Violin Lesson Tuesday 11/6/2007 Lesson 15 Week 8

Practice List Tuesday 11/6/2007 Lesson 15 Week 8

Practice List

1. Identification: NEW: Perpetual Motion. (Twinkle Variations, Lightly Row, Song of the Wind, Aunt Rhody, O’ Come Little Children, May Song, Long Long Ago, Allegro)

2. Singing and Hand Signing A, E, F# and C# memory game without cards

3. Violin sets for count of 10 seconds

4. Shoulder bowing of Twinkle Variations while singing along “Listen Please” “Your Turn” (may hold left arm across chest/waist to prevent twist)

5. Playing dessert (A E F# E, left side of hand leads left arm swing and then bend knees) NEW variables: use whole yellow tape playground and make a nice sound. “You can do this for pennies.” “make it sound pretty”

6. Keep green feet, head back on chin rest, bow on one lane of road, soft left knee, no twisting

7. Do 5 times a day: Left hand Swing, 1st finger “Open Back, 3rd finger drops on A string and NEW “ Tap D” : tap 3rd finger lightly a few times on A. Do as separate practice exercise. (see #13 explanation)

8. Playing MHD, HB, SBB, Wash, My name on E string KEY: work for increased number of consecutive repetitions & listen for tone

9. Playing MHD on E string and A string with string crossing: “set E” “reach to” A and A “drop to” E KEY: 5 consecutive repetitions with eyes down on road and head back (keeping violin up) “listen please” “your turn” (this is the “pebble game” for 5

10. “Fix it” or “Move on” Game: Object is to get all “Move Ons” as she plays dessert A E F# E (not mentioned this week)

11. Listening Piece Story for Friday
12. Poem for Tuesday *still needs eye contact as primary objective

13. Sing and clap variation rhythm (first part of twinkle “the bread”) while keeping total eye contact Bread = A E F# E D C# B A

14. Bow sets with “bumpy thumb” then tip up

15. Finger tapping thumb to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th finger

16. Getting violin into rest position and thank you bow with words “thank you for teaching me Mr S”


Notes:

1) NEW:Mr S began lesson by asking us not to put any type of turtleneck shirt on Nora for lesson days and group class sessions.

2) Nora stayed standing on her foot chart and named the songs and twinkle variations (mostly all correct) that Mr S played on her violin. She took a long time on Long Long Ago, but got it, and she twice missed Lightly Row (she said O Come Little Children as a first response) and she got Allegro after first thinking it was Song of the Wind. He added: Perpetual Motion, a piece that is not like any of the others and thus he does not think she will have a hard time learning it.

3) Nora gave her Poem (she forgot the title and author), but his main concern was that she still does not give him eye contact as she recites the poem.

4) Mr S had a hard time getting Nora to cooperate for the violin sets at the very beginning of the lesson (they were going to do the F# dessert). After he gave her a warning that it would be a shame to have to end the lesson early, she immediately responded and began following directions with more care. After the lesson he told Mima that I should be ready for him to unceremoniously end one of her lessons (what he terms a “million dollar lesson”) if she does not follow directions and cooperate. He does not want this to be “acrimonious”, but rather a learning experience so that she learns to quickly do what is asked to the best of her ability. He said that he may never have to do this, but he wanted me to be prepared just in case it happens.

5) NEW: Nora turns her head to follow his hand. He did an exercise with her for her to turn her head (not her eyes) without turning her shoulders or twisting her body. Just her head should turn as she follows his hand.

6) He did the pitch memory game giving her lots of running and failry complex movement sequences and some cognitive (counting type) tasks as well. Put the duck on the piano bench and jump 3 times, run and touch the door, give Mima a hug and return and sing C#. She did this enthusiastically and her pitches are improving though C# remains difficult.

7) He did an activity where she had to follow his directions quickly (red feet, green feet, touch V, touch X) and she did this one fast and just fine.

8) When he did violin dessert F# exercise 5 times, Nora did stay on her green feet, but she went up on tip toes a couple of times and this can cause loss of balance. He paced her carefully letting her know her status “that was two, here comes three”, “just two more left”.

9) Mr S had Mima do the swing, open back and drop 3rd finger and tap exercise so that I could get a feel for how it is done. The swing should bring the hand forward so that the 3rd finger just drops down to touch on the A string. For the Tapping, he showed how he touches the back of Nora’s hand lightly under the base of the third finger knuckle joint to help cue that the movement comes from the tendons in the hand and not just the distal joints of the 3rd finger. The touch on the string is so light that it does not depress the string enough to actually make a note that would sound.

10) We noticed that Nora’s bow hand fingers were mirroring the drop of the 3rd finger during her left hand exercise. Nothing was said to Nora about it and this is fine, and one reason for separating the violin and the bow hand at this point. Mr S spoke about exercises that he has used with other students to help with independent finger action and showed a few to Mima.

a) He said that right now we should be sure to do the finger to thumb tapping exercises with Nora. At first she can do the same fingers on both hands and later we can progress to using different fingers, for example a first finger tap with the right hand and a 3rd finger tap with her left hand.
b) He also showed a thumb game (not for now). The student holds hands out with thumbs bent to begin. The game consists of the each thumb being either bent or straight up and the thumb position must be changed (up/down) each time he points to a thumb, right thumb and left thumb. He began by pointing to both thumbs at the same time but the game got more difficult as he pointed to the right and left at different times, or at the same time, but after they were in opposite starting positions positions.

11) Steps in “dessert” A E F# E. Mima should give clear and rhythmic requests/instructions to Nora (some instructions use a variety of words meaning the same thing (“my turn” “your turn” has several variations)
• “Green Feet”
• “Soft Knees”
• “Soft Bow Hand”
• “TURN HEAD”
• “DROP HEAD”
• (Mima can swing Nora’s left arm to make sure it is soft and relaxed)
• “Thumb Pillow”
• “Tickle Spot”
• “Set E”
• “Reach A”
• “my turn”
• “your turn”)
• drop E
• “my turn” “your turn”)
• touch F#
• “”my turn” – “your turn”
• “pop off”
• “my turn”– “your turn”
• “swing and bend”

12) Road for the bow has just one lane
• Stay in one place, do not let bow slide the lanes for the other (imaginary) cars.
• Stay in “your yard” the bow playground
• Keep your eyeballs in the bow
• Play just one string

13) 4 year old posture no twisting toward left (10 seconds no twist)
• Soft left knee
• Relaxed right shoulder
• Head properly back on chin rest


14) Do 5 times a day Swing (far enough so that the 3rd finger can just drop down to touch the A string with no additional movement), “Open Back” 1st finger movement opening hand backward and 3rd finger dropping on A string NEW : tap 3rd finger on red tape on A string but not hard, just lightly touch. Pressure may not be enough to depress string and that is OK. :
• Only left hand, no bow needed
• “Open Back” : the first finger reaches back and a little down, left hand fingers fan open led by 1st finger movement back and down
• drop 3rd finger “D” to lightly touch the red tape on the A string (no squeeze)

15) “Fix it” or “Move on” Game. The object is to get all “Move Ons” (not done in lesson and still quite new for us)

a) Two Variables for the game at this point
• Head back (Mr S said he noticed that this was better in today’s lesson)
• No twisting shoulders and trunk

b) After each MHD (on the dessert, or another playing practice exercise) the parent tells Nora
• “Fix it” and she needs to check and change her own head and twisted shoulders
• “Move On” means her head was back in proper place and she was not twisted left, so parent “goes on” to the give “listen please” for the next note of the dessert or exercise

16) New Format: for Listening Piece Recitation will be more like a story: “Johannes Brahms composed Hungarian Dance Number 1 in G Minor, and it was performed by Itzhak Perlman on the violin.”

17) Dessert: F# on the E string (“touch E, reach to A” “Drop to E” “touch F#”, “pop off” “swing” left arm and “bend” knees)

a) A E F# E
b) On last E
• left side of hand leads (arm and elbow) (“swing”) slightly and knees bend a bit deeper
• Decrease tension, balance point is important
c) KEY: Listen for tone

18) For weekly Poem recitation Tuesday, look at (look into eyes) of Mr S or person to whom you are speaking / presenting. This makes it a special gift from you to your listener. You should feel like you are saying it just for Mr S. Learn new poem for Tuesday.

19) Weekly Music listening presentation (piece, composer, musician * and working up to accompanist or orchestra) Friday (see new format above)

Group Class
1. Standing in line, waiting, hand violin crossed, thank you
2. Notes A E F# D C# B (see below)
3. Bow Poem with tip up, good following and rhythm
4. Follow directions quickly: touch ____
5. Notes: hand motions and body positions review
6. Crossed arm violin hand off and “thank you”
7. Getting violin into rest position and thank you bow with words “thank you for teaching me Mr S”
8. Moving and stopping quickly as music plays
9. ID Violin parts
10. Pizzicato versus Arco
11. Harmonic, Double Stop, Triple Stop, Quadruple Stop
12. Say ____ exactly when he points to you
13. Song identification (stand up/sit down, raise hand)

Group Class Information for this Friday:

Note, Hand Position, Movement
A , bottom of chin , sit down
E, top head, hairline, stand up
F#, above head, jump
D, forehead/eyebrow, touch shoulder
C#, nose, touch waist
B, lips, touch toes


Note from Mima to Mom Lisa the Monday before our Tue Lesson

We had another really good practice this afternoon!
I used goldfish (her new idea) accumulating in a dish during the practice (up on the high book shelf so that it was away from the practice zone) and we had a piece of birthday cake with a frosting LEAF after. I also used pennies under her green feet for some of the practice items.

I tried to be very clear about what we were doing in each session and gave her some choices. It has not worked in the past, but today it did work ... maybe I am learning to be clearer.
Nora understands that we are doing 3 short practices today and that you will be doing the evening practice. (Later note: this was a very short and good practice with good attention and good following directions, despite the fact that just prior to holding the violin, Nora pulled out both of her hair bands (and mom and Mima ignored this). Nora did one “open back and drop 3rd finger D” and one “ MHD dessert A E F# E swing and bend”. We are trying to end while it is still going well!

Nora really helped me (Mima) this afternoon. She told me that she gets confused when I say "touch E" meaning that she should place the bow on the E string before it reaches/rocks over to the A string to begin the F# dessert exercise. She said it is confusing because when she hears the word “touch” she puts her first finger down for the "touch F#" and it makes a mistake on the A string. Moreover, you may recall that getting that open A first note has been hard because the first finger was often on the strings! Now we know that it is because we used the word “touch” as an instruction for the left hand first finger F# and later as an instruction for the bow position. Because Nora was really concentrating in the practice today, and because she is so articulate, I believe that we can make the F# practice easier for her. (Note from Tue Lesson: Mr S says to use the words “set E” for the instruction to put the bow on the E string.)

Now, when I say “great practice”, I mean that it went smoothly in terms of Nora’s behavior and cooperation. Her overall posture was better; however, there are still violin skill issues. But, I am not as concerned about that stuff (head on rest, no twisting body, bow in one lane of the road, as these things will become easier over time. Everything should be easier if she can feel accomplishment (and hopefully some joy) from some good practices.

I don’t expect that it will be hard to move away from these “treat rewards” as Nora gets a better idea of what we are doing in the practice sessions. I am pretty sure that I am really supposed to be using mostly “pebbles” and sometimes “pennies”, but maybe this will be a “don’t ask and don’t tell” situation.