Too/Two

This year's junior quartet are so, so funny.  I wish I could record them and show you all.  Instead, you'll have to receive their hilarity secondhand, through me.  And just in case you're not fluent in Kodaly-speak as well as violin-speak: a 2 (two) is our second finger.  A too (or too-oo) is a minim, or a note held for 2 ta (crotchet) beats.

Me: Violin 2, what sort of two do you have in bar 32?
Violin 2: I don't have a too in bar 32.
Me: Um, yes you do.
Violin 2: No, I've got ta za za za ta ta ta ta-
Me: No not bar 31, bar 32.
Violin 2: Oh!  Ta ta ta ta-
Me [a little exasperated]: Yes, but what sort of two?
Violin 2: There is no too. [By this stage, Violin 1 and Cello have got up and are peering at her music as well, pointing to the right bar and saying the rhythm also]
Me: Yes, there is.  Find it, quickly, and tell me what sort of two it is.
Violin 2: I don't have a too in bar 32, and anyway, what different sort of toos can you have?
Me [finally cottoning on to the problem]: Ah.  Bar 32.  Your second note.  What sort of second finger do you have?
Violin 2 [blinking]: Oh.  Oh.  Low.
Me: Ah.  Yes.  Phew.

General hilarity ensued as they all realised the cause of the confusion.

Making It Jazzy

9-yr-old boy, just started learning The Entertainer.  Apparently, this is a scary piece.  I decided to work on small chunks instead of tackling the whole piece, and we did the end of the first section first (do re mi do re mi-- do re do mi do re mi-- do re do mi do re mi-- ti,re-- do----).  His first play of it was accurate, but deadly boring.

Me: So, that was fine... But I think we might be able to make it a bit more interesting, don't you?
Boy: Ummm... I guess...
Me: Well, this piece is from the jazz era, so how could we make it sound more like jazz?
Boy: Like, um, like, oh, what's the word... shta-catt-o?
Me: Staccato?
Boy: Yes!
Me: I thought you might say that.  How about this? [I play it, with very short notes.  His face remained passive].  Was it jazzy?  Your face doesn't look convinced.  [Boy grins].  How about, if we made every do with a bit of accent?
Boy: Yeah... [I played - it's not that easy.  His face remained passive, again].
Me: You still don't look convinced.  How about... If we made every mi with an accent?
[Boy looks unconvinced, gives me that "I have a crazy teacher" look].
Me: Let's give it a go, anyway.  [I played, so it sounded more like this: do re MI do re MI-- do re do MI do re MI-- do re do MI do re MI-- ti,re-- do----.  By the 3rd MI, his face had lit up].  That's  more like it - now you look convinced!
Boy [grinning and enthusiastic]: Yeah!  That's the way I want to do it!

And he played it exactly the same way.  But with more of a smile on his face.

Chords, Continued

Last week, I introduced this 8-yr-old to the delights of squished diminished chords.  Today we took it a bit further.

Me: You play the fa, and I'll play the ti and re.  [We play these all together].  Now, how does that sound?
Girl [grinning, with a look of delight]: Scary!!
Me: You know, if we just add one more note, it can sound really different.  This time, I'm still going to play the ti and re.  You still play the fa, but can you play the so - the open D - at the same time?
Girl [with 'are you sure about this?' written all over her face]: Okay...
Me [once we've played, and her face registers delight all over again]: So? How does that sound?
Girl [still grinning]: Really happy!!

We then played that chord (dominant 7th) followed by its resolution, G major.  She was rather excited that it sounded so finished.

Second Fingers Sorted

Looking at a new piece with an 8-yr-old.

Me: What's the key signature?
Girl: C..No, F sharp.
Me: So, wh-
Girl: Do is G.
Me: Good... How are you going to do the first note?  High two or low?
Girl: Um... [thinks a bit]... High!
Me: Why? [this often makes them change their mind, regardless of whether or not they're correct]
Girl: Because it's a mi.
Me [delightfully surprised]: Yes!  How about on the D string?
Girl [slight thinking pause]: High.  Because it's a ti.
Me: A string?
Girl [takes a little while, I think she's thinking up the G major scale from the open G]: Low.  Because it's a fa, and fa is best friends with mi.

Yay!

Sight Reading

One of my little grade 3s is doing really well.  I had some Shostakovich duets on my table, and I decided to give her the first one (the first phrase or so) for some sight reading.  It's mostly do-able in first position, but it also has a high C#, and an A#.  Not notes she's actually learned how to play before.

Me: Okay, I want you to play from the beginning - no, you don't have to count those bars rest, just start from the beginning of the notes.  And play until there [about 8 bars].  So, what's the key signature?
Girl: F# and C#. 
Me: Do is?
Girl: D.
Me: Good.  Have a bit of a look... think through the rhythm... see if you have any questions... [girl obviously plays through in her head, then gets ready to play].  Oh.  Do you have any questions?
Girl: Ah, no... [like that was a really silly question on my part]
Me [pointing to the C#]: So, how are you going to play this note?
Girl: Isn't that just, like, like a 4th finger that's extra high?
Me [impressed]: Yep.  How about this note? [pointing to the A#]
Girl: Shouldn't that be..well, it's a 3rd finger, but it's not friends with 2 anymore but friends with 4?
Me: Okay, so you really didn't have any questions... Let's hear it.

She played it really well.  Counting included!  One very happy teacher.

Best Friends and Alien Sounds

As I help out the grade 3 strings, I know what they're doing in class and what their goals are.  One of the pieces for the end-of-year concert is Lucy Locket, a piece they all know from classroom music last year.  It uses the sol-fa so, la and mi.  So to la is a step (they are only aware of major 2nds, or tones, at this point), and so to mi is a skip.  The class strings teacher has them starting with (for violin) 3rd finger on D (G) for so.  With this particular child, we'd played it in her lesson just like in class.  Then we got creative, and played it starting on open A.

Me: Now we're going to go back to starting on 3.  Instead of doing open A for la, though, what do you think we could do instead?
Girl: Ummm... could we use... [face scrunched up like this answer couldn't possibly be correct] 4th finger on the ... D string...?
Me [thrilled she worked this out without any prodding]: Yes!  Now, you know that 1 and 2 are not great friends... [girl nods] and 2 and 3 are best friends [girl nods] - what do you think about 3 and 4?  Will they be best friends or need a gap?
Girl [knowingly]: They'll need a gap.  You can only have one best friend.
Me: Good point.  You know another way we can tell?  If we put out 4th finger right next to our 3rd finger, it would make Lucy Locket sound like this: [I sing the beginning with a very squished up so and la]
Girl [laughing like this is the stupidest thing she's heard all day]: That's terrible!  It sounds like alien sounds!

I am pleased to report that her Lucy Locket sounded right, right from the start.

Rhythm Something

A 10-yr-old had just played Purcell's Rondeau (from Abdelazar) from memory.  She had played it quite well, except for the rhythm in one particular section, which trips up most students.

Me: What's the rhythm in the C section?
Girl [slightly wary, but still from memory]: Ta...ummm ti slurry.... something something...

Good thing she could play it properly when she had the music in front of her or I would have been really worried.  And depressed.

The Riot

A new piece in ensemble.  A very messy bit, which shouldn't be.

Me: Violins and violas go ti-ti ta ti-ti ta, cellos and double bass ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ta, violins and violas ti-ti ti-ti ta cellos and double bass ti-ti ti-ti everyone ti-ti ta.
9-yr-old (enthusiastically): So, it's like we're having a riot!
Me: Ah, yes, I guess it is a bit...
Another 9-yr-old: Ooh, and our bows are like guns and we can shoot everyone and-
Me: Let's not go nuts.