Goals for this year
I am thinking about 3 basic goals for this year and they are all about equal.
That students enjoy playing music, and it doesn’t feel like drudgery. This is a challenge sometimes when they haven’t chosen the instrument for themselves.
That they work hard on developing good habits (so we don’t have to undo the less ideal patterns in the future)
That they begin to see what the process is for learning the above two things (try things, notice, refine and so forth)
Welcome Meadowlark Families!
It will be a lot of fun doing violin classes with the 3rd grade this year. I’ll update this blog with information, sheet music and listening links from time to time.
RENTING OPTIONS
Of course, you’ll need a violin and bow. There are many options but two good ones in St. Paul are:
Cadenza Music - $300 per year for the school year and includes the following summer if you renew. I do teach lessons at Cadenza a few days a week but I have not stake in their renting program.
Fein Violins - $36.21 per month, cancel by the 14th of any month to stop and apply $25 per month toward a future purchase for the first 18 months. Note: because Grand Avenue is under construction they recommend approaching the area from streets to the West of their shop (probably have to park and walk a block or two).
OTHER EQUIPMENT
Shoulder accommodation— I would like to start with sponges as a cushion because they are allow more flexibility in how you hold the instrument. If rentring from Fein violins they include a shoulder rest, but they will swap it for a sponge on request. At Cadenza, you’ll have to buy your own sponge but they stock them there and they are only about $5. I’d like to start with sponges and it may be that some students will want to use a shoulder rest later. Or if you are taking lessons with another teacher and they request you use a shoulder rest then that’s fine.
Chin accommodation— there was a year long study of conservatory students that found most violinists benefit from a higher chin rest toward the center. For that reason, I recommend the centered Wittner models, preferably the adjustable centered one (their “Augsburg” model) as a starting place. Good news— Fein Violins has outfitted many of their rental instruments with Wittner chin rests. If you get a rental without a higher center mount chin rest I think it will definitely be a worthy investment to spend about $25 to purchase one of your own and replace what’s there.
A music stand. We won’t use music in class righta way, but at some point we might and you’ll want a stand for home practice. A cheap folding one is fine for home and then is easy to transport.
INSPIRATION
A little inspiration goes a long way. Seeking out live music can really show the kids what this is all about. I really recommend the MN Orchestra Family Friendly Concerts which are in the afternoon and informal and lots of fun (kids are free and adults from $15). St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has free tickets for kids to all their concerts and often they have Sunday afternoon performances if you don’t want to do an evening. Those are a good place to start, but of course there’s the whole world of folk, jazz and world music too! Pretty much any live music your family enjoys seeing would really be good music exposure. (I know I want to do more of this with my own kids!)
LISTENING PLAYLIST
I wanted to share links to a few pieces of music that I know we will study, so the students can listen to them and get the melodies in their heads ahead of time. Please begin listening regularly to these pieces. One great way to do this is to make a playlist and get in the habit of listening to it in the car sometimes. I remember riding to school listening to Suzuki tapes over and over (and that was one of Suzuki’s innovations…to mimic the way kids pick up language by immersing them in the melodies they will be playing so they know how it goes before they even try to play it).