Get ready for a dynamics roller-coaster in your new piece, Long, Long Ago. Here are some tips to go along on the ride with this folk song:
Playing Position. Go to playing position a few times with your eyes closed. This will help challenge you to get ready to play.
Structure. The piece is laid out in 3 parts. The order in the songs is the following: part 1 (first line) mf, part 2 (second line), part 3, and part 2 mf (third line).
New Skills. 1. Theory: Moderato means medium speed, decrescendo means get gradually quieter. 2. Rhythms: half rest equals 2 beats and looks like a small box sitting on the third line of the staff. 3. Dynamics: crescendo. The crescendo was introduced in O, Come Little Children, where in part 2 and 3 we get louder and louder. Towards the end of the song we have a decrescendo, which means to get softer and softer 4. Three Strings: We now have the opportunity to play a song that uses the E, A and D string. In part 3 we hop the first finger from the A to D string. Strategies. 1. Warm-up with the bow exercises, now with an emphasis on crescendos and decrescendos. 2. After you listen to the song one time and follow the notes, listen again and clap the notes along with the song to starting learning the rhythm of the song. 3. Practice hopping each finger 3 times from the A to the D string. 4. Play along with the Youtube video above. 5. Add crescendos and decrescendos to numbers 1-6.
If you want a quick way to boost the speed of your progress, challenge yourself to do a 2-minute Theory Flaschard Challenge. This means that you push yourself to see how many flashcards you can get in 2 minutes. Let me know how it went and were my tips helpful?
You are now 3/4ths of the way through Book 1, keep going! Etude is Dr. Suzuki's fifth piece in the book. Here are some tips and focus points that will help you master this piece:
There is one sharp in the key signature, so you will use a low 2nd finger on the A and E string.
The piece breaks up in 3 parts, so look for where each section starts and keep in mind that part 1 repeats.
Part 1, 2 and 3 have groups of notes that repeat and G scale runs.
Practice the song with legato, staccato and even bouncing the bow.
Work on making the piece flow, the notes are all the same rhythm, except for the last note, so keep them all even.
Play along with the video to understand how the songs is supposed to go.
After you have piece learned, you will be ready to try the Variation, which is doubling each note like in Perpetual Motion.
What tips do you have for Etude? Feel free to ask questions, suggestions and concerns in the comment box. And if you want more help, try a free online lesson!
Structure: part 1 (m. 1-4), part 1(m. 4-8), part 2 (m. 8-12), part 3 (m. 12-end)
Playing Postion: Get into a good playing position: violin on the shoulder to the side, curved fingers for the bowhand, stand tall, left thumb by the first finger. Place the bow at the middle between the bridge and the fingerboard.
Rythm: for the first time we have eighth note rests in the last measure of lines 1-3. Eighth rests are held for half-a-beat. Practice the song by clapping and saying the notes.
Bowing: We are back at starting a piece on the E string, just like Lightly Row, but now we are starting the piece up bow. Every section of the piece starts up-bow, watch for that as you play along with the video.
Dynamics: Make sure to watch for the crescendo (getting louder) in the third line, use more and more bow to get the gradual crescendo.
