Hello violin players,
So nice to meet you. Here is a summary of your homework for the week.
Olivia
Congratulations on choosing to play the violin. You will learn to play beautiful melodies!
Since you have just started on the violin, just do a bit of review and mainly practice the bow hold with a pencil. Look at your little book as a reminder.
Review: 1) notes on the A string.
2) your first finger pattern: 2nd finger (c #) and 3rd finger (d) close.
When we play the violin we divide technique into left hand and right hand.
For the following left hand exercises it is important that you keep your wrist straight to allow the energy to flow freely (from your feet into your hands).
Left Hand: Practice plucking notes on the A string: a) in guitar position and then b) violin position. Make sure your left thumb is slightly curved. Pluck the notes in succession: open A, 1st finger B, 2nd finger C#, and 3rd finger D. ( 0123 ). Take your time and listen carefully to the notes. This is a preparatory exercise for your first violin piece” Hot Cross Buns.”
Right hand: Practice the bow hold with a pencil. Hold pencil lightly between thumb and middle finger allowing the wrist to hang. When this feels pretty easy, then practice bow hold with the bow. Remember that the little finger sits lightly on top of the bow stick. Create a nice circle between the thumb and the middle finger. Imagine you are holding a paint brush.
Putting it together: Practice Hot Cross Buns in these 2 ways: 1) plucking notes with the left hand
2) playing song with bow ( middle of bow, short staccato strokes)
Practice about 10 min/day to start. Please listen to some violin music you like on youtube. When you listen to the pieces think about why you like these pieces. Also, see if you can feel the character of the piece. Finally, what do you think of the particular arrangement. We will talk about them next lesson. Thank you for an excellent first lesson. Looking forward to seeing you next week!
Andrew
This is just a brief reminder of the few assignments for next week. No pressure, whatever time you can give to your violin will be great.
- Trill study in third position: ” Who has seen the wind?” (RCM bk) . Reminder: Note D ( A string) is 1st finger in third position
Practice trills in the following two ways: 1) four 16th notes eg ( 3rd position): 1212. Start with comfortable speed, then slowly speed up the metronome.
2) triples (3 rd position): 121
Practice trills 5 to 10 min/day). When the trills are quite even and easy, then practice the trills in the Purcell piece.
2.Purcell: The Purcell is quite polished, yet I think you could add a bit more character to the piece. You could create more character in the following ways: adding more dynamic contrast, lighter bow strokes( especially on the upbows) and observing the breath marks for a bit more clarity. Finally, add the trills to give the piece some stylistic elegance.
3.Cowboy: Play through the piece. For the double stop passages balance the bow evenly on both strings. It’s a bit of a country piece. Play it as fast as you can and have fun!
Thank you for playing the Purcell piece for me: really enjoyed listening to your playing. Next week I will bring some violin/cello duets. Looking forward to seeing you next week!