Stringbabies, a method developed by cello teacher Kay Tucker, provides an engaging way for beginners to learn the cello, viola or violin alongside wider musical skills.
Tucker's technique was first devised 14 years ago, and her own notation allows students to concentrate on their instrument, while gradually learning conventional note-reading in an intuitive way. Teachers across the country have been using Tucker's workbooks for several years, and now, thanks to a new partnership with Victoria College Examinations (VCE), Stringbabies learners are able to gain certified assessments of their progress.
Robin Wood, chief executive of VCE, was made aware of the Stringbabies method when he visited Kay Tucker's stand at the Music Education Expo. Wood expressed his interest in the scheme, praising its focus on young beginners, as well as the non-standard methods of laying solid musical foundations for later learning. Soon after, when Tucker was put in touch with Stewart Thompson, qualifications manager at the Victoria College of Music (VCM), she was both surprised and thrilled by his proposal to create a bespoke qualification as part of the Stringbabies system: ‘I should say that it was something I had thought of doing, but I didn't imagine that the possibility of achieving it would ever arise!’
Pioneering: Tucker with some of her Stringbabies students
The purpose of this new partnership is to provide an approach that will enable teachers to assess their students in the early stages of learning and ensure that the assessment takes place in a stress-free environment. Thompson explains that discussions with Tucker took some time, as they strove to find the best way to combine an already-existing appraisal system at VCE with Tucker's Stringbabies method: ‘There were about 18 months of numerous drafts, rewrites, ideas, changes and testing before the first student was assessed in 2018. It needed to be simple and effective so that students could be assessed in lesson time without making them feel any pressure.’
Tucker adds that it was exciting to work with a team who are pioneering in their outlook, and are not afraid of trying new things: ‘The teacher's assessments are moderated through the submission of an audio recording, which can be done on a mobile phone. This has to be done just once a term to ensure that the criteria is being met – there's no need to attend examination centres.’
The newly designed awards are in three tiers, the first being within reach of most students after a term of tuition and the final stage approaching a standard nearer Grade 1. ‘The distance between a first lesson and Grade 1 assessment is huge,’ says Tucker. ‘There is room for a series of targeted assessments to give students who use Stringbabies a sense of progression and achievement during that lengthy beginner period.’
How it works
Tucker describes the approach as ‘holistic’, and claims that her students have loved the creative elements of the assessments. A typical Stringbabies session will include playing, lots of singing and musical games, all with a strong emphasis on enjoyment. The new VCM awards make provision for extending development in the same way – there is a requirement at each level for the student to compose one of their three pieces, and also to compose rhythms for the scales and technical exercises.
Having fun
According to Thompson, entries have been growing steadily since the qualification was launched this year. Teacher Judith Rae entered both cellists and violinists for the Level 1 award because ‘it highlights the importance of the early musical skills and acknowledges measurable progress well before Grade 1 standard.’ Parent Caroline Tyler appreciated the fact that the award was part of her son Ethan's normal cello lesson: ‘There was no sense of any deadline, and it was tailored to when he was ready. It was really manageable for him because things were broken down into basic elements he could understand and feel confident about. It was all just a really fun game to him.’ Ethan, 4, agrees, adding that his favourite Stringbabies piece is ‘Kippers and Custard.’
“It was all just a really fun game to him and he enjoyed playing it”
