Colourstrings Beginner Package

How to build the first year of violin playing step by step

A complete set of lectures and real teaching videos following beginners from their very first lesson.

This package includes:

Géza Szilvay's Colourstrings Lecture for Book A
Géza Szilvay's Colourstrings Lecture for Book B
Minifiddlers Violin Pedagogy 1st Year Course (32 video lessons)

You can follow the same group of children week by week from their very first violin lesson.

In the Book A and B lectures, Prof. Géza Szilvay explains and demonstrates how the violin is introduced to the child in the Colourstrings approach. In the Minifiddlers Year 1 videos, you can follow his teaching with a group of children, lesson by lesson, throughout the first year.

Get started

You can access this course through the Minifiddlers Library. Click the button “START SINGLE PLAN” below. If you already have an account for Library, fill in the information and click “LOG IN”. If you don’t yet have an account, you can register by clicking “Sign up here”. After verifying your email address, we’ll take you directly to the library.

Single

The plan suits a single user, e.g. an individual pedagogue, student, or a family.

239 € / 12 months

Start single pLan

oRGANISATION

The plan suits multiple teachers or students in music schools, universities, and other music institutions.

Content length:

16 hours 29 minutes

Format:

Streaming video

Access:

12 months unlimited access

What this package helps you with

how to start with beginners in a clear and structured way
how to establish posture and basic movements without tension
how to introduce note reading and music-making from the very beginning
how to build a solid foundation that supports later progress

Lessons and pedagogical topics

The package follows a full first year of teaching, including:

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Book A: Video length 2 hours 16 minutes. The course covers the following pedagogical topics:

Developing the basic holds, basic movements and basic rhythms on open strings
Left hand "numbered" pizzicato
Connecting the movements of two hands
Natural (octave) harmonics
Natural (fifth, fourth and third) harmonics in first position
Introducing the line system
The one-line stave

Book B: Video length 2 hours 12 minutes. The course covers the following pedagogical topics:

The stopping first finger. Two-note melodies
The stopping second finger. Three-note melodies
The stopping third finger. Four-note melodies
The stopping fourth finger. Five-note melodies

Minifiddlers Violin Pedagogy Course: 1st year. Length 12 hours 1 minute. Each video lesson is 14–32 minutes.

Lesson 1 — Establishing the basic holds and movements
Lesson 2 — Basic rhythms; long, short
Lesson 3 — First "chamber music"
Lesson 4 — Basic rhythms; long, short and rest
Lesson 5 — Basic rhythms; long, short, rest and half note
Lesson 6 — The bow-hold
Lesson 7 — Directions on the fingerboard
Lesson 8 — String crossing (open strings and "octave" natural harmonics)
Lesson 9 — Two note songs
Lesson 10 — Three note songs
Lesson 11 — Grasshopper
Lesson 12 — The "one line system"
Lesson 13 — Natural harmonics in the first position
Lesson 14 — Natural harmonics in the first position
Lesson 15 — Christmas session
Lesson 16 — Stopping with the first finger
Lesson 17 — Stopping with the first finger and left hand pizzicato
Lesson 18 — First finger stopping motion together with early change of position
Lesson 19 — First finger stopping motion together with natural harmonics in the first position
Lesson 20 — Stopping with the second finger
Lesson 21 — Stopping with the second finger
Lesson 22 — Second finger stopping motion together with early change of position
Lesson 23 — Second finger stopping motion together with natural harmonics in the first position
Lesson 24 — Stopping with the third finger
Lesson 25 — Stopping with the third finger
Lesson 26 — Third finger stopping motion together with early change of position
Lesson 27 — Kreutzerini exercises for the stopping third finger
Lesson 28 — Stopping with the fourth finger
Lesson 29 — Stopping with the independent fourth finger
Lesson 30 — Fourth finger stopping motion together with early change of position
Lesson 31 — Fourth finger stopping motion together with natural harmonics in the first position
Lesson 32 — Transposition and Summary

This package is for you if:

you are starting a new group of beginners
you want a clear structure and curriculum for the first lessons
you would like to explore the Colourstrings approach in practice

Book(s) used in the course

Géza Szilvay: Colourstrings Violin ABC, Book A and Book B

Please note that the page numbers mentioned in the videos may vary depending on the edition used.

It's not a requirement to have the book to study the course, but it will help you to deepen the learning. The books can be purchased from Fennica Gehrman's web shop, both as a printed book and an epub.

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Purchase books

Teacher: Prof. Géza Szilvay

Violinist, teacher, conductor and the President of ESTA (European String Teachers Association) Prof. Géza Szilvay is creator of Colourstrings method.

Géza has decades of experience of violin pedagogy. He has given more than 200 lectures and workshops on his child-centered teaching method and philosophy across the world, and trained pupils and teachers online over 10 years. In addition to his long pedagogical experience, Géza is known for his strong presence and personal warmth that makes him an excellent and impressive online teacher.