Third Position as a Home Position Alternative: A Survey of Views and Approaches of Violin/Viola Instructors

1Citations
Citations of this article
7Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.
Get full text

Abstract

Although violin/viola pedagogues who use the third position as the home position in beginning-level teaching have reported positive experiences, school curricula and most pedagogues’ repertoires remain limited to method books that use the first position. The reasons for this preference have not been adequately addressed in string pedagogy and music education research. This study therefore aimed to examine the opinions of violin/viola trainers on the use of the third position as home position through a survey. A questionnaire sent to various music associations, schools, and violin/viola educators internationally yielded a sampling of 160. The results showed that 73.1% of the participants hold the opinion that the third position is not widely used in beginning-level training, and 63.5% think that method books that employ the technique are insufficient. However, 53.1% of the participants believe that using the third position as the home position may have benefits; 61.1% think that the left hand takes the ideal shape in the third position; and 68.3% think that a wider availability of method books would increase the number of trainers who use the technique to teach. The study found that further research of the technique is necessary, especially for educators who are interested in using it.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Arıca, E. (2021). Third Position as a Home Position Alternative: A Survey of Views and Approaches of Violin/Viola Instructors. SAGE Open, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211015197

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free