Without any doubt, there is one person I have to credit with helping Stringbabies to come into a form which could be shared with others.
I first encountered Pat Legg at the Tower Hamlets String project, where she was working with Sheila Nelson. She cut a very distinctive figure with her pure white hair and purple top as she sat with her cello amongst the assembled youngsters in the class being led by Sheila.
The year following my graduation from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama I undertook a post graduate certificate in music education, and it turned out that Pat was one of the visiting lecturers on the course.
She came to her lectures armed with huge art folders containing massive posters with songs on them or games to play – clearly just the thing to use to teach groups of young string players in the days before interactive whiteboards! I followed her example in my first teaching post by acquiring an art folder of my own to protect a giant staff with note shapes that the students could move around.
But the thing that struck me most about Pat was her integrity and honesty. She was very clear in her belief that we should always credit the sources of our teaching ideas. In the ensuing years, Pat went onto become Professor of cello at Trinity College of Music and wrote numerous repertoire and teaching books which are still published by Faber. I still use them in my work and particularly love her book on ‘Learning the Tenor Clef’.
A year after developing my first Stringbabies (then known as Cellobabies) ideas, the parents of my first students suggested I should write a book. I set out to do so and decided that I should share my ideas with Pat, who I knew would respect my authorship and she would also tell me if my ideas would actually work in the long run.
Written By: Kay Tucker
Stringbabies Director & Founder