October 22, 2025 Homework Accelerando

ByVicky Bufano

Welcome Accelerando!

11/5 Viola Technique Class
11/12: Basses and Cellos combined
11/19: Violin and Viola combined
12/3: Basses and Cellos combined
Violins and Violas: I am attaching a handout with all of our technique goals for the semester. Our next Violin/viola technique class will be on 11/19. Each person will be asked to do at least one scale by themselves. This is not a test but a check up to help me figure out the best way to help you with anything you may be struggling with. I will give each person one technical thing to work on for the rest of the semester.
There will be encouragement treats afterward to help with the stress.
Violas, cellos, and basses will get a similar handout soon  and can expect the same thing to happen for them on 12/3 🙂
Accelerando: Continue to prioritize this week: Christmas Grace Measures 56-72
Listen to all the pieces. This counts as practice!
1) Bow hold exercises: they happen every day.
Check for:
*bent thumb on top of the frog, inside the bow
*Middle finger right across from the thumb
*ring finger right next to middle finger
*pinky bent and on top of the bow
*index finger touching close to the 2nd joint and relaxed
Mississippi Hot dog rhythm is done in the middle of the bow (not the frog!)
2) Red Finger pattern
Practice red patten
Violins and Violas: Play red pattern with the mississippi hot dog pattern on the E,A, D, and G string. Use 4th finger!
Cellos and basses: On every string except your highest string with mississippi hot dog (like we did in class).
Optional: Red pattern with shifting
Basses: Use shifting pattern
3) Blue Pattern
Violin and violas: low 2s. Still use 4th finger instead of open strings
-play on every string and use the mississippi hot dog pattern
4) Yellow Pattern
Violins and Violas:
D-1-2-high 3-4
Cello: D-1-2 on the 3rd finger tape- 4 beyond the tapes
5) D and G One Octave Scale with Mississippi Hot Dog Rhythm
Double check violin/viola holds (keep out to the side, hold with your head. Violin/viola should be flat and not tilted up or down)
Cellos use the Low D for your D scale (starting on the 1st finger on the C string, use the yellow pattern)
Violins use the middle G for your G scale (3rd finger on the D string)
6) Burst: Learn all. Mark any notes you need into the music neatly with a pencil
7) Ninja:  Learn all. Mark any notes you need into the music neatly with a pencil. Use 4th finger when you see a “4” above a note.
8) Mahler’s Mysterious March:  Learn all. Mark any notes you need into the music neatly with a pencil. Low 2s on the A string for viola and violin. Cellos use 2 instead of 3 for the C naturals.
9) Christmas Grace:
-start listening and learning the notes
-Spend most of your practice time learning and mastering measure 56-72
10) Music Reading Practice: I would highly suggest using the “I can read music” book series. It slowly introduces new notes one at a time and separates rhythm and pitch reading at first. I would again write in the pitch name of the note first and then play it on the instrument.

 

Theory homework: Please click on the link to download and print your homework.  Students working out of All for Strings will have their own book and it is not linked here. 

Theory A: Ledger Lines

Theory B: AfS I – pp 12-13

Theory C: Fifth_8-9

Theory D: Sixth_12-13

Theory E: AfS II – pp. 12-13

 

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