A Twinkle Etude – Twinklepated

I’m teaching the Boccherini Minuet from Suzuki Book 2 to several students. I give my students preview “spots” before we jump in to the whole piece. And one of the spots is the rhythm in measure 26 and measure 42. This syncopated rhythm is the first time this rhythm is found in the Suzuki literature. So for this reason I want to expose them to the rhythm before they get to it in the piece. Voila!  A Twinkle Etude – Twinklepated was born. Twinklepated is a syncopated variation of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

What’s a Twinkle Etude?

The concept of twinkle etudes is that students learn a new skill on an old song. In Suzuki world we don’t get much older than Twinkle. One of the very first pieces we learn. The Twinkle etude allows us to focus on the new skill, and play it on something familiar. This Twinkle etude – Twinklepated is set in 3/4 time matching the time signature of the Boccherini Minuet. You will also see the same articulations that are in the Boccherini Minuet. 

Skills in Twinkle Etude – Twinklepated

First, I want the bow arm to learn the  fast, slow, slow, fast, pattern. Second, I also want the student to learn the articulations. They need to stop the bow at the end of the eighth note. Then accent the two quarter notes. Letting the bow grab the string with a click, then letting the arm slow. Then playing another eighth note with a fast stopped bow. Finally getting to the next pitch quickly and repeating the motions. We are laying all these skills and then repeating them into our muscle memory. Can you think of a better way to get it in our muscle memory than to play it 24 times on each pitch of Twinkle?