Help! I Can't Do it All!!!

Everyone gets so busy about this time, and things get out of hand with the slippery, illusory sense of control and being on top of things. So how can we stay on top of it all? How can we stay connected and engaged with the things that really matter in our Suzuki journey? This month I suggest that we turn our focus in the studio and in home practices on scheduling, priorities, and focus. How?

Shrink Down the Focus and Priority

First, let us shrink down the area of focus and priority and tie ourselves to the familiar. What I mean by that is that we "ground ourselves" with something that we know and can do well. For example, we could use the Twinkle Variations for this purpose, which will work quite well for most of us if we already know them. Let us start with that this week and really shore up the skills contained in them. Let these gems of knowledge about skill and ability really perk us up about our standards and help remind us of how far we have come since the beginning of our Suzuki journey. Here is a previous article about some of the teaching points that we can focus on as we review our Twinkles, and I include tips about helping more advanced students as well as inexperienced students:

Twinkles Week

Twinkles Teaching Points (June Practice Challenge)

I have also begun to add a review of Twinkles for my later book 1 students, where I teach them how to play the variations in G major and using the new "low" second finger pattern found in Etude and the 2-octave G major scale. This new way of reviewing Twinkles is another great way to reinforce the new finger pattern as well as introduce the subject of transposing, which we will then revisit in book 2 with Long, Long Ago and the new Bb pattern in Gavotte from "Mignon."

Pre-Twinkle Ideas

For Pre-Twinklers, why not do a grounding exercise related to the setup steps to be ready to play? Or, why not set an assignment of making a certain number of "perfect" bow holds each week? Here is a link to my previous article about setup steps:

Steps to Putting the Violin on the Shoulder

Here is a link to another article I wrote about introducing the bow hold to a beginner. You will find lots of pictures here!

How to Start a Beginner, part 2 (Holding the Bow)

To help you with Pre-Twinkle or beginning students, I made a short (under 4 minutes) recording of how I get ready to play that I am willing to share with you. In this recording I go through the steps from rest position and taking a bow to getting ready to play. The purpose of this recording is to help the parent, practice partner, and student build a practice routine of how to get ready to play. I hope you enjoy:

Let's Get Ready to Play!

If you have any comments, suggestions, or ideas about how you like to practice this routine, please comment below. I am always looking for things to add to my teaching repertoire, and I appreciate all the creative ideas that many other parents, students, and teachers discover. Please share if you are willing.

So until next time,

Happy Practicing!

----- Paula -----

© 2016 by Paula E. Bird

What Bows to Use with Box Violins

Written by Paula E. Bird, copyright 2014

My purpose in using a box violin is to accustom the student to how to hold a real violin. I have given my reasons for using box violins in an earlier post [article link here]. I stay on a box violin as long as the student needs it. I do not advocate staying on a box violin for too long, merely long enough to establish some good posture habits and to make sure that the student has learned how to take proper care of it.

The best bow for a box violin in my opinion is an actual bow. I do not use healthy regular bows, however. I visit my local fine stringed instruments shop and ask if they have any broken bows. I found out that the shop keeps a collection of bows that have broken for one reason or another in order to return them to the manufacturer. Many of these bows are still perfectly fine for the purpose of a box violin. The bow does not need hair on it, nor does it matter if the frog is cracked a little in some way. As long as there is a frog that the student may put the thumb under and the bow stick is still good, then the bow is still usable. I set up this kind of bow with my usual set up, as I covered in my earlier post about starting beginners. [article here]

Dowel rods work very nicely though. Depending on the age of the child, I select a dowel rod of the correct length and circumference to suit the child. A younger child may need a thicker dowel rod. It is possible to decorate the rod in some way. To mark an area of the "bow" that reflects the student's "square" arm, I sometimes use stickers and then wrap clear packing tape around this area to keep the stickers securely fastened and visible. [insert picture of this]

I use various bow grips for box violin bows. I have used the Bowmaster on one end and have supplemented that with corn pads for placement of the thumb and pinkie. I have also used the Bow Buddy, although I have issues with both of these items when it comes to long term use. Sometimes I have just used the fish from the Bow Buddy. There are many possible items that can be used for this purpose.

For the very young child, I may allow the child to do the Palmer grasp on the bow until the child has developed some ability to use fine motor skills to form the bow hold. The Palmer grasp is the first grasp that babies and young children use when latching onto something. If you have ever had a baby grasp your finger, then you know that the Palmer grasp is the perfect bow hold. As the child progresses, I find it simple to begin adjusting the pinkie to its proper placement.

Here are three pictures of bows that the students find to be fun. The first is a bow that one of our university students constructed using a dowel rod, rubber eraser, and electrical tape.

Eraser and Duct Tape

Here is a "bow" made with barbecue skewers and plastic beads. This bow is light and delicate and makes a satisfying sound when drawn across the box violin "strings."

Barbecue Skewer

A variation of the bead bow is one made with much larger "beads." Here is the younger brother of one of my students. When I explained about the bead bow, this mom made up a different version of it with much larger and colorful beads.

Dowel Rod and Big Beads

And here is the dowel rod with the Bowmaster on one end. You can see the corn pads placed to make it easy for my student to find the thumb and pinkie placement. Bowmaster and Corn Pads

There are many possibilities when it comes to an appropriate item to use for a box violin bow. My favorite item is an actual bow. No matter what bow item that I use, I keep in mind that this item is to be used on a temporary basis. The purpose of tools is to make it easy to get good posture habits started. Once the correct posture is in place, I find no reason to maintain the tool.

Please comment below and let me know what tools you use to start beginner violin students.

Set Up Steps

I thought today might be a good day for videos. Here are some of my younger beginning students demonstrating various aspects of getting set up to play.

I asked one of my students to model the set up steps we like to use in the studio to prepare to play. Here is the video. Enjoy:

In this video, I show a teaching technique that helps the teacher to set up the student's violin in a way that encourages good elbow placement:

And another video with one of my wee ones:

And finally, a cute little bow from the youngest member of the studio. This little fellow is the younger brother of one of my older students. He started asking for a violin, so here is how we started. We began lessons with the bow. Then I place the instrument on his shoulder and teach him to stand still looking at a little rubber toy that I put on the box violin. This little fellow is an active one. It was a challenge to get him to stand still initially, but at this point he can concentrate his gaze at the toy for a minute and more. And we have added a few more things to his lesson. We started with lessons of less than a minute; currently we can go about 5 minutes. We are making progress. I believe that he is a very active two year old. Note the inhalation he makes before doing the bow. I teach this as preparation for playing in orchestra and working with a conductor. Breathing and phrasing are important musical concepts. A student is never too young to start learning these skills:

Happy Set Up Steps!

Take Ten

Building a practice habit is as simple as taking ten -- ten minutes that is. When I ask my students and parents to practice every day, or at least on the days that they eat, as Dr. Suzuki was fond of saying, I am amazed at how easily my students and parents provide me with reasons why they cannot do that. Generally I do not assign a particular maximum amount of time to spend practicing, because I do not like the idea of telling a student to practice 2 hours, or four or five. I want my students and their parents to focus on practice goals and then to set up a practice routine that meets those goals.

I know of no goal that would allow a student to miss practicing, certainly not to miss practicing on a fairly recurrent basis. I understand that life sometimes gets in the way of our intentions and desires, but with a little thought and planning, we can still manage to find time to practice. The solution is all about priorities. If we place a high priority on practicing with our child, then we will find or make the time necessary to practice with our child.

I ask my parents to find a minimum of 10 minutes. That is all. When I reduce my expectations to the quantity of 10 minutes, my parents and students find it difficult to excuse their way out of it, because everyone can find 10 minutes in their day:

• My university students have learned that they can generate 30 minutes to an hour each day just by avoiding the lobby of the music building and instead following a route through the music building that skirts the lobby. A lot of time gets wasted in the lobby with social activities.

• Having a plan in advance for the day or even the week will help the student or parent to stay focused on what activities are productive and to pay less attention to time-wasting (and possibly nonproductive or unrewarding) activities.

• Eat/dress/shower/walk faster.

• Record TV shows and fast forward through commercial breaks.

• Primp less in the mirror (this is a great generator of time for students in the teen years!).

• Watch less TV.

• A group of my studio parents used to take turns on certain days and go to the children's school to practice with each other's child. The school was delighted to allow this to take place during a time when nothing else more important was going on.

• Practice before school.

• Practice in those "twilight" minutes before dinner. Practice after dinner in those moments before the night's entertainment begins.

If a student or parent continues to argue about this, I ask them to bring me their calendar so that I can help them find some available time. If we cannot find 10 minutes, then I have to suggest the obvious: perhaps they are too busy or lack the commitment necessary to be taking music lessons at this time. The alternative is that the student or parent needs to eliminate one or more activities in order to free up some time. A parent cannot reasonably expect that a student can learn a skill and develop an ability in a time vacuum when no time is spent learning, practicing, and using the new skill and ability.

Here is a short interview of about one minute with the mother of one of my youngest students. This student began lessons at the age of 2.5 years. The student has a weekly 30 minute lesson and attends group classes of 45 minutes to an hour about twice a month. She has great concentration and plays beautifully. She is working to complete her Twinkle variations along with several other songs that we enjoy playing. Here is my student's mother describing her philosophy about practicing:

Interview with Suzuki parent: 10 Minute Philosophy

See how simple it can be? Can you really look me in the eye and tell me that you cannot find ten minutes a day to spend with your child in quality interaction? Your child is your most precious gift. Ten minutes is a small amount of time to spend to develop the gift of a lifetime for your child.

Quick Teaching Tip: Tunnel Fingers

When shaping the student's left hand, how can we help him or her form a "tunnel" between the fingers and the top of the fingerboard? There are several possibilities.

If the student's hand is large enough to accommodate this, I place a roll of life savers lengthwise along the D and A strings and ask the student to curve the fingers around the roll for a count of 20 or longer. If the student's hand is a little smaller, breath mint rolls may be tinier. I have also used a large or thicker "children-sized" pencil, sometimes referred to as a "Kindergarten pencil."

For young children, I make a caterpillar out of a colorful pipe cleaner. I take the pipe cleaner and wrap it like a coil in a spiral fashion around a pencil. I remove the coil and tuck the sharp ends inside the coil so the points do not stick a student. Then I use a black marker to draw two eyes on one end (or you can glue two craft eyes instead). The parent and I use this caterpillar for all sorts of things besides checking for "tunnel" fingers. We also use it to see if the student has left a "wormhole" between the neck and the left hand web between the thumb and index finger. We wiggle the caterpillar into the little hole.

There are many ways to accomplish this. Look around and see what might be useful.

Quick Practice Tip: Nose and Front Teeth Bows

One of the hardest things to teach a beginning student is refinement, perhaps because refinement requires a strong ability to concentrate and focus. Couple this requirement with the younger student's desire to play quickly, and pretty soon the songs the student plays are a mess.

In the beginning, I place a colorful yellow tape mark at the point of the bow where the student's arm forms a "square": the bow is parallel to the bridge and the forearm is perpendicular to the violin strings. I refer to this tape mark as the "sunshine spot" and liken it to the student's backyard and ask the student to stay in the backyard. I am not  dictatorial about how well the student stays in the area, because I do not want to encourage undue tension. I have found that if I am too insistent and focused about whether the student stays in the "yard," then the student tightens up arm muscles.

I find it better to allow the student some room to make some of these discoveries about what constitutes a good tone and good playing under my watchful eye. In this way I look forward to the time when the student becomes his or her own teacher. My goal at all times is to instill in the student those skills necessary to experiment, observe, and evaluate. After all, the student sees me once a week in most cases and needs to be able to understand how to practice and improve on his or her own, even if the student works with a home practice partner or supervisor.

So I let the issue of refinement slide a little at times. If the student plays too far afield, I just point to the yellow spot without having to say anything, and the student automatically starts playing in the taped area. For a very young or new beginner, I find it easier to just pick the bow up and help the student to place it in the correct spot every time. We work together as partners.

My practice tip today is for those students who are really getting loose in their bowing style. An example might a young boy who is excited about playing and in particular about playing fast with a lot of (unnecessary) energy. Just pointing to the yellow spot is not going to be enough to draw his focus away from the fun of moving fast and furious with his bow. So I use my practice tip about Nose and Front Teeth Bows.

I tell my student that we are going to play with bows about the size of his nose and with bows the size of his front teeth, and then my student will tell me what was different about the two techniques. I measure the length of my student's nose with my thumb and index finger (probably about two inches). I hold my thumb and index finger above the yellow spot and help my student to measure off the length of the area that matches the length of my student's nose. The length generally resembles the length of the yellow tape patch (what a coincidence!). Then we measure the length of the student's front teeth. I might place a little sticker on the yellow tape as a mark of the front teeth length (about 1/4" to 1/3").

When asked to try both of these bow lengths, two things generally happen:

• The student focuses on the bowing and uses more refined bowing technique.

• The student discovers that using a tinier bow length results in faster playing (and conversely, that longer bows result in slower playing).

Usually the student is delighted to work on the front teeth bows, and that is fine with me because it accomplishes three things for me:

• The student concentrates more on the bow usage, especially the bow's contact point.

• The faster speed encourages the student to solidly acquire certain skills: appropriate fingers (independent versus "stacked" fingerings) and good bow and left hand coordination.

• The student pays attention to what he or she is doing!

The next time you want to help a student to refine a particular technique, try the nose and front teeth bow model. Take what the student is currently doing and find ways to shrink down the challenge area.

Song of the Wind (part 2): Jumping Finger Preview

Jumping Finger Preview

In this preview, I will introduce the jumping finger section of measure 3. First I play measures 3 and 4 for the student a few times first and ask some questions to help the student develop awareness through the eyes and ears:

• Which finger did I hold down?

• Which finger jumped?

• What strings did my bow play on?

I ask the student to place the first finger F# on the E string and "superglue" the finger throughout the exercise. I then ask the student to play "Mississippi Hot Dog" rhythm (4-16th notes and 2 staccato 8th notes) on the F#.

While the student holds down the super glued first finger F#, I then instruct the student to "cross over" the third finger (ring finger) to play Mississippi Hot Dog ("MHD") on the D on the A string. Sometimes I cross my right leg over my left as a reinforcement illustration of this finger crossing.

While still holding down the F#, I have the student "jump" the third finger (ring finger) over to the high A on the E string and play MHD on the high A.

While still holding the F# down, the student lifts off the third finger to reveal the F# still in place and plays MHD.

We remove the "superglue" finger (the student lifts off the F# finger) and the student plays MHD on the E string.

The student repeats this sequence of notes and finger execution several times until the student remembers what to do and the parent is comfortable with duplicating the lesson at home.

I build on this basic skill by gradually shortening the length of time on each note in the jumping finger pattern. I ask the student to play the sequence again and shorten the rhythm on each note using these rhythms:

Mississippi Hot Dog

Mississippi

Strawberry

Hot Dog

And finally, the student plays the jumping finger passage as originally written:

Original Passage

The student will need reinforcement to remember these important teaching points:

• Hold down the F# throughout the execution of the jumping finger segment. This superglue finger is important, because it aids the student in learning the spatial distance between the first and third fingers. This is an important skill in shaping the proper left hand set-up on the violin. As time goes on, the student gets a little sloppy about this requirement, so the parent and I are vigilant about watching this.

• "Jump" the third finger from the A to the E string rather than laying down the finger to cover both strings. Be sure the mom or other home practice partner understands the difference between a jumping third finger and a third finger that lays down across the two strings as a short cut!

• More advanced players will develop the skill of covering both strings with the same finger.

• This is not the time for introducing this concept, as allowing the student to lay down the third finger encourages the bad habit of allowing the left hand to fall down.

Students will exhibit the problem of the "falling" left hand as they progress through books 1 and 2, and Dr. Suzuki set this song up in the beginning of book 1 to provide a vehicle for keeping the left hand from falling. For this reason, Song of the Wind is an excellent song for review!

Song of the Wind, part 1

Song of the Wind is the third song in the Suzuki Violin Volume 1. The song is full of teaching gems, and I have found the song to be a useful teaching tool for younger students, a review song for more advanced students, and a great song for group class activities. Here is an overview of the skills contained in Song of the Wind.

Left Hand Skills

• Song of the Wind is in A major and uses the same finger pattern as the Twinkle Variations and Lightly Row (close 2-3 finger pattern).

• The song begins with ascending "walking fingers" as previously introduced in Lightly Row (exactly the same except for an additional E string).

Walking Fingers + E

• The song introduces a "jumping finger" section in measures 3 and 5 to teach the student the spatial relationship between the first and third fingers, which:

• is the basic foundation for the general shape or frame of the left hand.

• supports good intonation by strengthening the "feel" of the distance between the first and third fingers.

• teaches the student to hold down the first finger as a "corner fence post" to set up future finger patterns and combinations.

Jumping Finger

• The song generally moves stepwise throughout the song except for the jumping finger section.

• The song uses the descending scale pattern as learned in the Twinkle variations with the added complexity of changing pitches in a different rhythmic pattern in measures 7-9, 11-13).

Descending scale

Right Hand Skills

• I prefer that my students use the staccato bow stroke.

• Using staccato in the beginning of book 1 skill learning will set the student up for the creation of good tone production because staccato teaches good articulation (beginnings) of the notes.

• Staccato, which is a stopped bow stroke, helps the student to use the brief "thinking pauses" between notes to set the bow properly to make good clean string crossings.

• The song provides additional string crossing practice.

• The song introduces down bow circles (4 circles on the first pass through the song and 3 on the repeat).

• Down bow circles teach the student to stop and set the bow before proceeding, which will set the student up for later practice with double stops and chords.

• Down bow circles afford the teacher an opportunity to check whether the student is retaining tension in the right shoulder.

• Down bow circles teach the student about the importance of maintaining a good bow hold, since the student might lose control of the bow during the circle if the bow hold is not maintained well.

Other Skills

• The song builds up the student's ability to move the right and left hands and arms independently of each other.

• The right bow hand drops down to the E string level when performing the jumping finger section of measures 3 and 5, but the left hand must retain its position on the A string level. Students tend to lay down their left third fingers when making the "jump" because they are trying to mirror the motion of the right side of their bodies.

• The student has to fight the temptation to drop the left hand down a string level to match the right hand motion.

• The song introduces the concept of holding down pivotal fingers. In this particular song, the first finger F# on the E string becomes the "corner fence post" or "superglue finger" with which the third finger can use to stretch into position on the A and E strings. In later songs, Dr. Suzuki will introduce other such sustained finger placements.

• I live in a rural community, and most of my students are very familiar with the construction of fences.

• We dig a hole for the corner fence post and put it in cement. Once the corner post is secure in cement, we are able to add additional fence posts and to stretch the fencing wire in between the posts.

• I use the corner fence post analogy when discussing the sustained F# finger for my slightly older students, and I use the "superglue finger" idea with my younger students.

There are a lot of previews to the skills that a student will learn in Song of the Wind, and I will address those previews and my teaching methods in part 2 next week.

Happy Teaching!

Quick Practice Tip: Swing, Plop -- finding the 3rd finger on the A string

Many teachers put some sort of tape or marker on the beginning student's violin fingerboard to indicate where to place the violin fingers. Most teachers think that we do this in order to make it easier for the student to find the correct pitches for the beginning finger patterns. Then the issue later becomes, when do we take the tapes off?

I have noticed in my teaching that many students really do not pay much attention visually to where the fingers go on the fingerboard, which leads me to ask, who needs the tapes at that point? I get my answer when I talk about removing the tapes. "No!" moans the mom, "I won't know where the fingers go!"

I ask the student, "Will you know where to put your fingers?" The student is a lot more confident than the mother usually is.

I have found a fairly accurate way to place the third finger (ring finger) on a descending scale, such as the one found in the Twinkle Theme in the third measure. Here is how we do it:

• Make sure that the first finger and left thumb are set up in the correct place to play the correct pitch for the first finger. In the Twinkle song, the first finger needs to be ready to play F#.

• Swing the left elbow under the violin toward the inside (toward the E string side).

• Plop the third finger down onto the A string.

If the elbow swing is done correctly, the third finger will usually land precisely in the correct place on the fingerboard. The problem later is that the student does not remember to swing the elbow under and instead chooses to reach the third finger, often falling short of the mark.

I have seen pre-twinkle exercises that involve playing the E string and then the third finger note D on the A string, but I have had little success just playing this two-note skill alone, as the students tend to leave their elbows under the violin during repetitions. Instead, it might be more fun to practice the skill as part of another song, such as Mary Had a Little Lamb in D major:

With this little version, there are three opportunities to practice the swing-plop. This would be a great chance to practice learning a song by ear, and I would do this in a group class setting. The song can later be practiced in the key of G major beginning with the first finger note B on the A string.

As for tapes, I use them but I try not to rely on them. I remind myself of the time I watched a young student in a master class at a Suzuki Institute. The master class teacher pointed to one of several (!) tapes on the student's bow and asked what the particular tape was for. When the student did not remember the reason for the tape, the master class teacher then observed that perhaps it was time to remove the tape. I put tapes on and off a student's violin throughout the early learning stages. Some students really do not need the tapes. Sometimes students need tapes for just a few weeks when switching to a larger instrument or learning a new finger pattern. I try to remember the Institute lesson and remove unnecessary tapes whenever possible.

Happy Practicing!

Teaching Lightly Row

Lightly Row is the first song in Suzuki violin book 1 that comes after the Twinkle variations, which are a tough act to follow. Therefore, Dr. Suzuki must have given this song special importance in his mind to have placed it in such a prominent place. Let us take a closer look at the treasures to be found in this song.

Left Hand Skills

• "skipping" fingers: the new finger pattern employs the fingers alternately rather than consecutively
• same finger pattern as in Twinkle variations (half step between 2-3 fingers)
• A-A1-B-A1 form (1st part is similar to the 2nd part with a different ending; the 2nd and 4th parts are identical)
• "walking fingers" at the end of part 1 resemble Twinkle variations but in reverse sequence from Twinkles

Right Hand Skills

• If you teach this song with open E string (rather than 4th finger playing E on the A string), the student learns how to drop the bow arm to the E string level and get a good ringing tone
• open E string teaches good string crossings
• later as the student advances in ability, the teacher may introduce bow distribution (using longer, slower bows for longer, slower notes, and quicker bows for shorter, faster notes); e.g., quick, quick, slow for the opening quarter note, quarter note, half note at the onset of the song

Previews

• teach the different endings to parts 1 and 2, measures 3 & 4 and 7 & 8
• walking fingers: A-B-C#-D-E-E-E (measures 3 & 4)
• skipping fingers: A-C#-E-E-C#-C#-C# (measures 7 & 8)
• doorbells or cuckoos in measures 1 and 2:
• E-C#-C# (measure 1)
• D-B-B (measure 2)
• expanded doorbells or cuckoos in measures 5 & 6:
• E-C#-C#-C# (measure 5)
• D-B-B-B (measure 6)
• Once the student learns the different endings to the first and second parts of the song, we play the song together.
• I play the beginning of the song (first two measures) on the student's violin and then quickly flip the violin around to place it under the student's chin.
• the student plays the walking fingers section that ends the first line of the song.
• I quickly grab the violin and then play the opening measures of the second line of the song.
• I pass the violin to the student to play the skipping fingers ending of line two of the song.
• We continue passing the violin back and forth with a sense of urgency so that together we partner playing the entire song.
• As the student learns the doorbells or cuckoos, the student expands the number of notes that he or she plays when we play the song together.
•  Third part of the song: I employ the student's aural and kinesthetic senses when we learn this part.
• I play the first four notes of the third line (B-B-B-B of measure 9) and ask the student to imitate me. I do not tell the student how many notes B I play. I want the student to hear and repeat the same number back to me.
• I ask the student to take a step to the side and then play B-C#-D (measure 10)
• Once the student can play both measures 9 and 10, we play them together;
• B-B-B-B
• take a step to the side and play B-C#-D
• I then teach the student measures 11 and 12 in the same way:
• I play C#-C#-C#-C# (measure 11) and ask the student to imitate me
• We take a step and then play C#-D-E (measure 12)
• I carefully instruct the home practice partner (mom or dad) to reinforce the way I taught the song, with the various steps to new positions for each measure.
• I am careful NOT to teach "play B five times then C#-D" of measures 9 and 10 because this does not reinforce the natural rhythm of the song.

Later Problems

• The student forgets elements of the song:
• walking versus skipping finger endings to parts 1 and 2
• mixing up the doorbells and cuckoos between the beginnings of parts 1 and 2
• forgetting the correct number of repeated notes in part 3
• left hand falls down on the E string
• the student tends to imitate the left hand motion with the right hand bow, dropping the left hand to mirror the dropping bow to the E string level
• this is a good opportunity to teach independence between the right and left hands
• some teachers prefer to have the student prepare the C# at the beginning of the song before playing the first E string note of the song to counteract this tendency
• Bow use becomes messy
• messy string crossings, sometimes due to a bow hold that becomes too loose and falls apart

Group Class Ideas

• play the song as partners: divide the class into two parts, and each part of the class plays a different part of the song
• students pluck E strings with left hand pinkies and bow the other notes
• walk around the room or step to the song while playing

Advanced Students

• use fourth fingers to replace open E string
• bow distribution: longer, slower bows on half notes
• use bigger bows as preparation for book 2 bowing skills
• book 3 students learn duet part
• as students learn higher positions, incorporate alternate fingerings
• incorporate vibrato

I use Lightly Row to teach various skills, which I will expand upon in later songs. To summarize:

• I begin working on ear training:
• by asking the student to distinguish between notes a step apart and notes that skip an interval of a third
• I use Lightly Row to develop the child's memory skills. Note that many string orchestra books include Lightly Row but that the version employs a simpler form (A-A-B-A). Dr. Suzuki's version requires the student to employ more mental energy to remember the slightly altered form. I prefer Dr. Suzuki's version.
• I use Lightly Row to reinforce the different string levels with the bow between the A and E strings. Later I will ask the student to use fourth finger in the song as another opportunity to strengthen the pinkie.

Useful Parenting Tool: The Power to Walk Away

I am going to tell you a teaching and parenting story from my real life studio archives. This story I am about to share with you illustrates one of the most effective teaching and parenting tools I have ever discovered: the power to walk away.

Once upon a time I took a course in negotiation, and I learned many useful tips. The most important lesson I learned was: "don't lose the power to walk away." A person loses the power to walk away when they become afraid of the consequences of not reaching an agreement about something. They are afraid that they will lose any part of the opportunity if they do not agree with whatever is on the table at the moment. That is the point, however, when the negotiating power can be at its strongest, because the other side also has the fear of what they will lose when they walk away from the negotiating table.

What does this have to do with teaching and parenting? Absolutely everything. I say that with complete conviction because I have been observing children and their parents for almost four decades. The issue also trends in popularity at various times. Right now I find the issue quite common because parents are truly too busy to spend the time necessary to correct and instruct (discipline) the child concerning unacceptable behavior.

I have one truly terrific parent in my studio, however, and I want to share this amusing and powerful story with you.

Last week I had a lesson with a three year old who has been coming to lessons about six months and doing a terrific job learning how to play the violin. This last lesson, however, was not so great. The child's family routine had been disrupted due to some unexpected travel out of town to help a grandparent move. Although the mom did her best to maintain the child's practice, the schedule was disrupted, and the child was reacting unpleasantly to the change in routine. The practice sessions were not happy and were becoming less and less productive overall. Mom was doing everything short of standing on her head, and things had not improved.

At the child's lesson, I spent some time helping mom to come up with a few little practice games and routines to try at home. Then I began teaching the child. I got very little cooperation from the child. She fell apart like a jellyfish the minute I let go. She would not hold a single position in place. Finally, about five minutes from the end of her "lesson," the child stopped even turning her head to the left to put on the violin. She absolutely balked, and then refused to turn her head and put it on the violin.

I turned to mom at that point and said that was all for the lesson that day. "What was the fun thing that you WERE going to do after her lesson today and which is NOT happening now?" I hinted. Her mom told me that they had talked about buying a little toy on the way home from the lesson if the lesson had gone well, which it most definitely had not. I reminded mom that buying the toy would NOT happen now, would it?

It took the child about 30 seconds for the reality of the consequences to sink in. During that short window of time I quickly instructed the mom about what to expect and do next to be sure that we were both on the same page. I warned mom that there would be a huge blowup momentarily, and that it would be pretty nasty for about 20 minutes. And under absolutely NO CIRCUMSTANCES was the mom to change her mind or give the child an opportunity to earn the privilege back that day. The opportunity was completely lost. Period.

And that is when the caterwauling began. Wailing, crying, and desperate clinging measures were used. The child kept tugging on mom's arm and urgently repeating, "I'll be good, I'll be good, I'll be good! I'm sorry, mommy, I'll be good!" Mom started to turn around and talk to the child, probably in an attempt to calm the child down, but I engaged the mom in a pleasant conversation instead. Actually the two of us were trying very hard not to giggle at the situation, because we had predicted that this would happen. Mom could have asked the child to comply with any direction at that moment, as the child was completely compliant, obedient, and absolutely desperate to go buy that toy.

I am so sorry that we did not have a video camera running during the entire episode, because this was a classic "how to" video for parents. Thankfully, the child's mother is a great mom and is strong enough to withstand all the child's tactics.

Here is the power tool that my student's mom employed:

• Say it once
• Turn your back
• Walk away

What do you say? "I'm sorry, but I didn't like [fill in the blank.] So, we are not going to do [fill in the blank.]" You do not discuss the matter any further than your first pronouncement. That is the "turn your back" and "walk away" part. And that, my friends, is the simple yet incredibly effective tool of "the power to walk away."

How does the story end? I got a text message from mom today: "I'm soooo happy! [The child] feels horrible about last week and has practiced everyday without drama. She'll say, 'I'll practice without the drama.' :)"

So the next time you are tempted to give in to your child's demands, remember to give "the power to walk away" a try.

If you want more information about how to use this tool effectively, read Dr. Kevin Leman's book Have a New Kid by Friday. You can purchase the book to read on your Kindle or Kindle app.

It's Showtime!

i thought you would enjoy seeing a few videos of one of my three year old students as she plays "Squeaky Mouse" and the left hand pizzicato exercise.

The "Squeaky Mouse" song is a song that developed by accident. A teacher must always be prepared to pounce on a new idea the minute it rears its head. In this case one of my former three year old students was struggling with "Flower Song," and she inadvertently let the bow slip off the track. The bow veered behind the bridge, made a horrible pipsqueak, and thus was the new "Squeaky Mouse" song born!

The words are quite simple: "Little Mice are Squeaky" repeated four times, and the notes alternate between the E string and F# (1st finger on E string). At the end of those four notes, the student puts the bow behind the bridge and plays a nasty squeaky sound.

The kids love this, and I enjoy setting it up as something fun to do because it will "annoy" and drive the child's parents crazy. All good fun! Here is one of my current three year old students playing "Squeaky Mouse" for you. This video gives you a good idea of how much interaction the teacher or the parent has with the child at this stage. This student has been playing this song for about 2 weeks now.

In a previous post, I described how I set up a child's left hand posture. One of the preliminary exercises I use is the left hand pizzicato. Here is the same three year old student performing this exercise. She had been doing this about 2 days when I took the video. I am not shushing her when she giggles; I'm actually saying "whoosh" as I whoosh each finger up after playing.

And finally, my 5 year old student Pajia wanted to show you how she gets her bow hold ready. Pajia is just beginning to learn "O Come Little Children." We noticed that her bow hold was starting to slip a little bit, so she started getting her bow hold ready very carefully without her violin. She places the bow on her shoulder and then very slowly and precisely sets all her fingers where they belong. Here is our little video of this process. It was tricky for me to film this and hold onto her violin at the same time.

I thought you would enjoy these next videos because of the cuteness factor. The little 3 year old girl is just the cutest, and her 5 year old brother was so excited about having his very first lesson on a real violin that he couldn't stand still. Enjoy.

I LIKE TO PLAY THE VIOLIN!

I AM SO EXCITED (but trying to look cool)!

In this next video, we had been talking about the recent Artisan Quartet concert, which was the second concert in its Beethoven cycle. The Artisan had performed an all-Beethoven program, including the Grosse Fuge. When my little student heard us talking about Beethoven, that got her talking about her favorite symphony, composer, and song. She needed a little prompting to repeat her words for the video.

What? Ode to Joy? Not the Grosse Fuge?

Steps to Putting the Violin on the Shoulder

Rest Position

One of the most difficult things for a beginning violin student to learn is how to take the violin from rest position (violin tucked under the right arm) to playing position (violin placed on the left shoulder). I approach this skill in two stages:

In the first stage, I ask the home practicing partner to place the violin on the student's shoulder. I ask the parent to do this so that the student learns how it feels to have the violin in the correct place.

Another way to reinforce this feeling is to place a small bean bag on the child's left shoulder. This is the place that the violin will rest, and the feeling of the bean bag is very similar to how it will feel to have a violin placed there.

In the second stage, I teach the child a set of ritualized steps to follow in order to place the violin on the shoulder. I use these steps as a reminder to the home practicing partner and the student as to the things to remember about setting up correct posture. Here are the steps that begin from rest position (with bow hold already in place):

(1) Zip-step with the feet

(2) Scoop left hand under the violin (and put thumb on sticker on underside of violin) and grab around the violin shoulder to hold the violin body and strings

(3) Pull the violin out and hold it up like the Statue of Liberty

(4) Turn the violin upside down and then place the violin on the left shoulder (all of the shoulder should be covered by the violin)

(5) Check bow hold one last time

I have my students hold the bow with the correct bow hold while they are in rest position. I do this to save time and to avoid the issue of holding the violin while making a bow hold, which is when students sometimes slip in their violin posture.

"Zip-step" is when the toes turn outward to allow the feet to form a vee, and then the student takes a step (doesn't matter which foot) to widen the stance to about shoulder width. I do not subscribe to the former Suzuki recommendation that the left foot be placed forward. I find that such a stance is unbalanced, and that it leads to teenagers standing improperly with their right hip jutted out like a bad attitude. Instead, I ask that the feet be placed in a naturally balanced position, as they would be if we were to jump up and down several times.

Zip

Teen Hip "Attitude"

Step

To test the student's placement of the feet, we play the "push and pull" game. If the student's feet are too narrow, then I can push or pull them over sideways. If the feet are too wide apart, then I can push or pull them over forwards or backwards. The kids think this is a fun game! For younger students, we pretend that the student is a tree in the middle of a storm being buffeted by wind.

thumb spot

grab strings

I place a sticker on the violin "thumb spot," which is the place on the back of the violin where the neck joins the violin body. I ask my students to place their thumb on the sticker and to wrap their fingers around the body of the instrument so that they catch hold of the violin by the strings. I do this because it actually helps the student to feel completely comfortable about getting the violin all the way up on the "high" shoulder. If students just grab the neck of the violin, they will not be able to get the violin twisted around enough without going through some contortions. Most students will not do this, and as a result the violin will not be placed high enough on the shoulder. By grabbing the violin lower around the body and strings, the student is able to pull the violin all the way up and onto the shoulder.

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty stance is to help the student to stretch themselves tall. I try to do as many things as I can to help young students learn how to stand tall. Turning the violin upside down and placing it on the shoulder is the next step. All this activity on the left side of the student is meant to draw the student's attention to the left, so that the student will turn his or her head.

After the Statue of Liberty, the student swings the violin up onto the shoulder.

The last bow hold check is to be sure that nothing has slipped.

Having a set of numbered steps is useful for a group situation. It looks very nice when the entire group is getting ready to play in the same manner. By following my above list of steps, I am sure that my students will correctly place their violins into playing position posture with the best chance of success.





To summarize the five steps:

(1) Zip-Step
(2) Thumb Spot
(3) Statue of Liberty
(4) Violin on Shoulder
(5) Bow Hold Check