Practise/Practice helps

3 Ways to Read Music Poster

I came across a poster in Pinterest (of course!) that I really liked, but I couldn’t find the source anywhere (apologies to the brilliant teacher who initially put the photo up).  So I made my own one for my studio wall. Here’s a pdf of my version.  I printed it out much larger for my &hellip Continue reading »

Categories: Beginner Violin, Music Poster, Practise/Practice helps | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Are you a little rusty on Scale Degrees and Modes?

I certainly was.  After spending so many years teaching students in the lower grades for piano, I had forgotten a lot of the things I learned many, (many) years ago that I was sure I would never forget. Needing a reminder of what the names of the scale degrees were (there was one that had &hellip Continue reading »

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Frog Studio Practise Chart

It’s a bit hard to see, but I’m not keen on sticking blue-tac on my studio walls any more. It rips the paint off after a while, and then I have to repaint.  Much easier to put on the big glass doors, then eucalyptus oil will get off any stubborn stains. Anyways, this is my &hellip Continue reading »

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Sight Reading or Fright Reading?

I was searching for some sight reading examples last night and stumbled across this site by Rebecca Stewart: http://sightreading.com.au/buy-online.html. The books are available for purchase, but I love that I can see a glimpse into each book and what it covers.  There are some ‘free’ sight reading lessons as well which covers basics (stuff we &hellip Continue reading »

Categories: Music Book Recommendation, Practise/Practice helps | Tags: , | 1 Comment

Strengthening Fingers with Clothes Pegs

I purchased some medium sized art pegs.  They’re about half the size of a clothes peg but if you can’t get these, a clothes peg will work fine. The student needs to make a curved ‘Pacman’ shape with their thumb and first finger on the peg (has to be that curved ‘C’ shape for this &hellip Continue reading »

Categories: Music gadgets, Practise/Practice helps, Violin technique | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off

Need a free metronome?

All you need is the Internet.  There is a free online metronome available at metronomeonline.com It’s easy to use – just click on the tempo you want.  Click ‘off’ when you want it to stop, and it will even give you a concert pitch ‘A’.  Best of all, it’s free! I have referred a few &hellip Continue reading »

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‘Meditation’ by Frank Bridge

For those needing to play this for their upcoming 4th Grade AMEB Examinations, here is a beautiful rendition of ‘Meditation’ performed by Holger Peterson worth watching:- ‘Meditation’ by Frank Bridge performed by Holger Peterson

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The Dig Challenge

To start next year off, my exam students are going to face a few challenges.  Ten of them to be exact. I want to make sure they are on track with their examination work and they’re having fun at the same time.  A lot of my students are still learning to set their own personal &hellip Continue reading »

Categories: Practise/Practice helps, Studio Themes, Violin musings | Tags: , , , | Comments Off

10 ways to make violin scales interesting

I really enjoyed the masterclass Abe Cytrynowski gave at the Winter Piano Seminar I attended (see link here: Abe’s Masterclass) because I could go home and apply his piano approach to scales to the violin. Here are some ways we can incorporate some fun into our students’ scale learning. I’m presuming by this point that &hellip Continue reading »

Categories: AMEB, Practise/Practice helps, Scales, Violin games | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off

Getting a little creative with rhythms and composing

With so many students preparing to sit their AMEB examinations, I wanted to keep on top of their sight reading skills.  Of course when we’re constantly going through new repertoire it’s no problem, but I don’t like to get stuck into the ‘typical’ exam routine where students are only focused on their exam work and &hellip Continue reading »

Categories: Practise/Practice helps, Theory | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment