Practice Tips for Minuet No. 2 by J.S. Bach

    Now that we have grown more familiar with Johann Sebastian Bach's music through Minuet No. 1, we are ready for the 2nd of the 3 Minuets by J.S. Bach! Here are some tips to help you on the Bach journey:
   
Structure. 
The piece is organized in two main sections: section 1, lines 1-4 and section two, lines 5-10. It will be easier to think of the song in 4 parts, here’s what I mean: part 1, line 1-2; part 2, line 3-4; part 3, line 5-6; part 4, line 7-8; and part 2, line 9-10.

Skills. 
Hook Bows. In Minuet No. 1 we learned that hook bows are played up-up and indicated by a curved line over or under two notes with dots above or below them. In Minuet No. 1 the notes that are hooked are the same, but now in Minuet No. 2 we will not only play hook bows on the same note but also two different notes. We see this in measure 15, 22, 23, and 39.
  
Slurs. You have played two-note hook bows, not we are ready to play three notes in one bow smoothly. That is the main difference between hook bow and a slur, hook bows have stops between the notes while the notes in a slur are smoothly connected. The slur appears in measure 15, 23, 29, 30 and 39.

Tenuto. The first measure, which repeats a few times in the piece, has notes with dashes. This is the first we see these kind of notes in the book. The tenuto indicates that we use long, strong bows on these notes. The idea is to not allow the notes to be weak, but sustained.

Dotted-Half Note Decrescendo. At the end of part 2, both in the 1st section and the 2nd section, there is a decrescendo under the dotted-half note. So far we have done decrescendo over a few notes, but now we do it on one note. One way to make the decrescendo is by starting with fast bow and then slow down during the 3 beats.

High Three. Along with getting used to the low 2nd finger, now we are ready to try out the high third finger. To play a high third finger we need to stretch it a little further so that when you place the fourth finger they are next to each other (half step apart).

Finger Hopping. There is a hop from E 2nd finger to A 3rd finger in measure 5 into measure 6, then A 3rd finger to E 2nd finger measure 6, then E 2nd finger to A 2nd finger measure 6 into measure 7.

Artistry. We have already learned that the Minuet is a dance in 3/4 time, which means that we need to emphasize the first note of every measure with more bow. Now we are ready to make a difference between the mood of the 1st line and 2nd line. The 1st line is a little more aggressive, while line 2 play more legato and gentle. Then we can make this difference between lines 3 and 4.

Strategies.
1. Warm-up with the bow exercises, now with an emphasis on decrescendos on long notes.

2. Play the finger concerto with high 2nd and high 3rd finger with regular bows, hook bow, and try also slurs. 

3. Laying the bow aside for a minute, hop fingers E 2nd finger to A 3rd,
A 3rd finger to E 2nd, E 2nd finger to A 2nd finger each 5 times. Now do it playing with the bow. This will help your fingers used to the hops.

4. Play through the piece with no hook bows or slurs, just focusing on the fingering and rhythm.

5. Work on all the hook bow measures playing each one 3 times preparing the bow so there is no squeak or crunch. Do not be in a hurry because it will not sound nice, your arms need time to get ready. After you work on all the measures with the hook bows on their own it will be much easier to get the song to flow.

6.Play along with the Youtube video above and other recordings.

Practice Strategies for Minuet No. 1 in Suzuki Book 1

     You are a 3/4 of the way through the book and are now going to embark on the 3 Minuets of J.S. Bach! You are now playing Bach, this a good step up! Bach wrote these minuets originally for his wife to play on the harpsichord. Here are some tips to get started:
   
Structure. The piece is organized in two main sections, but we can think of the song in 3 parts (more why below). Here’s how they are played: part 1 mezzo forte (line 1-2), part 2 piano then mezzo forte (line 3-4), part 3 piano then mezzo forte (line 5-6).

New Skills. 
1. Hook Bows. This bow stroke is also called portato and is played down-down or up-up. You will recognize this in the music where there is a curved line over two notes and dots above them in measures 1 and 3. The best way to work your hook bow for now it to play with a smooth bow and stopping between the two notes. Another way of saying this is don't play hook bows with crunches and squeezing, since it will not give you a good tone.
2. Low-High Two. In the previous piece, Etude, low 2 on A and E string was introduced. But now, in part 1 and 3 we have low 2 on the A string and high 2 in part 2. This is why I break the piece up in three parts, so that it is easier to remember where the high 2 is played.
3. Artistry. Since the Minuet is a dance in 3/4 time, once the song is flowing we can emphasize the first note of every measure with more bow. The emphasis of the first beat in a Minuet is a way to make it more professional and expressive. 

Strategies:
1. Warm-up with the bow exercises, now with an emphasis on hook bows.
2. Play the finger concerto with low 2 and high 2. Play on every string once with low 2 then with high 2 and that will make it easier to switch between them. 
3. Play through the piece with all low 2s then bring the high 2 back in part 2. You can also do it the other way, play everything high 2 and then add the low 2s where they belong. 
4. Play along with the Youtube video above and other recordings.
5. Be creative with your playing this week, add hook bows to all the songs you know.

What do you think? Do you have any tips? Any questions, suggestions or concerns? Let me hear from you. 

Pactice Tips for Allegro, No. 8 Suzuki Book 1

     Welcome to the 1st piece out of 5 that Dr. Suzuki composed for this book. Students typically enjoy Allegro because it’s fast and staccato, here are some tips to make it worthwhile:

  
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 2 parts. Here’s how they are played: part 1 forte (first line), part 1 forte (second line), part 2 dolce (third line), part 1 forte  (fourth line).

New Skills.
1. Theory. Allegro means fast, live, with energy. Ritardando means to gradually slow down. A Tempo means play at the original speed. Fermata means to hold it out at least 2 times the worth of the note. Tenuto means to play the notes with big bow to have a sustained sound.
2. Speed. At the beginning of part 2 (the third line) you will notice that it has the word dolce, which means sweetly, underneath the notes. To play sweetly musicians usually play with a long and smooth bow at a slower tempo. That is why we see the dashes on top of the notes (tenuto). This is a great opportunity for us to try part 2 at different speeds. Not only that, but at the end of part 2 we have a rit. so we slow down in different ways. I challenge students to hold out the last note of part 2 as long as possible.
3. Always Down. If you look at the beginning of each line, it starts down. So, after the last note of line 1-3 you need to lift the bow and place it back at the middle.

Strategies:
1. Warm-up with the bow exercises, now with an emphasis on long and smooth bows.
2. Play and say the fingerings to focus your mind on the notes that you are playing.
3. Practice making the last note of each line very long and then pause to place the bow at the middle. This way, the bow will be silent as you prepare to start the next line. Over time you will be able to do it quicker and quicker, do not rush yourself because it will prevent you from playing your best.
4. Play along with the Youtube video above and other recordings.
5. Be creative with your playing this week, add dolce to all the songs you know.

What do you think? Do you have any tips? Any questions, suggestions or concerns? Let me hear from you.

Prctice Tips for May Song, Suzuki Book 1

     You have started songs on the A string, on the E string, down bow, up bow, and with 2 fingers on the A string. So now you are ready for May Song, here are some tips:

• 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 order is part 1 (first line) f, part 2 mf, part 2 p (second line), and part 1 f (third line).
• New Skills: 
• rhythms - the dotted-half note. This note is worth 1.5 beats, it is easy to make it too short (1 beat) or too long (2 beats). Listen to how I play the first four notes on the video get an idea how to play it.
• dynamics - there is now forte, mezzo forte, and piano. May a distinct difference between these three levels of volume with the amount of bow that you use.
• Strategies:  
• Warm-up with the bow exercises, now with an emphasis on alternating between forte, mf, p and dotted-quarter notes.
• 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.
• Play along with the Youtube video above.
• Add f, mf and p to the songs you already know.

This week, practice songs and exercises in a different order than usual. Spend one minute on something then go to something else, do this until you practice 5 minutes more than usual. Parents, let your child choose what to switch to next and have fun with it. You can put a timer so that it is easily seen, enjoy!

Practice Tips for Go Tell Aunt Rhody, Suzuki Book 1

Believe it or not, but you are 1/4th through the book, a few more songs and you are half way! I have posted some tips in a previous post (check them out), but there's more! Here are some more strategies to Go Tell Aunt Rhody:

• Playing Position: Prepare the playing position before starting the song, remember that these few seconds of preparation will make it so much easier to play the piece.
• Structure: The order is part 1 (first line) mf, part 2, part 2 piano (second line), part 1 mf (third line)
• New Skills: 
• rhythms - you now have a mix of quarter, eighth, and half notes in the song.
• dynamics - for the first time in the book you switch from mf (medium strong) to p (softly), so after you get comfortable with the notes and rhythms you can add this interesting aspect to the song. 

• Strategies:  
• Warm-up with the bow exercises, now with an emphasis on playing one string mf, the next p and so forth.
• After you listen to the song one time and follow the notes, say the notes in rhythm as best as you can (parents this is a good opportunity to sing along with your child).
• Learn part 2 first so that you can start trying out the dynamics.
• Play along with the Youtube video above.
• Add mf and p to the songs you already know.
• Perform a Quarter-Book Recital for family and friends.

      Parents and students alike are looking for getting everything right as quick as possible all the time. Take the time to focus on the progress that was made, point it out to yourself or parents make sure to point it out to your child. We all need encouragement, give it to yourself and to others throughout the week it will make a difference in your practicing and others aspects of your life.

Practice Tips for Lightly Row in Suzuki Book 1

    Congratulations on learning the Twinkles, so let's get to Lightly Row. As a parent working with your child or as a student it is easy to feel like you do not know how to approach a new song. Whether you are a violinist, violist, cellist, or bassist, here are some tips to help you learn this song:

• Playing Position: Prepare the playing position before starting the song.
• Structure: The order is part 1 (first line), part 2 (second line), part 3 (third line), part 2 (fourth line).
• Strategies:  
• Warm-up with the bow exercises.
• Listen to the song one time before playing it. So pop in that c.d. or watch the video above!
• The song introduces more hops from string to string (called string crosses). Play the first measure (E, C#, C#) with the Twinkle rhythms, this will make playing the E and C# easier. Now, play the first measure the way it is written in the book. 
• Go through the same process for the second measure and any other notes that are tricky for you.
• Beware of just getting through the piece, the best way to learn a song is to master it in small chunks.
• Play along with the Youtube video above.
• Play through all the Twinkles and Lightly Row. 

     Over the years I have noticed the tendency of students and parents of approaching practicing as a chore to get through. Beware of this mindset, it will slow things down, limit how much you will learn and make playing the violin boring. It is better to think of it as an opportunity to grow, as an adventure of learning something new, and as a chance to calm yourself from all the other things going on in the world. 

These are just a few ideas, get creative and try the song in different ways!

Bow Exercises Suzuki Violin Book 1

Here is a partial list of the bow exercises I take students through to learn the bow skills in Suzuki Violin Book 1. I teach them one exercise at a time, then we play through them in lessons every week. When the list gets longer we choose a few of the exercises to master and take weeks off to do scales. The point is to make it enjoyable and beneficial, not to just get through it.

1. Rockets: make a nice bowhand; go up and down like a rocket slowly 4x.
2. Windshield Wipers: go back and forth turning your wrist and forearm like a wiper on a car 4x.
3. Cereal Bowls: make big circles like you are mixing a big bowl of your favorite cereal 4x.
4. Bow Taps: keep a relaxed bowhand, tap each finger 4x.
5. Regular (detache): play every string 4x keeping the bow straight.
6. Staccato (stop-bow): play every string 4x keeping the bow straight and stop between each bow stroke.
7. Bow Circles down bow: play every string 4x keeping the bow straight all down bow coming off the string and going back towards the frog.
8. Bow Circles up bow: Now, play every string 4x keeping the bow straight all up bow.
9. Crescendo: play each string 4x starting with small bow and then more and more each one.
10. Descrescendo: now play each string 4x starting with big bow and get smaller and smaller.

What are some exercises that you have been doing to learn the basics on the violin? Let me know if you have any questions about my list.

Practice Tips for Twinkles in Suzuki Book 1

You have learned how to get into a proper playing position and can play the finger concerto with all the Twinkle rhythms. Now it is time to use the rhythms with the Twinkle, Twinkle song. Here are some tips as you learn the Twinkles on the violin, viola, cello or piano:

• Playing Position: Place the violin on the shoulder, left thumb by the first tape, wrist relaxed. Next, put curved fingers on the bow and put the bow at the middle between the bridge and the fingerboard. Do that every time you play.
• Structure: Part 1 starts with A string, Part 2 starts with E string. The order of the song is Part 1, Part 2, Part 2, Part 1.
• Stop and Prepare: To make it easy to learn Part 1 play the first note with the rhythm, stop, then prepare the next note, play that note, stop, and so on just like with the Finger Concertos
• Rhythms: Variation A is pepperoni-pizza, Variation B is popcorn-pause-and, Variation C is run-pony-run-pony, Variation D is blueberry-strawberry, Variation E is grandma-on-the-motorcycle and then the Theme.
• Learn to play the song really well with one rhythm before going to the next rhythm.
• Play along with the videos below to get an idea on how they go then try it faster

Variation A

 

Variation B

Variation C

Variation D

Variation E

Theme 

What tips have helped you with the Twinkles? Any questions?

Holy, Holy, Holy Violin Practice Video

Here are some things to keep in mind when practicing this song:

1. Get into a good playing position.
2. Put the bow on the A string.
3. Use legato bowing, which is smooth bowing.
4. The song has two parts to it, they are similar, but keep in mind where they differ.
5. Listen to the video once, then play the song without the video, then play with the video.
6. Make the half notes two beats, it is easy to make them too short, use a long bow on each note.
7. Parents, have your child play the song with the music once then have them play it twice without the music, then add on note to what they know. Everyday they will know more and more until all of it is easy for them to play.

Practice Tips for O Come, Little Children, Suzuki Book 1

Focus Points:

• 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.
• Play Twinkles through Go Tell Aunt Rhody starting up-bow and adding p and mf.

Suzuki Cello Book 1, No. 1: Twinkle Variation A

Focus Points:

• Get into a good playing position every time, do not just let something slip.
• Put your bow on the D string.
• Start thinking of the rhythm: "pepperoni pizza" or "mississippi stop stop" or "1-e-and-a 2-and"
   however you think about it, go for a consistent rhythm on each note. 
• Stay relaxed and enjoy!

Suzuki Book 1, No. 15: Minuet No. III

Focus Points:

• Start at the middle of the bow
• Play the hooked bows, which are the up-up quarter notes gently
• Since the Minuet is a song that people dance to, try to play it in a way that you would want to dance to it