Jane Norris
About
Violin playing has been my main passion from the moment I started learning it as a child, and music has always played a very important part in my life. I gained a Grade 8 distinction on the violin at the age of 15, and then went on to do a Bachelor's Degree in Music at Oxford University. During that time I had some violin lessons with Simon Fischer in London.
I have played in orchestras and string quartets throughout my life, and have been co-leader of the North Devon Sinfonia (winners of the BBC competition: 'All Together Now- the Great Orchestra Challenge') for a number of years as well as playing first violin in Devon Philharmonic Orchestra.
I have many years experience of teaching the violin to both children and adults, having started my career in 1994. Since then I have worked for the Croydon Music Service (1996-97), the Staffordshire Music Service (2000-2002) and in a number of primary and secondary schools, including West Buckland School (North Devon's leading Independent School) since 2006 and ongoing. In addition to this I have taught numerous private lessons at home to both adults and children. I also taught online violin lessons to most of my pupils during the lockdowns (2020-2021).
I am constantly striving to develop my skills as a teacher. Last August(2022) I gained the Level 1 Endorsement in Paul Rolland String Pedagogy whilst attending the ESTA Summer School, and I have participated in numerous Benedetti Sessions for string teachers (live and online) since January 2020.
Teaching Style
My teaching style is tailored to some extent to suit the individual needs of the particular pupil that I am teaching. On the whole, most children that I teach are keen to work towards taking ABRSM exams therefore this tends to be the focus of our lessons, with a period of time in between exams spent on developing areas of technique and learning some more general repertoire.
Some adults that I teach prefer to play for enjoyment alone, therefore I facilitate the development of technique through setting exercises, scales, arpeggios and studies alongside working on pieces which they often choose themselves (provided they are of an appropriate standard).
When teaching beginners I prefer to start them off without using notation using a Suzuki-style approach, as well as using ideas and methods from the Paul Rolland pedagogy; I then gradually introduce notation once they have developed a sound basic technique on the violin.
Curriculum
For beginners (young children age 7-11) I use a combination of selected material from the Suzuki Violin School Vol.1, Fiddle Time Starters (Kathy and David Blackwell) and Violin Star 1 (Edward Huws Jones). As stated above, I start them off without using notation and then introduce it gradually.
For beginners (older children age 11+ and adults) I also start off without notation (as above), but then progress to using Violin Playing Book One (Robert Trory) as an initial tutor book alongside either Violin Star 1, Stepping Stones (Katherine and Hugh Colledge) or Abracadabra Violin Book 1 (Peter Davey).
For Grades 1-8 level pupils studying for exams I use ABRSM material, including scales & arpeggios and exam pieces from the current syllabus, Paul Harris's Improve your sight-reading! books for each grade, and I also encourage my pupils to download and use the ABRSM Aural Trainer Apps when working towards an exam.
For technique development in between exams I use 'Violin Playtime Studies' and 'Violin Study Time' (both by Paul de Keyser), and then move on to Kinsey's Elementary Progressive Studies Sets I, II and III, and finally Kreutzer's Forty-two Studies or Capricesand Casorti's Bogentechnik. Alongside these books I also use the Violin Playing Books One-Five (Robert Trory) which contain exercises, studies, pieces and duets, and other books for general repertoire pieces including Violin Star 2 and 3,The Young Violinist's Repertoire Book 3 (edited by Paul de Keyser and Fanny Waterman), The Classic Experience (arranged by Jerry Lanning) and Real Repertoire for violin (edited by Mary Cohen).
Credentials & Affiliations
I have a distinction in my ABRSM Grade 8 violin exam.
I have a Bachelor's Degree in Music from Oxford University.
Whist at university I studied the violin with Simon Fischer in London.
I am the co-leader of the North Devon Sinfonia and a first violinist in Devon Philharmonic Orchestra.
I teach the violin at West Buckland School (North Devon's leading Independent School) as well as having extensive experience of teaching the violin in primary and secondary schools, and privately at home (adults and children).
I am a member of ESTA (The European String Teacher's Association), and last August (2022) I gained the Level 1 Endorsement in Paul Rolland String Pedagogy whilst attending the ESTA Summer School.
I have participated in numerous Benedetti Sessions for string teachers (live and online) since January 2020: live in London-January 2020, online April 2020-ongoing, and live in Bristol this coming November (2023).
