Scales with Twinklers

As most of you know, beginners in the Suzuki method start off learning how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This  is a very simple and well known children’s song, so chances are, the student can already sing the melody. Because the first set of pieces learned in the Suzuki method are variations on this song, we call our beginners, Twinklers. Our Twinklers can learn their first scale by singing it and I often sing it to the following words, (one syllable for each note in the scale):

“The little train goes up the hill. The little train comes down again.”

(The first sentence is the scale going up and the second is the scale coming back down – one octave.) I will play the scale for them, first pizzicato (i.e. plucking the notes rather than bowing) then the student does the same and practices this at home. Then we can bow a fun rhythm and it can become a monkey song – a good activity to insert between the focused learning tasks.

On the violin the first scales we learn are A major, D major and G major, while on viola it is D major, G major and C major. The student may start his or her scales in pizzicato (this removes the challenge of using the bow correctly, so we can just focus on the notes of the scale in the beginning). Then I have the student go up the scale naming each note as he or she goes, for example:

“A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A”

And they turn around and go back down again.

When they know the names of the notes on their instrument, they are ready to name the notes on the staff and effectively to begin reading music. This is where I recommend using I Can Read Music: A Note Reading Book for Violin Students (Volume 1). (Also available: I Can Read Music: For Viola Volume 1 and I Can Read Music: For Cello, Volume I). I use this book for various activities. When the book is open to lesson one, the Pitch page is on the left and the Rhythm page is on the right. For the Pitch page, the student names the notes and then plays them, one line at a time. For the Rhythm page, the student claps and counts and then plays and counts, one line at a time.

By the middle of the Suzuki Book 1, I have the students put the book on the stand and point to the notes as they listen to the recording and then practice. This is the daily routine.

“Did it Sound Better or Worse?”

As previously mentioned, I spoke as a Suzuki Teacher Trainer to the String Pedagogy class at Colorado State University, about the progression through the Suzuki Violin School Books. One of the topics I covered was intonation.

Intonation needs to stay on the instinctive, intuitive level, so I watch for the first sign that the child hears when the notes sound better or worse. Most children do hear this difference and also subtly let us know that they do and are not quite sure what to do about it. Here is our chance to teach the appropriate basics, which would be, move your finger.

Nine times out of ten, they instinctively move the finger in the right direction and to the best ringing sound. If they do move it the wrong direction, a simple question is:

“Did it sound better or worse?”

In the case of worse, move it the other way. Sometimes I ask the child if the finger needs to move a little more. They very soon get the idea that they can get the pitch/sound that they want.

Finger pattern exercises and scales continue the process as far as pitch is concerned and also note learning on the instrument, which makes note learning on the page pertinent and make sense. For students who are further along in the repertoire, shifting the violin hand into the upper positions follows in line with these basics.

Congratulations Chad!

Congratulations to Chad on all his hard work! He started teacher training with Elaine in 2008. He was honored at the 2012 Employee of the Year Banquet by the Poudre School District:
Chad Fisher awarded by Poudre School District at ACE Banquet

“Chad Fisher, coordinator of enrichment/violin tutor at Laurel Elementary School of Arts and Technology, is credited with growing a unique, school violin arts-based program that is recognized across the district. Since he began teaching violin at Laurel in 2008, the program has grown from 50 to 175 students. Chad, who teaches 40 small group violin classes weekly, also took the initiative to start a Mandolin club, Fiddle Club and Blue Grass Club, which meet either before or after school. He is eager to do whatever is necessary to create a successful experience for his students, including adapting a violin for a special needs student so that he could play from his wheelchair.
“Chad truly enjoys working with children and teaching them to play violin and mandolin. He continually seeks ways to improve the program and teaching. During the summer of 2010 Chad attended a national Suzuki training and learned that Laurel’s program is unique and may be the only violin program in the nation that serves K-5 students during the school day at no cost,” said Tommie Sue Cox, Laurel principal. “He is an ambassador in the Fort Collins community, promoting arts in Poudre School District.”

– Poudre School District