Application of Ivan Galamian Principles for Violin Learning through Malaysian Folk Tunes

Early instruction in music is connected with the understanding of one's own culture. Kodaly associates it with a sense of belonging or a so-called ‘mother-tongue’ language. In the modern world, the influence of media threatens the sustainability of folk music heritage. To counter the influx of foreign culture into Malaysian violin beginners’ instruction there must be books based on profound teaching systems using traditional tunes made available. The music preferences and taste acquisition of a violin beginner are formed under the influence of folklore and composed music, which is foreign to the Malaysian violin students whereas popular traditional tunes are not reflected in the violin repertoire of those method books. The product of the research conducted at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris was aimed at meeting the demands of the Malaysian violin teachers in terms of techniques as well as to serve as an agent for the sustainability of Malaysian folk heritage. Galamian’s violin method made the biggest impact on modern violin pedagogy. This paper expounds on methods of applying Galamian’s approaches through the selection and utilization of Malaysian folk songs as resource materials for the mentioned methodology as well as the interdisciplinary process of creating a violin method book.