September 6, 2023 Homework Preludio
WELCOME PRELUDIO!
From Mrs. Erika:
Please continue with the video exercises and games. Try to refine their hold and have higher standards than before, as well as get them to hold the violin and bow for longer at a time. Please get them a shoulder rest/sponge if you have not already done so and please make use of it! I saw a few of them struggling to keep the violin in the right place because they did not have that assistance from the shoulder rest.
Double Check:
*make sure the violin is clearly on their left side and touching their left collarbone and left jaw. They should be looking at their violin (about 45 degrees to the left)
Having a good posture and good violin/bow hold are the foundations to beautiful playing later on and hard to correct if established incorrectly. Please do your best to do at least some review every day, even if only for a few minutes.
Please also continue listening to the Twinkles of Suzuki Book 1 every day. (this is a good activity to do when they get tired of holding their violin). Feel free to make it fun by having them dance, clap to the beat, color, and more. Feel free to also listen to other songs on the CD
We started learning the names of the strings this week, so this is a good thing to review as well.
Pluck in Guitar Position
E,E, E for Elephant
A,A,A for Alligator
D,D,D for Dog
G, G, G for Goat
Ant Song: (make sure they sing the words!), pluck the open string on each capitalized word:
Each Each Each, each and every
Ant Ant Ant digging in the
Dirt Dirt Dirt all the way to
Greece Greece Greece
Preludio 2nd years and beyond: Still do the other activities but add on:
Review the Monkey Song (with words and singing!)
Review Flower Song
Double Check the wrist is straight and that the fingers are curved in arches when they go down
Both:
Exercises/Games from last week
1) Assisted Bow Hold: Another way to get your child into a good bow hold. Start with the student making a circle with the middle fingers and thumb, then slide the bow in their hand as the teacher does in the video. Really checking for relaxed hands and the pinky and thumb to be bent:
2)Shoulder Bowing and Rhythm:
3)Follow along the video with the various games and exercises. Feel free to pause to repeat a game/exercise or take another look. First year students should avoid the horizontal bow exercises for now, as we will need time to build that kind of strength in their pinky.
4) Posture Game: Only attempt if your student can hold the violin without their hand with no slipping or issues already. If your child is still unable to hold only with the head, work first on getting them to put the violin on the left collarbone and jaw on the chinrest, and then putting enough weight on the violin with their head that it can stay in place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
5) Preludio Students/ non first year students ONLY: Putting Fingers Down
For those that have put fingers down already last year, they may attempt some of this video. Parents that are guiding fingers should be careful that the wrist stays straight (no “pizza man wrist” or “Pancake wrist”) and that the fingers are rounded, creating an arch shape.
Resources For Preludio:
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 for the week:
Theory homework: THSO Theory Book One – page 5_Bass Clef