StringClub is a community for students of the violin, viola, cello, and double bass to learn and share their favorite music. The site was initially created by Todd Markey, double bass performer and string teacher in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Matt Denman later joined as a partner owner in the company and has worked behind the scenes, developing all the great tools that are now available to the users of the site. He heads up the engineering effort for the website, mobile apps and anything involving technology.
The focus of StringClub has always been to address what is missing in most music education. We wanted to design a resource to address all the things that seem to hold students back. Having fun music to play right away seems to be one of the most important factors for success for the private lesson students being taught. Too often, the music available to beginning students is not exciting and after a short time, the student gets bored and stops practicing. The solution is to have students play their favorite music right away. So we wrote out songs using a very simple format much like guitar tablature. This format removes all the complexities of reading sheet music so students can get started right away, even in the first months of study.
Some private lesson students play in a school orchestra, so they get to make music with friends each school day. However, some don’t have orchestra in their schools and some don’t go to school at all, so they are mostly on their own when not in their lesson. This makes it hard to keep motivated and practicing on a daily basis. Members of StringClub can create recording projects and share them with their friends and family, giving them a specific goal and therefore, a reason to practice each day.
Better yet, they can invite others from the club to record on projects together. When you know that your ensemble partners are counting on you to record and share a performance, it gives a lot more motivation to succeed and create something the entire group can be proud of. As a member of StringClub, you should take advantage of this by always having a project or two going on. After a year or two, you will be able to look back at your recordings as a portfolio of your accomplishments and be proud of the successes you have shared with the world.
The forums on StringClub also help in forming a community of string players that will help motivate each member to excel. The best way to form a community of musicians that will help you achieve your best is to post in the forums regularly and make some connections with players around the world, or right in your hometown. Together, we can motivate, collaborate, teach, learn from, and encourage each other to reach our highest potential.