Erdmute Maria Hohage
Official website
Erdmute Maria Hohage
Violinist, music teacher, author, methodology and didactics of strings at the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim, co-inventor of the Resounding Fingerboard and Resounding Bow, co-initiator of the ema Music Initiative.
I was born in Hamburg (Germany) and studied violin, chamber music, music education and concert class at the following universities of music ("Musikhochschulen"): Berlin (orchestra class with Prof. M. Boettcher), Würzburg (orchestra class and music education with Prof. C. v.d. Goltz), Cologne (orchestra class with examination (diploma) and music education with examination (diploma) with Prof. S. Gawriloff and, for about three years, chamber music with the AMADEUS Quartett) and Vienna (concert class and examination with Prof. Th. Christian). I attended masterclasses among others with Prof. Marschner, Prof. S. Lautenbacher and Y. Neaman. During and after my studies, I initially played in different orchestras, such as the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen, the Bonn Classical Philharmonic and the Rheinische Philharmonie. Immediately after graduating, I initially signed up for an orchestral career with the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Philharmonic Orchestra, but soon realised that I missed working with children, young people and talents. In early 1992, I turned to a career in teaching and took up a full-time position at the Heidelberg Music School. There I was able to pass on the joy of making music in individual lessons, chamber music and in the orchestra. In 1994, I left the school with a complete violin class in tow and set up my own business as a freelance musician and music teacher in the Rhine-Neckar region. In 1997, I was appointed as a lecturer for violin, viola and methodology and didactics for high strings at Johannes Gutenberg University and remained there until 2013. From 2009 I taught violin and didactics and methodology for high strings and from 2023 didactics and methodology for strings at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts.
A major concern of my pedagogical work is to promote the joy of playing together in an ensemble, combined with the responsibility that each player bears. You can't start early enough to introduce children and young people to the world of chamber music. In order to benefit more than just my own students, I founded chamber music courses for advanced players and music camps for children from the age of 7 in 1993. I initially organised these in cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Tonkünstlerverband. Between 2008 and 2022, they were offered under the auspices of Musikfreizeiten-Kammermusik e. V. (Heidelberg) and expanded to include the target group of chamber music with adults. Since 2023, they have been organised by the ema Music Initiative, which I co-founded.
PUblications
From practice for practice
I have been publishing practice and exercise booklets on selected topics for several years. Over many years, I have benefited from the experience of others and have learnt a real treasure trove of approaches. I pass on my experiences in my publications, but only if they really contain something new. In addition to what is probably the only comprehensive collection of exercises for arm vibrato, the first systematic presentation of left-hand pizzicato as a practice technique and the first exercises for practising with the resounding fingerboard, there are also booklets for beginners with a new focus for beginners.
Arm vibrato violin and viola
Pizzicato-World violin and viola
Best Practice Resounding Fingerboard Violin and viola
Coordination and Rhythm
Make music. Tuneful from day one - violin
Make music. Tuneful from day one - viola
Make music. Tuneful from day one - cello
Make music. Klangvoll von Anfang an - Geige
Make music. Klangvoll von Anfang an - Bratsche
Make music. Klangvoll von Anfang an - Cello
On the other hand, I publish some topics digitally in the studioTSNH of the ema music initiative. These also focus on a specific topic, which is presented and demonstrated in exercises. In order to access these exercises, you can unlock them digitally for six months for a small fee. The following topics have already been published:
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Fine motor skills and balance
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Phrasing
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A round way to warm up
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Improve with the left
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Best Practice
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LHP practice technique
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Warm Up
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Arm vibrato
Participation
Events
Scheduled dates and announcements for events in which I am involved can be found at:
Private tuition
I teach violin, viola and chamber music as a freelance music teacher in the Rhine-Neckar region (Germany, Mannheim/Heidelberg/Schriesheim) and with exception also online, if necessary with a translator. Enquiries can be made directly via info@erdmute-hohage.de. Arrange a free trial lesson now.
Innovations
Helpers and methods
With the focus on young talent, experimentation has become increasingly important. The need was and still is great. In recent years, I have increasingly made the developments available to others. Some of the results are directly usable as new innovative developments. These include two specially developed helpers for string players and special approaches to practising.
