What Child Is This

Check out "What Child is This?", performed by Lindsey Stirling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A3i0GATnRI

Christmas Canon

My favourite twist on the classic "Pachelbel's Canon" - so pretty, and it's Christmas-y!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cP26ndrmtg

Another Christmas Favourite!

Check out "O Holy Night" and "Jingle Bells," as performed by David Garrett:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asNpTicgtZc

Legislature Tomorrow!

Just a reminder that the Advanced Chamber Ensembles are playing at the Legislature tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. Come and see these senior members of STE play some beautiful music! You'll get even more into the Christmas spirit, and you can enjoy some hot chocolate while you listen (I think)!

Another snowy December day it seems! As we approach Christmas, I will be posting some of my favourite Christmas songs! Take a listen and enjoy!

First up, here is "Wizards in Winter" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFLOh44P5z0

Solo Day Kudos

Just wanted to pass along that we have heard great things from all of the Solo Day recitals! The performers at my recital all did a splendid job, and I have heard that all of the performers at the other recitals did great too! All of the audiences really enjoyed your playing! Give yourselves some pats on the backs!! Great work!

Solo Day

Good luck to everyone on your Solo Day performances!!! I'm sure you will all do spectacularly! All of the audiences are in for a treat! Best of luck to everyone, and enjoy the special concerts!!

Tutti Day Success!

Wonderful playing to everyone who attended Tutti Day! You sounded amazing and did such a great job! It was so neat to get to hear you playing with an orchestra!! Superb job to all of you who came out today!

Also, I have added some "answers" to the "Posture" posts, so check them out and see if what you were thinking was along the right lines!

Posture #2

As promised, some more pics! (added slightly later in the day than I had planned ;P)

See if you can figure out what is wrong with each player's posture:

Can you find something wrong with this the way this boy is set up?

(His bow hold fingers are too far apart and not soft and round enough.)

What is incorrect about the girl in the jean skirt's posture? (back row, second from your right...yes, that's right, you can't see her violin or bow arms/hands....so from what you can see, how could she improve?)

(Her feet are in rest position when they should be in playing position!)

Can you spot at least three things that could be improved in this bow hold?

(The pinky should be round, the thumb should be bent, the middle fingers should be round and wrapped around the bow more, there should be some space between the middle fingers and the pinky and first finger, the first finger should be round and more on the stick, and the bow hold should be soft and relaxed (so that the fingers aren't turning white from the pressure.)

How could this girl improve her set up? Can you spot at least three ways?

(She could improve by making her left thumb straight, putting her left fingers on their tips, turning her head differently so her jaw is resting on the chin rest, relaxing/dropping her left hand wrist...)

Posture

Alrighty all! Firstly, I want to remind everyone that there are group classes on Monday.

Secondly, take a look at the pictures below and see if you can find out what is wrong with each player's posture. More pics will be added tomorrow too. All images are taken from Google images (hopefully that's okay!).

Can you find at least 3 things wrong in the above picture? (I bet lots of you can find more than three....that's even better!)
(Some things I think she could improve are: have a straight left hand thumb, relax the left wrist, left hand fingers on their tips, right hand pinky up on the bow stick, bent right hand thumb, head turned differently so the jaw is moreso in the chin rest, and violin up on her shoulder)

Can you find something wrong with the way this lady is set up?

(Her right hand pinky should be round/curved.)

What is different about this girl's posture?? (She has her violin on the other shoulder (and her bow in her left hand!)

What is wrong with this violin bow hold? (The pinky is not round and up on the stick like it should be for a violin bow hold.)

How could this player improve her set-up?

(Her head should be resting on her violin to hold it up. Also, her bow hold looks like it could be softer.)

Winter Has Come!

With the crazy snowfall and insane roads today, it seems that winter has indeed arrived! What a perfect opportunity to listen to all or part of Vivaldi's "Winter" from "The Four Seasons": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUKEED3CIxA

To make a connection to all our Bach facts, Bach admired and was influenced by Vivaldi's work!

Bach Trivia/Information Day #7

Today, Bach is considered to be one of the most famous and influential composers of all time. In 1977, a spacecraft was sent into space carrying recordings of some of Bach's pieces.
During his life, however, Bach was considered just a normal working musician. Not many people knew much about his music until 100 years after his death.

Bach Piece Day #7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I11wVtn74Rk&feature=related - string quartet playing Bach's "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring"

Tutti Day - An STE Event!

Hello to all members of Team Tempo!!

Most of your private lesson teachers have probably already told you about Tutti Day on Saturday, November 17. On this special day, the Advanced Chamber Ensemble orchestra will provide the accompaniment for the Junior level students. Everyone on Team Tempo (in my 6:10 group) is invited to attend. Students are expected to arrive for tuning at 2:10 p.m. in the Suzuki gym. Once everyone is tuned, you will play until 4:00 p.m. You will be playing songs from Suzuki Books One and Two. 

So get practicing all your Book One and Two review and get ready for a wonderful day of music-making!!! 

Bach Trivia/Information Day #6

- When Bach tried to quit his job working for a duke, the duke put him in jail for a month. Bach continued to write music while he was in jail. He wrote 46 pieces of music before he was released.

- Bach wrote most of his music to be performed only once, in church services, and then thrown out. As a result, very little of his music was published during his lifetime. Because of this, Bach composed more music than most composers.

(taken from DSO Kids, http://www.dsokids.com/listen/composerdetail.aspx?composerid=8)

Bach Piece Day #6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY - Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" on organ - It's nine minutes long, so feel free to listen to it in the background as you do something else!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rmFleYqNxw - Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" on "glass organ" - super creative and neat - definitely worth a short watch!

Bach Trivia/Information Day #5

Both of J. S. Bach's parents died, so at the age of ten he moved in with his oldest brother, who continued to raise him. J. S. Bach's oldest brother was a church organist, and he helped J. S. Bach become a very good organist as well.

Bach Piece Day #5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clvfdVwyjR4 - Bach's Largo, from Suzuki Violin Book 8 - a beautiful piece!

Bach Trivia/Information Day #4

When J. S. Bach was a child, his father taught him to play violin. J. S. Bach also learned to play the harpsichord, organ, and viola.

Bach Piece Day #4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry4BzonlVlw - J.S. Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1: Prelude

This is a version of the song for 8 cellos instead of just one...

but the same guy is playing all 8 cellos, and has "mashed" them together....very very cool!!!!

Bach Trivia/Information Day #3

J. S. Bach had two wives. His first wife was his second cousin (Maria Barbara Bach), and together they had 7 children. After his first wife died, J. S. Bach remarried (to a lady named Anna Magdalena Wilcke). J. S. Bach and Anna Magdalena had 13 children.
It total, J. S. Bach had 20 children!!!

Bach Piece Day #3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ9qWpa2rIg - Bach - Brandenburg Concertos No.3 - i: Allegro Moderato

A beautiful Bach piece performed (mainly) by string instruments.
(This recording is five and a half minutes long, so feel free to watch the video, or to play it in the background while doing something else!)

Bach Trivia/Information Day #2

Bach lived and composed music during the Baroque era.

Bach Piece Day #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1ByRGNIpFA - David Garrett, an amazing violinist (who came to Edmonton for a concert last year!), performs "Air" by Bach

Bach Trivia Day #1

The first "chunks" of J. S. Bach information are:

- Bach's full name was Johann Sebastian Bach

- J. S. Bach was born in 1685

- J. S. Bach died in 1750

- Bach was 65 years old when he died

Bach Pieces Day #1

Have a listen to these different versions of Minuet 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TobXjDXF0s - harpsichord

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on1DDSLdDOo - different instruments - listen for when the violins get the melody!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frjbb_-4q9U - a "pop" version on guitar - very different version, but cool to listen to!

Bachtober!

So, the first series of posts will all be related to "Bachtober." "Bachtober" essentially means that for the rest of October, we will be learning about the composer J. S. Bach, and listening to his compositions.

Team Tempo, as we discussed in group, you already know how to play the Bach Minuets (Minuet One, Minuet Two, and Minuet Three), and some of you know how to play Musette.

Beginners, you do not yet know how to play any Bach songs, but will recognize Minuet One, Minuet Two, and Minuet Three from your Book One CDs.

As well as listening to your Suzuki CDs everyday, I want each of you to listen to an additional Bach song each day for the rest of October. I will post a link to a different Bach work or two each day. You can listen to these, or your own recordings of Bach's pieces.

As well, I will be posting either trivia facts or trivia questions each day. Pay attention to these, and find the answers to the questions, as they will come in handy during group lessons next week (for the Team Tempo group).

Welcome!!

Hello and welcome to "Amy's Violin Blog"! On this blog, I will be posting links to great music, information about composers and music, violin-related trivia, practicing ideas, etc. We'll just see how it evolves!

Basically, the stuff on this site will complement what we do in group lessons this year.

The end-of-Book-One group has officially been named "Team Tempo," so that is how I will be referring to you from now on. (beginners, you shall be referred to as beginners!)