Creative Practice for Classical String Players with Live Looping

Master of Music Thesis - Belmont University

Publication Date: Spring 4-29-2022

Mentors: Dr. Bruce Dudley and Tracy Silverman

In recent years, string pedagogy discussions have highlighted the greater need for creative practice as classical string players. Since the second half of the nineteenth century, string methods have shifted towards a limited scope of improvisatory techniques, parallelling the decline of improvisation in Western classical music performance practices. This thesis explores live looping as a practice tool to facilitate learning concepts and help string players develop musicianship skills including improvisation, participate in non-classical genres, and explore their creative voices. Examining the results of string educators that incorporate live looping into their own teaching reveals the tool’s effectiveness in bridging curricula standards with opportunities for avenues of creativity and endless experimentation. Ultimately, live looping can help string players learn a concept more deeply, employing scaffolding techniques to practice abstract models and thus relying less on any specific example such as learning from sheet music. This encourages a broader musical foundation enabling classical string players to feel more equipped in areas beyond their comfort zones and participate in and enjoy a wider range of musically fulfilling experiences.