-
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…
-
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…
-
My Happy Heart Practice Chart
It’s Valentine’s Day is this week so here is a practice chart with hearts, My Happy Heart Practice Chart! As I was working on my group lesson plan I decided to incorporate a little holiday spirit into our class. I’ve had some parents mention that they are starting to struggle with practicing. And let’s be honest, I don’t always have a happy heart when practicing. Sometimes it’s really hard to practice with a happy heart. Our face looks like all those heart faces in the picture above. This is especially true when there is something else that seems a lot more fun. Maybe it’s sunny outside and all your friends decide…
-
Piano Trio of the National Anthem
A friend recently asked if I could write an arrangement for piano trio of the national anthem. A local doctor/surgeon will assume the presidency of a national medical organization. She is a well known and well respected doctor in her field, but what her colleagues don’t know is that she considered being a concert pianist before choosing to become a surgeon. Her boys studied violin and cello in our Suzuki School. This Dr. Mom was their accompanist as they were learning and growing up. She wanted to surprise her colleagues at the opening of the convention by playing the national anthem with her sons. Here is the arrangement I came…
-
Book Review: Treat Your Own Neck
My primary care doctor recommended Treat Your Own Neck by Dr. Robin McKenzie. Dr. McKenzie is a physical therapist from New Zealand who authored a series of booklets. I’ve had some numbness and tingling in my hand at night for the last year. An x-ray showed nothing broken. After explaining that sometimes in the morning I would turn my head and feeling a pop in my neck that sent a tingle down my arm to my hand. My doctor recommended checking out this book. Treat Your Own Neck is a short book you can read in about an hour. It’s just 61 pages and it has pictures. There are seven chapters:…
-
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…
-
Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet – Paganini
The Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet – 10 tells the story of Niccolo Paganini. This worksheet covers the E string notes – E5, F5, G5 and A5 for violin. For viola it covers the C string – C3, D3, E3, F3, and G3. There are variations as to the notes printed and the missing letters between the two sheets since they cover different strings. Because the Great Composer Note Reading Worksheet numbers 1-9 use the same pitches and are on the same strings, the violin and viola answers are identical. But on this worksheet they are different! Violin Download here Viola Download here https://youtu.be/1M6FRoac4uU Suzuki students are first introduced to…
-
Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet – Brahms
The Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet – 9 tells the story of Johannes Brahms. This worksheet covers the three strings that the violin and viola have in common, the G, D and A string notes. You can download the worksheet below in either treble clef or alto clef. Students can learn about the great composers while working on their note reading on the staff. Violin Download here Viola Download here I did say that worksheet eight was the last covering these three strings, but I decided that a little more review and reinforcement never hurt a student. And the letters in the name Johannes Brahms lent themselves to the letters on these three strings.…
-
Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet – Dvorak
This is the eighth installment in the Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet on Dvorak. This Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet covers the G, D and A string notes and is on the Czech composer Antonin Dvorák. You can download the worksheet below for either treble clef or alto clef. Antonin Dvorak Why Dvoràk? You will find that several different string methods include themes from Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9, New World.” And Suzuki students will be playing Dvorak’s “Humoresque” in Book 3. I also think it’s important that students are exposed to how Dvorák took the popular music of the people and incorporated it into his compositions. He never took composition…
-
Great Composers Note Reading Worksheet – Mendelssohn Hensel
Here is one of the great women composers note reading worksheet! Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel is one of the great composers of the 19th century. Her brother, Felix, was very famous in his lifetime. (Not all composers were famous while they were living.) Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was not recognized as a composer, because she was a woman. But today, we recognize her as one of the great composers. In that time publishing companies did not publish music by women. But, they did publish a few of her pieces, but under her brother’s name! It was not until after she died that they published some of her compositions under her name. Aren’t you glad that women composers get published…
