Learn the Parts of the Violin
It’s August! That means that many violin teachers are starting beginners this month! One of the first things I do with my beginners is teach them the parts of the violin. Here is a worksheet to send home with the parent so that they can remember what each part of the violin is called.
I like to teach the parts of the violin by singing an A scale. I point to the violin and sing on A-440 “Here is the violin.” The student then echos what I sing and do. Then I sing B – “Here is the scroll.” Student echos. I continue up the scale and then back down the scale.
This is doing a couple things. Obviously I’m teaching the parts of the violin. But I’m also seeing if the student can match pitch. We are finding our singing voice. I’m teaching what a major scale sounds like. I’m helping them hear what A-440 sounds like.
Then this is an assignment they get to do each day at home with their parent or practice partner.
After a couple weeks I give them a worksheet that doesn’t have the lines drawn. Their parent/practice partner can read the word to them and then they can draw a line pointing to the correct part of the violin. Then, they can color the picture if they want to.
For later beginners a great activity to review the parts of the violin are these parts of the violin clip cards. You can also find these as an activity in the Primer level of The Magic of Music Theory.
I find that over time students forget what these different parts are called. As we give instruction like, “can you keep the bow parallel with to the bridge?” Our students need to know where the bridge is. Just like we review repertoire, we need to review terms and what each part of the violin and is called. This review is built into these theory workbooks. Helping students learn and review.
