Kreutzer etudes and practising methods in violin education

The purpose of this thesis is to present methods of study along with explanations and suggestions for using the Kreutzer Etudes, a collection of studies designed to address technical problems in violin playing for both the right and left hands. These 42 etudes contain exercises which cover typical left hand technique issues such as position shifts, intonation, double stops, trills, and development of finger strength; whereas for the right hand, technical subjects include development of bow control and the performance of staccato, martelé and détaché bowings. This thesis includes methods of study which focus alternately on right and left hand issues for each etude and, in addition, provides detailed explanations of exactly which technical problems are being addressed. The study is composed of three main parts. The first is an investigation of Kreutzer's life, compositions and violin playing. In the second section, detailed study methods are presented for each of his famous etudes. The last part consists of interviews with educators who use these etudes.