Now Playing at Crisafulli Strings…

At this time of year I always get a few inquiries from parents who would like to encourage or support their child’s interest in Strings with holiday gifts.  Below are a few ideas of exciting and practical things that might interest your young Strings player.

The Bow Mate is a hand guide for forming a good bow hold.  It is a perfect stocking stuffer.  BowMates are sold locally at Bridges &

Photo from Bowmate.net

Bows.  Suggested retail price $11.95.

Shoulder rests attach to violins and violas to make them more comfortable to hold in the proper position.  Students have already purchased shoulder sponges that serve the same function, but they may have noticed more advanced players who use a different style with other advantages.  You can read some of my thoughts on shoulder rest options here.  Retail prices vary.

Metronomes are devices that produce an audible steady beat.  When used correctly in personal practice, they can help students learn to play difficult passages at increasing tempos, or to iron out unintentional hesitations in performance.  Here is a great site about how to use a metronome.  The Korg MA-30 metronome is quite common and retails for around $20.

Tuners are devices that assist a musician in getting the strings on their instrument in tune.  Mr. Hamelin and I made an instructional video about the different types of tuners and how to use them.  Fifth graders at Crisafulli use Intelli IMT500 Clip-on Chromatic Digital Tuners, which retail for about $15.

Digital timers, like the type you might use to time your baking project, are great for helping students gauge their practicing.  These can sometimes be found at a dollar store.

Rock stops, also known as SlipStops, are hockey-puck-like objects that cellists put on the floor to help keep their endpins from slipping.  They come in a variety of colors.  If you get one for your cellist, make sure to label it with his or her name because they are easily forgotten on the floor at school!  SlipStops retail for about $7.

Mutes come in a few different styles.  The most common one is called the Tourte style and is a small rubber circle that is the size of a dime for violin/viola or the size of a half dollar for cello.  These retail for just a dollar or two and offer subtle dampening of tone.  This is the type that would be used in a performance.  The other kind of mute that may interest your family for some situations is a heftier practice mute, which significantly reduces the volume of an instrument.  IMPORTANT: students should practice with practice mutes only occasionally because it limits their ability to practice good tone!

A Dampit is a brand name product that helps to maintain appropriate humidity for a stringed instrument, which in turn helps it stay in tune and avoid dry-weather damage like cracks and open seams.  It is not necessary to purchase this device for this purpose, though; you can read my other suggestion for a homemade Dampit at this old post.

Finally, many children would be excited to have some novelty music to practice for fun over the holiday vacation.  At our local violin shop I have seen books of Disney music, High School Musical, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Harry Potter and more.  You can find a wide variety online, especially at jwpepper.com, sheetmusicplus.com, and some options also at Amazon.com.  Make sure that you search for your child’s instrument (ie “Disney violin”) so that you don’t end up on Christmas Eve wrapping a trombone book for your violist.

Happy Holidays!

Question:

Dear Mrs. Corwin,

My son child takes violin with you.  Today, he dropped his violin while practicing. A loose peg, about 2 inches long, was rattling around inside the violin. We got it out.   (When the violin fell, the bridge was also dislodged, but we were able to put it back in place.)

I have many questions at this point. Can we tighten the strings without the peg in place? Do you know where the peg should go? Should we seek a professional who can help us?

Answer:

Thanks for getting in touch so quickly!  The peg is called the sound post.  Its job is to conduct vibrations from the face of the instrument to the back to amplify the resonance and enhance the sound of the instrument.  It is usually okay to tune the strings back up for a few days, which I would be glad to do at school any day that your child can bring in the instrument.  In the meantime, would you please call your rental company for a replacement instrument?  Replacing the soundpost is a job that must be done by a luthier with the appropriate equipment.  Rental company phone numbers are here.  The replacement/repair will be covered by your insurance policy.

Thanks!
Jessica

I am delighted to share the news that the WPS Strings Mentor Program is going to start anew in January.  The Strings Mentor Program began in 2007 as a collaborative way for elementary students to get extra help on their stringed instruments.  Westford Academy Orchestra members who participate in a training session become mentors.  The mentors work with elementary students to give extra help in topics ranging from switching to a new instrument to improving note reading to expanding performance techniques.

There are a few significant changes to the program this year that are worth noting.  All of the mentor lessons will take place in elementary school buildings between 2:30 and 5 pm on chosen weekdays.  They will be supervised by an employee of the Westford Public Schools and the mentor will receive community service credit.  There is no cost to families for mentor lessons.  Students in the After School Program will now have access to mentoring lessons.

As in the past, mentor lessons are not meant to take the place of school Strings instruction or private lessons.  Strings mentoring combines tutoring and the positive role-modeling of the Ghosts & Goblins program to help elementary students make progress on their instruments and feel connected to and inspired by dedicated older students.

Parents are welcome to observe mentor lessons if they have passed a CORI check.  Students are not to be left unsupervised in the school buildings, so prompt and reliable transportation is required.

If you are interested in more information or in signing your child up for mentor lessons pending schedule availability, please contact your child’s Strings teacher.

Here is a blog entry from a Music parent in Seattle, with advice for parents on helping your child have a successful experience with his or her instrument in school.  Worth a read!

The Crisafulli Strings Program is officially back up and running this week.  Despite some delays in instrument rentals and supplies, students are excited and motivated and are already learning.  If you are a parent new to the Crisafulli Strings Program and blog, here are some old entries that may be of interest to you:

An instructional video that Mr. Hamelin and I made about how to tune your child’s instrument.

How to check if your violinist or violist is playing on the correct size instrument.

How to put on that ridiculous ergonomic Poly-pad sponge.  Why it’s important to use it.  What alternative items are.

Some thoughts on practice routines.  Practicing is one of the greatest challenges that all musicians face.

Some students seem to lose interest in Strings and practicing partway through the year.  This is common and I have some suggestions that may help.  If this happens to your child, please get in touch with me ASAP so I can help!

How professionals orchestras handling the seating of musicians, and how students are seated in the Crisafulli School Orchestra.

Bow basics.

What are Strings class solos like?

Some of my thoughts on competition in the classroom.

Enjoy!  Comments on entries are always welcome. 

It is very interesting to see how connected our Westford community is to the rest of the planet.  The Crisafulli Strings Have Been Heard Here Project of 2010 was a smashing success thanks to this network!  We easily broke last year’s record of 19 countries and 36 states, this year spreading to 28 countries and 41 states.  Below are complete lists of each.  Thanks to everyone who participated.

Countries: Australia, Bolivia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, St. Vincent, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom.

States:  Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

My former graduate adviser shared with me recently an interesting blog entry from another music teacher.  The music teacher had tips for parents and teachers on how to motivate your child or student to practice.  You can read her excellent advice here.

This writer gives five excellent hints, but also one tip for teachers that I generally disagree with, and that is to set up competitive situations between students.  You can read about my philosophy on classroom competition at this old blog entry.

We’ve had more listeners around the country and around the world this month.  It’s very exciting.  I will give a full update at the Crisafulli Strings concert on May 25th.  In March we were heard in:

Cupertino, California, USA (Ms. Baker & Mrs. Courcy’s classes)
Oxnard, California, USA (Ms. Baker & Mrs. Courcy’s classes)
Denver, Colorado, USA (Ms. Baker & Mrs. Courcy’s classes)
Parker, Colorado, USA (Mrs. Noonan & Mrs. Rutman’s classes)
Buffalo Grove, Illinois, USA (Ms. Cimeno’s class)
Naperville, Illinois, USA (Mrs. McKinnon & Ms. Cimeno’s class)
Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Clay, Mississippi, USA (Mrs. Ford’s class)
Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA (Mrs. Courcy’s class)
Plattsburgh, New York, USA (Ms. Baker & Mrs. Courcy’s classes)
Collegeville, Pennsylvania, USA (Ms. Baker & Mrs. Courcy’s classes)
Arlington, Virginia, USA (Mrs. Guild’s class)
Seattle, Washington, USA (Mrs. Courcy’s class)

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Ms. Cimeno’s class)
Honfleur, Calvados, France (Mrs. Guild’s class)
Shimoga, Karnataka, India (Ms. Cimeno’s class)
Tokyo, Japan (Mrs. Maher’s class)
Cabos San Lucas, Mexico (Ms. Baker & Mrs. Courcy’s class)
Oslo, Norway (Mrs. Noonan’s class)
Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Mrs. Guild’s class)
Chichester, West Sussex, UK (Mrs. Kelty’s class)

Welcome, listeners!!

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of solos and progress reports.  When I arrived in Westford two and a half years ago, Mr. Hamelin and I worked together to re-write the Progress Report template so that we could better communicate with parents about the progress of their children.  In addition to educating parents, the process of writing these PRs lets me see trends and guides my teaching because I write some of the same topic-specific comments over and over again.

One common comment that calls for deeper explanation is Intonation, or “in-tune-ness”.  My standard comments for this category are “X is working on playing in tune by listening and using the guide tapes,” and “X is working on playing in tune by making a clear distinction between ‘low 2′ and ‘high 2′ as illustrated on the Strings website.”

The first comment is for students who use the correct finger to play the printed notes but put them in the wrong place.  Sometimes their fingers are too close together and sometimes their whole hand is out of place in relation to first position.  The key word in this comment is listening.  The bad habit in intonation, at its core, is finger placement.  In the first one, two or three years of playing, the sense of touch does not do much to inform intonation.  The most important sense for intonation of players of all ages is hearing.  In these early years of study many students have not yet developed “the ear” for tuning, so we use guide tapes on the instrument as a tool to engage the sense of sight.  I generally use blue tape but also have red tape, which may make a better visual aid for some students.  Nonetheless, emphasis should always be placed on listening over seeing, because it is the sense that will guide intonation into the most advanced stages of playing.

The second comment is carefully illustrated with words and pictures on the Strings website.  Third graders learn to play ‘high 2′ without knowing that they are doing so.  ‘Low 2′ is introduced in fourth grade and requires relocating the second finger to play a new note.  That relocation is difficult for many students and they need reminders and sometimes additional visual aids.

So what is the best way to improve intonation?  Two words: SLOW PRACTICE.  I recommend starting with a memorized scale so that students can commit their eyes to watching their fingers land on the tapes.  Even if they have taken off their tapes and are working on playing in tune guided by listening alone, playing by rote helps to free up some memory.

As always with practicing, measurable goals can be set for practicing intonation.  “I will play Song Z slowly and stop every time I reach a low 2 to check that it is in tune.”  “I will check my hand position for lining up with tapes before I play anything in this practice session.”  Over time, these goals become habits.  Until the player reaches the next level of challenge.  Players of all levels are constantly working on playing in tune.  It is a lifelong battle!

Last week most of the 170 Strings students played solos in class while I took notes for their progress reports.  Students of all levels have difficulty with bow hold because it is so tricky to find the right balance of flexibility with strength of tone.  You can see the standards for WPS elementary Strings players’ bow hold here.

The most common core issue for students is insufficient hand strength.  There is a series of exercises that we do every week in class when we first start using the bow.  Most of them are illustrated at this cool website.

The most important of these exercises is the “pinky pushups,” which are exactly what they sound like.  If these are too hard for your child, they could move their hand slightly closer to the center of the bow, where there will be less counterweight resistance.  It is important that the middle finger meets the thumb tip under the bow to form a fulcrum, both in exercises and in playing.

One of my favorite exercises that is left off that website is what Mr. Culver cleverly calls “the Jumpercizer.”  I just call it “tap your pinky.”  This helps reinforce the curved position of the pinky on the bow.  You can do the same type of motion with each of your fingers on the bow, helping to build finger independence and flexibility.

Feel free to comment!  Parents, has your child done these exercises at home?  How did they go?  Teachers, what other bowing exercises do you favor?