Teaching
Photo by Marc Lamote
Alison Crum has been called the doyenne of British viol teachers, and has a worldwide reputation for her teaching skills.
Photo by Scott Mason
Alison has been teaching viol players all over the world for more than 40 years, and in that time has taught well over a thousand people.
She has experience of teaching at every level from complete beginners to professionals, from the age of 14 to 94! She was Professor of Viol at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance for more than 30 years, and many of her past students are now well-known professionals themselves.
Alison still has a busy schedule of teaching in the UK. She gives regular private lessons and group coaching at home in London, and visits many parts of the country to give intensive days of lessons and coaching as required.
She also make regular visits to West Dean College where she teaches apprentice viol makers to play, as well as supervising them on the practical details of setting up their instruments.
Further afield, Alison teaches on a regular basis in Germany, and Italy, and in various parts of the USA. She has also made several visits to Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, China, and Israel.
Alison is in great demand as a teacher on many courses and workshops in the UK, Europe and the USA. Some of these are open to anyone, and some are for pre-formed groups, or aimed at specific levels.
Alison is also available to give lessons online, using Zoom, FaceTime or Skype.
Alison Crum, doyenne of British viol teachers, has a genius for explaining techniques and solving physical problems in terms of the simplest practical logic, without dogmatism or the least penchant for professional mystique.
Musical Times, England
Teaching Videos
Alison Crum has made a series of short videos on various aspects of viol technique. These include all the basics a beginner might need, such as holding all sizes of viol and holding the bow, but also more detail on such vital things as starting a note, changing bow direction, correcting faults, etc.
Videos by David Griffith
Playing the Dots
This is a webinar for viol players, run by Benslow Music. It is all about how to play dotted notes, depending on the musical situation and style. Alison looks at several short extracts drawn from a variety of English consort music, and discusses and demonstrates in some detail the techniques required for the best musical effect.
All music and the teaching webinar (MP3) is supplied. All other information for the session is provided in pdf files.
Jenkins Unravelled
Most viol players consider the fantasias written by Jenkins to be amongst the very best of English viol consort music; but they rarely have the opportunity for detailed work on these pieces with a professional viol player who has devoted most of her life to consort playing.
This webinar, for viol players of all sizes, will look in depth at just one of his fantasias. We will study the various themes and their variants, and how Jenkins uses them to structure the piece as a whole; but we will also discuss the technical requirements needed to make our musical choices more effective, including suggestions for bowing and, where needed, some ideas for fingering.
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