Rationale

The Savagefiddler Method

Rationale for the Savagefiddler Method

The rational for using the Savage Fiddler Method begins with the National Standards for Teaching Music. The more compositional and arrangement based standards are difficult for many teachers to both teach in a large group and assess and thus, are often overlooked in favor of reading notation. The Savage Fiddler Method provides a rich and educationally sound experience for students who want more from their music education than reading traditional notation can provide.

Annie’s work with your students will focus on three main areas of music making. These three elements of melody, back up and improvisation encourage students to take on the additional roles of composer and arranger in their work together. The videos and play along tracks provide the student with the ability to simulate playing with another person, practice improvising and back up with repetition, and pick up nuances in fiddling that are difficult to notate. With sections devoted to the development of careful string technique and practice habits, the method bridges the gap between classical and alternative string practices. It is based on the idea that in many cases, the traditional format of music education is not creating lifetime musicians and that all string players should be exposed to chordal movement, improvisation and arranging in order to be great jammers, professional string players and versatile musicians.

Below you will find the National Standards for Music Education. These are the guidelines by which all music teachers are encouraged to design curriculum by and upon which the Savage Fiddler Method is based. The standards that are directly offered by the Savage Fiddler Method have been italicized.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Annie directly.

National Standards for Music Education

  1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
  2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
  3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
  4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
  5. Reading and notating music.
  6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
  7. Evaluating music and music performances.
  8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
  9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

*These standards correspond the original 1994 Music Educators National Conference Standards for music. Refer to the current NAFME 2014 standards for teaching music here: https://nafme.org/wpcontent/files/2014/11/StandardsComparison_REVISED2.pdf

Share:
©2019-2020 Annie Savage. All rights reserved.