MUSE 355 String Pedagogy Handbook

Name: Rudi Schwerdle Date: 10/5/2018

Set-Up:

Violin and Viola Instrument Set-Up

Definition: For violin/viola, the instrument should rest on the chin rest
underneath the jaw. The instrument should be parallel to the ground
pointing 45-60 degrees to the left. Your face should look down to the
scroll therefore a slight turn of the head is needed, but in line with the
scroll to your nose.

1. T-Pose: Make a “T-pose” bringing your left arm/instrument to your

jaw making an upside down “L” with your legs and right arm.
2. Push your jaw to the left keeping your head parallel to the ground.
3. Your left hand should be like you are holding an egg. Round and
firm enough to support the egg, but not that tight that it cracks.
4. Teetering Glass: Tell the student’s that their left arm is a brimming
glass of water that could spill over at any second if they go below or
above parallel. If a student drops or goes to high, the instructor will
have a closed water bottle and exclaim they are either pouring it on
the ground or on themselves.
5. Pinocchio’s Nose: The violin or viola acts like Pinocchio’s nose
when he lies meaning it shoots straight out. The alignment of the
instrument with your chin should be as if you made a big lie all the
way to the scroll.

Cello Instrument Set-Up

Definition: The cello is played at about a 45 degree angle from the
body with the scroll behind the left ear and the heel of the instrument
placed directly middle of chest or against the sternum. The player’s
legs straddle the cello under the c bouts gently resting against the
instrument for minor stability. They must sit to play the instrument
properly.

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1. For the right endpin height, stand with the cello so that the scroll is
in line with your nose adjusting the endpin then bringing the
instrument to you as you sit.
2. Hug your cello and sway side to side and when playing allow this
motion to naturally happen.
3. Argh Me Hearties: The scroll of the cello should settle like a pirates
parrot does right on his shoulder. It is close enough so it could
whisper in your ear, but not so close that it can’t move.
4. The Glass Slipper: The heel of cello only has one place it wants to
go similar to finding the right slipper for Cinderella. When a student
does not place the heel directly in the center of the chest, the
instructor will not that the shoe does not fit there.
5. Nosey Stance: The position of the cello should look like a giant
nose with their two feet being the nostrils (not too close together), the
floor the bottom, the cello the front and your body your skull to keep it
straight.

Double Bass Instrument Set-Up

Definition: The double bass player is the only string instrument
required to stand or be elevated to play properly. The player stands to
the right and behind the instrument having your waist in line with the
top of the c bout. The bass is angled slightly from the player, yet not
too much so they cannot properly facilitate movement with their left
hand and bow. Feet should be shoulder width apart for balance and
the left hand used for fingerings and support. The height of the bass
should only be a bit taller than the player themselves never shorter.

1. DreamWorks Moon: Tell students to stand in the crescent moon

like the DreamWorks fisher. The c bout acts like the moon. Then ask
students to turn the moon so it faces them slightly (rather than
standing parallel inside).
2. Similar to cello, bass players need the freedom to move to help
navigate the instrument and be able to properly bow so they need to
leave a little bit of space.
3. An Old Swedish Tradition: The Midsummer holidays are
celebrating in several European countries where a large pole called a
maypole is erected to celebrate the changing of seasons. Patrons will
dance around the maypole in synchronized movements often
touching the pole as they dance. Ask students to walk around their

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bass like a maypole keeping it steady with their left hand, however,
allowing themselves to have free movement around the instrument.
4. Bass players are the only people who can actively size up there
instruments even though they should be of similar height. Bass player
should always play bass like they are trying to grow a few more
inches.
5. Make it Come to You: Similar to all instruments, the player is in
control. Especially with the double bass, the player needs to take
charge of how they hold it and never force themselves to the bass.
The bass is an extension of you, not the other way around. Similar to
a giant dog, you have to lead it even if it tries to pull you in one way.

Violin and Viola Bow Hold

Definition: All string instruments hold the bow near the frog. An
articulated/bent thumb and pinky hold the bow firmly in place on the
frog up against the hair and by the adjusting screw respectively. The
middle and ring finger. The index finger second knuckle rests against
the winding making sure to have an open frame to then hand and the
ability to push into and pull away from the bow (pronating and
supinating).

1. Spieker Dowels: Using a dowel, have students practice gently

gripping the center prior to moving to the frog. Allow them to get used
to the grip before adding the weight of the bow when actually gripping
at the frog.
2. Ask students to make a “C” with their hand and maintain the
distinctive space. Check students if their “C” becomes an “O” and
mention that a “C” needs to breathe to correct it.
3. The Happy then Sad Bunny: Make a bunny with you index and
pinky being the ears. Droop them and have your ring and middle
finger be buck teeth close together and over the thumb.
4. No Alligators Here: Your hand/fingers should not look like a
crocodile’s long straight snout and more like the smaller arched
alligator’s snout.
5. Geometry and Music: Have students pretend that their thumbs are
the top of a trapezoid with the tip of your finger to the 1st knuckle and
2nd knuckle to your wrist being the slated sides and the space
between your 1st and 2nd knuckles being the flat side. The shape they
form should always been seen of their thumb when holding the bow.

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Cello and Bass (French) Bow Hold
Definition: All string instruments hold the bow near the frog. Cello and
Bass players place their articulated/bent thumb against the frog and
all of their other fingers rest on the bow at the second knuckle on
near the frog and winding. As a road-marker, the second finger will
always be in line with the thumb.

1. Ask students to take both hands and press their second fingers
and thumbs together. Say that these two are buddies and no matter
what job they do, they always want to be close to one another.
2. Hanging On: Students should practice as if they are hanging from
a cliff and that they are holding on for their dear life. When a student
compresses the hold a death grips the bow, go by and lift the
students arm above their head and ask them to hold on forcing them
to use only the space between the their first and second knuckles.
3. Using a dowel, have students practice gripping the center prior to
moving to the frog. Allow them to get used to the grip before adding
the weight of the bow when actually gripping at the winding.
4. Polishing: Ask students to take a cloth and move it back and forth
against a surface using their bow hold and making sure their wrist
articulates the change in direction when the arm cannot go farther.
Using the bow repeat the same motion having the wrist articulate the
change when they run out of bow.
5. “C you Later”: Tell cellos that they are the only string instrument
that their hands create the first letter of their instrument when they
have a proper grip (“C”).

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Techniques:

Détaché
Definition: The French word for detached that is used when there is
separate bow strokes for separate notes or slurs. A smooth
connection between notes is required for Détaché so the same bow
weight is needed, however, this does not guarantee that the notes will
be legato.

1. White Bread: Détaché is nothing special like white bread in that it

gets the job done, but it does not have any surprises or additives.
2. Détaché is the general articulation that should be treated as the
default if nothing is present on a note. Ask students to think of a daily
routine that they do without fail that does not change and has been
the same for a long time.
3. Voice Modulation: When introducing different articulations, begin
the lesson with a demeanor and speech pattern in the style of that
articulation: very mellow and simple when introducing détaché.
4. Same Sound: Have students close their eyes and practice simple
up and down bowing, but instilling that the up bow sounds identical to
the down bow.
5. Have students practice bowing off the instrument when applying
rosin and to use the proper weight and slow speed that is needed to
rosin the bow, but that is also great to actively know if the student is
changing the weight at any part of the stroke.

Staccato
Definition: Meaning to play short and more separated. As a result, a
shorter bow stroke is required. A little collé is important to getting the
shortness and clarity of tone and articulation. Marked with a dot
above or below the note head.

1. Bouncy Bouncy: Staccato notes are like bouncy balls. They hit the
ground, but only for a moment. Each time a student plays a staccato
note it should seem as if it happened in an instant and they have
moved on to the next bounce.
2. Staccato notes need to have space in between each consecutive
note, but each note should not sound like a stop to the next. Have
students practice just down bows with a retake immediately after
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each note. If successful they should be able to cycle through fine. If
unsuccessful there is probably too much weight and collé and they
get “stuck” on the string.
3. Voice Modulation: When introducing different articulations, begin
the lesson with a demeanor and speech pattern in the style of that
articulation: be very articulate with the start of each word and have
words stop sooner than normal (almost machine like, but not hard).
4. Doorknob: The amount of collé and weight should be the same as
turning a doorknob. Ask students to think of that motion when
practicing staccato. Additionally, if you classroom has traditional
round doorknobs somewhere ask students before or after class to
practice their staccato by turning the doorknob.
5. Loud Rests: The space between each note should sound like a
very brief rest. Students should hear each of these rests as the
loudest and obvious silence they have heard.

Spiccato
Definition: One of the “off the string” bow strokes where little hair on
the bow is used. It occurs when playing fast tempos where rapid arm
movement of the bow is difficult. Spiccato is done below or near the
balance point to allow the bow to bounce off the string. (See Brush Stroke
in Elective Topics for differing practices)

1. Heard, but Not Seen: The motion for spiccato needs to be small
and focused to ensure rapid bouncing close to the string. The teacher
should tell students that if they notice the student playing spiccato,
students are probably slow and clunky. Practicing the natural bounce
gravity provides from dropping the bow at its balance point on the
strings repeatedly or having students close their eyes listening to the
sound of the hair hitting the string should help correct the “visual
spiccato” problem.
2. Bounce on a Trampoline: Trampolines have been a staple in young
student’s outdoor activities for quite some time. The bounce of
spiccato changes depending on how high you drop the bow. This is
the same as anyone jumping on a trampoline. The higher you jump
from the stronger the impact and the stronger the bounce back up.
The strings on the instrument is the trampoline while the bow is the
student. Having students “bounce on the trampoline” from different
points will create different sounds with spiccato while also creating
difficulty in practicing short spiccato. Use a metronome asking

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students to try their different heights while trying to keep in time. Their
adjustments will lead to the appropriate spiccato for the tempo.
3. “V vs. U”: Spiccato contact with the string should be the point of a
“V” in length. If when students are bouncing on the string they lose
time and speed, they are no longer using spiccato and are leaning
towards brush stroke or the shape of a “U”.
4. Sweep Away: Have students imitate or use actual brooms to
sweep away imaginary dirt on the ground. Students have to
exaggerate swaying the broom back and forth with quick controlled
movements. They should notice that eventually momentum takes
over and the motion becomes automatic. The teacher needs to
dictate a fast tempo that makes the students have quick small sways
so that each peak of the broom is in time with the beat. Too much
movement or slow swaying will result in being out of time and not
having spiccato.
5. Adding Bounces: With a metronome, have students meter out their
spiccato with a specific rhythm. Start with one bounce per beat, then
adding two, four and so on progressively increasing the tempo.
Additionally, try alternating between off the string to on the string to
instill quick changing and difference.

Louré (Portato)
Definition: Similar to the slurred staccato in that multiple notes are
played in one bow stroke, however, they are connected notes through
a legato articulation marking (which a tenuto marking is labeled
above or below the note head). A little separation is needed through
collé, but it cannot have the same space as slurred staccato creating
a warm pulsating sound.

1. Heartbeat: Students should aim for a smooth continuous sound

that mimics a heartbeat after a brief jog. Each beat is distinct, but
they are still close together lightly bleeding into the next beat. Have
students find their resting heartrate in class paying close attention to
that sensation. Ask them to experiment outside of class during
physical education and activities and see the difference (if it is
impossible to do minor exercises in class to increase heart rate).
2. Its Whatever/I got this: When students play a passage or exercise
with a louré articulation they should simple think whatever. It is not a
throw away articulation, but it something that they should be really
comfortable doing at any time. It is an articulation that they could with
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eyes shut and will do by instinct. They “got this” and can do it without
thinking.
3. It is important to remind students that collé is still very important to
making louré speak properly. Students want to avoid creating a
staccato sound with a lot of weight, but still need enough to have to
definition between every note.
4. Scales are a very simple way to practice articulations, but louré
would be the first type of slur to teach to keep the connection of each
and every note smooth. By starting them with louré rather than a
slurred staccato it gives them more time to develop a middle ground
of weight and speed as a baseline.
5. Lukewarm Tea: Louré can be described as tepid or lukewarm
tea/coffee. It is not scalding hot nor cold and in a pinch gets the job
done. It is not the most satisfying temperature, but you can still enjoy
it. The teacher explaining this to students can state that a staccato
articulation is the hot tea while legato is the cold tea. Lukewarm can
also be drank at a moderate speed rather than the sipping that you
do with scalding tea or rapidly drinking the cold tea to be done with it.
This mimics the speed of the bow when using louré.

Slurred Staccato
Definition: To play a series of staccato notes within a slur meaning
within a single direction bow stoke. Notated as a slur with staccatos
above or below the note head. Again shortened bows and collé are
vital to the staccato.

1. Aiming for your resting heartbeat. Clear starts and clear break
between each beat.
2. Children’s Museum Water Activities: Note in a children’s museum
they often have a section devoted to water and there are buckets that
pass water down after the fill up and will spill over into the next one
continuously. The short break in time is the separation between each
note.
3. Riding the Roller Coaster: Each note in a slurred staccato should
be like every time you go up another notch on a roller coaster. There
are definitive clicks and stopping points that lock the car into the
track. Albeit, they do not happen for very long before moving onto the
next notch. Every time students move onto another note in the slur,
they should make the click sound that the roller coaster makes.

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4. Two Handed Pull: Only applicable to cello players (although you
can get other instruments to try this on a cello), have the students
hold both ends of the bow and making sure to keep the bow going on
the exact same plane in each direction. The more the student can
keep the bow parallel, the easier it is to perform the slurred staccato.
5. Take a way a factor and ask students to only practice the slurred
staccato one direction at a time. This way they can make sure they
have fully grasped the sensation needed on both the up and down
bow for even notes, but also knowing how to evenly divide the bow
based on the number of notes given (starting with small groups and
then moving to larger as you progress).

Retake
Definition: To lift the bow after bowing and reset the bow to start
anew. This is found by having consecutive down bows to facilitate
better phrasing and overall bowings. Although, very rarely can
consecutive up bows be used. Speed of the passage determines
where the bow will start after retaking (the more bow the better). A
breath mark will be found in the music to denote a retake.

1. Students need to breathe at the retake and should be taught how

to properly breathe. The breath does not need to be with the same
veracity that a wind player will need, but the intake and exhale should
be a slight exaggeration of a normal breath they would take. The
breath will be an extra reminder that it is time to start over with a new
bow stroke as well as a habit for starting music in time and together.
Additionally, the teacher should call each retake a breath mark since
that is what they are in all wind music.
2. Crank the Handle: Have students practice the motion of starting
consecutive down bows noticing that the motion is like cranking a
handle. The handle is always going to go one particular way in a
consistent circular motion. Students start with a huge motion with full
range of the arm and then progressively shrink the movement.
3. Have students practice different retakes after short passages of
music. This can be done in a progressive manner with retakes after
every four beats, three beats, etc. Practice with different tempos,
articulations, or shifting to get students comfortable resetting after
every situation. This can even be done by simply looping passages of
music that students have in repertoire since they will have to retake

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every time they start again (which can also cause them to practice
having to retake with up bows if a passage begins as such).
4. Cash the Check/Collect Bonus: Checks may no longer be as
prominent now as before, but the phrase cash the check is still
relevant. Whenever students get a retake the teacher should mention
that they get to cash the check or collect their bonus. It is a nice treat
that lets students get a reset. If students miss a retake, students do
not get the money they earned and it makes life more difficult. Instill
that students will want that money so they need to take it every time.

Hooked Bow
Definition: Playing two notes in one bow stroke that always follow the
long short pattern. This is most prominently seen in dotted eighth
sixteenth patterns in repetition, however, any rhythm that is a long
note followed by a short note could be a hooked bow. It is notated like
a slur staccato, louré or with two corresponding up or down bow
symbols. However, the notes always have short articulations to
emphasize the space and “hooked” nature of the technique.

1. Checkmark: After each short note in the hooked bow, say that
students are making a checkmark that it is done. The quick motion to
the next bow feels like a checkmark (especially down to up).
2. Find any spots in pieces, exercises, warm-ups, etc. that could have
hooked bow parts that are not and make them hooked bow for
practice. Having students practice the technique even on a pattern as
long as a dotted half note followed by a quarter is beneficial for them
to get the feel and association with when it may occur.
3. Feel the Space: Each hook of the hooked bow has space in
between the short and the long note. There is a feeling of anticipation
that the space has of another note happening after the first note.
Students should practice waiting before moving the short not
uncomfortable amounts of time and note the satisfaction of moving
onto the next long note. The emphasis is on the space, however, it is
instilling that the short note is not a throw away and is the important
transition to the next long note.
4. Horse Gallop: Remember Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s
substitute for horses? Two ends of coconuts being clapped together
in a long short long pattern. That motion and sound of galloping is
how the hooked bow should be. Have students gallop around the
classroom while you as a teacher create this rhythmic sound. The
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teacher should point out that the front foot takes a larger step then
the back and that you must quickly must step with the front foot after
the back is done. *Clop-clip-clop-clip-clo…*
5. The Limp: Sometimes when you injury yourself you limp around
taking one long step with one foot and a short step with another.
When we hook bow we do not want to drag our long note into the
short similarly to how we limp. The teacher should ask students to try
limping around the room or at home noticing how cumbersome it is to
move. When students become lazy with the hook bows and do not
have the proper momentum and collé to the bow, the teacher should
exclaim that cannot limp to the next note.

Slur
Definition: Simply playing multiple notes in one bow stroke that goes
in the same direction. The articulation above the notes will be the only
determining factor of the difference.

1. Glissandos: Have students perform glissandos on a string at a

varying tempos to coordinate their left hand working either similarly or
vastly different than their right.
2. Ice Cream Scoop: It may make your students craving ice cream,
but with the ice cream scoop being the right hand and the ice cream
being the left, when the scoop goes right through the ice cream a
creates a perfect ball, that is like a slur.
3. Practicing trills is a great way to teach slurs by getting the left hand
fingers moving whilst the right hand moves in one direction. The
teacher should begin slowly progressively increasing the speed to
facilitate accuracy and agility in the fingers.
4. Wind Mimicing: Students can equate slurs to how wind players use
their air. Have students pretend to be their friends in the band world
by doing air exercises of in for four counts out for eight, etc. A steady
consistency of the air stream is the goal and how students should be
understanding slurs.
5. Run-On Sentence/No Punctuation: For multiple note slurs, have
students play all the way up in one slur and all the way down in
another. This can be equated to a run-on sentence. The teacher can
teach this concept with no punctuation while also doing this in one
breath.

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Tremolo (Bow)
Definition: Tremolo means to tremble in Italian and is a rapid bow
movement back and forth to play the same note many times
(unmeasured). The wrist is the primary tool to make this happen and
will need very small bow strokes, however, the arm can be used in
not as intense tremolos and slightly when using the wrist to not
entirely lock up. It is notated with three forward dashes on the stem of
the note.

1. Itches: Whenever you have an itch, the most efficient way to

relieve it is with small rapid movements with your wrist. You will never
get it if you use your whole arm. The teacher can note when a
student is scratching wildly is never going to stop the itch. Your
tremolo needs to mimic this controlled itch.
2. Repetitive Cardio: Bow tremolos are similar to running suicides in
P.E. or running back and forth very short distance for many laps.
Students should not replicate this in their music classroom with their
instruments.
3. Have students practice at the tip, frog and middle of the bow trying
to get the fastest movement they can while noting which position they
can get the most notes. They also must note how little of the bow
they used to get that result.
4. Tension and Release: Students should practice going from
tremolos to full bow techniques to prevent them from tensing up with
the bow. The tremolo will be described as the tense technique while
and simple down bow would be the release. This can be
progressively timed to increase the length of time students can keep
up the tremolo comfortably. An example starting lesson would be 5
seconds of tremolo followed by four consecutive alternating bow
strokes and a moderate tempo back into a 5 second tremolo. Try only
on single open strings and within the context of scales as a pattern on
each note.
5. Coloring: When coloring an image with anything from crayons,
markers or color pencils, you need to make short quick strokes from
the wrist to cover large areas while not getting tired. If you try to use
huge motions with your arms it will be hard to stay in the lines, color
entire sections and keep going for a long time. The tremolo is your
quick wrist motions to cover whole areas for an extended time. Giving
students a really simple image to color on and dictate them to use

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really large strokes and then switching to the short quick wrist
motions to understand tremolos.

Sul Tasto
Definition: Meaning on the fingerboard, sul tasto is a technique where
the player bows over the fingerboard creating a wispy, soft and
delicate sound.

1. If too much weight is placed on the strings in sul tasto, the sound
will distort and become very brash and brittle. Students should have
enough weight to create a sound, but should also be a little more
delicate the higher they go up the finger board with bow weight.
2. The Great Unknown: Since the sound of sul tasto is very delicate,
students should think of its use with a sense of trepidation. It is as if
you do not know where you are going or what is ahead. Have
students think of a time when they were unfamiliar with where they
were at and they looked around with interest, but unsure of what
came next. They are not going to trample around making a lot of
noise and movement, but taking really calculated and small steps
trying to stay distant and still.
3. Moving Lanes: Have students practice scales in different lanes and
note the change in sound ultimately having them play on the bridge
and above the fingerboard.
4. Deep Relaxation: When playing sul tasto, students should feel a
sense of calming and stillness that you do not get when playing in
between the fingerboard and the bridge even at soft dynamics. Take
time to practice some deep breathing and other relaxation activities to
bring the room in to a calm relaxation then playing exercises or
sections of music sul tasto to instill the calmness and subtleness of
this technique.
5. A Light Breeze: Sul tasto should sound like a gentle breeze in an
open field. Have students listen to the sounds of wind chimes and
note the lightness of when the wind makes the chimes hit the middle
plate that makes them sound. It should seem like there is deliberation
of each of the notes sounding with a little anticipation of what comes
next.

Sul Ponticello
Definition: Meaning on the bridge, it a technique where the player
bows near the bridge creating an ethereal and ghostly sound. It is
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important that a lighter bow stroke is needed to create the proper
sound.

1. Spooky Scary: Sul ponticello is the horror movie sound when there
is a monster around but the protagonist does not know where.
2. Moving Lanes: Have students practice scales in different lanes and
note the change in sound ultimately having them play virtually on the
bridge and above the fingerboard.
3. Tremolo and Sul ponticello: More often than not, the combination
of tremolos and sul ponticello happen. Have students practice both
these skills at once within exercises and make note of this occurrence
when it happens in repertoire.
4. Sneaking Around: Sul ponticello sounds as if someone is sneaking
around or has really jittery movements. The teacher should play sul
ponticello while students tip toe around the room. They should note
that a sense of anticipation of what comes next looms as they move
around and should be the same when they play sul ponticello. If they
move too far away from the bridge someone will notice and find them.
5. Cimbalom and Eastern Europe: The cimbalom is an eastern
European instrument that uses hammers on an array of strings. It
creates a particularly haunting sound that also has overtones that are
easily heard. The teacher should play an example of a cimbalom and
music from Eastern Europe noting the very ethereal quality that it
has. Sul ponticello should slightly mimic some of the sounds that
come from that type of music and should help students not
exclusively thinking of it as the creepy technique. The overtones are
particularly poignant since the technique if more weight is applied
with the bow can create very strong overtones. (Kodaly Hary Janos or
Gollum Theme use cimbalom)

Collé
Definition: To glue or stick in French and is the vital part of getting a
clear articulation and sound on a string instrument. Pronating the bow
into the string therefore adding more weight is how to achieve collé.
The bow should feel like it is “sticking” to the strings.

1. Practicing martelé, detaché and spiccato in a row is a way for

students to feel the differing levels of collé that are used in these
techniques. The reverse order afterwards is good for highlighting no
collé to a lot of collé.

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2. Bubblegum Shoes: Everyone has had bubblegum stuck to their
shoes at some point in their life. Sometimes though it sticks so well
that it is really hard to get off and really hard to lift your foot off the
ground. Have students imagine that their bow has a bit of bubblegum
stuck to it and that it takes a bit more effort to move the “shoe” off the
ground.
3. Velcro: Velcro is a staple in young kids clothing and is something
they actively use. The key with Velcro is that it is too opposite
materials locking in with each other. This is the same as the horse
hair on the bow and the metal strings. Students should think that the
bow hair is the hooks (which horse hair actually has) and the strings
are the smooth loops surface. If they do not catch then there is not
enough weight for them to stick or enough rosin on the bow.
4. Tongue on Ice Pole: Famously shown in the classic film “A
Christmas Story” where a kid sticks his tongue on a frozen pole and
cannot get it off no matter how hard he tries. When students place too
much weight on the bow and they can barely move it they are sticking
their tongue on that pole. At all costs students want to avoid sticking
their tongue on a frozen pole when going to collé.
5. Playing with Similarities: The teacher can demonstrate the
similarity between a very loud pizzicato versus a very short note with
lots of collé. Both sounds are very similar and can be a great way to
show students that multiple techniques and concepts could
theoretically be interchanged. If pieces in their repertoire have
pizzicato parts that are loud, trying them bowed with lots of collé can
engage students with compositional choice.

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Key Concepts:

String Crossings
Definition: The need to move from one string to another to play
additional notes in a musical passage, scale, arpeggio, etc. that are
not found on a single string and to avoid constant shifting. Knowing
what degree your arm has to be or move to in order to play the
appropriate string without double stopping, is vital to smooth string
crossing.

1. Prior to encountering string crossing in scales, students should be

practicing moving from open string to open string. Taking time to
engrain this concept is important for young string players to eliminate
excess movement that would make it difficult to move from one string
to the next effectively.
2. Teeter-Totter: When string crossing, students need to mimic a
teeter-totter’s movement. The only way for the teeter-totter to move is
if there is equal weight and momentum on each side. If one side is
too heavy or too light the other goes flying or does not move. The
anchor point of the teeter-totter are the strings on the instrument/the
contact of the bow hair while wrist (a little bit of the shoulder) works
as both sides of the teeter-totter. Students should practice slowly
moving back and forth with this concept in mind progressively
speeding up the change.
3. Rocking Chair/Crib: Crossing a string should mimic the lightness of
a rocking chair. Students should imagine that they are holding
something delicate in the rocking chair like an infant and if they move
to frantically they will scare or wake up the sleeping baby. Extra
tension will make the chair jerk and uncomfortable to sit in.
4. It is vital to note that string crossing for larger instruments have
significant more arm movement than those of smaller instruments.
Bassists and cellos have to do a little more work than violins and
violas. Make sure that the bassists and cellos have proper posture so
it is easy to facilitate the movement to the higher strings. It should not
feel like reaching far away, but it should be a little bit of a change.
5. Hands of a Clock: Each location of the bow when string crossing
can be equated to a position of the second, minute, or hour hand on
the clock. Each instrument has a slightly different place where they
have to move to string cross, however, each and every time it will
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always land in the same spot. For example the teach can say that on
violin when crossing to the high E string, students are moving to
around the 8 o’clock mark.

Hand Frames
Definition: The orientation of the 4 fingers on the left hand that
correspond to a particular amount of half steps. The index finger
starts as 1 and goes to the pinky as 4. The violin and viola use the
most diverse hand frames (4 each) while the cello and double bass
only have one, but may extend the first finger to expand the range of
the frame. The thumb is always placed behind the first finger in violin
and viola and behind the second finger on cello and bass.

1. The “Bass Man’s” Salute: Index finger at the eyebrow and thumb at
the jaw whilst the other fingers rest to the side of the nose with open
spaces. Tell students that they are too young though to get married
so they cannot use their ring finger.
2. Hand frames are the locker combinations to playing anything on a
string instrument.
3. Can of Pop: Picking up a soda can and holding it is the general
hand frame of the cello. A modified version of the “Bass Man’s
Salute” can be used for hand frames with extensions.
4. Charting: Have students fill out hand frame charts whenever a new
key is taught having them compare and contrast with other keys what
is the same and what is different.
5. Violin and violas always like pairs so telling them that two fingers
will always want to be friends will remind them the necessity and
likelihood of half steps. Working on D Major single octave gives the
opportunity to imagine or physically tape the middle and ring finger
together.

Shifting
Definition: The process of moving the left hand from one position to
the next. It increases the range, make a passage easier to play, or
can create musical opportunities not possible on other strings (i.e.
timbre consistencies). The left thumb must always stay with the
corresponding finger and move with the rest of the left hand as the
player slides up or down the fingerboard. A shift is denoted with a
dash prior to the fingering listed on the music. A firm knowledge of
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hand frames is imperative to proper shifting ability and flexibility as a
player.

1. Manual Car: Shifting is similar to shifting in a manual transmission

car. You can still do some driving and lower gears without changing,
but you will run into problems the longer you try to stay in one
position. Whenever students are moving to a new position through
shifting mention that all they are doing is a gear change to get some
more speed (notes) and make the drive smoother. If they don’t shift,
they are going to miss notes and probably stop/stutter.
2. Sliding: Have students practice sliding using the 1st finger in one
position to another and then have the students take out the slide and
go straight to the new position. This facilitates a basic shifting
concepts while also training their ears to work on intonation.
3. Bassists have to shift immediately if they are going to keep up with
the notes that all other strings are achieving. Do not treat this as
some difficult procedure that bassists have to learn since they will
think it is more difficult than it actually is. Justify this skill by making
the bassists the special ones who get to do a cool new idea early.
When it comes time to teach shifting to the rest of the instruments
make light of the fact that the bassists are one step ahead of
everyone and solidify this connection.
4. Slide Whistle: Shifting can also be describes by how someone
plays a slide whistle. It is very gradual and smooth without and
hiccups. Especially for violins and violas where the higher they go the
closer they get to their face, pushing in the slide whistle makes it go
higher and the farther away they get from their face the lower it gets.
As a fun activity and reminder, the teacher have a slide whistle that
they bring in and ask the students what happens when they make
those changes asking if the violins and violas could do something
similar to go higher or lower.
5. Down the Bunny Slope: Cellos and basses have a long way to go
to reach higher positions, but the downward motion is reminiscent of
skiing. However, this is a very basic slope that does not have any
twists and turns. Have cellos and basses imagine that their fingers
are the skier and the strings is the slope. Albeit, in order to stick the
landing at the bottom, they have to add the thumb for stability in very
high positions.

Tone Production
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Definition: The essence of all instruments and the only way to
produce sound from the instrument. To achieve great clarity and full
characteristic timbre, three important factors must be in play: bow
speed, bow weight and bow placement. Bow weight is how much
pronation the bow has into the string (more at the tip than the frog),
speed is how much bow is used in relation to how quickly it is drawn,
and placement is where the bow is lands every time it is drawn. Bow
placement is the primary area where tone will easily falter if it is not in
the middle of the fingerboard and bridge over the f holes.

1. Goldilocks: In reference to bow weight, low weight is like too hot to

touch porridge, high weight is like thick cold porridge, while just the
right amount of weight is just the right temperature. This can be the
same for the chairs and beds as well.
2. Rocketing Away: Younger students will want to see how fast they
can move their bows when they pick it up the first time. We want
students to have a very consistent bow speed and having them be
crazy with it will lead to very thin, loud and brittle sounds. Ask
students to not rocket away when creating a full round sound.
Students want to be more like
3. Pounds of Sound: Describe different bow weights as varying
weights. A low weight could be 1 pound or a football, a middle weight
being 10 pounds or a bowling ball and a really high weight of 50
pounds could be described as car tire.
4. Experimentation is a great way for students to know what is right,
wrong and potential interesting techniques. Ask students to try
differing bow weights, speeds, placements and explore what happens
when they vary one or another. Try placing parameters on their
options like a lot of weight, very slow speed and near the bridge
(which should produce a very harsh sound that is really hard to
control).

Dynamics
Definition: The variation of loudness and softness within a piece of
music and the player’s notes and phrases. Many dynamic symbols
and terms exist, however, the string player’s ability to adhere to them
is reliant on the fundamentals of tone production. Bow placement,
speed and weight have a large impact on the varying levels of
dynamics.

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1. Miles per Hour: When talking about bow speed and dynamics,
equate it to measurements of velocity. When students need to play
really loud, we need our bow like a racecar. On the other hand, when
students need play really soft, our bow is like a steamroller. At the
beginning of teaching dynamics, have students create their own
descriptors that you will use for the remainder of their time. Canned
descriptions can be used if students are unwilling or unruly.
2. Pounds of Sound: Describe different bow weights as varying
weights. A low weight could be 1 pound or a football, a middle weight
being 10 pounds or a bowling ball and a really high weight of 50
pounds could be described as car tire. At the beginning of teaching
dynamics, have students create their own descriptors that you will
use for the remainder of their time. Canned descriptions can be used
if students are unwilling or unruly.
3. Students should experiment with different bow weight, speed and
placement to figure out the range of dynamics on their instrument.
The tactile feeling of using a lot of weight and then switching to no
weight and the sound difference is very important for them to
experience prior to formal sequencing.
4. Gradual then Sudden: After experimentation, the teacher should
guide students gradually through dynamic changes to help students
feel the progression between soft and loud dynamics through
crescendos and decrescendos. Since the factors of tone production
go in tandem with dynamics, it is necessary to have students know
the limits of what they can and cannot do while maintaining a great
sound. Having them progressively feel when they can no longer
create a characteristic sound is vital for their ears and muscles.
5. Color the Decibels: We often describe different timbre qualities and
dynamics with colors. The teacher should describe loud dynamics like
fortissimo with red while something like pianissimo is a dark purple.
Middle of the spectrum colors like green can describe mezzo
dynamics that lean neither heavily to warm nor cool sides of the
range. The teacher can create cards of varying colors that can be
shown to the students to indicate what dynamic the teacher wants
students to play.

Phrasing
Definition: The ability to take the musical units (phrases) within a
piece of music and follow the direction and nature of the line while
also taking personal intuition and inspirations to the music notated.
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Understanding general rules of phrases including cadences, non-
harmonic tones, and changes in articulations, dynamics or tempo are
all important to understanding how to create ideas and shape beyond
the page

1. Phrasing needs to be taught as an all-inclusive term that is not

given to one group or the other. Asking students to sing lines of music
with the exact markings on the page is a great way to isolate phrasing
as a holistic technique rather than applicable to one thing or another.
2. Unlimited Choice: Being open to multiple interpretations is
imperative for students to learn phrasing. The teacher can take
multiple different simple or even complex lines of music and ask
students to try different ways of playing the line. One time leading into
the high point of a line, another making the high point to weakest part
of the phrase, and another time keeping everything within in the same
levels. Additionally, having students demonstrate the way they are
playing it in their head and then have the class do exactly that trying
multiple different ways.
3. Chocolate Bars: Everyone has a favorite chocolate bar and some
that they do not like at all. Albeit, this does not mean that one is bad
and the other is good. They are just simply different. Students can
describe one way they phrase a line as a Hersey’s bar and another
as Lindt. Additionally, sometimes phrases can also be described by
the quality the performers gave. If it was a well-developed phrase it
could be described a Belgian chocolate while if it was lacking, then
we could call it Dollar tree generic chocolate.
4. Sprinkles on Top/Icing on the Cake: Phrasing is often the last thing
to be accomplished when playing music since it is hard to phrase a
line if you cannot play the material on the page. Although telling
students that it is the icing on the cake means that it is what makes it
special and completed. It adds that extra oomph that turns the cake
from simply sugar bread to a delicious treat. However, students got to
watch out and be delicate putting the sprinkles or icing on otherwise it
can be misshapen and loose its integrity.

Vibrato
Definition: Vibrato brings color to the timbre of each note by
oscillating the note above and below a given pitch. The player is not
playing these notes, but simply rocking the tip of the finger back and
forth bringing the pitch slightly in and out of tune, but so that the
21
integrity of the note does not disappear. Vibrato can be fast/slow and
narrow/wide and can transition between the two for variance. The
type and age of the music is important in deciding the type of vibrato
to use musical decisions.

1. Air Vibrato: Practicing the technique on the instrument can be

incredibly difficult to get the hang of. Take it off the instrument and
have students practice the motion without the instrument so they can
take a way a factor and potential frustration.
2. Being a difficult technique means that ample slow time will need to
be taken to learn it. Have the students start very slowly by moving the
tip of their finger from solidly on the note to leaning it forward and
then back getting used to the small repetitive motion.
3. Shimmering Light: Vibrato should be described as a shimmer of
light that flickers off reflective surfaces. It is not jarring to have the
light in your field of vision and should be comforting. If students have
to wide of a vibrato, it can be distracting in some circumstances and
instead of being a shimmer it is more of a ray in your eye.
4. Shaking the Bottle: With small bottles filled with uncooked rice,
have students to shake them with the correct motion for vibrato.
Having them shake in time with a metronome allows them to
practicing timing out their vibrato and varying the width and speed.
5. Frequency Graphs: The width and speed of vibrato can be directly
related to how pitch frequencies look as a wave. Lower frequencies
have large slow waves with huge curves. In collaboration with a
physics or science teacher, having an activity with different
frequencies and looking at the waves they create and open students
up to not only intonation, but the varying degrees of vibrato. The
teacher can ask let’s play with a low frequency vibrato or for a high
frequency.

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Five Elective Topics

1st Elective Topic. Martelé_________________

Definition: A sharp accent is placed at the beginning of a note. This
on the string bow stroke requires a good amount of weight and collé
and the quick release of that weight to create space between the
notes.

1. The sound of martelé is like a hammer making a quick strike and

pulling away.
2. Stop and Go: It takes a lot of focus and control to not ram into
someone in heavy traffic or when trying to merge. Martelé needs to
have the same control when you take a few inches forward and then
have to stop.
3. Martelé is like throwing a dart at a dart board and the sound it
makes when it firmly lands.
4. Ask students to clap as hard as they can, but also as quickly as
they can. The sharp clap can never be replicated perfectly unless
there is space between claps.
5. Ask students what they do when they touch a hot stove and how
even the smallest amount of contact can be a big deal. The retraction
away is how space should feel after each note.

2nd Elective Topic. Brush Stroke_____________

Definition: One of the “off the string” bow strokes where a lot of hair
on the bow is used. It occurs when playing moderate tempos where
rapid arm movement of the bow is difficult, yet it is not a tremolo. The
brush stroke is done below the balance point to allow the bow to
bounce off the string.

1. Have the class take their bows and let the natural weight of the
bow bounce back and forth on the strings. Ask them to move the bow
closer to the tip, back to the frog and repeat until they find the sweet
spot where they barely have to do anything to make it bounce.

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2. The brush stroke differs from spiccato in that the brush stroke is
like a paint brush and spiccato is a fine ball point pen. Brings students
to a white board and have them draw swaying crescent motions with
a regular size marker versus a fine tip marker noticing the width
difference between the two. Student’s want the regular marker with
brush strokes.
3. “V vs. U”: The brush stroke’s contact should be the bottom of a “U”
in length when bouncing on the string. If students are bouncing on the
string with the point of the letter “V”, then they are no longer using a
brush stroke and are using spiccato.
4. Sweep Away: Have students imitate or use actual brooms to
sweep away imaginary dirt on the ground. Students have to
exaggerate swaying the broom back and forth with a full range of
motion. They should notice how the movement becomes automatic
after momentum kicks in. The teacher needs to dictate an appropriate
moderate tempo that allows for the “brush” effect to occur with each
beat being the peak of the broom’s sway to the opposite side. Playing
with the tempo will require students to adjust how far they can sway
the broom which will also help show the difference between brush
stroke and spiccato.
5. The Banana: Each brush stroke should be like the curvature of a
ripe banana. If the banana is straight, then you cannot bounce on the
string and you are bowing on the string. However, if you bend the
banana more, then it will break and half so you cannot touch the
string at all. The teacher should proclaim that a student “snapped
their banana in half” and are no longer using brush stroke and leaning
towards spiccato.

3rd Elective Topic. Harmonics_______________

Definition: Occurring when a string is lightly touched, harmonics are
the notes found within the harmonic series that are created by
dividing the string into sections. Each note has a series of pitches
inside of it that help find perfect tuning. Harmonics are very much
used in brass instrument playing, but are the primary way that cellos
and basses tune all the strings on their instrument. The player bows
the open string and then uses their index finger to find the exact
pitches on other strings or tune the octaves, 3rds and 5ths found on a
single string. All string instruments can find harmonics, however, the
practical use for tuning is reserved for the larger string instruments

24
since the strings are larger therefore easier to hear. Since the strings
are lightly touched and not pressed, the sound will be very thin.

1. Family Ties: Harmonics are like your family since they are all
related with some being immediate and others being cousins, aunts
and uncles. The farther the harmonic is in relation to the open string,
the more distant they are related. They are still family, but being
several generations away their connections are not as strong.
2. Have students pretend to be cellos and basses. The whole class
should search for a harmonic A on all their strings that is either the
same as their open A or in a different octave. Cellos and basses
should start first on the D string to solidify their need for this and then
have violins and violas join in after they have found and tuned the
string.
3. Notes within Notes: Going to an acoustic piano, press down keys
without the notes speaking within a major triad sans the root. Strike
the root of the chord swiftly and ask students to listen intently for the
3rd and 5th of the chord. If done correctly, the 3rd and 5th should sound
faintly above the root with a very ethereal sound. Replicate this with
higher octaves and other notes within that particular harmonic series
demonstrating how harmonics manifest in other instruments.
4. Panning for Gold: Searching for harmonics prior to muscle memory
and especially for the first few times is like searching for gold.
Students are old prospectors looking for gold and when students are
perfectly in tune at the harmonic the teacher proclaims they have
struck gold.
5. Within your warm-ups include a simple harmonic interval and
chordal exercises that help students locate and tune harmonics.
Options include perfect 5ths, major triads with the harmonic being
either the root, 3rd or 5th, or playing scales with one to multiple pitches
being played as harmonics. These should be done slowly at first and
should only include harmonics that students have used and practiced.
Starting with only harmonic A’s is the best method forward since it
solidifies tuning procedures while keeping it simple. If student’s are
provided notation of exercises, this should be clearly indicated in the
music what harmonics are being used.

4th Elective Topic. “Wiggle Strings” ___________

Definition: Otherwise known as sympathetic vibrations, wiggle strings
are when open strings resonate when the player plays the same note
25
(unison or at the octave) on another string. Notes found within an
open strings harmonic series can also resonant the open string. The
more in tune the strings are, the stronger the vibrations. The size of
the string also determines the strength of the vibrations (basses are
more prominent than violin). It is an incredible tool in helping students
know whether or not they are in tune and greatly helps intonation if
they notice. Although, the open string must not be touched for this to
occur.

1. In small groups, have upper string students work with a cello or a

bass and have them take note of how much their strings “wiggle”.
2. Twins: Students and great friends will sometimes affectionately say
that their best friend is like a twin. However, even though they have
similarities, they are not always in the same place at the same time.
When they do get together, they start jumping in excitement. Their
wiggle strings are like their twin and will become happy and vibrate
when close by
3. Make sure to note the opportunities when the sympathetic
vibrations can occur and point them out to students within their music.
These can be used as guideposts for intonation checks and tuning
throughout a piece of music. Making activities for students to search
for these moments and point them out is another way to get them
actively using their ears for intonation.
4. The wiggle strings are like a dog wagging their tail in excitement,
but if they are scared then they won’t wag (out of tune).
5. Metal Detector for Sympathetic Treasure: A metal detector beeps
uncontrollably when it passes over a piece of metal in the ground.
When we finger a note that creates sympathetic vibrations with an
open string, we are moving the metal detector over that piece of
metal. Have students find a note that has a wiggle string and have
them slide in and out of it causing the wiggle string to vibrate less and
more when in tune. When students have found the treasure of perfect
intonation, have them make beeping noises that are really close
together. When they are farther away, have the noise be slow and
staggered.

5th Elective Topic. Pizzicato ________________

Definition: The technique of plucking a string across the fingerboard
with the pad of the right index finger. Plucking too close to the bridge,
with the tip of the finger, or not over the fingerboard will result in an
26
uncontrolled sound as opposed to the light bouncy sound desired.
The string must be firmly pressed down with the left hand in order for
strong tone production. Cellists and bassists use the side of the finger
pulling the string to the adjacent lower string because of the size of
the strings for the best possible sound.

1. Waking Up Grandpa: Your grandpa is always falling asleep, but

you got to wake him up. You don’t want to hurt him or shock him
awake so a simple tap is all you need. When students sound out of
balance or way to loud when using pizzicato state that “You woke up
grandpa”.
2. Ask students to tip-toe around the room as quietly as possible.
Make sure that they don’t shuffle around the room. Their pizzicato
should be like each individual foot step.
3. Super Ball: Each pizzicato should have the quickness of a super
ball. How quick the ball bounces back to you when you throw it is how
each pizzicato should sound. Have students over exaggerate their
pizzicatos with quick motions reminiscent of each bounce of the
super ball. Students should have a quick action with huge releases
with their arms shooting up into the air.
4. Using your mouth, demonstrate curling your lips in like a fish and
quickly shooting them out to make a pop or “bubble” noise and have
the students repeat back.
5. “My violin is a guitar?”: Beginning violin and viola students can play
their instruments like a guitar holding it in the same fashion. It is more
comfortable when first playing the instrument and makes their thumb
placement vital to hold the instrument when using pizzicato. All their
playing can be done like this very early on before moving it under
their jaw. It is imperative to instill that their thumb placement on the
fingerboard stays the same after moving to playing position.

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