Beginner’s Guide « Instruments of Righteousness

Beginner’s Guide

Suzanne Cox’s Violin Studio

Beginner’s Guide

What You Will Need:

There are several items that you will need to purchase before we begin lessons. Playing a musical instrument requires investment just as any other activity does. If you feel that this is going to be a problem for you, please discuss it with me. Below you will find details on the items you will need, where you can find them for purchase, and their approximate prices.

Violin and Bow:

Purchasing: I recommend that students purchase their own instrument. I feel that the student will be more committed if the student invests in an instrument right away. The student will also be more motivated to enjoy and protect the personally owned instrument. In addition, purchasing is a more economical option in the long run. If the student is not ready for a 4/4 size instrument yet, most violin shops offer a 100% trade in policy. This means that they will credit the money you invest in the smaller instrument toward the purchase of the next size.

Renting: If the student is not big enough for a full size instrument yet, or does not want to invest in the purchase of an instrument right away, the student should consider rental through one of the following companies:

http://kerrviolins.com/rentals.html – $22.50-$27.50 per month

http://beacockmusic.com/rentals.htm – $15.99 – 29.99 per month

https://www.tedbrownmusic.com/rentals.php – $24.00 – $30.00 per month

Violin Case:

Most violins come as an outfit with Violin, Case, and Bow. If the violin does not have a case with it, one will need to be purchased. Visit: www.swstrings.com 2. Choose “Cases” from the left hand menu bar. 3. Choose the sub item, “Violin” under Cases. 4. I recommend the “Oxford Semi-French Suspension Violin Case. – $109.95

Bow:

Again, this is usually included in a violin outfit but I will include this information incase you should need to purchase a bow separately. Be sure to get the right size. Visit: www.swstrings.com 2. Choose “Bows” from the left hand menu bar. 3. Choose the sub item, “Violin” under Bows. 4. I recommend the “Klaus Mueller Octagonal/Round Pernambuco Violin bow. – $119.95

Kun Shoulder Rest:

The shoulder rest needs to be the same size as the instrument(4/4, 3/4, 1/2, etc.) http://www.swstrings.com – Type Kun in the search box, and choose the Kun Original Violin Shoulder Rest – $21.95

Dominant Violin Strings:

The student should have one set of Dominant violin strings on his instrument as well as a spare complete set of Dominant strings in their case at all times.
http://gostrings.com – 1. On the left hand menu bar, click the “Strings (sets)” button. 2. Choose “Violin – string sets” from the links on the page. 3. Scroll down the page until you see the Dominant violin strings. 4. Choose “Dominant – violin set with Silver D, wound E#130 with ball – $42.95

Rosin:

http://www.swstrings.com Type “Rosin” in the search box under Accessories. $4 – $8

Music Books:

A Tune A Day, Book 1, by Paul Herfurth: Visit http://www.swstrings.com Type “8860” in the search box. Choose “Book 1: Elementary Violin” from the options. – $5.50
Music Dictionary: Essential Dictionary of Music, by L.C. Harnsberger: Visit http://sheetmusicplus.com Type “Essential Dictionary of Music” in the search box. – $5.95

Instrument Maintenance: The violin is a very valuable instrument that requires special attention in order to keep it in its best working condition. The importance of instrument maintenance must be made clear to the student from the very start.

Violin

Store in the case.
Keep case stored at constant temerature (Away from heaters).
Wipe off all parts of the instrument after use.
Never use water when cleaning your instrument.

Strings

Dust the rosin off the strings on a daily basis.
Replace strings when they begin to unwind.
Always keep a spare set of strings on hand.

Store in the case.
Loosen horsehair slightly after use.
Cut broken pieces of hair off the stick.
Have a professional rehair the bow once a year – David Kerr’s in Portland: www.kerrviolins.com – $60.

Tuning

Do not tune your own instrument.
It is easy to break strings during tuning if not done properly.
I will tune the instrument each week in lesson.

Proper Bow Grip

Good bow control is vital to good violin playing. We will spend a lot of time learning how to hold the bow properly before we will be able to start making music. Below are photos of bow grips.

The picture on the left is a nice loose, relaxed bow grip that has great control over the bow. However, the picture on the right shows us how easy it is to have a tense grip such as this one.

Pet the Kitty

Hold the bow stick in the center using your left hand.
Pet the lower half of the bow with your right hand.
Be sure to pet your kitty (bow) with the middle of your fingers and be gentle.

Stirring Soup

Stir ingredients into soup
Stir backwards/forwards, fast/slow.
Use little and big pots.

Happy Frog

Catch a frog (hold your bow)
You like the frog, be nice and don’t keep him or he might die.
Teacher/Parent takes the frog away (takes bow out of hand)

Ring Game

Teacher/Parent moves a ring around in the air while their eyes are closed.
Student tries to slip the tip of the bow into the ring.
When student hits the target, bring the bow all the way through the ring (gives student practice resetting their bow grip).

Elevator

Hold the bow horizontally. People stand on tip of bow.
Move the bow up and down, vertically, to move between floors.
Sing high/low pitches depending on the floor you move to.

Wheels

Hold the bow horizontally. There is a wheel on each end (Frog/Tip) of the bow.
Turn the wheels together: fast/slow/reverse.
Use different vehicles; truck, car, etc.

Rocket Ship

Set bow on the palm of your hand (launching pad), standing on end.
Check that each finger is doing its assigned job.
Be sure to use sound effects. Bring your rocket ship home to it’s launching pad.

Windshield Wipers

Your bow is like a windshield wiper
Pretend driving big/small vehicle.
Pretend it’s raining hard/lightly.

Proper Violin Posture

Tug & Tickle

Position violin properly.
Touch and tickle them all over.
Tug gently on violin frequently.

Violin Touching Copy Cat

While holding violin, touch parts of the violin.
Take turns leading and following each other.
Always tap the different parts.

Birds Landing on Shoulder

Pet the bird (violin) while sitting in nest (rest position).
Bird flies out, flips over, comes down to land on your shoulder.
Returns to nest for bed.

Twinkle Variations

Variation 1: Pep-per-on-i Piz-za or Mis-sis-sip-pi Hot-dog

Variation 2: Run Po-ny, Jump Po-ny

Variation 3: Pea-nuts’ and Pop-corn’ and (‘ = action/silence: sniff, stomp, blink, stick out tongue)

Variation 4: Wan-na Ride-a Mot-or-cy-cle or Wan-na eat-a Wat-er-mel-on or Ti-ny Ki-tty, Ti-ny Ki-tty.

Finger all patterns on all strings, in all positions.

The Left Hand

Bunny Hop

Perform an action on “Bunny hop, hop”, “Bunny clap, clap” or “Bunny pat, pat”.
Eventually “Bunny tap, tap” on the shoulder, then on strings.
Mix up the fingers that are tapping: “Bunny tap, 2, 3, 4”.

Tunnel

Form a spy hole with your hand/fingers.
Slip the neck of your violin inside the spy hole.
Tap with loosely framed fingers.

Butterflies

You may encounter a temptation to grip the fingerboard with the thumb in the two games presented. In this case, imagine that the thumb is a bird or a butterfly. Have the bird fly around for a bit and then land on a branch. Repeat this action multiple times while playing the game.

Concert Opportunities

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra – http://vancouversymphony.org/