Kreisler’s Preludium and Allegro Preview Spot
Here is a preview spot for Kreisler’s Preludium and Allegro measures 66-83. This is only the first step in learning this passage. It only deals with the left hand intonation and shifting. Other practice steps should be used after learning the left hand to incorporate the bariolage type bowing used. (A great article by Grigory Kalinovsky, who is the Starling Professor of Music (Violin) at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is available at Strings Magazine HERE. He discusses the the articulation and bowing ideas for measure 2 for the Allegro. But his ideas would apply to this passage as well.) Practicing Double Stops If you’re playing Preludium and Allegro,…
April Practice Chart
With Student Day and Solo Celebration for the Okaloosa County Music Teachers Association is this month, my students are highly motivated to practice and they may not need this April Practice Chart. But, the monthly practice chart is giving them the visual reminder of practicing. I also am really loving these practice charts as they are giving me insight into the amount of practicing. In The theme for this month’s blocks is based on the rhyme, “April showers bring May flowers.” So download and print the practice chart and get to practicing so you can color an umbrella! April Practice Chart Download Here
Easter Music for Violin
Buy Here At The Cross Level: 2 Music: Ralph E. Hudson Arranger: Ruth Coleman Publisher: Lorenz Corporation This arrangement is perfect for a Suzuki Book 2 student, or late beginner. It begins in the key of A and modulates to the key of D. There are low 2 – G naturals. There are natural harmonics used as echos similar to their use in the Boccherini – Minuet. Fingering and bowing are marked in the score. Demo recording is included with purchase of the book along with piano accompaniment track. Buy Here Beneath the Cross of Jesus Level: 4 Words and Music: Keith and Kristyn Getty Arranger: Kristin Campbell Publisher: Heart…
March Practice Chart
My students have finished their February Happy Heart Practice Charts and we are marching into practice with this March Practice Chart. What has been helpful about these practice charts is that I actually see how much my students are practicing. No amount of creative teaching ideas can replace daily practice. I fall into the trap of not inspecting what I expect, or not communicating my expectations clearly. So, this teaching aid has helped me see what is happening outside the lesson. Why Practice? A couple weeks back I had a student who was really frustrated because he couldn’t play his music. He kept complaining that this song was too hard…
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Practice Chart February 2023
It’s February 2023 and if your students are like mine, they are tired of recess inside, cold weather, rainy weather, homework… With Valentine’s Day this month here is a Practice Chart for February 2023. Each day they practice they have to draw a face in the heart reflecting what their heart was like while practicing. You can get creative for your student. Some of the ideas I do with students. Weekly Goal: If they practice ___ days each week, they get _________ Month Goal: If you practice _____ days each week for every week of February, you get ______. OR If you practice every day (5 minutes minimum on the really…
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…
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…
