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 positioned over the frog. The tip of the little finger rests on the inner side of the octagon of the stick touching the flat surface next to the top of the stick. Galamian states that the bow hold should be “basic or neutral” and he emphasizes a “natural” and “flexible position” while holding the bow"
-strategies for discouraging bad positions: before the students make the errors, criticize the position and warn them not to fall into that trap (ex. discourage a low elbow by comparing to a frozen turkey)
-getting the correct position to come naturally takes a lot of repetition and tries, and the danger of relapse is high. in order to get the position, remind the student that it takes hours and hours, but it's really worth it. Once you get a good foundation, you will look amazing and be able to improve on a good base. If you learn a bad foundation, you will only be able to improve so much before collapsing and having to rebuild.
-keep encouraging them by showing excitement at professional violinists, portraying them as an ideal.
-use a lot of metaphors to convey meaning (bunny hand vs wolf hand)


Teaching the left hand placement for the violin:
-http://www.soz-etc.com/musik/Galamian_basics-and-methods-of-violin-playing-ENGL.html
-a main issue with the left hand is building strength to keep the fingers curved while playing

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