9 Free Easy Christmas Songs
Here are 9 free easy Christmas songs for beginning violinists. All of these songs are in first position. They begin with the easiest finger pattern. You will find one note change in Deck the Halls. This change avoids a using a high 3rd finger on the D string. Then the songs progress to using low 2nd fingers. The final song Carol of the Bells include using a low first finger on the E string and a high 3rd finger on the D string. G Major and D Major Christmas Songs In mid-Suzuki book 1 I usually teach Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, Angels We Have Heard on High, and Joy…
The Happy Farmer Fill in the Blank
When a student starts learning The Happy Farmer in Suzuki Book 1, I assign them The Happy Farmer Fill in the Blank exercise. This exercise helps them learn the form of the piece and the endings for the A theme. We discuss how there are 2 sections or themes in Happy Farmer, the A theme and the B theme. The B theme is always the same, and rather short. But the first two times we play the A theme we step down from F# on the D string – “F#, E, D” or “three blind mice.” Then when the A theme comes back after we play the B theme, the 3…
