The Role of the String Project in Teacher Training and Community Music Education

Abstract

The National String Project Consortium was designed to encourage string education majors to become string teachers and to stimulate growth of new school orchestra programs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which these goals were accomplished across 13 university sites in 2003-2004. Survey data were obtained from project directors, master teachers, student teachers, children, and parents (N = 1,458). Results indicated the majority of student teachers were music education majors who received professional and financial benefit from participation, and were engaged in authentic string teaching in productive and rewarding settings. Children studied string instruments under satisfying and affordable conditions. The String Project seems to have filled a void where school strings programs do not exist, or functioned to supplement strings instruction available in the schools.