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!