El Sistema USA: an exploratory study of the pedagogical approaches in beginning violin classes

El Sistema USA has grown to become an organization with over 100 programs across the nation in the short span of eight years. It drew its inspiration from Jose Antonio Abreu’s El Sistema in Venezuela that was started in 1975. Abreu envisioned a music group that would offer free music instruction to the poorest areas of his country. Through music, his students would be able to become contributing members to society and develop into upstanding citizens. Just like its Venezuelan counterpart, El Sistema USA is known for offering free music instruction to the poorest neighborhoods and school districts in the country. The vast majority of these programs offer string programs that focus on ensemble-based learning. What is lacking is a uniquely El Sistema approach for teaching strings. This doctoral essay will discuss the current state of violin pedagogy for beginning violin group classes in El Sistema USA programs, examine areas where there is a lack of unity in teaching styles using information collected from a national survey, and propose a first-year teaching prospectus that incorporates the organization’s core values to be used for reference by instructors.