Episode 010: Alison Stevens on Methods of Teaching

• Alison Stevens is a music theorist and ringer, currently in Vancouver, formerly of Smith College via UMass Amherst.
• We discuss how we approach the teaching of ringing, drawing on experiences in the classroom, in front of an orchestra, and even in dance halls. (You can see an example of contra dancing in this video, and hear more on the structural similarity to ringing in episode 003: Myles Dakan.)
• Despite our focus on methods of teaching, we do discuss many (ringing) methods for teaching, including Bastow*, Penultimus, Very Little Bob Minor, St. Simon’s/St. Martin’s, and 41 Surprise Minor Methods. (* – Alison and I are, unfortunately, imprecise with our language and use “Bastow” as a catch-all, ignoring the Bastow/Bistow distinction. Please forgive us.)
• Boomwhackers make themselves known! Here is a video of THUD! boomwhacking “Africa.”
• Currently, Alison’s been busy developing apps for ringing.

Thank you, friends.

Bells: Kent School ca. 2003, unknown band.