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Beginning a Practice Journal
This semester I have had one of my students begin a practice journal. We have kept it really simple. It’s not even a journal of all of her practice. It’s just one part of her practice. I want her to start being very intentional and observant during her practice. I have found that most of my tween and teen students ca: 1. Tell me what they did incorrectly. (Identify the problem) 2. They can tell me how to fix it. BUT THEY DON’T! They don’t really need a teacher! So, why do wait until their lesson for me to tell them what they already know? I’ve asked them why? And I…
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December Technique Focus: Shifting
I decided that my studio December technique focus point is shifting! I gave all my intermediate students these exercises I wrote out. Since it is December, I wanted to have a winter theme and I wanted them to have a mental picture to associate with smooth, beautiful, easy shifting. Like skating, shifting on the violin requires left hand accuracy, speed, and relaxation. I’m not an ice skater, but I appreciate watching skaters. Professional ice skaters make it look easy. They move with fluid, smooth movements. I want my students left hands to look like that, fluid and smooth; no grabbing the neck, or jerky, sticky shifts. So I titled this…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Christmas Violin Play-Along Books – Part 3
Here are 2 more reviews of books in the series Christmas Violin Play-Along Books. These collections are from Hal Leonard. The Play-Along Books are for different levels. You can also read about other Play-Along Books here: Part 1 and Part 2. Hal Leonard Violin Play-Along: Favorite Christmas Hymns Vol. 77 Arrangers: Peter DeneffPublisher: Hal Leonard CorporationLevel: 5 or 6 (because of position work) Pros: These arrangements are not just the melody part. Often the player plays through tune 2 or 3 times. But there is variety and variation that gives interest on each stanza. This would be a good collection for an intermediate player who is comfortable in 3rd position. It does…
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Christmas Violin Play-Along Books – Part 2
This is a continuation of the violin Christmas Play-Along Book Reviews. See the titles and in each book. I have given a general level to each book. Each collection will have easier and harder pieces. The leveling is very broad in these Christmas violin play-along books. I have listed the key each piece is in and some of the techniques that are found in that piece. I would recommend all 3 of these books. They are for different levels of playing, but they all work well for their level. Lindsey Stirling Christmas Collection: Violin Play-Along Volume 81 Arrangers: Lindsey StirlingPublisher: Hal LeonardLevel: 6 Pros: Arrangements are taken from Lindsey Stirling’s album Warmer in the…
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Christmas Violin Play-Along Books – Part 1
Do you love violin Christmas Play-Along books? True confession: I used to have a very snotty attitude toward violin play-along books. Through the pandemic I began to see these violin Play-Along book were meeting a need. First, these books come with performance tracks and accompaniment play-along tracks. In a world where students live in earbuds. Sometimes creating your own live music is disappointing. These books give them a soundtrack to play along to. Which is really exciting and can be very fulfilling for the student. Second, many of these books have more popular titles from movies and artists that students like and know. So, while there is a value of…
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Winter’s Snow Christmas Violin Duets
Winter’s Snow is a collection of Christmas violin duets that I wrote in 2009. The first two books of arrangements that were published with Soundforth did not have recordings available with them. Some of my students will learn these this fall. I had some extra time this summer and so I decided to record these duets. Since I am a Suzuki teacher and I do a lot of online teaching, having recordings for my students is a high value for me. I saved the recordings in 4 different formats. The first is the violin duet with piano accompaniment. Next there is a recording of each part with the piano accompaniment.…
