Ella

Welcome to your lesson notes page Ella!

Thu 6^th July 2023

Scales

• We spent some time this lesson really getting to understand the differences between major, harmonic minor and melodic minor using a 1 octave D scale.
• In the two octave version, see if you can place your fingers ready with the right spacing ahead of time, especially on the way down. Curved left hand fingers always help with this!

Snake Bite

• This piece is a great example of F naturals making a big difference between major and minor!
• See if you can make more of a difference between the staccato martelé bowing and the smooth slurs.
• When you shift to 3rd position, try to move your 1st finger into position with confidence without siding it around too much.
• For the harmonic in 16, keep your bow strong. In contrast, your 4th finger should be so light on the string that you can’t see the string dip.
• Think about your finger spacing in bar 17 – a semitone between the fingers when you’re in 3rd position, and a tone when you shift down.

Holiday work: keep exploring in this book over the summer, and order the new grade 4 violin book so that we can start work on that in September.

Tue 20^th June 2023

D major and Allegro in D

Maybe Allegro will be a good piece for your concert?

D minor page

• For the scale, think about the key signature before you start so that you’re ready for all the F naturals, B flats and C#s.
• Always aim for clear, strong sound quality as you play your scales and arpeggios.
• We started looking at Snake bite. Aim for a real difference between the spiky martelé boowing and the smooth slurred passages. For the martelé, use the upper half of the bow and press a little with your 1st finger on the bow to help get the catch at the start of each note.

Mon 12^th June 2023

D major page

• Keep playing the scale and arpeggio, thinking about sound quality as you play these this week – it’s really improving!
• You can leave Spic and Span now.
• Allegro in D – remember to start with an up bow.
• Listen out for your 3rd finger tuning – if it’s hard to get it right, make sure your left thumb is opposite your 1st finger.
• Add the 2nd half now.

Feel free to move onto D minor once you’ve worked on this piece.

Thu 8^th June 2023

VIP: Keep reminding yourself of your bow pinkie – it needs to be curved and on its tip, not tucked under the bow.

I love the sound of this new practice schedule!

Spic and Span

• Think about the sound quality – try to use the middle of the bow and keep the bow flowing.
• Practise bars 3 and 4 and think about the note spacing like we did in the lesson.
• Practise the tone-and-a-half gaps between the notes in bar 5 and 7.
• Practise the 2-tone gaps between the notes in bars 11 and 13.

Allegro in D

• Play the top octave of the D major arpeggio to warm up for this.
• We looked at the first two lines, but all the rest of the piece uses the same notes so see how you get on with that too.

Thu 18^th May 2023

VIP: Keep reminding yourself of your bow pinkie – it needs to be curved and on its tip, not tucked under the bow.

Blue Rhythmico

• On the first page, keep your F naturals nice and low. When you go onto the G string, do the same with your B flat.
• Look ahead so you know if you’re aiming for Ds and As of Gs and Ds in your double stops.
• Work on bar 25’s bowing and the tuning of the A at the end.

Slumdog Millionaire

• Try to playing longer strokes at the beginning so it’s not to robotic.
• Watch out for the rhythm in bar 16.
• Keep your Gs close to your F#s (ie. 2nd time bar and bar 26).
• Watch out for C#s in the pizzicato section and in bar 46.

Thu 11^th May 2023

VIP: Keep reminding yourself of your bow pinkie – it needs to be curved and on its tip, not tucked under the bow.

D major 2 octaves

• Keep all Ds long, so your rhythm is strong.
• Try to keep thinking about tones and semitones – this will help redice slides.
• In the arpeggio, see how clear and strong a sound you can make with the bow.

Spic and span

• We looked at the first 8 bars. You did a great job working out the notes!
• See how you get on with working out the rest of this piece.

Thu 27^th April 2023

VIP: Keep reminding yourself of your bow pinkie – it needs to be curved and on its tip, not tucked under the bow.

Start your practice with E major, followed by E harmonic and E melodic minors. Try to play these with the crotchets and quavers rhythm and slurs, with super smooth bow changes.

Great work on In Your Stride! I’d love to hear it with the piano if you have 5 minutes to record it.

E flat major

Practise the scale and arpeggio, then play the Tallis Canon with as many other musicians as you can find in the house!

Move onto the A flat major page and if it goes well just keep going onto the next page too.

Thu 23^rd March 2023

We mainly worked on your orchestra pieces today.

E major

• Make sure your E is high enough before you start.
• In the arpeggio, listen out for the tuning of your G#s.
• We tried Hook of by Crook faster and again aimed for a really in tune E at the start.
• If the timing is a bit wonky at the start, stop and imagine the second half and that will help you.

We’ll move onto E minor next time, but feel free to look at this before we meet.

Thu 9^th March 2023

Mock Baroque

• Well done on all your note learning in this!
• Don’t forget to check your little finger on the bow every few lines. Try to keep your middle finger opposite your thumb on the bow so that your little finger isn’t on the screw.
• Keep playing this for fluency.

E major

• Great job on the scale! In the hooked bowing exercise, Careful you’re not making the gap between the notes too big.
• Start having a look at Hook or by Crook, but we’ll start this properly together next lesson.
• If you really want to get ahead of the game, start looking at the E minor page too!

Thu 23^rd February 2023

Keep reminding yourself of that lovely curved little finger on the bow!

Mock Baroque

• Start by putting your third finger on the A string as well as getting the 4th finger on, so you’re really ready for the second note too.
• Use lots of bow for the f passages – you should be using most of your bow length.
• Aim for no hard edges at the end of your dotted quavers – even though there’s a slight separation, it should still sound flowing.
• Careful of the tuning from bar 17 – you need a low 2 on the G string and a high 1 and 2 on the D string.
• Whenever you have more than 2 crotchets in a row, make sure you’re not accidentally playing the 3rd and 4th notes as a dotted quaver and semiquaver (bars 10-11 and 26-27).

E major page

• Practise the scale and arpeggio, then play the scale with the suggested hooked bowing.
• Check my post-it note to make sure you understand the difference between the hooked rhythms on the previous page and the hooked rhythm on this page.
• We didn’t get time in the lesson, but feel free to look at both pieces on this page.

Thu 9^th February 2023

As with last lesson, keep reminding yourself of your beautiful bow hold! Try using the bow more boldly too, to get a focused, strong sound.

B flat major page

• Try to start off confidently with your bow right from the start.
• Remember you can’t use your open E string in this!
• Practise the dotted rhythm scale, counting 3 semiquavers in each dotted quaver and using nice long bows.
• Practise the fit fingers exercise with a strong bow and good tuning. See if you can remember what we tried for the downwards scale too!
• Add the slurs to the arpeggio.
• Practise the fanfare for two for a nice strong sound.
• Use some of the notes and rhythms we’ve used on this page to finish the composition at the bottom of the page.
• Start learning Mock Baroque.

Thu 2^nd February 2023

As with last lesson, keep reminding yourself of your beautiful bow hold! Try using the bow more boldly too, to get a focused, strong sound.

G Major page

• Practise the scale and arpeggio, thinking about your finger spacing on each string before you start.

A Major page

• Practise the scale and arpeggio, thinking about your finger spacing on each string before you start.
• In Out of the Question, make sure your bow doesn’t stray too near the bridge.
• When you get into verse 2, beware of the G#s.

B flat major page

• Have a look at this at home, thinking before you start about the B flats and E flats and how to play them.
• Try the bowing and finger exercises underneath.
• Practise arpeggio and fanfare.
• Start thinking about the tune you’d like to write at the bottom of the page, using rhythms you have already played on the page. Try to finish on a B flat, as this will make it sound finished.

Sun 22^nd January 2023

Keep reminding yourself of your beautiful bow hold!

G Major page

For the scale, remember the second fingers are high, high, low, low.

• Fantastic work on the scale and arpeggio! Keep playing them to listen for good sound quality.
• In Keep Fit, make sure you retake to start the second half on a down bow.
• Set yourself a challenge to play it a little bit faster each practice and see how you get on. Using shorter bows will help you keep a good tone as it speeds up.

A Major page

Before playing the scale, remind yourself that all 2nd fingers are high, then complete this sentence:

For the scale, remember the _______ fingers are high, high, low, low.

• Practise the scale and arpeggio both separate bows and slurred.
• Read everything on page 6 to learn about questions and answers in music.
• Practise Swing Low and Out of the Question, looking out for the quaver vs. crotchet rhythms.
• For verse 3 of Our of the Question, come up with a different version each time you practice. Just before your next lesson, write in your favourite creation!

Wed 4^th January 2023

In all you do this week, remind yourself about keeping your little finger curved on the bow.

G Major (Fiddle Time Scales 2)

• Pick a rhythm to play on each note of the scale like we did in the lesson.
• Listen very carefully for good tuning.
• In the scale and arpeggio, keep the bow flowing.
• In the arpeggio, think about which notes you’ll be playing before you start to avoid hesitations and mistakes.

Keep Fit

• Again, keep your bow smooth and flowing – as you change from down to up, up to down, just change direction instead of stopping the bow.
• Always be listening for tuning.
• Look for patterns like scales and arpeggios in this piece – this will mean you can look ahead and always be ready for the next bar.

Sun 18^th December 2022

Contredanse

• Keep the bow flowing bow in f passages.
• Practice bar 25 to make sure you jump to a B.

Berceuse

• Keep your bow flowing in this too. Aim for no gaps between your slurs!

Think about a flowing bow in your scales too, and make sure you focus quite a bit on your 2 octave minor scales and arpeggios.

GOOD LUCK!!! And Merry Christmas 🎅🌟

Mon 12^th December 2022

Scales

• Remember your long tonics on the scales.
• Keep testing yourself on all your first notes.
• Revise how to slur – 1 or 2 notes in scales, 3 notes for arpeggios.

Sight Reading

• Think really well about the key before starting.
• Look out for the rhythms!

Aural

• These are all fine as long as you’re focused, listening well right from the start!

Thu 8^th December 2022

Contredanse

• Work on the turns to get the semiquavers really even, making sure your C natural is nice and low.
• Careful of the tuning of your low B in 26.
• Don’t forget the last 4 bars are f!

Berceuse

• Listen really carefully for tuning in this one, as you were a little low in general today.

Singin’

• Fantastic work on all your rhythms in this one!

Aural

• Your singing was excellent today, but spend some more time on the others.
• In the metre test, don’t cap too loudly at the start. Once you’re sure of the metre, then you can clap louder.

Thu 1^st December 2022

Contredanse

• Careful not to play faster when it’s louder, like in bar 4. This will help you have more time to play the notes in bar 7.

Berceuse

• Listen out to make sure there’s no crunch as you cross the string at the start of bar 9 and 25.
• In bar 9, your shift is great but just make sure your fingers line up behind your 4th finger ready for the next few notes.
• Check you’re finishing on a down bow.

Singin’ in the Rain

• Great work! Just work a little more on the last bar’s timing.

Scales

• Remember all major scales start with two tones, and aall minors start tone semitone.
• Have a first note challenge – can you get them all in tune first time? There are 6 points up for grabs! (A flat, A, B flat, E flat, E, D in 3rd position).
• Practice the 2 octave minor scales the most.

Mon 21^st November 2022

Scales

• In all your scales, try not to stop your bow. It should only change direction, not stop then change direction.
• In the arpeggios, practice slurring 3 notes per bow, changing bow on every tonic. In the majors, check the tuning of your 2nd note – remember it’s 2 tones between that and the first note!
• Practice memorising your 2 octave arpeggios, including D major and D minor in 3rd position. You can use the post-it note in your scale book with the Loch Ness Monster to help!

Make sure you are playing all your scales and arpeggios at least twice a week now, perhaps flipping a coin to decide whether you’ll do them slurred or separate bows.

Contredanse

• You started at a beautiful p dynamic. Can your f dynamic be sudden?
• You’re doing a great job in this piece – just practice the ornamentsa bit more to get them as good as the rest of the piece.

Mon 14^th November 2022

Sight reading

• Do one exercise every practice session, setting a 1 minute timer.
• Check the key signature before you start!
• Remember to just keep going!

Contredanse

• To help make your f even louder, try using a faster, heavier bow.

Theme from Berceuse

• Practice your shifts by practising the following bars a few times each:
• 5-6
• 9-10
• 13-14
• 21-22
• 25-28
• 29-end

Singin’ in the Rain

• Just make sure you play this at least once a week to keep it sounding as confident as it used to be!

Mon 7^th November 2022

Scales and Arpeggios

• Make sure your bow is flowing on these!
• In the chromatic scale, try to slide your repeated fingers quickly instead of lifting an them.
• Ask if Mum or Dad can play the scales on the piano with you, perhaps in octaves.

Conteredanse

• 1st section – can your 4th fingers be higher?
• 2nd section – look out for slurs.
• 4th section – longer crotchets and nice and loud! Watch out for the slurring at the end too.

Mon 17^th October 2022

Scales and Arpeggios

• In the chromatic scales, only repeat your 1st and 2nd fingers.
• Play all the 1 octave major scales and arpeggios.

Contredanse

• Well done with your work on the trills and turns this week! Make sure the turns are slurred.
• Listen carefully for tuning in the first section.
• In the third section (from bar 17), be really careful about your quaver rhythms.
• Learn the last section this week too.

Mon 10^th October 2022

Contredanse

• Always make sure your little finger is on top of your bow.
• Practice bars 6-8 for bowing and try to get to the C in bar 7 without hesitating.
• Add the turns to the second part and learn the 3rd and 4th parts for next week.

Mon 26^th September 2022

Vivaldi (orchestra)

• Think about the bowing before you start.
• Also think about the tuning of the first note – is it C# or C natural? Where should your finger be for that?
• In the string crossings at the bottom of the first page, try to keep your fingers on the string.

Singin’ in the Rain

• Let’s see if we can really get the rhythm sorted in this!
• On every minim tied to a quaver, count “123” out loud. Bar 13 is the main one to watch out for.

Mon 19^th September 2022

Contredanse

• Try doing “sniff sniff breathe” to get the feeling of the opening straight before you play it.
• Work on getting your loud sections louder.
• Again work mainly on the first section.

Berceuse

• Keep your bow flowing as if the wind was blowing it, just like you did in your lesson.
• Practice the links between positions so you don’t slow down for them.

Mon 12^th September 2022

Singin’ in the Rain

• Keep an eye out for the rhythm in bars 13 and 31, and bowing in 19.
• Add the dynamics now, especially the louder dynamics.
• Count at the end so your last note is in time.

Berceuse

• Work on keeping your shifts in time – great work on them so far though!
• Dynamics – again, give more in the louder phrases.
• Flowing bow, especially listening between bows to make sure there’s no crunch.

Contredanse

• Work on the first 2 lines, noticing the dynamics.
• In the up bows, think of someone doing the long jump.

Fri 24^th June 2022

Berceuse

• Play this at least once a week to keep it familiar.
• Listen to avoid any scratchiness, especially when you’re busy shifting.

Contredanse

• Start in the middle of your bow and try to keep your bow straight – ask someone to watch and tell you how you’re doing!
• Practice the up, up, down bowing on one note (maybe a B?) before you start.
• Be on the lookout for low C naturals! 🔍
• We learnt the first 8 bars, but feel free to look on further if you get time.

Thu 16^th June 2022

Scales

• Start all of these on a down bow.
• Play these a bit faster now, using smaller bows.
• In B flat major, make sure all 1st fingers touch the nut.
• See if you can find your B flat without playing the G and A test notes – still put the fingers on just as carefully though.
• Add the minors to your scale practice. For the scales, get someone to help you with the tuning of the 3rd, 6ths and 7ths.
• Keep your bow light and your left hand relaxed with the left wrist down.

Berceuse

• Try to sing the tune in your head as you play – this will help keep your flow going over the shifts.
• In 15-18, “close the gap” will be much easier with a low wrist.
• In this too, try to keep your bow light – remember it is a lullaby!
• When in 3rd position on the A string, careful not to get the E string with your bow.

Fri 27^th May 2022

23rd June.

Singin’ in the Rain

• Prepare your 3rd finger before you start.
• Listen out to make sure you’re not tickling the other strings – good posture and a straight bow will help with this.

Scales

• Always start these on a down bow.
• Aim for a really straight straight bow.
• In D major, shift to a first finger on the second D (on the A string). This means the whole of the top octave is in 3rd position.
• In B flat major, use all 4th fingers and no open strings. All your 1st fingers need to nbe right back next to the nut.

Bourée

• Well done finding the D (2nd notes). Chek your G is in tune too (1st note) – it tends to be a bit high.
• See how far you can get with the rest of the piece.

Fri 27^th May 2022

Keep working on your sight reading, with a bit more focus on rhythm.

Berceuse

• Great work on your rhythm and low 2nd fingers in this!
• We worked on the 3rd position on the 2nd line today – you’ll also find exactly the same shift in bar 21, so try that too!
• Watch some violinists on YouTube and see how much shifting they do – I promise once you get used to it, shifting opens up a whole new world of violin playing to you and you’ll be doing it without thinking twice!

Fri 20^th May 2022

Keep working on the shifting exercise from last week.

Bourée

• Start with an up bow in the middle of your bow.
• Get to the heel every time it says “nut”.
• After the first 4 notes, shift all the way down to 1st position.
• Get more comfortable with the 4th finger in bar 8.

Theme from Berceuse

• Keep playing this in 1st position for now, as suggested in last week’s comments.
• Remember that all 2nd fingers are low in this piece, as they are C and G naturals.
• In bars 3, 7, 11 etc. make sure your 2nd note holds over into the next bar, rather than starting the next slur of quavers on the 1st beat.

Thu 12^th May 2022

Finding 3rd position – play the warm-up exercise on your audition piece page, making sure your thumb moves at the same time as your 1st finger – it is the car that takes the people (your fingers) to their destination.

Bourée

• Play the first 6 notes of your warm-up exercise before playing, to get your hand in 3rd position. Then play DEF#G to get ready for you first note. Make sure your thumb is opposite your 1st finger!
• Practice up to the pencil line.

Theme from Berceuse

• Think about the C natural before you start.
• Hold the ties a little longer.
• I’ve written some 3rd position fingerings in, but ignore these for now – we’ll just get used to the melody first.

Thu 28^th Apr 2022

Keep up the good work on your sight reading! Play your prep scales with long tonics, and up the tempo.

Singin’ in the Rain

• Watch out for rhythm in 9.
• In 17 and 18, think of the bow skipping on the last notes (because there’s no slur).
• Notice that 21, 23, 25, 27 and 31 have the same rhythm, and 29 is the odd one out. (The main one to watch out for is that 31 shouldn’t be llike 29!).
• In 33, keep the first note super short and springy.
• Pluck the last note near the middle of the string (over the fingerboard).

Thu 21^st Apr 2022

Sight Reading

We did exercise 1. Work on a few at home and tick them off once you’ve done them. Here’s how:

• Work out the key;
• Play the scale;
• Clap the rhythm (I forgot to do this in the lesson!);
• Practice for 1 minute;
• Play the exercise.

Singin’ in the Rain

• In bar 5, listen to the G. How clear was it? If it was muffled, change string quicker and sooner.
• Make sure bar 13 and 15 are different rhythms.
• Work on 13-20, concentrating lots on the bowing.
• Learn the rest of the piece, watching out for bowing especially in bar 33.

Fri 25^th Mar 2022

Singin’ in the Rain

• Make sure all upbeats are on up bows.
• Great work on the swung quavers, but remember that bar 10 and bar 26 are straight!
• Notice the difference between bars 13 and 15.
• Decide if you’d like to play the last note with your left hand or right hand.

Start looking at another Grade 3 piece – or two!

Fri 18^th Mar 2022

38. Caribbean Sunshine

• Work hard on getting your bowings right in this one, especially in bar 14!
• Watch out at 10 and 11 – there are only 3 E upbeats this time!

Choose a Grade 3 piece to start working on.

Fri 11^th Mar 2022

38. Caribbean Sunshine

• Play a 2 octave A major scale to warm up for this, noticing which notes are sharp.
• Play this piece mainly in the lower half of the bow for a nice strong sound.
• Remember to start on an up bow!
• Watch out for high 3rd fingers on your G and D strings.

Keep practising Somebody’s Knocking at Your Door.

Fri 25^th Feb 2022

Te Deum

• Make sure you remember all the slurs.
• Practice bar 7 to get it really confident.
• Learn the next section. The last section is the same as the first, so you can then play the whole thing through!

30. Somebody’s Knocking At Your Door

• Warm up for this with an E major scale.
• Use your E major knowledge to help you tune the G# in bar 1.
• Careful of the rhythm in 9 and 17 – it’s just crotchets! 😄

Fri 11^th Feb 2022

25. That’s How it Goes

• Pay close attention to you dynamics.
• Keep your left wrist down.
• Work on any bits where your fingers are sliding into tune.
• You played quietly really well, but make sure you keep the same tempo.

24. Prelude to Te Deum

• Watch out for the up bow at the start slur in bar 1.
• Careful with your crotchet at quaver rhythms.
• Low 2s on the E string.

Fri 4^th Feb 2022

Castle on a Cloud

• Work on the middle section as you won’t play it as often as the outer sections.
• Keep your bow super smooth on the slurs.
• Keep your 2nds lows and your 4s high.
• In 15, try to keep the last note in the slur.

That’s How it Goes

• Keep playing this to get even better at the second half.

Start the Show

• Keep practising this but see if you can add some dynamics and think about keeping your left wrist low.
• How punchy can your last 3 notes be?

Pick another one to sight read!

Fri 28^th Jan 2022

That’s how it goes!

• Great work on this Ella!
• Play a G major scale and arpeggio to warm up for this piece, thinking about your 2nd finger positions before you start.
• In the piece, listen out for clear bowing which doesn’t accidentally hit other strings.
• Remember to use longer bows to help you slow down for the crotchet bars.
• In 8 and 16, remember to change string really quickly at the start of the bar.
• Work on 21-24 to get used to the notes.
• Choose another piece in the book.

Castle on a Cloud

• Look back two lessons to find practice tips for this.

Fri 21^st Jan 2022

Allegretto in G (Fiddle Time Runners)

• Use this as your sight reading practice this week.
• Look at all the details before you start playing, such as up bow, slur, key signature (what key is it in, and coud you play that scale to warm up and find out where your 2nd fingers should be?).
• Can you remember how I would count you in for this piece? (Answer at the bottom of this web page! 😄)

Castle on a Cloud

• Check last week for practice tips on this.

Fri 14th Jan 2022

Castle on a Cloud

• You’ve made a great start on this!
• Look out for notes at the end of phrases not being slurred into the notes before.
• Aim not to slow down when you change string.
• Keep an eye out for the bowing from bar 12.

Pick a Bale of Cotton (Fiddle Time Runners)

• Practice the first two lines thinking lots about rhythm.
• Use the rest of the piece as sight reading practice, one line at a time.
• Try to notice all the details before you play each line, like rhythm and bowing.

Fri 10th Dec 2021

Minuett

Sounding great today! Just remember to get louder as you go through the piece.

Mahler

• Keep your bow light as you use your 4th finger.
• Even shorter on the staccatos in 7 and 8 if you can!
• Well done on your lovely long last note! Even longer on the note before if you can.
• Look out for the dynamics in this piece too.

Little Bird

• Nice work Ella!
• Careful not to be too slow at the end, and remember your quaver rest 3 before the end!

Scales

• Practice the minors and arpeggios the most.
• Try to keep the notees continuous with as few gaps as possible by thinking ahead.

Sight reading

• Be sure to notice the key signature and time signature before you start.
• Use the time they give you to practice! It should be about a minute.

But most of all… Enjoy yourself and GOOD LUCK!!

Fri 3rd Dec 2021

Minuett

• Great leading in of your accompanist!
• Keep your left wrist down to help you with these two spots: low 2 in bar 2 and low 1 in bar 10.
• Retake your bow to start line 3 down bow.

Theme

• This is sounding really good Ella!
• Aim a little higher with your 3rd finger in 13 and 14 – remember the gaps are the same 1-2 and 2-3.
• Slow bow on your last 2 notes and hold the last note until you run out of bow!

Little Bird

• Try this with a metronome this week.
• The F# in the first bar needs to be super high, especially if you’ve just been playing the other pieces with low 1sts.

Practice a piece of sight reading every practice session and keep going with those scales!

Fri 26th Nov 2021

Minuett

• On lines 1 and 2, make sure the first bar has a clear open A before you change string.
• Build the dynamics in the 2nd half.
• Work on your low 2nd fingers n the E string.
• Keep thinking about that olympic swimmer bowing!

Mahler

• Careful of your finger placement in 13 and 14.
• Be aware of the dynamics all the way through – there are a lot!
• Practice your slow bow on the last note – aim for 6 beats.
• Work on holding the note before the last note for long enough.

Little bird

• Try this with a metronome to make sure it’s consistently fast enough.
• Make a big difference in the p section, then much louder in the mf.

Work on one sight reading exercise each practice – look at the key signature and time signature first, then count yourself in and clap the rhythms, then count yourself in and play it.

Practice some aural too, and bring me a list of any scales you’d like help on next lesson.

Fri 12th Nov 2021

Minuett

• Keep the bow moving all the time, just like an Olympic swimmer!
• Practice any bars with 4th fingers until you can play them without hesitating.
• Think more about the dynamics.

Scales

• See if you can play your scales and arpeggios with Olympic swimmer bowing too!
• Remind me to send scale pick’n’mix if I haven’t yet!

Little Bird

• Your tuning is great when you think about it, so make sure you do before you start!
• You may need to budge your 2nd finger out of the way a little to get your 3rd finger in tune.
• Think about Olympic swimmer bowing in this too!

Fri 5th Nov 2021

Scales – Practice C major scale and arpeggio this week.

Little Bird

• Be bold with your sound – start stronger and get even stronger for the f.
• Take more notice of the dynamics.
• Make a real difference between the G#s and the G naturals.

Minuett

• Keep your bow flowing in the mp opening section.
• In bar 1, nice and high with your 2nd finger.
• In bar 2, nice and low with your 2nd finger.
• In bar 3, nice and low with your 1st finger.
• Work on your louder dynamics in your 2nd half.

Fri 22nd Oct 2021

Mahler

• Keep a close lookout for all the slurs, especially when the tune tune is higher.
• Practice bars 5 and 6 with 4th fingers.
• Keep your bow nice and strong in the higher tune.
• Watch out for the staccatos in bat 15 – where they are and where they aren’t!

Fri 8th Oct 2021

Minuett

• Play the notes in bar 7 as long notes. Listen to the Es and see if they match.

Little Bird

• Practice the first 5 notes with a pianist to check your tuning.
• Choose a speed and stick to it by counting yourself in with “1,2,1+2+”.

Scale clinic: come to next lesson telling me which scale(s) you need help with.

Fri 1st Oct 2021

Minuett

• Use longer bows for the crotchets and shorter bows for the quavers.
• Before you start playing, think about your low 1st fingers.
• Play a D minor scale with Minuett’s rhythm on every note, like we did in the lesson.

Theme

• Remember the slurs.
• Think about your hand shapes in this one too – it is also in D minor, so it’s the same finger patterns as Minuett.

Little Bird

• Make sure your change your finger placement in this one as there are F#s!
• Just practice up to the end of bar 20 this week.

Fri 24th Sep 2021

Words to learn: Crescendo (gradually getting louder) and diminuendo (gradually getting quieter).

Finale from Water Music

• Great rhythm! Careful to keep the tempo steady.
• Focus on the dynamics this week.

Pick a Bale of Cotton

• We learnt the first line. See how much further you can get!

Grade 2 prep

• Revise the scales you’ve already learnt and start looking at the new ones if you have time.
• Revisit your grade pieces.

Fri 17th Sep 2021

Bow hold – Put the tip of your little finger on the face of the octagon just towards you, and make sure your middle two fingers are opposite your thumb.

Water Music

• We learnt about time signatures. What does the top number tell you? What does the bottom number tell you?
• Practice the 2nd half more to work on any places you hesitate or slow down.
• Can you tell me all about dynamics next lesson?
• How many dynamics can you show in this piece?

Fri 10th Sep 2021

Your first lesson with me! 😄🎻

Great job tuning your violin today! We’ll practice this skill every lesson and it’ll get easier each time.

Remember to check your bow is tight enough with your little finger between the wood and the hair.

Finale from the “Water Music”

Well done with your 4th fingers in this! Here are 3 things for you to focus on this week, in this piece and any others you decide to play:

• One thing to listen out for: is your bow angle right? If you touch any next-door strings or the side of the violin lift or lower your right elbow.
• One thing for your left hand : is your left wrist down? Try to keep it low and relaxed.
• One thing for your right hand: Try to build up your new bow hold like we did in the lesson:
  • Hold the middle of the bow with your left hand
  • Make a rabbit shadow puppet with your right hand
  • Put the very tip of your your thumb on the wood between the lapping and the frog
  • Fold your middle fingers over the bow, like the rabbit’s teeth
  • Tap your little finger on its tip
  • Wrap your index finger around the stick
  • Check your thumb and little finger are still curved and on their tips
  • Press a little with your little finger and take the weight of the bow with it: now you can let go with your left hand! 😄

Answer to lesson notes question 21^st Jan 2022:

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