Focusing on form, intonation, dynamics and bowing variations, students learn to produce a beautiful sound with sensitivity and emotion. Also, as an essential component of technique, students learn to listen, developing an ear for music that allows them to play more expressively and confidently.

Music theory is learning the language of music. By studying the practices and possibilities of music, students learn how to interpret musical compositions, learn new pieces, improvise and listen to music with a greater depth of understanding.

Sight reading is the ability to play a piece of music that you've never played before simply by reading it off of a page of written music. Students learn to apply their knowledge of music theory to sight-reading and to correlate finger, hand and bow positions with notes and articulations on the page.