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Group Class – Dinosaur Day
Yesterday was group class Dinosaur Day! I created a theme lesson all about dinosaurs for our Twinklers group class. Dinosaur Day was a great hit! I first thought of this when a friend posted that she found some dinosaur erasers in the “spot” section at Target. She used them with a student. And the dinosaurs fit right on the bow. I thought how fun would that be to have a dinosaur ride on your bow for a whole group class? The more I thought about more and more ideas came to mind. Since dinosaur is 3 syllables, it would be perfect to practice Twinkle Variation D, the triplets! Triplets can…
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Compose with Puzzles
Here is an activity for beginners to encourage their creativity. And learn to compose with puzzles.. This is the second activity for beginners for teaching composition. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make improvising and creating less scary for violin students. It seems to me that if we include structured activities for improvising or composing, that students will be more likely to try it at any level of playing. Most beginners are willing to try anything. Since everything is new. And they are like little sponges absorbing information and sounds. I’ve also been looking for ways to do the same bow patterns and finger patterns packaged differently. It…
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A Beginning Step to Composing
How can we make composing and improvising less scary? I’ve gotten some horrified stares, some tears, some blank stares when I’ve asked kids to try and make something up on their instrument. So I’ve been thinking about that question. Could we incorporate some creativity using the tool of composition or improv from the very first year a student begins learning the violin? What would a beginning step to composing look like? Suzuki Principles Applied As Suzuki teachers we work to take complex techniques and break them down into smaller steps that students can accomplish. So I started by asking what are the elements or skills needed to compose? As an…
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Listen to the Bird Tweet
Listen to the Bird Tweet is a great pre-twinkle song that helps us on our journey to Twinkle. The words are were created by Susan Kempter. Students play the rhythm from variation A in Suzuki Book 1 four times. At our school we first teach it using just 1 open string. So all 4 repetitions of the pattern are on one string. (But like any good Suzuki exercise, it can morph into whatever you need!) How this post developed: We have been doing lots of different pre-twinkle songs in group. Songs like, Up Like a Rocket, Pumpkin on a Fencepost, Chicken on a Fencepost, Open E Concerto, Open A Concerto,…
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Book Review Beyond the Music Lesson
Here is a book review of Beyond the Music Lesson: Habits of Successful Suzuki Families, by Christine Goodner. Having experienced every part of the Suzuki triangle herself, she is well qualified to write this book. She took Suzuki lessons as a kid, has been teaching Suzuki violin in the Oregon area for many years, and has also been a Suzuki parent when her son began violin lessons. As a violin teacher, I found the book extremely helpful to remind me of things I needed to cover with new Suzuki parents/ partners. Christine Goodner writes in the first chapter what motivated her to write this book: Over the last few years, I have been…
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Children Learn to Smile
Who teaches a child how to smile? Shinichi Suzuki, creator of the Suzuki Violin Method, made many observations as to how and what children learn. He noticed that “children learn to smile from their parents.” He observed that they learn naturally the mother-tongue language of their parents. He also noticed that children learn mannerisms from those they are around and their personalities are shaped by their parents and family members. Who is the teacher? When Dr. Suzuki said that “children learn to smile from their parents,” it implies that smiling isn’t the only thing they are learning. Dictionary.com defines smile as to “form one’s features into a pleased, kind or…
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Be A Composer Worksheet
Give your beginning students a chance to be a composer with this worksheet! To strengthen reading notes for the kinesthetic learner without the instrument we can have them write. Even if it’s not the student’s primary learning style, I have found that having them write music solidifies their understanding of what is on the page. We all have a learning style, whether it is visual, kinesthetic or aural. One of these ways that we absorb information more quickly than other methods. When teaching note reading, we rely heavily on the visual aspect. And rightly so, we are learning to read notes. The other learning styles are present especially as we play (kinesthetic, aural)…
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Violin Teaching Podcasts
Looking for some teaching tips or ideas as the school year kicks off? These podcasts are filled with conversations that get your creative juices flowing.
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Learning the Staff
Through the years, I’ve sort of pieced together worksheets or drawing worksheets on blank staff paper for little violin students learning the staff. I’ve found some worksheets online that aren’t keyboard specific and used those. Since moving, I’ve had some extra time the past few months and I’ve just started a beginning student. The perfect circumstances to create some worksheets staff worksheets for violin students who aren’t reading yet. I’ve made the mistake of starting to teach note reading from the note reading book and I find myself explaining in one lesson, staff, line-notes, space-notes, treble clef, quarter-notes, measures… What was I thinking!!!! No awards for that lesson. It makes me…
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Learn the Music Alphabet
Learn the music alphabet this summer using ice cream. Who doesn’t love a dripping ice cream cone on a hot summer day? Summer arrived with a bang here in Louisiana and our temperatures are in the 90’s with the humidity level about as high, I’m using ice cream cones in my lesson today to teach the music alphabet. Today we are going to talk about skips and steps through the music alphabet. There are several activities you can do with or without the instrument. And we can celebrate summer with ice cream scoops. Stepping Activities to Learn the Music Alphabet 1. Music Alphabet Mix-Up – mix up the scoops on…
