Welcome Back! August 16, 2023 Homework Poco Players
POCO PLAYERS!
From Mrs. Erika:
It was so wonderful to meet everyone today! I am very much looking forward to this year with all of you. I was very impressed with the involvement of the families and am very grateful for the help and support I have already seen from the families at THSO.
It seems like many of you already are aware of this, but I will say it here just in case.
Parents should help their students practice and guide them through the following activities. Ideally, the parent functions as the “at home teacher” during the rest of the week until we all meet together again.
Poco Players Practice:
Listen every day to the recordings (you can find “Suzuki Twinkle Variation A” on youtube, or buy the professional recordings I recommend, which I will attach the link below)
Practice Good Violin Posture and Hold
Make sure the shoulder rest/sponge is in place before
1) Rest Position and Playing position feet (feet together vs. V and apart). Standing up straight with good balance
2) Violin in rest position under right arm
3) Practice looking to the left without the belly button moving (like an owl moves it’s head)
4) Grab shoulder of violin with Left Hand (on top side of violin closest to scroll that does NOT have the chin rest on the same side)
5) lift violin out with left hand (same hand)
6) Flip Violin
7) Help your student lower the violin on the collarbone (head should still be looking left while belly button stays straight)
8) Student rests head on chin rest. You will know they are doing it right if they can let go of left hand without the violin falling down or moving
*check that both shoulders are relaxed
9) Once we get here, try to keep the violin in this position while listening to at least 1 Twinkle variation (if they can listen to more while keeping it in the correct position, even better).
*Your student may struggle with any one of these steps. Do not proceed to the next step until your student has done well with all of the previous ones. I recommend at least 10 correct repetitions of each step that the student struggles with. These do not need to happen all at the same time if the student is losing focus (e.g. do 5 in the morning, 5 in the afternoon)
Extra Credit: Clapping Game. This is great to do when your student is tired, unfocused, or just needs a change of pace. Focus on a steady beat and accurate rhythm.
We are trying to develop good posture and strength to hold our violin for longer periods for the future, so please take the time to ensure these are done every day to build good habits and muscle. Feel free to review the pictures attached
The following link has many pictures of a correct bow hold from many angles for your reference.
Suzuki Recordings:
Bow Hand Dot Photos: Attached below
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Below is your Theory Homework. Click on the link to print!
Theory homework: THSO Theory Book One – cover and page 2