I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather so far! Just a reminder that ABC is keeping our March break so we will not be having lessons on March 17 and 18.

Jaron – congratulations on finishing O Come Little Children today!
– Reminder: if you can, please purchase Suzuki Violin Book 1 (but please don’t stress about it, you can keep on using the pdf I sent in case you are not able to!)
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (making sure to squeeze your second and third fingers together and also making sure to do a posture and bow hold check each time before playing), May Song (practice the dotted quarter note rhythms at the beginning), and Long Long Ago (first two lines, just slowly play through and get familiar with the notes).

Olivia – congratulations on finishing Avatar State!
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: review 2-octave major and minor scales (and try to memorise fingering patterns for each scale), Avatar State (no need to practice consistently anymore but try to revisit once in a while so we can play together whenever we’re in person again!), and Mirror duet (take some space from the second section so that you’re not over-doing it).

Amaia
– Reminder: if you can, please get your violin tuned. I know lots of music stores may be closed in-person, but hopefully sometime soon there will be more options!
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: window washer bow hold exercises, 0-1-2-3-2-1-0 fingering pattern on all strings, G, D, and A Major scales, and Twinkle (theme and variations, with focus on variation B – try singing “bacon and” before playing!).

Crosby – welcome to ABC! We are so happy to have you here!
– Reminder: your violin is quite out of tune, and unfortunately, since we are not in person, I can’t tune it for you. I recommend seeing if your music teacher at school is able to tune your violin for you, and if not, perhaps calling ahead to a music store like Long & McQuade and seeing if they will do curbside drop-off for tuning. Please let me know if you have any concerns or questions about this!
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: keep an eye on your bow hold and make sure your hand is at the bottom of the bow at your frog, practice 0-1-2-3-2-1-0 fingering pattern on each string (with your left hand in a 2-3 fingering pattern, and on the second, fourth, and fifth stickers), and see if you can remember how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from your previous lessons!

Hendry
– Reminder: if you have more music from the play you’re in and want to go over it in class, feel free to bring it to our lessons! Just make sure to take a picture or scan it first so that I have a copy.
– Recommended practice time: 20 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (1 octave), C Major scale (2 octaves, and make sure to keep on doing your bow hold and posture check before each scale), Minuet 2 (with focus on the second section and watch out for the G# or high third finger), and Starting the Case (with focus on the last 3 lines and fingering pattern for E-flat Major scale).

Thank you, happy playing, and stay safe!