September 10, 2025 Homework Preludio
WELCOME PRELUDIO!
Preludio: The biggest goal of Suzuki Book One is to learn how to play with good posture (good violin and bow hold) and a good sound. Everything else is a bonus.
Practice should be 10-15 minutes a day for this class. We are continuing to review so you will be practicing many of the same things as Poco, with a couple of add-ons. The fundamentals (good posture, good bow hold, good violin hold, good and good bow arm movement) are essential to everything else we will learn moving forward. There is no such thing as too much review of the fundamentals! If you do not get to the more difficult pieces because work on the fundamentals is taking up the time, I am totally fine with that!
The bow hold prizes also apply to this group 🙂
Listening: Every day (especially is memorization is hard for your student, then listen 2x a day)
1) Rest and Playing position: No violin.
*make sure the weight is balanced between the 2 feet “Sway like a tree”
*Practice the head turn with the hand on the belly button. The belly button should not move while the head turns to the left
2) Rest and playing position with the violin
-Sing the Rest Position Song
-Playing position: parent should place the violin for now.
Step 1:Feet and head turn should be good before attempting the violin placement.
Step 2: The child should open their chin while keeping the head turned, and the parent will place the violin on the left shoulder.
Step 3: When placed, the parents should tell them to close their head and rest it on the black chin rest.
The jaw should rest on the black chin rest and the head weight should keep the violin in place (test that they can let go of the hands without dropping the violin)
Step 4: Hold for at least 10 seconds, work your way up to being able to listen to a whole Twinkle variation (about 30 sec) over time.
3) Bow Hold:
Bow holds should be assisted by the parents using the method we talked about in class. Some benchmarks to look for:
1) Thumb is bent (dot should be hidden) and on the silver part of the frog
2) Middle finger is right across from the thumb and touchin where the middle finger dot was today
3) Ring finger is right next to the middle finger (touching the dot on the frog)
4) Pinky is curved and on top of the stick (behind the other fingers)
5) Index finger is resting on the stick like cooked spaghetti
Once they are in place, make sure they hold it for at least 10 seconds. They may need you to help them bear the weight of the bow at first while they are developing finger strength
Goal: 100 bow holds within a month (held at least 10 seconds). When the chart is done, bring it in for a small prize!
4) E and A string concerto: focusing on opening and closing the forearm and keeping the bow parallel with the bridge. Keep the bow within the bridge and fingerboard.
5) Monkey Song on A string
-make sure fingers are curved and wrist is straight
MonKey Song: A-1-2-3, 3-2-1-A
Pickle Song: E-1-E-A
Twinkle Bread: A-E-1-E-A3-2-1-A
Cello Monkey Song:
A-1-3-4,4-3-1-A
6) Previous students only: If all is going well and fundamentals look good, start reviewing Twinkle Mississippi Hot Dog 🙂
Practice Videos and Recordings
Twinkle Theme Play Along:
Lightly Row Slow
Lightly Row Performance Tempo w/ fingerings
Twinkle Mississppi Hot Dog, skip to close to the end for Twinkle Theme
SLOW (great for play alongs): Twinkle Mississppi Hot Dog, skip to close to the end for Twinkle Theme
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 A: Wolf (violin)
Theory B: Rests with Flags
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