A Model View

This book summarizes content analysis of beginning violin adult instructional texts from the 17th to the 21st centuries published in America. The study was undertaken in order to determine what changes occurred in violin instruction during this time and what effect those changes have had on today’s beginning adult violin student. Despite a growing body of research on adults and music there is little research focusing on adults and violin playing. This thesis argues two distinct types or models of violin instruction gradually merged into a standardized achievement focused approach used today. Model one is a structured approach; model two is exemplified by self-instructing texts for adult amateurs. Making sense of the significant number of historical texts required a diverse range of methods and the need for a broad sweep of secondary literature on a variety of related subjects. This book does not promote the efficacy of one method over another; rather it provides a context for viewing current attitudes towards adult violin instruction and provides suggestions based on that contextual view for possible change.