PROGRESSIWVeG Bon on (rie Audio Violin “= ttm (BUTE Young Beginners oa ff 2 Peter ceProgressive Young Beginner Violin Book 1 by LearnToPlayMusic.com and Peter Gelling Illustrated by James Stewart Published by LearnToPlayMusic.com ISBN 978-982-532-010-4 © 2013 L.T.P. Publishing Pty Ltd No part of this product can be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the copyright owner. LTP Learn To Play Music™LEARN TO PLAY MUSIC a ‘ LearnToPlayMusic.com has a huge selection of music education books, eBooks and apps covering many instruments, genres and playing styles. ci Visit our Website: Like us on Facebook: LearnToPlayMusic Follow us on Twitter: LTPMusic by Email us: info@learntoplaymusic.comFree Audio Available Click or tap here to access the FREE audio content for this book. 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For any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@learntoplaymusic.com .The Treble Clef The Quarter Note The Note A Exercise 3 - Ant Walk The Four Four Time Signature Exercise 4 - Four Four Ants The Note B Exercise 5 - Bees and Ants The Half Note Exercise 6 - Half A Bee Exercise 7 - Halves and Quarters LESSON THREE The Note C Sharp Exercise 8 - Sharp Cat The Half Rest Chord Symbols Exercise 10 - Hot Cross Buns The Whole Note Exercise 11 - In the Light of the MoonLESSON FIVE The Note E Exercise 14 - Elephant Talk The Common Time Signature Exercise 15 - My House Exercise 16 - Li R LESSON SIX TheT Four Time Si Exercise 17 - Waltz and All The Dotted Half Note Exercise 18 - Dotted Waltz The Lead-in Exercise 21 - When the Saints go Marchin’ In Notes and RestsINTRODUCTION Progressive Violin Method For Young Beginners, over two books, has been designed to introduce the younger student to the basics of playing the violin and reading music. To maximize the student’s enjoyment and interest, the book incorporates a repertoire of well known children’s songs. All of the songs have been carefully graded into an easy-to-follow, lesson- by-lesson format, which assumes no prior knowledge of music by the student. Since violin is often accompanied by guitar, piano or keyboard, this book may be used in conjunction with other Progressive Young Beginner books for these instruments, as many of the songs included here are common to these other books. At the beginning of the book, the student is introduced to the basic principles of holding the violin and bow, before learning pizzicato and bowing techniques. While learning to read and play music, the student will learn note and rest values and time signatures. The exercises and songs incorporate quarter, whole and half notes and their equivalent rests. The student is also taught how to read rhythms, and introduced to basic terms such as bar lines, repeat signs and lead- in notes. New pieces of information are highlighted by color boxes, while color illustrations are used throughout to stimulate and maintain the student's interest.A Word About Intonation and Timing Many young students have difficulty in playing pitches accurately. This will improve with practice and experience. It is important to understand the concept of exact pitches, but not to worry if the student has intonation problems at first. One of the most important things about learning music is developing a good sense of time. To get you on the right track from the very beginning, it is strongly recommended that you use a metronome to play along with every time you practice. There are various types of metronome available, from the old wind-up style metronome to the electronic metronome. Electronic metronomes are recommended because they are more accurate and often have a volume control as well as an earphone input so nobody else hears it except the person using it.LESSON ONEParts of the Violin and Bow Look at the diagrams below and learn all the names of the parts of your violin and bow. Do this for a few minutes each day until you know them all from memory. Have your teacher or a friend test you on the names of the parts. Hair Tip, [pt TS JScroll Chin rest Bell Bridge fied Neck Nat Fingerboard Strings Sound holes Tail piece End button The correct positions for holding the violin and bow are shown in the photographs below. Holding the Bow Position of the Left HandHolding the ViolinHow to Read the Fingering Diagrams The numbers on the fingers correspond to the numbers and letters on the note diagrams throughout the book. Left thumb Pizzicato A good way to begin playing the violin is to hold it in the playing position and to play the open strings pizzicato, which means plucking the strings with the index finger of the bowing hand. Before you begin, memorize the names of the open strings, as shown in the following diagram to the left. To play a note pizzicato, place the tip of your right thumb against the upper right corner of the fingerboard near the E string as shown in the following diagram to the right. Pluck the strings with your index finger about 5 centimeters along the fingerboard. Try plucking each of the four strings and saying the name of each string out loud as you pluck it.Pizzicato Practice playing the open strings pizzicato in the order shown below. The first time you play the exercise, say the names of the open strings out loud as you pluck each one. The second time you play the exercise, count 1, 2, 1, 2, etc, and keep the notes even. Sting |E E]A A/D D|G G/D DJA AJE A|D G Count {1 2}/1 2/1 2}1 2/1 2)/1 2/1 241 2 Playing With the Bow (Arco) Playing with the bow is called arco playing. This is the most common method of playing the violin. As with pizzicato, the best way to begin playing with the bow is to play just the open strings of the violin. Hold the bow in the manner described earlier in Lesson 1, and place the hair of the bow on the open A (2nd) string near the frog of the bow. The bow should be at right angles to the string. Draw the bow slowly across the string all the way to the tip. This is called a down stroke, and is indicated with the symbol mn.As you play the down stroke, make sure your right wrist and forearm are relaxed, as this will create the best sound. After you teach the tip of the bow, hold it steady for a moment and then slowly push the bow back across the string until you reach the frog. This is called an up stroke, which is indicated with the symbol V. Once you can produce a good sound on the open A string, try playing each of the open strings with a down stroke and then an up stroke. If you are having trouble achieving a consistent sound, you may need to rub some more rosin on the hair of the bow. 4 « SSS 2; To make sure you only sound one string at a time, you will need to lower your bowing arm slightly when moving from a lower string to a higher string (e.g., open G to open D) and raise the arm slightly when moving from a higher string to a lower string (e.g., open E to open A). When moving between strings, do not lift your bow off the strings, but change the sound to the new string by changing the angle of the bow. It is important to work on bowing technique with a teacher right from the beginning so that you do not develop any bad habits which you later have to correct.Arco Practice playing the open strings arco in the order shown below. Count 1, 2, 1, 2, etc, as you play, and alternate your bow strokes. Each 1 count will be a down stroke with the bow and each 2 count will be an up stroke. Bow AVIAVIAVIF VIA VIA VIA Vin Vv String CountLESSON TWO (( “ SCS Co A (fsHow to Read Music Music Notes There are only seven letters used for notes in music. They are: These notes are known as the musical alphabet. The Staff These five lines are called the staff or stave.The Treble Clef This symbol is called a treble clef. There is a treble clef at the beginning of every line of most vocal music. The Quarter Note This is a musical note called a quarter note. It J lasts for one beat or count. Yh Music notes are written in the spaces and on the lines of the staff. Fourth Space _- Fifth Line _— Fourth Line Middle — (Third) Line “~ Second Line “— First Line First SpaceThe Note A Open A string ANote The note A is written in the second space of the staff. In this song you will play eight A notes. Play the notes with the middle of the bow. The bow direction changes for each note. The notes on counts 1 and 3 are played with a down stroke and the notes on counts 2 and 4 are played with an up stroke. Listen carefully as you play, and try to keep the notes strong and even. It is a good idea to practice playing the notes pizzicato as well as with the bow. Ant Walk Bar Line 5 v A V NG v fA V Yi 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 This double bar line tells us that the exercise has finished.Bar Lines Music is divided into bars, or measures, by bar lines. In the first song there are two bars of music. Each bar contains four quarter notes. The Four Four Time Signature These two numbers are called the four four time signature. 4, They are placed after the treble 4. clef. The 4 time signature tells you there are four beats in each bar. There are four quarter notes in a bar of 4 time.4 Four Four Ants This song contains four bars of quarter notes in 4 time. Once again, practice this song pizzicato as well as arco (with the bow). eee el Vee i Ve Ve Vee ele le, MWhi2 341234 1234 1234 The Note B The note B is written on the third line of the staff. The stem for the note B can go up or down, because it is on the middle line of the staff. BNote To play the note B, use the first finger of your left hand as shown in the diagram above. You should use the tip of your finger to hold down the string.5 Bees and Ants This song uses the note B along with the note A. Play it pizzicato first and then arco. mV RM V etc. The Half Note This is a half note. It lasts for two beats. There J are two half notes in one bar of 4 time. Yha»Half A Bee This song contains four bars of half notes using the notes A and B. Alternate the bowing directions as shown above the notation. Half notes are played with a slower bow stroke than quarter notes. ial Vv fp V f Vv * Vv ee These two dots are called a repeat sign. This means that you play the song again from the start. Halves and QuartersLESSON THREEThe Note C Sharp (C4) This symbol is called a sharp sign. When a sharp note is written on the staff, the sharp sign t is placed before the note. CE note Notes written above the middle line of the staff usually have their stems going down.8 Sharp Cat To play the note Cé, use the tip of the second finger of your left hand as shown in the diagram. As you play the C#, leave your first finger in position ready to play B immediately afterwards. Play the song pizzicato first and then arco. mVvVmvY meV me Ym VO Mhi2 34 1234 1234 1234 The Half Rest A black box sitting on a line is called a half rest. It means there are two beats of silence. We place small counting numbers under rests. MMi 3 Chord Symbols The letters above the songs are chord symbols. They are not the notes you are playing. They are for your teacher or someone who is accompanying you, so they know what to play.Merrily When there is more than one sharp note in a bar, you only need to write the sharp sign before the first sharp note in that bar. A bar line cancels a sharp sign, so if there are sharps in other bars you will need a sharp sign before the first sharp note of each of those bars. This song contains a half rest in the final bar. A EB A 2 3 4 Mer-ri-ly we roll a-long, roll. a-long, _—roll_a-long, A E A 6 7 * Mer-ri- ly we roll a-long, — o-ver deep blue sea.Hot Cross Buns Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, hot, _hot, hot cross buns. The Whole Note This is a whole note. It lasts for four beats. oOo There is one whole note in one bar of 4 time. Yi 123411 In the Light of the Moon To play the whole note in the final bar of this song, you will need to use a longer, slower bow stroke. ( 4LESSON FOURThe Note D DNote The note D is written on the fourth line of the staff. Play the note D with the third finger of your left hand as shown in the photo. The space between the second and third fingers when playing C# and D is less than the space between the first and second fingers when playing B and C#. Don’t worry if you have trouble with finger positions at first. With a bit of practice, your fingers will naturally go to the correct position on the fingerboard. Remember to practice your songs both pizzicato and arco. Hot DogLESSON FIVEThe Note E Elephant Talk The note E is the open first string. This song uses the note E along with all the notes you have learned. Play the song pizzicato and then arco. As you move between the second and first strings, you will need to change the angle of the bow. A E AThe Common Time Signature This symbol is called common time. It means Ce exactly the same as 4. Here is another song which uses the notes A, B, C#, D and E. It is a good idea to practice singing the names of the notes as you play, so you get to know them really well. 2 Won't you come to. my house, to. my house, to. my house? A E A 7 6 ’ Won't you come to my house,to see my lit- tle — mouse?Lightly Row A E A E 2 3 4 Light - ly row, lightly row, 0 ver roll-ing waves we go, A E A E A 6 7 # light - ly row, — light-ly row, a - way from shore we glide. E A 10 u 2 Love-ly day out for a sail, sunshine sparkling with-out fail. A E A E A i 4 15 16 Light - ly row, — light-ly row, a - cross the waves we go.LESSON SIXThe Three Four Time Signature This is called the three four time signature. 3 It tells you there are three beats 4 in each bar. Three four time is also known as waltz time. Waltz and All A HThe Dotted Half Note A dot after a half note means that you hold the ; note for three beats. YM; Dotted WaltzThis song contains a dotted half note in the final bar. 3 Yh 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 Girls and boys come out to play, the2 3 moon is shin. - ing bright = as_— day. The Quarter Rest This symbol is called a quarter rest. g It means there is one beat of silence. PiaLittle Bo Peep A E 2 3 4 Lit - tle Bo Peep, has lost her sheep, and6 does - n't know whe - re to find them. A E 10 Ww Leave them a - lone, and they will come home, A E A 4 wag- ging their tai - Is be - hind them.LESSON SEVENThe Lead-in Sometimes a song does not begin on the first beat of a bar. Any notes which come before the first full bar are called lead-in notes (or pickup notes). When we use lead-in notes, the last bar is also incomplete. The notes in the lead-in and the notes (or rests) in the last bar must add up to one full bar. There are three lead-in notes at the beginning of this song. Lead-in notes A 1 2 3 fh Ohwhen the Saints, go mar-chin’ in, Wi23s4i2 3 A E 5 Oh when the Saints go mar - chin’ in,Ey A A’ D uw Oh Lord I want to be in that num-ber, Dm A D E A 1S 16 B 4 when the Saints go mar - chin’ in. Notes and Rests eine Quarter Note Half Note Dotted Half Note | Whole Note (crotchet) (minim) (dotted minim) | _(semibreve) Note J d al Cay o | = = =| = Number of, Counts es = <A B c# D E rahe Open A string (Ond string) Open E string (st string)