Judy

Welcome to your lesson notes page Judy!

Thu 20^th November 2025

Download the Pano Tuner app.

Eta Cohen p.10

• 35. Once you’ve found your 1st finger in 3rd position, make sure your thumb is comfy opposite. Touch the fingers on the string to get your tones ready before you play. Watch out for nice low 2nd fingers on the Cs in the second half.
• 36. Be really careful with the tuning in this one – try to keep your fingers relaxed, and near the string when not in use. If you’re focussing on the tuning of the 3rd and 4th fingers, keep half an ear on the 1st fingers too. Control the end of your last note, slowing the bow to a stop rather than kicking the end of it.

Down by the Riverside

• Use your open D to help you find you first note.
• Check the tuning of your E string notes, especially the F#s.
• Keep a lookout for unexpected slurs.
• Keep the crotchet rests nice and clear.
• For the double stops, keep the bow light. You’ll be amazed how loud it is without pressure!

Thu 30^th October 2025

Eta Cohen p.9

• Warm up with a G major scale, paying particular attention to a smooth-flowing bow. Keep the bow straight on the E string, especially in the lower half.
• 28. On line one, experiment with bow distribution. On line two, focus on tuning, especially of your low 2nd finger and the 3rd finger on 6th bar. On line three, see how much bow you can use on your dotted minims, changing smoothly between them.
• 29. Before you start, make sure your 1st finger is in the right place for the B in your 2nd bar. Keep your C naturals nice and low. As with Dona Nobis, think about bow distribution, but in the opposite direction – generally it’s the up bows that need to be swift, and down bows need to be saved. Once your left hand is happier, think again about smooth bowing, not too close to the bridge.
• 30. On line one, see if you can get your 2nd finger Bs consistently in tune. Practice the start of line 2 as if you were playing it down the octave, but in the whole piece feel free to play it in the edited version.

Old Joe Clark

• Keep doing what you’ve been doing.
• Blitz bars 38-45 slowly with a tuner. Keep everything as relaxed as possible, and think about your tones and semitones. This section is a great chance to put your smooth bowing into practice!

Feel free to have a look at something else in this book too.

Fri 26^th September 2025

Eta Cohen p.8

• 23. Enjoy swinging your elbow and curving your LH fingers. Try not to pluck any extra strings!
• 24. Try to use fingers 1, 2 and 3 as a framework to get the tuning of your 4th fingers more consistent.
• 25. Choose an appropriate tempo and title for this one. For tuning, make sure the heel of your hand isn’t resting on the violin, and you have a little 1st finger contact with the nut. Aim for a clear crotchet rest each time.
• 26. Warm up for this by playing the first 4 notes in reverse order, using a tuner to check pitch. You can work with a tuner for the whole piece, perhaps focusing on one finger at a time and pausing on all notes.
• 27. Before you start, place your 1st and 2nd fingers on B and C natural on the A string, then do some 3rd finger tapping exercises to open up the base joint. Be strict with yourself on the tuning of this one too!

Old Joe Clark

• Great tuning at the start! Try to keep your left hand shape as stable as possible.
• Try to free up your bow arm a bit – relaxed, but heavy. Find someone to help you at home with the arm-dropping exercise!
• In the bariolage, keep your left wrist down and try to keep the left hand fingers curved and close to the string.
• For Variation 2, keep your fingertips light. Warm up for this section by placing 1 on A, making sure your thumb is relaxed and opposite. Then tap each of the next fingers on the string a few times, trying to keep them curved and on their tips.

Thu 17^th July 2025

General points from Eta Cohen

• Always have your left wrist in mind – can you set a mirror up to keep an eye on it?
• Keep listening out for clean bowing – is your right elbow staying on the right “shelf” for the string you’re on, or are you raising or lowering it as you travel along your up bows and downs? Does looking at where the bow meets the string help?
• In general, I think you can be lighter with your bow, further away from the bridge. Keeping your bow hand more relaxed will help with this.

Old Joe Clark

• Warm up for the string crossing section with some open string exercises, in the middle of the bow.
• Keep your bow nice and relaxed in this piece to get the folk style.
• At bar 19, play a few bars of open string to get your bow moving freely, then segue into the notes on the page. Keep your left wrist down throughout!
• When shifting down from 3rd position, make sure the side of your 1st finger finds the nut and your wrist lets go.

Thu 26^th June 2025

General points from Eta Cohen

• Be more aware of your right elbow level, especially on the lower two strings.
• Listen out for the tuning of your 3rd fingers.

Eta Cohen Step 2

• Nos. 10 & 11: Try to pluck upwards, with very little circles. Bring your left elbow forwards to help reach.
• No. 14: use light, whole bows.

Mozart Minuet

• Warm up with the shifting scale.
• Remember your G#s.

Tue 20^th May 2025

Eta Cohen p.3

• Posture-wise, make sure you bring the violin to you, rather than slouching to meet it.
• Check your bow hold before you start – is it curved and flexible? Resting the bow on the string can help with releasing tension.
• As you do long up bows, make sure the tip doesn’t travel behind your head.
• Aim for your left wrist to be bending in the opposite direction to the violin body.
• Ex. 5 – think about the technical things above, and your tuning.
• Ex. 6 – use less bow so that your crotchets sound more concentrated. Use mainly the lower middle part of the bow.

Pleyel Rondo

• In the first section, try to keep your 3rd finger curved to help with intonation.
• Keep the top B flats nice and low in the middle section.

Choose a smoother piece in this book for next time.

Thu 27^th March 2025

Pleyel Rondo

• When playing your warm-up scale, intentionally set your bow hold before you begin. Then aim for a nice rounded sound as you play. You need a nice balance of control and freedom in your fingers.
• In the piece, try to match the sound of each pair of staccato crotchets – can the second sound as crisp as the first each time?
• For the opening section, remember that the E string is delicate, so we need to be gentle with it. The balance between string and delicate should feel a bit like getting a crystal glass to ring.
• In the minor section, start quietly by touching your bow down like a record needle.
• Be really picky about placement of tones and semitones, especially when placing your 3rd finger at the end of bar 16, getting your 2nd finger ready for the upcoming C#.

Eta Cohen

• Ex. 1 – Keep this nice and slow. Use it to work on smooth, long bows with olympic swimmer bow changes. Make sure the bow speed is the same all the way through the bow. Try to keep the bow about an inch from the bridge – keep checking it.
• Ex. 2 – keep your wrist down to help with the semitones. Check in the mirror to make sure the wrist is almost straight.
• Ex. 3 or 4 (alternate them) – keep listening for sound quality.

Thu 23^rd January 2025

Keep revising your bow hold (see last lesson’s notes).

Cossacks

• Before you start playing this, set up a tuner and work up and down the D string notes a few times. Get really used to how the semitone and tone feel under your fingers. Keep your left wrist down as you do this.
• In the A sections, focus on lower B flats and accuracy in the bow, making sure you don’t catch any next-door strings.
• Try some slidy 1st finger exercise to get your finger flexible.
• Next, practice placing and removing your 1st finger without playing. Notice how relaxed your hand is, and make sure you can’t feel the A string under your finger.

Thu 19^th November 2024

Revise your bow hold before you play this week.

• Is your thumb bent and on its tip?
• Are your middle two fingers properly curved over the stick?
• Is your little finger on its tip?
• Is your index finger spaced apart for stability?

Cossacks

• Practice Fingertips first. Try to keep your bow running smoothly as you think about everything else! Think about the fingers being on their ballet points.
• Try the exercise in D minor (remembering to keep the E natural nice and high).
• In your D minor warm-up, take real care over the tuning of the E and F. Slide your 2nd finger down your 1st finger from the top joint to get a really close semitone.
• For bar 33, first play the rhythm with open strings. Once your bow arm is feeling completely comfy, start adding your 1st finger and alternating between bar 33 and the open strings.

Fri 18^th October 2024

Coconuts and Mangoes

• Warm up with the B flat major scale and focus mainly on the top octave, keeping your 1st finger nice and low and your thumb stable.
• Try at all times to keep your left wrist down, so that your top joints can be almost vertical.

Start working on another piece or two from your book. Look for flat keys.

Tue 24^th September 2024

Warm up with Nicola Benedetti’s warm-up video:

Technical focus this month: try to keep your left wrist straight.

Ancient Dance

• Use the D major scale to practice the bowing at bar 9.
• Practice the staccatos at bar 4, first just by playing those 2 notes on a loop. Focus more on the release than the stopping. Then play bars 3 and 4 a few times.
• In bar 14, see how well you can match the sound quality of the 4th finger and open As.
• In 24 and 26, see how smooth you can make the end of the minims. Slightly slow the bow, then aim for a smooth take-off.

Coconuts and Mangoes

• In your Bb major warm-up, keep the 3rd fingers nice and high in the top octave – keeping your left wrist down will help with the curved shape of these.
• Again focus on the release of the staccatos (eg. bar 13), keeping them light.
• Work on the tuning of your E string notes, especially from (bar 25).

Wed 28^th August 2024

Ancient Dance

• Aim for a nice open bow sound at the start, especially on the slurs.
• In bar 4, let the staccato notes ring even though they are short (do this by moving the bow to the next string rather than doing an ice-skate brake).
• Focus on a flowing bow in bars 5-8 so that you’re ready for bar 9.
• Try to have a light hand in bar 9.
• Play bars 12-14 several times, experimenting with all the ways you can change dynamic. Really use your ears and be honest about how big a difference you can hear, and push yourself to the extremes.
• In 15 and 16, use slightly more bow on each crotchet. This will open your arm up nicely for bar 17.
• Hold the minims to the next barline on the last line.

Pastorale

• You started will a really nice flowing bow here. Make sure the flow is still there as you change bow too.
• Position your left hand a little lower on the violin’s neck in this key, including the thumb.
• Separate the hooked bowing in bars 13 and 14 a little more – it should sound like separate bows.

Thu 27^th June 2024

To warm up your left fingers, place your hand on a surface as if you were playing the piano and tap each fingertip a few times. Can you get your little finger to be as loud as the other fingers? Try to bounce back a little after each impact.

Moon River

• When doing your pinkie push-ups, keep looking for the curves in each finger.
• To consistently get this sounding lovely, keep your eye on the bow position in relation to the bridge, prepare your fingers before you start and look ahead for string changes so that you’re really ready for them.

Pastorale

• Warm up with F major.

Ancient Dance

• Start looking at this and see how you get on!
• Try the last bar with your left hand 3rd or 4th finger.

Wed 29^th May 2024

Moon River

• Start with some pinkie push-ups so that your little finger is ready for your retakes in the piece.
• Keep the tempo nice and steady, set to 80.
• Aim to use the whole bow by relaxing your right shoulder as you do your first down bow.
• For the G in bar 5, start tilting the bow towards your string crossing a few notes early.
• Try to keep the bow smooth and light even when you’re using your 4th finger.
• From bar 12, try to keep the bow speed consistent with what you’ve been doing in the first phrase – this will result in you using less bow.
• Listen for the tuning in bar 29 – if it’s a bit sharp, make sure your 3rd finger is curved.
• Let gravity do the work in bars 37 and 39 so that you don’t run out of bow.

Gavotte

• Start with a 2 octave G major scale, focussing mainly on your low 2nd fingers in the top octave.
• Try to keep your left wrist down – remind yourself at the start of each section.

Thu 25^th April 2024

Grab a pipe cleaner and put each end into the f holes on your violin. Bow on the far side of it, to keep it away from the bridge.

Rigaudon

• Start by doing the recorder stretch, then D major.
• Try to keep your 3rd finger curved as you set up your fingers ready for the 1st note.
• Lighten up the bow on the crotchets on line 3, giving a tiny bit of air between them.
• In the bar before the trill, be aware of where your bow is and try to keep it away from the bridge.
• Practice the first 4 notes of 15, keeping the bow away from the bridge.
• For the trill, try to focus on the note after it rather than the trill itself.

Andantino in G

• Keep improvising your lovely warm-ups, keeping the bow lovely and flowing.
• Can your p opening section be quieter?
• Use the bow freely in bar 22.

Gavotte

• This piece brings lots of the things we’ve done in other pieces together.
• Keep the crotchets light, with space in between.

Mon 25^th March 2024

Rigaudon

• After playing your D major scale and arpeggio, play the scale up to the 5th using your 4th finger.
• Always be aware of your right elbow levels, dependent on which string you’re on.
• See if you can lighten up the bow on the crotchets.
• Keep your bow flowing in bar 15 – practice it first just as a E minim before the slur, to keep the bow smooth.

Jig

• Warm up your 4th finger before you start this one too, and make sure the 1st finger hasn’t ridden up.
• Keep some lightness in the bow here too.
• Halfway through, just listen to see if the 1st finger is still in the right place.
• Keep going with the metronome challenge!

Andantino in G

• Warm up with a G major exercise, modelled on the first bar of the piece. This will be good for your 4th fingers too! Keep the bow nice and light and try to use 1/3 of the bow for each note.
• Practice 15-16 for the bowing.
• Pick a few of the methods below to help you with the dynamics.

5 ways to change dynamic:

• Arm weight
• Bow length
• Bow speed
• Sounding point (close to the bridge or close to the finger board).
• Bow angle (flat hair or stick tilted away from you)

Mon 26^th Feb 2024

D major scale, 1 octave

• Play this slurred in pairs.
• Think about the shape of your fingers – where is the semitone?
• For the arpeggio, try to use your 2nd finger position to help with the placing of your 3rd finger.

Rigaudon

• Work on getting the 4-note slur in bar 15 into your system.
• Have a slow go at the two trills.

A major scale, 2 octaves

• Before you start, loosen up your base joints with the recorder stretch.
• Bring your left elbow forwards underneath the violin to bring your fingers over the G string. Try to swing it backwards as you ascend to the E string, and vice versa on the way down.
• To find the 1st finger in tune, feel the nut with the bottom crease of your 1st finger then fold the finger over diagonally. Then adjust accordingly and try to remember this for next time.
• Keep the left wrist as straight as possible, which will also mean your thumb will point upwards.

Jig

• Think about a nice light bow and a low left wrist before you start.
• You’re listening really well to the 4th finger tuning – now listen too for the 1st fingers to make sure they’re not gradually rising.
• Aim to get the tempo up now, using slightly less bow and looking ahead.

Mon 29^th Jan 2024

Your first lesson with me! 😄🎻

Before you start practising

• Build up your bow hold the way we did in the lesson. Remember these points:
  • The middle fingers (Bugs Bunny teeth!) should be in line with the thumb.
  • The little finger should be as curved as possible – curl it up completely at first, then tap the tip on the bow a few times before taking the bow’s weight.
• Try 10 pinkie push-ups. Next practice session, try 15 etc.
• Position the violin on your shoulder at a 45° angle between your shoulder and your nose.
• Stand in front of a mirror with your violin parallel to the mirror so that the bridge appears as a straight line. Place the bow on the string at the heel. Kink your right wrist slightly towards your nose so that the tip of the bow is straight, rather than disappearing behind your ear.
• Play a slow light down bow, watching your bow in the mirror as you go. Try to keep it parallel to the bridge by relaxing your right shoulder and moving your upper arm forwards and backwards as required. Remember it will be furthest back when you are in the middle of the bow.
• Play a down bow and up bow on each string, remembering to change string by lowering and raising your right elbow (moving from the shoulder but keeping the shoulder relaxed and down).
• Once this all feels like it’s working well, move onto your pieces.

Jig

• Play a 1 octave A major scale and arpeggio to warm up for this (starting on the A string). Think about the bow hold and straight bow as you play it. You might want to do this in front of the mirror too.
• In the piece, use the middle of the bow and try not to use too much of it.
• Keep the bow light so as not to strangle the vibrations.
• Listen out for clarity on string crossings and think about how best to co-ordinate the right elbow movements with your left hand fingers to improve this.

Rigaudon

• Still thinking about the bow, play a 1 octave D major scale and arpeggio to warm up for this.
• In the first time bar, take the bow off the string to do a retake ready for the new down bow on the quavers.
• If the sound goes a bit wispy, remember to check your bow angle.