Inappropriate language warning!

If you have delicate sensibilities, stop reading this post right now. I need to discuss a string instrument curse word: P-R-E-S-S.
WI cellists are discovering that the secret to a good sound lies in a soft bumpy thumb.

Cellists who produce a good sound are a lot like graceful athletes. All of their muscles are loose, balanced, and relaxed. Notice if your thumb muscle is sore. If your hand is tired, it means you are pressing. So breathe, relax, and think “soft”!

Happy New Year!

I don’t like to brag, but the WI beginning violinists & violists ROCK! Now that it is officially 2008, we are putting the final touches on our beginner set-up by preparing the left hand.

Look at these beautiful open wrists and scooped elbows.

I know you can’t help but notice the left hand fingers in little boxes above the string. There is not one “squisher” in the bunch!

Beginning low strings make sound!

It has been an exciting couple of weeks for WI cello and bass players. We finally produced sound with the bow! Almost all of us now have a bumpy thumb and can land in the sound spot on the D string. Until next time … bring the cello to you and beware of monkey arms.

Dance of the Thirteen Skeletons

Download

In General Music class, where every day is Halloween, we just completed a recording of “The Dance of the Thirteen Skeletons”. Listen carefully to the middle section and you will hear dancing skeletons trading fours…

Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving when you are giving thanks for another happy and healthy year, please take a solemn moment to reflect upon the way you are holding your can of Coke at the dinner table. Your hand shape is just like cello and bass hand:

Check out the perfect, round shape of the fingers and placement of the thumb across from the middle finger. Your family and friends will thank you too, because the Coke-can hand enables you to play faster and better in tune.

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving season? That would definitely have to be all of my students who will be polishing their orchestra music during Thanksgiving break!

Geometry 101

Was your math teacher irritated today when you missed class for your music lesson? Well, I bet your teacher didn’t know that music has a lot in common with math. Take the square, for instance. When we place the middle of our bow in the sound spot, we make the shape of a square. Of course, you must pop up your platform in order to keep your bow parallel to the bridge. If your platform drops below your wrist it will push your bow out, resulting in the shape of a trapezoid.

Check out these gorgeous platforms:

When you raise your platform, your bow is guaranteed to form a straight line as you move your forearm open and closed. Most importantly, platforms come in handy when you need a place to rest your Starburst, which unfortunately has nothing to do with math.

Until next time, Platform Up and Waterslide Down!

Carry

I bought my violin in 1991, and since then, we have been inseparable.  It seems that my violin is always on my back, even when I am running errands or meeting up with friends.  In fact, my violin’s name is “Carry”, because I carry her everywhere.  I don’t like to brag, but I have never forgotten my instrument.

How do you remember to bring your instrument to school on your lesson day?  Is your schedule posted on the refrigerator?  Do you pack your things the night before and leave them by the door?  Does your dog remind you before you leave for school?   

Post a comment to let me know how you remember to bring your instrument to school.

Bow Disease

Halloween has come and gone.  The slimy eyeballs, fake blood, and cobwebs have been stored away until next year.  Unfortunately, one frightening reality remains:  children who touch their bow hair with their fingers.  Oh, the horror.  When you touch your bow hair, the oil from your hands prevents rosin from sticking to your bow, and your bow will turn black and yucky. 

So if you want to make a beautiful sound on your string instrument, keep your fingers off the hair. 

Happy Practicing!

Happy Halloween!

The Orchestra at WI is gearing up for Halloween, but I bet you didn’t know there is another reason to celebrate this last week of October. The week of October 29th also happens to be International Bow Hold Awareness Week, and the violinists and violists at WI promise not to frighten you with ghoulish bow holds. Check out these photos of our awesome bow grips:

Until next time, don’t forget to curl your pinky and wrap around with your hugging fingers … and remember to lock your door when you go to sleep, lest the headless horseman arrives at your door when the moon is full!

Boo!