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Showing posts from December, 2017

11/14

Teaching the left hand: Focus on the contact points: on the right side, hold the neck right above the base knuckle joint of first finger. On the left side, hold by the pad of the thumb. Thumb should be relaxed and straight, there should be a U-shape under the neck between thumb and first finger, there should be no squeezing. Wrist should be straight, fingers always curved. The challenge is in placement; learning the correct placement of the notes without markers takes time. Intonation is tricky because there is no visible marking of where to press. I could have students sing the scale on each string using a tuner, then have them match the note on the violin. Students should place all fingers down at once to secure the position. https://teachsuzukiviolin.com/the-violinists-left-hand/ Imagery helps in performance anxiety: A way to prevent memory slips and redirect focus onto music is to create a story or imagery that is associated with the piece. Noa Kageyama's blog has articles

12/13 and 12/15

Continued correspondence with Wesley-Rankin Community Center (they have an after school music program, which I am able to volunteer in and teach violin/piano.) Worked on final paper: key notes for right hand bow technique from Ivan Galamian, one of the most prominent teachers of the 20th century: http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:175821/datastream/PDF/view -demonstrate fluid bowing motion without holding the bow, using only forearm and relaxing the wrist common problems: stiff 4th finger, aversion of lower half of the bow, stiff arm and abrupt bow changes, low elbow - "Ivan Galamian describes his bow hold by placing the tip of the thumb both on the stick and the frog opposite to the middle finger forming a circle. The index finger is positioned at a minimal distance from the middle finger and touches the bow at a point between the nail and middle joint (closer to the middle joint). The middle finger contacts the stick at the nail joint and the ring finger is

12/11

Contacted Wesley-Rankin Community center, inquired about their after-school music programs. I researched various teaching methods that would be synergistic with kids and compiled a list of things needed to happen in preparation. (violin sizing, learning how to read music notes and rhythm, inspiration, convincing them to keep playing, etc.) The teaching methods used by violinmasterclass are good for instilling a proper foundation in beginning musicians. The hardest part would probably be getting kids to listen to me without nagging. http://ldsp01.columbusstate.edu:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11075/133/beginningteacher00coeaCSU.pdf?sequence=3

12/7

Absent all day at state robotics competition.

December 1

Touched up and reviewed UT application and UC Berkeley application to send in, revised the supplementary essays one last time.