Classroom Pedagogy / Pedagogy / Practice / Right Hand / Teaching Strategies / Technology Integration / Virtual Teaching
It has been 11 years since I recorded the first bow warm-ups video in my fifth-grade class in Hilliard, Ohio. That video was filmed spontaneously on an older low-resolution cell phone in class by a student volunteer. The backing tracks were played live on a little Bose SoundDock Portable speaker....
Using quality strings can help create a healthy and mature sound on a student instrument and improve the tone quality and tuning of your orchestra. For many years there were few options — either you chose inexpensive steel strings that sounded loud and harsh or you opted for a set...
When students first start to play a stringed instrument, they don’t usually have the hand strength or fine motor skills to hold the bow correctly and without tension. The muscles in the hand need to be trained and strengthened. So, as Arnold Swartzenegger said in the movie Kindergarten Cop, “It’s...
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Dr. Charles Laux is the Director of Orchestras at Lassiter High School in the Cobb County School District, located just north of Atlanta, Georgia. He also serves as Essential Elements clinician, consultant, and contributor for the Hal Leonard Corporation. Dr. Laux holds degrees in music education from Ohio University, the University of Nevada – Las Vegas, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. A string educator in his 27th year, Dr. Laux has worked with diverse student populations from elementary school through the collegiate level. He taught at Alpharetta High School in Fulton County, Georgia from 2016-2022 where his duties include directing five levels of orchestra, including the nationally recognized AHS Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Laux served as Assistant Professor of String Music Education at Kennesaw State University from 2012-2016 where he taught string techniques and pedagogy, music education technology integration, supervised student teachers, conducted the KSU Philharmonic and coordinated string outreach activities, including serving as founding director of the KSU String Project. Under his leadership, Kennesaw State University became the largest string education program in Georgia and the KSU String Project grew to serve nearly 110 elementary school students. Previously Dr. Laux directed award-winning school orchestra programs in Nevada, Florida, and Ohio. Under his direction, the Winter Park High School Philharmonic Orchestra was selected to perform at the 60th annual Midwest Clinic in 2006 and the Alpharetta High School Symphony Strings were selected in 2018. Endorsed as an artist-educator by D’Addario Orchestral and Eastman Stringed Instruments, Dr. Laux has presented over 150 educational sessions for organizations such as the Midwest Clinic, American String Teachers Association, Technology Institute for Music Education, Association for Technology in Music Instruction, and at music conferences spanning 23 states. He regularly presents professional development in-services for school districts across the country and has presented internationally at Colegio Menor San Francisco near Quito, Ecuador. His performing experience includes seasons with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the Nevada Chamber Symphony, the Columbus String Quartet, and a collaborative solo-performance with several members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Laux remains in frequent demand across the nation as an orchestra clinician, conductor, and adjudicator. He enjoys giving back to the string and orchestra community through “The Orchestra Teacher” website, YouTube channel, and podcast.
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