Practice Tips for Long, Long Ago Suzuki Book 1

   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?

Party Piece: Practice Tips

Violin 1



Party Piece is a Suzuki Violin Book 1 level piece. Here are some tips as you learn the violin 1 or violin 2 part:

• Place your thumb on the edge of the finger to pluck and make sure to pluck with your finger over the fingerboard, don't let the bow touch the string.
• Prepare a nice bowhand during the rests before part 2 of the song, the second line.
• Use stop bow on the quarter notes, since they are staccato.
• Be ready to prepare for a down bow on the next during the quarter rests.
• Remember that part 1 repeats three times.
• The violin 2 part will have longer notes (quarter notes), keep yourself steady.

Violin 2

Tips:

• Make sure to pluck over the fingerboard, don't let the bow touch the string
• Prepare a nice bowhand during the rests before part 2 of the song
• Use stop bow on the quarter notes
• Be ready to prepare for the next part in the song during the quarter rests
• Remember that part 1 repeats
• The violin 1 part plays lots of eighth notes, keep your quarter notes steady by tapping your foot

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.

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