Jaron – good luck with your song performance!
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (1 octave, doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing), G Major scale (2 octaves, and practice ascending scale replacing open strings with fourth finger – make sure to stretch fourth finger), and Etude (practice playing through without stopping and with a consistent tempo, and focus on second half of third line – remember that it’s the same descending scale as G Major).
Olivia
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: Review 2-octave Major and minor scales (try to memorise fingering patterns for each scale, and remember that shifts to higher positions require less space between the fingers), Go the Distance (practice full run-throughs and watch out for key changes signifying when to use high or low 2), Spring (you tend to be a bit flat in this piece so make sure to move your left hand up the neck of the violin a little bit), and see if there’s anything you’d like to add to our Zero to Hero arrangement, especially for the speaking parts!
Amaia
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (1 octave, doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing), and Perpetual Motion (play fourth finger exercises 0-1-2-3-4-3-2-1-0 on each string, stretch and exercise pinky finger to build muscles and flexibility in that finger, and practice playing through without stopping and with a faster tempo – especially the second half).
Isabella – hope you had fun at your sister’s birthday with the cupcakes and daan go!
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: Practice holding violin under chin with hands and no hands (in both plucking and bowing position, and make sure to maintain posture while playing exercises instead of just first few seconds of playing), review bow hold and window washer exercises, practice bowing down-up-down-up on each string, play A-string, D-string, and G-string bowing exercises on the second page of the packet, and practice first phrase of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme in Suzuki Violin Book 1.
Grace – missed you today!
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: 2-octave Major and minor scales (focus on F Major scale and shift to fifth position – remember that the higher you go, the smaller the spaces between your fingers are), and Waltz (play through slowly and get familiar with the notes, and remove bowings and just focus on pitches if the bowings are too overwhelming).
Hendry – congratulations on finishing Yuu kyuu no Catharsis! I’m so proud of all the work you put into this!
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: C, D, E-flat, E, F, and G Major scales (2 octaves, doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing, and stretching fourth finger in E Major), D minor scale (2 octaves – natural, melodic, harmonic, review fingering positions for natural scale for the Gavotte), and Gavotte (watch out for shift to third position in second section, stretch pinky finger to keep fourth finger A from being too flat, and treble clef exercises on musictheory.net if you wish).
Thank you, stay safe, and happy playing!