Etling String Class Method, Book 1: Violin Book

Etling's modular approach lets you teach the fundamentals in any order that serves your ensemble's needs. Rather than forcing students through pages in sequence, you can isolate bow technique one day, tackle intonation the next, and weave in note reading whenever it makes sense for your group. The flexibility means one method book actually works for mixed-ability classes and multigrade settings.

Purposeful and grounded. Every exercise exists to build a specific physical or musical skill rather than to fill a page. Students experience early wins when they nail a bow stroke or nail intonation, which builds confidence alongside competence.

String teachers managing heterogeneous violin classes, particularly those teaching multiple grades or skill levels in a single setting. It suits beginners who need a structured path through bow hold, hand position, and note reading, as well as classroom teachers adding strings to an existing music program.

• Assign the solo passages to individual students in rotation; they become accountability checkpoints for who is ready to play independently.
• Use the daily drills as opening ritual material, even if you only work through one or two per rehearsal. Consistency on fundamentals compounds quickly.
• Pair bow stroke exercises with the intonation work so students develop clean contact and stable pitch simultaneously, not as separate concerns.
• Encourage students to hum or sing the exercises before drawing the bow; it builds aural awareness before technique becomes the bottleneck.

Make this your foundational resource for the first year of string instruction, working through it at whatever pace matches your students' readiness. The daily drills work equally well as warm-up material in subsequent years, so you can cycle back to specific exercises whenever a cohort needs a refresher on fundamentals.

• Proper bow hold and bow stroke control
• Hand position and finger placement on the fingerboard
• Reading rhythm and counting in common meters
• Intonation matching and tuning awareness
• Solo passage independence and performance confidence
• Daily fundamental reinforcement through drill repetition