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Learn Intervals on the Fingerboard
Introduce students to intervals on the fingerboard. This worksheet and activity helps students identify steps up and down in the music alphabet. And then transfer that knowledge to the fingerboard.
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Fiddle Tunes for Beginners
Here are a couple fiddle tunes for beginning violinists. Summer is a great time to add variety into your students repertoire. These tunes can also reinforce techniques that they are learning in their classical literature. But you don’t have to tell them that! Fiddle tunes have a way of making the player and the listener smile. It’s hard to play these happy lively tunes and not smile. These tunes can get into their fingers and spark some practicing! Who knows you might even find your toe tapping. So where do we start? The Orange Blossom Special or The Devil Went Down to Georgia is probably not the best place for…
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Rhythm Flashcards
Here are some printable rhythm flashcards. These flashcards use the basic rhythm values that beginning students learn. These patterns are set using 4/4 time, but that is not written on the cards. Often method books introduce rhythm by teaching the names of the note values and how many beats each note gets. There are two patterns on each page. After you print out the rhythm patterns, cut down the middle of the page to create individual cards. I like to print these on card stock so that the flashcards hold up better. How to the Flashcards in a Lesson Students can clap each card and say the names of the note…
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Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet – Vivaldi
Here is a great composers note reading worksheet on Vivaldi. While most of the Baroque composers composed for strings, Vivaldi was prolific. He wrote over 200 concertos for violin. Being a violinist himself we see his great love for the instrument as well as his virtuosic skill in all his compositions. He took orders as a priest and served as a priest for year and a half. But due a health condition he was given a dispensation to not participate in Mass. Because of his red hair, he was nicknamed “The Red Priest.” Vivaldi the Teacher-Composer He began to teach violin at Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned girls. Under Vivaldi’s teaching…
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How to Draw Quarter Notes
Here is a worksheet on how to draw quarter notes. It’s perfect for young students. Whether the student is learning to play an instrument or just exploring music, his worksheet is perfect for ages 4-6. My young students are just getting ready to enter kindergarten, so their writing and small muscle skills are still developing. These notes are large and the young student can trace quarter notes. The notes are drawn in dot to dot. Students also learn how to draw quarter note stems going up and down. First students trace 5 quarter notes with stems going up. Trace the circle. Color in the circle. Trace the stem. Then, they…
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Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet – Paradis
The Great Composers note reading worksheet this week teaches about Maria Theresa von Paradis. Maria Theresa von Paradis was both a composer and performer in a time when women were not encouraged to do either. She performed, composed, and taught. Maria Theresa von Paradis: Education Maria Theresa von Paradis’ parents named after Empress Maria Theresa, the empress of Austria. Her father worked as the Imperial Secretary of Commerce and Court Councilor. Maria Theresa von Paradis began to lose her eyesight at age 2. And she was completely blind by age 5. Paradis studied composition, keyboard and music theory with Vienna’s best teachers. Her composition teacher Antonio Salleri taught students who became famous. His students include Beethoven,…
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Violin Arrangement of Psalm 137
Here is an arrangement for violin and piano of a tune for Psalm 137 or Isaiah 53.
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Composing with April Showers
Since today is April 1, it’s only appropriate to use do some composing with April showers. We have some of those April showers forecasted for the rest of the week. And appropriately this is the next step for my Twinkle group class in their composing journey. The Beginning Steps Here’s what they have done already this year. First, we used Twinkle rhythm patterns that they already learned. They chose what order to play open A and open E. The could chose one Twinkle pattern to play for their whole composition. You can read more about this first step here at my blog post: A Beginning Step to Composing. Next, still using…
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Pick an Apple – Twinkle Activity
We are all social distancing since COVID-19 is here. That means extra time to practice. So here’s a game for beginners called “pick an Apple.” It is an activity that reinforces Twinkle. Right now there is no soccer practice, or play dates, or even preschool happening. While elementary and above are getting activities to do at home. Preschoolers don’t have work to do at home. In order to help parents take advantage of this time, I’ve created some resources to help them to solidify all the skills we use in Twinkle. Build in more receptions and keep their interest by creating different activities using the same skills. This activity is…
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Prep for Twinkle Variation B
Today we are talking about prep for Twinkle Variation B. Variation B can be hard for some kids to get. It’s really hard for violinist to stop playing! Right? Whether it’s stopping at the end of a song, or just not playing through the rest! My orchestra director that I had growing up used to say, “I don’t like noodles, except in my beef stroganoff.” The fact that I remember that saying 20 years later, tells you how much we “noodled” while he was trying to give instruction in rehearsal. In Variation B that rest seems to make us forget to play the next note. I’ve had several students that…