the specifics of “coordination” and musical expression. In
this case, it would be useful for the teacher to return to Rolland’s exercises for remedial work
before introducing Tuttle’s ideas.
If a student understands the concept of release and has the basic technical fundamentals,
“coordination” could still pose a problem if the student lacks musical imagination. It could be
useful to encourage the student to attend concerts, listen to great players, or create a narrative to
go along with a piece of music, but this can only create suggestions as a general guide. In this
case, the student has the physical capacity for “coordination,” but as stated by Dr. Dew in his
articles about Tuttle’s system of “coordination,” it is rather like putting wings on a potato.152
This is part of the reason for Tuttle’s insistence that her students live richly and feel emotions
fully, so that they may learn to know themselves and return to music with something to express.
152 Dew, “Part 2: Instinctive Response,” 68.
92 The final, perhaps most serious barrier, is emotional inhibition where the student feels
passion and musical expression, but the pathway to the instrument is blocked. It could be that
the student has an anxious nature and is disturbed or frightened by the occurrence of release,
which s/he views as a threat. In this case, the student’s playing may seem flat or boring.
Alternatively, s/he may aggressively scratch at the instrument, trying to force the instrument
rather than caress it to respond. Students with emotional inhibition may also have muscular
tension due to problems in the inner life. Although the teacher sometimes assumes the role of
counselor, friend, or confidante, the teacher “will not attempt to handle with teaching that which
really requires a therapist.”153 In some cases, the student needs counseling more than a viola
lesson and the teacher must tread with caution when encountering emotional problems.
153 Ibid., 68.
93 5. CONCLUSION
After a brief survey of the history of viola pedagogy, Paul Rolland and Karen Tuttle
emerged as prominent contemporary pedagogues with a similar emphasis on naturalness and
freedom of motion. I provided a brief biography for each and then analyzed their teachings in
regards to basic idea, posture, right arm and left arm. Some of Rolland’s exercises from Action
Studies were interspersed to provide the viola teacher with examples of this resource, useful for
developing these fundamentals or correcting faults in students in order that they may be prepared
for additional studies in Tuttle’s “coordination” system. I then set forth a group of studies
modeled after the format of Rolland’s Action Studies that the viola teacher may use for exploring
Tuttle’s “coordination” ideas and training musical expression in students.
Tuttle’s “coordination” system is useful for teaching artistry and expression, especially if
the student has passion within as well as the capacity to release. The “Coordination” Studies that
I have provided in this document make these ideas available and accessible to other teachers,
with concrete exercises for developing each technique in a teaching situation. When combined
with proper technical fundamentals that can be established by the use of Rolland’s Action
Studies, a viola teacher can use these two systems to train students as complete artists with
sufficient technical and expressive skills.
Additional research may include a trial of the Action Studies and “Coordination” Studies
used together as a comprehensive method for teaching technique and musicality. The method
could be tested by a group of participating viola teachers in private lesson and group class
situations with students at various ages and ability levels. The studies could be further refined
and edited after receiving feedback from the trials. Additional teacher resources, such as an
94 accompanying video and manual, could be produced to further illustrate the Tuttle
“coordination” ideas. The materials would provide teacher training in the same way that the
Teaching of Action manual and video series provides in depth teacher training in Rolland’s ideas
and methods.
95 References
Arazi, Ishaq. “ ‘Pied Piper’ of Urbana.” American String Teacher (Summer 1969): 12-17.
Barnes, Gregory, ed. Playing and Teaching the Viola: A Comprehensive Guide to the Central Clef Instrument and Its Music. Fairfax, VA: American String Teachers Association with National School Orchestra Association, 2010.
Barrett, Henry. The Viola: Complete Guide for Teachers and Students. University, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press, 1978.
Behrens, Hilary. “Paul Rolland Interviewed by Hilary Behrens, July 1977.” The Strad 89, no. 1066 (1979): 961-971.
Dane, Matthew. “Coordinated Effort: A Study of Karen Tuttle’s Influence On Modern Viola Teaching.” DMA diss., Rice University, 2002.
Dew, Robert. “In Response to Instinct – Karen Tuttle’s Insights into the Coordinated Action – Its Mechanisms, Articulation, And Prerequisites” The Strad 104, no. 1241 (September 1993): 835-838.
________. “The Coodinated Action, Part 2: Instinctive Responses.” Journal of the American Viola Society 18, no. 2 & 3 (2002): 63-69.
________. “Technique Without Tension." The Strad 106 (1995): 934-937.
Dubois, Susan. “Current Methods and Techniques in College-level Viola Pedagogy.” DMA diss., Juilliard School, 1996.
Eisele, Mark Joseph. The Writings of Paul Rolland: An Annotated Bibliography and a Biolgraphical Sketch. American String Teachers Association, 1980.
Fanelli, Michael Paul. “Paul Rolland: his teaching career and contributions to string pedagogy and education.” DME diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2001.
________. “Paul Rolland 1911-2011: A Centenary Celebration.” American String Teacher 61
(February 2011): 20-23.
Fischbach, Gerald Frederick. “A comprehensive performance project in violin literature and an
essay consisting of a comparative study of the teaching methods of Samuel Applebaum and Paul Rolland.” DMA thesis, University of Iowa, 1972.
________. “A Letter from Paul Rolland The Instrumentalist 38, no. 1 (January 1987): 33-35.
Forbes, Watson. "Primrose, William." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/22359 (accessed August 18, 2012).
Hanani, Hannah. “The Intuitive Path.” The Strad 98, no. 1164 (April 1987): 309-312. 96 Kredel, Nancy. “Paul Rolland, Teacher of Teachers.” The Strad 89 (1979): 1025-35.
Kovacs, Ingrid. “The Influence of Gestalt in Paul Rolland’s Theory of Pedagogy.” American String Teacher 61, no. 3 (2011): 46-49.
LaCourse, Michelle. “A Violist’s Body-Awareness Checklist.” American String Teacher 44
(Summer 1994): 49-53.
Lieberman, Julie Lyon. You Are Your Instrument. New York: Huiksi Music, 1991.
McCullough, Carol Porter. “The Alexander technique and the pedagogy of Paul Rolland.” DMA diss., Arizona State University, 1996.
Nelson, Suzanne. “Twentieth-century violin technique: the contributions of six major
pedagogues.” PhD diss., University of South Carolina, 1994.
Perkins, Marianne. A Comparison of Violin Playing Techniques: Kato Havas, Paul Rolland, and Shinichi Suzuki. Reston, VA: ASTA, 1995. (Reiter-Bootiman n.d.) (Ritscher 1993) (Rodland 2004) (P. Rolland, Action Studies: Developmental and Remedial Techniques: Violin and Viola 1974) (P. Rolland, Basic Principles of Violin Playing 2000) (P. w. Rolland 2000) (Tuttle 1985) (Weinberger 1998) (Zweig 2011)
Reiter-Bootiman, Emmanuella. Karen Tuttle’s Heritage: The Theory and Practice of Co- ordination. Boston: Allegra Print & Imaging, 2008.
Riley, Maurice W. The History of the Viola, Volume 1. Ann Arbor, MI: Braun-Brumfield, 1980.
Ritscher, Karen. “An Interview with Karen Tuttle.” American String Teacher 43 (Autumn 1993): 86-90.
________. “The ‘Holistic’ Bow Arm.” American String Teacher 43.2 (1993): 59-60.
Rodland, Carol. “In Honor of Karen Tuttle and She Retires.” American String Teacher 54 (May 2004): 45-47.
Rolland, Paul. Action Studies: Developmental and Remedial Techniques: Violin and Viola. New York: Boosey & Hawkes, 1974.
________. Basic Principles of Violin Playing. Bloomington: Tichenor Publishing, 2000.
________. “Development and Trial of a Two Year Program in String Instruction.” Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, no. 8 (1966): 36-43.
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99 To: Emmanuela Reiter Reference: photos in Karen Tuttle’s Heritage Date: August 9, 2012
I am writing to request permission to print the following material:
Author/Title/Date of publication: Emmanuela Reiter/ Karen Tuttle’s Heritage: The Theory and Parctice of Co-ordination/2008
Pages as they appear in your publication:
• Photo
of
left
hand,
p
11
• Photo
of
Karen
Tuttle’s
bow
hold
(bottom),
p
23
• Arpeggione
excerpt
with
markings,
p
38
• Photo
of
re-‐pull,
p
45
• Photo
before
neck
release,
p
49
• Neck
release
photo,
p
50
• Brahms
E-‐flat
excerpt
with
markings,
p
67
Other identifying information and remarks:
This material is to appear as originally published (any changes or deletions are noted on the reverse side of this letter) in the following work which the University of Alabama Press is presently preparing for publication:
Author (Editor)/Title: Lauren Burns/”Coordinated Action in String Playing: A Comparative
Study of the Teachings of Paul Rolland and Karen Tuttle”
Proposed date of publication: Spring 2013
Remarks: DMA document at the University of Alabama
I request nonexclusive world rights, including electronic rights, but only as part of my volume, in all languages, for all editions, and in all media. In addition, I ask permission for the Univ. of Alabama Press to include the illustrations in connection with advertising and promoting the book.
If you are the copyright holder, may I have your permission to reprint the above material in my book? If you do not indicate otherwise, I will use the usual scholarly form of acknowledgment, including publisher, author, title, etc.
If you are not the copyright holder, or if additional permission is needed for world rights from another source, please indicate so.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. A duplicate copy of this form is enclosed for your convenience.
Sincerely yours,
The above request is hereby approved on the conditions specified below, and on the understanding that full credit will be given to the source.
Hello Emmanuella, I have enjoyed reading your book and watching the DVD, and I was wondering if I could have permission to reproduce some of the photos from the book in my doctoral dissertation. I'm not sure about the process for this since it looks like you copyrighted the material yourself...please let me know if you do. Thanks for your help! Lauren Burns
