St. Louis School of Music Blog

New Semester and Saturday Classes

2011-01-16T11:13:00.001-08:00

Hi All,
Welcome to our spring semester! Our new spring schedule starts up this week (Monday, Jan 17th-23). Be sure you know when your new lesson time is if your lesson time has changed this semester.

Also, I sent out all invoices via email this week. If you did not yet receive your invoice, or have any questions about it, please contact Laura Yeh.

This Saturday, January 24 will be the first of our group classes. Here's the schedule:

2-2:45pm: Suzuki Group classes 1 and 2 at Ivy Chapel
3-3:45pm: Fiddle rehearsal at Ivy Chapel
4:10-5:30pm Tour group rehearsal/coaching at school location

See you all soon!

Saturday classes and some videos

2010-11-30T07:06:00.000-08:00

Hi all and welcome back.

We hope you had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving break and we're looking forward to seeing you again at lessons this week.

We've got our last set of group classes of the semester this Saturday:

1:45pm Theory class in Laura's studio
3pm Studio class 2 downstairs at Ivy Chapel

Here's a couple of fun videos to check out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmrzVVu4FUM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8btewj_tE&feature=related

The first video is David Oistrakh (famous Soviet violinist) and his son Igor (also a successful concert violinist) playing a fun piece by the 19th century virtuoso violinst, Pablo de Sarasate. The second video is the gorgeous second movement of the Bach Double violin concerto (some of you have learned or are learning the first movement. This movement is worth learning too.)

If you're looking for good violinists to add to your budding musician's music library this Christmas, (hint, hint) you cannot go wrong with David Oistrakh. He's considered one of the greatest violinists ever and has that beautiful rich tone that we all try to get when we play. Check out his recording of the Tchaikovsky concerto too (I believe it can be found on youtube). You'll hear what a great tone he had.

Violists, cellists, and pianists, I haven't forgotten you! I'll have videos/listening suggestions for you shortly.

Listening to good quality music written for your child's instrument, in addition to listening to the pieces currently being studied is a vital part of the development of a good ear and musical expression. By hearing really fantastic musicians, students get a good musical tone in their ear which makes a big difference in their progress, not to be replaced by daily practice though of course! Feel free to talk with us if you would like suggestions for listening.

Happy listening!

Upcoming Events

2010-11-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
Here's what's on the schedule in November:

Saturday, November 6 (This Saturday) at IVY CHAPEL
2pm: Suzuki group classes 3 and 4
3pm: Fiddle Class

Saturday, November 13 at SCHOOL AND IVY CHAPEL
1pm: Piano studio class (Ivy Chapel)
1:45pm: Theory class (in Laura's studio)
3pm: Studio class 1 (downstairs in Ivy Chapel)

Sunday, November 14 at IVY CHAPEL
3pm: Faculty Recital. Faculty members of St. Louis School of Music performing works by Vivaldi, Saint-Saens, Dvorak, Ligeti, and Andrew Loyd Weber.

Saturday, November 20 at IVY CHAPEL
2pm: Laura's Student Recital
4pm: Adam, Anita, and Lan Sin's Joint Student Recital

Monday, November 22-Sunday November 28. No lessons for Thanksgiving Break. Happy Thanksgiving!

Upcoming classes plus assignments

2010-10-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
Quick reminder of our upcoming Saturday Classes:

1:45 Theory class in Laura's studio
3pm Studio class 2 at Ivy Chapel (downstairs)

Also, I'd like to post a couple of assignments from the classes over this past weekend.

Suzuki Group 3:
Start reviewing Gossec Gavotte now if you've already learned it. It will be on the spring festival and it takes a lot of work to get it sounding good as a group.

Keep working on using more bow!!!!!! You sound so fantastic when you do!!!

Also, start practicing identifying your note names for G Major on the violin. You should know the note names (G, A, B, rather than open, G1, G2, etc.) going up and down the scale.

Suzuki Group 4: Start your review for festival NOW! A lot of the pieces are ones you learned a long time ago and consequently harder to remember. Start learning the fiddle tunes now as well.

Fiddle: I know you all are working hard to play super in tune which is pretty grueling, so thank you for your efforts. Be sure to do lots of SLOOOOOOOWWWW practice and be sure to bring Bonaparte's retreat to your teacher. We've improved but we're still pretty out of tune on that one. Listen for the ringing tone on the 3rd fingers. We also need to tune up the 1st and 2nd fingers - so basically, all the fingers can be more in tune!

Experiment with slides and double stops in Fiddler's Dream. Don't forget to do slow boring practice on this one too. We're not really in tune yet on this one either....

Mariachi: be sure to take all shifts on page 2 to your teacher if you have trouble with them. We're trying to avoid crossing over to the E string (ick!) as much as possible. Be sure to practice all shifts individually for good intonation and relaxed, smooth shifts.

Good job guys and thanks for your hard work!

Stars of Tomorrow Concert

2010-10-09T18:02:00.001-07:00

I just got this message about an upcoming music concert featuring kids. It looks interesting although it's a bit of a trek from us here in St. Louis since it's out in Belleville. The little girl on the TV promo also plays quite nicely (note the beautiful intonation, good bow distribution, and nice vibrato!) and is worth watching.

"The Belleville Philharmonic "Stars of Tomorrow" concert will be on Sat Oct. 16th at 7:30 in Union United Methodist Church in Belleville. 3 soloists will be featured including Henry Meyers on cello, a pianist, and 9 yr-old Julia Harris on violin. The concert may be of special interest to violin, cello, and piano students. A promo for the performance was on Fox News this past Tuesday.

Here is a link to that TV broadcast:

http://www.fox2now.com/videobeta/b06af07c-c19f-4290-a632-01e8579ad8eb/News/Belleville-Philharmonic-Orchestra

If you find yourself in Illinois this weekend, check it out!

Calendar Changes and upcoming recitals

2010-09-15T11:38:00.001-07:00

Hi All,
We hope you are having a good fall so far. This weekend we have theory and studio classes:

1:45pm Theory in Laura's studio (note that we have moved the class 15 minutes earlier)
3pm Studio 2 - 3 octave scales and masterclass at Ivy Chapel (note the changed location)

There are a couple of changes in our calendar and location. First of all, all theory B classes will now be at 1:45 instead of 2pm to give Kirby time to get to the next class. Theory will still be held in Laura's studio at the school. The studio classes at 3pm have been moved to Ivy Chapel since attendance is higher than expected (great!) and the space in Laura's studio is a bit too tight for comfort.

Also, Suzuki group classes 1 and 4 have been moved to a larger classroom downstairs in the Sunday School at Ivy Chapel rather than in the multipurpose room as attendance at Suzuki classes has been very high (yay!) and we need some more space for everyone to feel comfortable. Hopefully with these changes everyone will feel a bit more comfortable and less cramped at classes now.

Halloween Recitals!

They are coming up!! Our Halloween recitals are for students up through 5th grade. (Sorry older students! You're getting too big now!) It's really snuck up on us as the recitals will be happening in just a few weeks on Saturday, October 30th at 2pm and 4pm. Students need to have their pieces ready no less than 3-4 weeks before the recital to be adequately prepared and perform their best, so be sure to get your piece picked out and be doing lots of practice! We don't like for kids to feel stressed at the last minute getting ready (it's hard to play well in those circumstances) so being ready well in advanced will make for a relaxed recital for everyone, including us teachers!

Dress: Students are invited to wear their Halloween costume as long as they can comfortably play in it so be sure to check ahead of time that the costume is comfortable for playing whatever instrument your child plays. Parents are welcome to come in costume too if they'd like!

Volunteers: We'll need parent volunteers to help us with set up, providing spooky treats and punch for the reception, clean up, etc. We'll have a sign up sheet at the school in a few days for the specific jobs. If you can help out, please do sign up as we really appreciate all parent support we receive.

Recital Times: There are two Halloween Recitals, one at 2pm and one at 4pm. Because we only have a limited amount of time booked at the church (they charge hourly instead of the flat fee we paid at our other church) and since we like to keep recitals for the little ones to an hour or less, we need to make sure that we have two fairly equal length recitals. For this reason, we'll have a sign up sheet at the school in a couple of days. These sign ups will have a number of spots available on each recital. Please be sure to sign up for a time!

Happy Practicing!

Labor Day weekend

2010-09-01T19:06:00.001-07:00

Hi All!

In honor of Labor Day weekend we have no group classes scheduled this Saturday. However, all private lessons for this weekend and on Labor Day are scheduled as usual unless you have already worked out an alternative time with your teacher. Have a great weekend!

Group classes this Saturday

2010-08-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
Welcome back! We hope you had a good summer!

This Saturday we'll start our group classes. The schedule is as follows:

1pm Theory class A (students up through 3rd grade enrolled in theory class)
2pm Theory class B (students 4-6th grade enrolled in theory class)
3pm Intermediate violin/viola studio class.

We'll be meeting in Laura's studio at the school. If we have plenty of space, theory and studio classes will continue at the school. If it's a bit cramped, we'll book space at Ivy Chapel just down the street from the school for all future classes.

Theory students should plan to bring any theory materials they own as well as their instrument. We may or may not use instruments in each class, but it's good to have in case you need it.

Studio class students need their music, any scale books they use, and their instruments. Some of you will play a solo for the class, so come prepared to play at least a portion of something you've polished.

Fiddle students are invited to Laura and Dennis' house for a fiddle jam session party this Saturday from 4:30-6pm. Students should come knowing at least a couple of fiddle tunes we've played in past semesters and should bring their instruments. If you are planning to come and have not yet RSVPed, please email Laura by Thursday so she knows how much food to order. We'll be ordering pizza and good stuff. Parents are welcome to stay but are not required to attend. If anyone attending has any special food needs, please let Laura know. Vegetarian food will be available.

Looking forward to seeing you Saturday!

Fall calendar and TV stuff

2010-07-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
We hope you've been having a good summer! Our fall semester is starting up in just 3 weeks, so I just posed the calendar for the fall on this blog and will post a copy at the school next Tuesday. Please be sure to look it over and get the dates into you calendar. Please note that some group classes this semester are at our school location and some are at Ivy Chapel, at 620 N. Woods Mill Road just down the street from the school. Also take note that if you are enrolled in group classes and theory, or Suzuki classes and studio classes, then you will have some kind of group class almost every Saturday and should plan accordingly so you can attend regularly. (This may seem like a lot of time, but is necessary for quicker progress.) This year, the fall will be a full 20 weeks, starting on Monday, August 9th. Unfortunately we cannot afford to accomodate requests to start late and cancel those first few lessons, so please let your teacher know now if you'll be on vacation during the first part of the semester so those lessons can be rescheduled.

Here's what I was doing this morning. This was on Fox 2 St. Louis. Enjoy!

We're looking forward to seeing you all soon and hearing about your summer!

Recitals this Saturday and end of semester stuff

2010-05-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
Congratulations on another set of successful recitals! We've got our last two recitals this Saturday (May 22) at 11am and 2pm at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church. We're looking forward to seeing all the performances!

We're coming to the end of our semester. The last day of the spring semester is Saturday, June 5th and the summer semester will begin Monday, June 7th. Those of you who have lessons on Fridays through Mondays, you are scheduled for a lesson on Memorial Day weekend unless you already made other plans with your teacher. Because of the large number of make up lessons we all have to give before the end of the semester, we really cannot accomodate any more changes in lesson schedule over the next couple of weeks, so please aim to make your own plans accordingly.

The practice challenge is coming to an end next Saturday, May 29th. Be sure you've reported all your practice days to your teacher since we cannot count any unreported days. Be sure to get lots of practice in this week too so you have as many days as possible. We'll be tallying up the winners as well as comparing studio numbers to find out which teacher's "team" won. We'll have that information for you soon.

Have a good week!

Congratulations and this Saturday

2010-05-11T16:39:00.001-07:00

Hi all,
Congratulations to everyone for your hard work on the festival this past weekend! Thanks for sharing Mother's Day with us!

This Saturday, May 15 we have another set of recitals at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church:

11am - piano recital in the chapel
2pm - violin recital in the sanctuary

Students performing in these recitals should plan to arrive AT LEAST 15 minutes before their assigned recital to tune and warm up. Advanced students in particular need to warm up before playing so they can play their best. Students should plan to dress nicely, (Sunday clothes - no sneakers, jeans, etc.) but in clothes that can performed in comfortably.

Everyone else is welcome to come and support our students. They've worked hard this semester! Then join us for goodies afterwards.

Festival

2010-05-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
Congratulations to those of you who performed in the recitals today. Fantastic job!

Next week we have our spring festival. Here's a reminder of the schedule:

Saturday, May 8 Dress rehearsal (Required)
2pm Suzuki rehearsal
3pm Fiddle rehearsal
Viola students, be sure to be at the Suzuki rehearsal to rehearse the Bach Gavotte with us!

Sunday, May 9 - 2pm concert. (Should be about an hour)

For the Suzuki rehearsal we will start with the pretwinklers for the first 5 or so minutes and then work our way from the twinkles up to the Bach Gavotte. That way, as the pieces get more advanced, the younger students do not have to stay for the entire rehearsal.

Here is the Festival performance order:

Fiddle Group

La Cumparsita (Tango)
Redwing
Bill Cheatem
Mason's Apron
Finnish Polka

Pretwinklers: Chicken's on a Fencepost (i.e. Peanut Butter Sandwich)

Violists: Judas Maccabaeus and Minuet 3 (please check these pieces with Maggie as I may have the it wrong!)

Suzuki

Bach Gavotte in G minor
The Two Grenadiers
Waltz
Musette
The Happy Farmer
Minuet 2
Etude
Allegro
May Song
Go, Tell Aunt Rhody
Lightly Row
Twinkle Theme and Variations

We will announce the order as we go. Please be sure to be practicing your festival pieces this week! We want to play really in tune and really together so it's a really enjoyable concert for our audience. Thanks and see you all soon!

Fiddle Assignment and recital clarification

2010-04-27T11:10:00.001-07:00

Hello Fiddlers!

This week please be sure to practice the following with your teacher, even if you are sure you are doing it perfectly:

Mason's Apron - intonation at the start of the B section. The F# and G# are both sounding really out of tune in the group. When you place your first finger on the the B and the F# (non-simplified version only) make sure you use the inside corner of the finger or the F# will sound really flat. Be sure to check with your teacher that you are doing this properly and do some slow practice to really listen! This may sound confusing, so ask your teacher to help.

Redwing - Practice the ending note with the repeat back to the beginning. The long note should be three beats. Count "1-2-stop" to get a clean sound. If you don't stop your bow we will not all sound together. Be sure to check this with your teacher.

Bill Cheatem - Practice intonation on the first two notes. Practice with your teacher for good rhythm to make sure you are not coming in early after half notes.

Tango - Continue to practice articulation and musical stuff Kirby mentioned. Remember the spot where you have 3 beats of rest!

Recitals
I also just wanted to clarify in case there was any confusion: although we have student recitals this weekend, not everyone is assigned to play. We have a total of 6 student recitals for violin or piano this semester, so don't worry, you're child is still performing on the day discussed with your teacher. However, everyone is welcome to come and attend the recitals this weekend, regardless of if they are performing or not.

Weekend recitals and Faculty member's orchestra premire

2010-04-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Student recitals!
We have some recitals coming up this weekend at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in the Sanctuary. The recitals will be at 11am and 2pm Saturday, May 1 and will be approximately an hour (or less). We'll have goodies available afterwards. Everyone is welcome to attend and support our students who are performing. Feel free to invite family and friends too. The more the merrier!

Students who are performing should plan to arrive no later than 15 minutes before the recital to tune and warm up so we can start right on time. Performers, please wear dressy clothes. Boys should wear nice pants and a collared shirt. Girls should wear nice pants or skirt and a blouse, or a dress. No jeans, t-shirts, tank tops, tennis shoes, crocs, or shorts. Please also be sure the clothing is comfortable for playing.

Ocarina Concerto Premire!
Our flute/ocarina faculty member, Heather Scott, will be premiring the first concerto ever written for ocarina this Sunday, May 2 at 2:30pm with the Town and Country Symphony Orchestra.
The details can be found that the Symphony's website at http://www.tcsomo.org/
The concert will take place at The Principia 13201 Clayton Road, Town & Country, 63131 and admission is free.

We will be having a free reception after the concert at:
Longview Farm House
13525 Clayton Road
Town & Country, MO 63141

You are invited to come and meet the composer and the performer! We hope to see you at our performances this weekend!

Summer and Fall Semesters

2010-04-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

I am starting to get questions about when the summer and fall semesters are. Here's the upcoming schedule:

The spring semester goes through Saturday, June 5.

The summer semester is from Monday, June 7 through Saturday, August 7. At least one violin teacher will be available for that entire time. Piano lessons will be available starting in late June/early July.

The fall semester is from Monday, August 9 through Saturday, January 15 (2011). There will be a one week break at Thanksgiving and a two week winter break from Sunday, December 19 through Sunday, January 2. The following spring semester will begin immediately after the fall semester.

I'd also like to remind you all that any make ups you need to fit in need to happen before the end of this semester since your tuition covers the full 20 weeks of the semester. If you plan to be away at the end of the semester (especially Memorial Day weekend) now would be the time to let your teacher know so a make up can be scheduled since we do not allow cancelations. Otherwise you won't be able to receive that lesson. Please also keep in mind that all of our schedules are extremely busy for the next month with all the recitals and performances coming up, so please avoid giving us last minute notice in scheduling make ups or letting us know about schedule conflicts.
We appreciate your help. Many thanks!

Group and Fiddle classes this Saturday

2010-04-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
We have our last set of group and fiddle classes this Saturday, April 24.

2pm: Suzuki Groups 3 and 5
3pm: Fiddle group

This is the last time we'll meet before the Spring Festival dress rehearsal on May 8th. We'll be at St. Timothy's as usual. See you then!

Pianofest and the St. Louis Symphony

2010-04-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hello All,
The Artist Presentation Society is presenting "Pianofest" with Andrew Sheffield next Sunday, April 25 at 3pm. It will take place at the Ethical Society of St. Louis
9001 Clayton Road, St. Louis, MO 63117. Mr. Sheffield will be performing works by Chopin, Beethoven, Belcom (some piano ragtime music), and Schumann.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15 ($12 seniors and $5 for students).

Next weekend is the weekend that that world famous violinist Pincas Zuckerman is coming to play with the St. Louis Symphony. He'll be performing the Bach A minor concerto which is a really awesome piece. It's not to be missed, especially those of you learning this piece!!!

Faculty Recital

2010-04-12T12:11:00.001-07:00

Come see our faculty recital this Saturday, April 17th at 7:15pm. We'll be at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church. Hope to see you there!

Studio, Group, and Fiddle Classes Saturday, April 10

2010-04-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
We've got classes coming up this Saturday at St. Timothy's:

1pm: Beginning/intermediate studio class
2pm: Suzuki groups 1,2 and 4
3pm: Fiddle class

If you're a Suzuki student planning to play in the festival and have not made it to a group class yet, please be sure to come. The festival is coming up soon and the more we all practice playing together, the better we'll sound!

We'll get the juice and cookies out in a timely fashion this time! Sorry about that last week!

Theory Assignment

2010-04-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Here's the theory assignment from the classes earlier today. Both classes have fairly similar assignments this week.

1. Try to identify major and minor key music you hear on the radio. Have fun doing a "car music quiz" with mom or dad. It can be a fun game. Also listen for major and minor keys in the upcoming recitals. (Hint: all the book 1 pieces are major!)
2. Practice open string melodic dictation. After finding all the open strings on the staff to create a "cheat sheet", parents can pluck strings slowly and let your child find them on the staff. Don't be too eager to jump in and help too quickly. Feel free to let them make mistakes and learn to correct them since that can be a good part of learning and internalizing the knowledge. Also, you can switch roles and have your child pluck strings and you put the notes on the staff. Be sure to make lots of mistakes so they can help you and show off what they know! With melodic dication it's good to start slow and just do a small number of notes like 3 or 4, or maybe even just one or two notes if he/she is finding it really challenging without parental help. You can always increase the number if it's too easy. Each little melody should be repeated a few times so your child has time to check his/her work. If dictation is quite a challenge, try just doing two strings only and spend lots of time reviewing how to put the open strings on the staff.
3. Blue jello dynamics! Try doing different dynamics on the blue jello cards: pp (pianissimo), p (piano), mp (mezzo piano), mf (mezzo forte), f (forte), ff (fortissimo!), cresc (crescendo = get louder), decresc (decrescendo = get softer), dim (diminuendo = get softer). If it gets pretty easy, kids can try playing the rhythms on their the arm or on open strings. Remember that big bows are loud and small bows are soft.

Since I got questions about this from some parents, for the difference between minor and major check out:

Major key - any piece on the book 1 CD
Minor then Major key- The first half of this piece is minor and the second half switches to major around 0:50. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1fLJcnFAWc (on electric violin)
Major then Minor key - This piece is in major at first. It switches to minor at about 1:40 and swtiches back to major a bit before 2:30. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xaIH7lTiK4 (it's Yo-Yo Ma and Itzak Perlman, so it's worth checking out just for the sake of beauty, as well as for listening for major and minor!)

Feel free to ask me or your teacher if you would like more listening ideas to learn to identify the difference. Remember major keys are associated with positive emotions and bright colors and minor is associated with negative emotions and dark colors, so try listening for how the music makes you feel to help identify the key.

Happy Easter!

Upcoming Concerts and Faculty Recital

2010-04-02T21:45:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!
There are some terrific concerts coming up this month at the St. Louis Symphony as well as our faculty recital.

The details for our faculty recital are below:

When: Saturday, April 17 at 7:15pm
Where: St. Timothy's Episcopal Church (808 N. Mason Road, Creve Coeur)
Who: Kirby Kay, Maggie Kline, Dennis Yeh, Heather Scott, and Lan Sin Lim
What: Chamber and Solo works by Brahms, Bach, Maloy, Mozart, and Clarke.

Admission is free so feel free to bring friends and family.

We hope to see you there!

AND....

Two world famous, not-to-be-missed violinists will be performing with the St. Louis Symphony this month! Details and tickets available here:
http://www.slso.org/concert/index.htm

Gil Shaham will be performing with the Symphony on Friday, April 9 through Sunday, April 12. He's got two different programs, one a Mozart concerto and the Stravinsky concerto, and on the other a Prokoviev concerto.

Here is a good video of Gil Shaham. Check out how nicely he uses his full bow, frog to tip. (Those of you who study with me - Laura - do you see now why I am constantly shouting "get to the frog!" on your tone twinkles and scales? It'll help you sound more like Mr. Shaham!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEvw9281hqM

Pinchas Zukerman is coming Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25. He'll be playing the Bach A minor concerto and will be conducting for some of the concert too. He is one of the last of the great old generation of violinists. It's worth catching him while you still can.

Here is Zukerman (on viola in this video) with Itzak Perlman. Check out how rich and full his tone is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoGErup6-xk&feature=related

(Please keep in mind when watching these youtube videos that we have no control over the content of the comments below the video. Occasionally rude comments do show up below youtube videos so it's best to ignore comments section.)

Happy music making and music listening this month!

Chicago Suzuki Institute July 4-9

2010-03-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

Really great/well-known Suzuki institute held each year up in Chicago. Details below:

http://suzukiassociation.org/email/133/

Theory and Studio Classes this Saturday

2010-03-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

This Saturday we have:

1pm: Advanced Violin Studio class (This is the last class till next fall)
2pm: Theory class A
3pm: Theory class B

For theory, we've unfortunately had to cancel the June 5 class so this Saturday will be the last class this semester, but we will be giving you all a refund for the June 5 class. We'll be resuming theory class in the fall.

Kirby will be teaching studio class and I'll be teaching theory this week.

We'll be at St. Timothy's as usual. See you all there!

Fiddle and Suzuki Groups this Saturday

2010-03-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hi All!

We've got Fiddle and Suzuki classes this Saturday at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church.

2pm: Suzuki groups 3 and 5.
3pm: Fiddle group. (We should be having our accordion player again!)

Treats will be available after Suzuki classes. In addition to some regular cookies, I've bought some allergy free, vegan cookies since some students have trouble with being able to eat the cookies we've had in the past. They might be good, they might be gross. You never know! Let us know what you think of them!

Bowfire

2010-03-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Bowfire is coming to St. Louis this week and will be performing at Powell Hall this Wednesday.

The information can be found here. http://www.slso.org/concert/index.htm#031710

I've had a chance to see one of the fiddlers, Shane Cook, in concert and he's fantastic.

Check it out. Should be a good concert!

Spring Break

2010-03-14T17:40:00.001-07:00

No lessons this week for spring break.

Have a great break and we'll see you all next week (week of March 22).

Theory and studio classes this Saturday, March 14. Assignements from fiddle and group classes

2010-03-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

First of an apology to those students who did not get a juice box this Saturday. I bought enough for everyone, but I forgot to bring one of the packs I'd bought so we ended up a bit short at the end there. Sorry about that, but hopefully the cookies were delicious in spite of having nothing with which to wash them down. They were a new brand I thought we'd try, so let me know if you all liked them.

This Saturday we have studio and theory classes with Ms. Kirby at St. Timothy's. The schedule is:

1pm: Beginning/intermediate studio class (50 minutes)
2pm: Theory group A (45 minutes)
3pm: Theory group B (45 minutes)

Group class assignment:
Continue to practice festival pieces during your review sessions. If you have not received a festival review sheet by now, please pester your teacher for one this week! Pieces need to be polished and performance ready 3 weeks before the Festival so it's necessary to start reviewing now!

Also, group class 2, in regard to metronomes, they can be purchased for $10-$40 or there are free ones online as well as very cheap iphone applications. (I have a terrific app called "Tempo" on iphone which was only $4.99.)

For online metronomes, these are rather fun because of mimicking the old-fashion type. You get to "wind" it before it starts!
http://simple.bestmetronome.com/

This one is pretty good I think.
http://www.metronomeonline.com/

I would definately recommend some kind of metronome to help develop rhythmic steadiness. They are also fun!

Fiddle Assignment:
We ran out of time to practice Bill Cheatem and Redwing this past week so be prepared to do a lot of them both at our next rehearsal on March 27th! I have a harmony part for the second half of Redwing that some of us will be adding in as well. We'll be trying it out to see how it sounds. Tango players, please do A LOT of intonation and articulation practice during practice sessions and lessons! We'll definately be rehearsing Tango at the next fiddle class.

Also, all fiddlers, be sure to practice "spelling" chords (ex. A C E, or D F A). If you feel courageous enough, try droning some back up notes with your teacher on Finnish Polka in your lessons this week.

Happy Spring everyone! Looks like it's arriving soon!

Group and Fiddle this Saturday

2010-03-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
We have more Suzuki and fiddle classes this weekend, Saturday, March 6th. We're back at St. Timothy's. We found out that we will unfortunately not have use of the Parish Hall downstairs, so one class will be in the choir room, one in the double classroom upstairs, and one in the main lobby. We'll show you where to go if you're not sure!

The schedule is:

1pm Advanced violin studio class (don't forget to bring your assignment that Kirby emailed!)
2pm Suzuki groups 1, 2, and 4
3pm Fiddle group

Thanks and Assignments/Another Summer Suzuki Institute

2010-02-28T20:25:00.001-08:00

Hi all,

Thank you all for your flexibility this weekend with the location change for group and fiddle classes. Although it was stressful to find out last minute that we couldn't be in our usual spot, Ivy Chapel was wonderfully accomodating and a beautiful space, so it was a nice provision. Thanks again to you all for bearing with us as we got things sorted out.

I'd like to pass along the assignments for the group and fiddle classes.

For Suzuki groups:

We'll be passing out review lists this week that will have all of the songs we'll be performing as a group on the Spring Festival at 2pm Sunday, May 9th. Students should plan to extensively review these pieces to have them performance ready. As pieces are ready, your teacher will give you a check for each piece on your review sheet. Once you receive a check for a piece, it should stay that good which means continually reviewing it. If you work on it really hard and then forget it, your teacher will have to erase the check! Any piece you would like to perform in the festival must be performance ready (have a check) at least 3 weeks before the Festival. Students must also attend the dress rehearsal on May 8th. (2pm-3pm Suzuki students, 3pm-4pm fiddle students.)

For fiddle students:

Please, please, please work on getting first fingers more in tune! We sound so great when we are all in tune! A great way to practice intonation is to practice scales or twinkles very slowly and really listen to the pitch. When you play too fast, you don't have time to hear if you are in tune. Try also practicing your fiddle music slowly and try stopping on the first fingers to hear if they sound in tune. Have your teacher help you with this if necessary.

Mason's Apron (fast version): in the second half, practice making sure your first finger doesn't "lean" when you place it on the E and A strings. If it leans you will be out of tune on one of the strings. Be sure to work on this with your teacher. (It's called playing on the "inside corners")

Mason's Apron (slower version): rememer the circle bows! and remember to watch the leader!

Finnish Polka: Have at least the first line learned for next week's rehearsal if you have not already learned this piece.

Tango students: I believe we may have our accordion player joining us for a bit this weekend. It's not confirmed yet, but we may get to rehearse with him a bit on Saturday. Because of that, let's really do some good practice on tango at home and in lessons this week.

Redwing: please work on the spot where there is a D# (high 3). We want to be really in tune there!

Overall, please really listen that you are in tune. Be picky! We sound great when we all match pitch together so let's do more of it.

Last of all, I received an email about another summer Suzuki institute. It's in Idaho. You can learn more here http://idahosuzuki.org/

Group class change

2010-02-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,
We've got group classes this weekend, but we'll be at a new place just for this weekend. We'll be at Ivy Chapel at 620 N. Woods Mill Road in Chesterfield 63017. It's just a couple of minutes down the street from the school.

Here's the schedule
2pm: Suzuki groups 3 and 5
3pm: Fiddle group.

We'll have goodies and juice available after the Suzuki group classes.

Sorry for any inconvenience the changed location causes. See you soon!

More Suzuki summer institutes and camps

2010-02-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

Hello,
I received another email about a Suzuki institute this summer. This one's in Ottawa, Kansas.
You can see the information here http://suzukiassociation.org/email/95/

The website for the program is here http://www.ottawasuzukistrings.org/

I also received an email about the summer Suzuki camp at SIUE. Here's the email:

What? SIUE String Camp
When? JULY 20-23, 2010 Tues.-Fri.
What time? 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Final Concert: Friday, July 23, 2:00 pm
Dunham Hall, Room 1115

Who should come? Violin, Viola, Cello Students
Parents and Observers welcome!

Vera McCoy-Sulentic, Camp Director Susanna Woodard, Co-Director
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Dunham Hall

Tuition: $135 includes 3 Daily Group Classes (Technique, Repertoire, and Music Reading/String Orchestra/Chamber Music)

Additional Opportunities:
Private Lessons: $45
Two 20 minute private lessons before or after classes.
Mariachi Violin: $35 (2-3 pm Tues, Wed, Thurs)
Class will be taught by Alicia Kulla Branz, former Suzuki Student, and teacher from Parkway School District
Musical Theater: $35 (2-3pm Tues, Wed,Thurs)
Class will be taught by Marc Schapman, SIUE Voice Faculty

Faculty: Teachers from SIUE Suzuki Program, Webster University
Community Music School Suzuki Program, and Local String Teachers

**Students 5th grade and above will be chaperoned at all times.
**Children younger than 5th grade must be accompanied by Parent or Responsible Adult

Further information: Contact Vera McCoy-Sulentic: vmccoys@siue.edu,
Susanna Woodard: swoodar@siue.edu or SIUe Suzuki Program Office:
Ph: 618-650-2839 618-650-2839, Fax: 618-650-5988, www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/music/suzuki

Go to www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/music/suzuki for more info!

Let your teacher know if you have any questions or if you need suggestions for summer programs. In the meantime, stay warm!

TANGO!

2010-02-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

Hi again Fiddlers!

I've got the last of the fiddle recordings for you. Thanks to Kirby and Maggie for recording it for me! Since the recording is just to help with practice, it doesn't have the piano part. When we perform it, our pianist will be filling in some of the gaps with some cool piano parts.
You can download the audio file at http://public.me.com/laurayeh. Just go to the file that says "Fiddle Tunes Spring 2010."
See you at our next fiddle class on Saturday, February 27th at 3pm. Kids that play the tango will be in a separate class with Kirby for the whole class. Everyone else will be with me (Laura) downstairs in the Parish Hall.

See you then!

Theory/reading classes this Saturday

2010-02-15T09:20:00.001-08:00

Hi Guys,
We'll be having the theory/reading classes again this Saturday, February 20th at 2pm and 3pm. We'll be at St. Timothy's as usual. See you then!

Festival Attendance Policy

2010-02-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
We've had some questions about attendance policy requirements for students wanting to take part in the spring Festival on May 9th as well as who would be taking part in the festival.

First of all, the festival is for Suzuki students (we will have a play-in which is a traditional Suzuki group performance), viola students who attend viola studio class, students in the fiddle group, and hopefully students who take part in the violin studio classes will also have a performance.

To participate, students must regularly attend their classes, and must attend the dress rehearsal on May 8th. For fiddle students this means that they cannot miss more than 3 of the 6 scheduled classes and must attend the dress rehearsal.

Please feel to contact me (Laura) if you have any questions. Thanks and Happy Valentine's Day!

Yet another summer Suzuki institute

2010-02-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

Here's another Suzuki institute this summer. It's at Stephen's Point, Wisconson and has a good reputation.

For details check out the website at http://www.uwsp.edu/cofac/suzuki/

Theory this Saturday

2010-02-07T19:31:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone!
Just a quick reminder that this coming Saturday, the 13th we'll have theory classes at 2pm and 3pm at St. Timothy's church.

Fiddle

2010-02-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys!
I've finally got some sound recordings up for our tunes. I haven't gotten tango recording up yet since it's a two part piece, but will have it shortly. Everything else we are performing this semester is there though. I did it all on my iphone, so hopefully the quality is decent enough. I've posted the audio files on my idisk account at http://public.me.com/laurayeh where you can download them. If you need me to make you a CD copy, please let me know.

Thanks also for bearing with me Saturday since I'd left the papers we needed at the school. We'll be working all semester on how to read chord charts, so don't worry if you're a little confused now. By May we'll have worked on it enough that it'll be easy! Our next fiddle rehearsal will be February 27th. We'll divide into two groups. Students who play the tango will rehearse upstairs and the rest of us will be down in the Parish hall. Be prepared to work on Mason's Apron, Redwing, and Finnish Polka.

Theory/reading class assignments

2010-02-01T19:43:00.001-08:00

Hi theory/reading kids and parents!

Thanks for coming to the class Saturday. I had a blast! You guys are all fantastic! I have just a couple of important items:

1. In theory class A (2pm class) when I taught the hand signals for solfege I did the hand signal for "Fa" upsidedown. (whoops!) The thumb should point down, not up. Those of you in the 3pm class, I got it right that hour so no worries there. I found a chart for the hand signals on this website to help you all practice this week:
http://www.kodaly.org.au/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=21&Itemid=74

You just have to go down to where it says "hand sign diagram" to open the pdf document.

2. Did everyone who owns their own materials have everything? Nothing missing? I am missing a purple "C" card and am wondering if anyone ended up with an extra purple "C." I'm also considering labeling with my initials all my cards so it's easy to tell which are mine. Those of you interested in this, let me know. I have a labeling gun and could bring it next time for before or after class.

3. Homework assignments:

2pm class:
-Practice making 3rds. Remember that it is every other card. (ACEGBDF ACEGBDF....) If this is still a bit confusing, try it in your lesson with your teacher this week.
-Practice your solfege (do through So) and hand signs. You can play snake, what's missing (we played that on Saturday) or Fine. You'll need to have the solfege and hand signs memorized for the next class. Sing as much as possible when doing solfege.

3pm class
-practice making 3rds by playing 3rds fine or making a 3rds snake. Can you start from a letter besides A? Can you go up and down through your letters/notes? How fast can you say your thirds? Lightening fast?
-Practice finding the open strings on the staff. You also have an open string reading assignment that I have given to the teachers to play with you this week in the lesson. Be sure to ask them for it!
-Practice your solfege (Do through D0) this week with hand signs. You can do solfege fine and make a solfege snake if you'd like. Be sure to sing the solfege and memorize the hand signs. (See above for a link to the chart). If you are feeling really ambitious, you could try making 3rds with solfege even though that isn't something we've tried in class yet!
-Write a rhythm on a card and practice passing with a family member to a steady beat. Try something repetitive like Puur-ple or huckleberry.

We will have our next theory classes on Saturday, February 13. Can't wait!

Suzuki opportunities

2010-02-01T10:59:00.001-08:00

Hi all,
I just got some mailings about Suzuki opportunities coming up. This March, the annual Suzuki workshop will be taking place at Webster Community Music School on Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 7th. The registration deadline is February 8th. If you are interested, please contact me (Laura) for details. I also have registration forms available.

This summer, the New Mexico Suzuki institute will take place July 25-30. Details can be found on their website at www.nmsuzuki.org.

Saturday Classes

2010-02-01T10:55:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

This Saturday we'll start up our Saturday group classes at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church (808 N. Mason 63141.)

1pm: Advanced violin studio class.
2pm: Suzuki Groups 1, 2, and 4. (Students have new class assignments, so be sure to check with your teacher)
3pm: Fiddle Class

We'll have goodies available after the Suzuki group class. See you there!

Summer institutes

2010-01-29T11:26:00.000-08:00

I just received an emailing about a Suzuki summer institute in New England. If you're interested, you can check out the program on their website at

http://www.newenglandsuzukiinstitute.org/

I'll have more information about summer institutes later when the institute listings come out in the Suzuki journal this spring.

Fiddle Music

2010-01-26T09:55:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone,
Everyone should have received their fiddle music in lessons by now. However, I'm also posting this semester's music here as well. I will not be posting the mariachi tune just yet since we're still working on getting the violin 2 part done. If you do need an extra copy of the violin 1 part, let us know. I'll have both parts here soon. I'm also not posting "Redwing" from the Mark O'Connor method book volume 2.

All files are now in my idisk folder so there won't be any advertisements. When you go to the link below, click on "Fiddle Tunes spring 2010. The songs will show up. Click on any of the songs you need and select download when prompted.

http://public.me.com/laurayeh

Since this is the first time I've used this program, let me know if you have any trouble with it. I'm still learning my way around it. I will also have the sound recordings of the tunes available quite soon too. I apologize for the delay.

Fiddle group will have it's first class on Saturday, February 6th at 3pm. Please note that the time is later than last semester. Students should definately be prepared to work on The Mason's Apron and La Cumparsita. We'll also review some of last semester's music to warm up our ensemble skills.

Can't wait to see you all and make some music together!

Welcome Back

2010-01-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone and Happy New Year!

I wanted to welcome you all back. We'll be starting up lessons again today and we're excited to see you all and hear about your break!

We'll be handing out recital scheduling forms this week in lessons so we can get your recital dates assigned as soon as possible. We also need to know which extra classes (if any) you'll be signing up for this semester. We'll need that information no later than this Saturday, January 16th since your semester invoices will be going out next week.

We hope you had a great vacation and we're excited about another semester of progress!

“The Road to Carnegie Hall” Benefit Concert

2009-12-06T19:57:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone,
Here is the information for an upcoming concert here in St. Louis to benefit local music education. It looks like a good line up of musicians.

“The Road to Carnegie Hall” Benefit Concert

Tuesday, Dec. 22 7 p.m.
KHS Keating Center
Enjoy performances by musically gifted KHS orchestra alumni, including members of the St.
Louis Symphony Orchestra, during this wonderful night of music. Proceeds benefit the KHS
Symphonic Orchestraʼs trip to Carnegie Hall next Spring. Several district orchestra students
from the elementary, middle schools and high school, will also showcase their talent alongside
these former Pioneers:
* Cellist Patrice Jackson, media-proclaimed music prodigy and daughter of Symphonic
Orchestra Director Patrick Jackson;
* St. Louis Symphony Orchestra members Felicia Foland (bassoon) and Rebecca
Boyer Hall (violin);
* The Freivogel Family Strings - siblings Meg, Liz, Ben and J, will reunite for this one night;
* Emilee Newell, graduate of Indiana Universityʼs renowned music program; Sarah
Drake, a fourth year music major (violin) at Indiana;
* Joe Kaminsky, elementary strings teacher for the Kirkwood School District and
violin instructor for 30 years;
* There will also be a special performance by Kirkwood Orchestra
director Patrick Jackson!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!
Ticket prices include a dessert reception following the concert.
NAME: _________________
Phone: _________________ E-Mail: _________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
$20 for Adult Tickets
X No. of tickets ______
$________
TOTAL: $________
Open seating for all tickets. Please mail this form to: KHS Orchestra Benefit Concert, Kirkwood
School District, Attn: Carolyn Pierce, 11289 Manchester Rd., Kirkwood, MO 63122.
Make checks payable to KHS Orchestra Benefit Concert.
All tickets will be held at the Will Call table in the Keating Performance Center and may be picked
up the night of the concert.
Please call 966-5350 for more info!

Recitals and Fiddle

2009-12-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
Next weekend we have some recitals going on and you are all welcome to come see the students play (regardless of if you are scheduled to play or not.) The students have been working hard to prepare their pieces, so it should be a great set of recitals. Saturday, December 12 at 11am will be our first recital and it will include a performance by our fiddle group. The fiddle group will be performing 6 fiddle tunes including, Celtic, Bluegrass, Old-time, and Klesmer tunes.

The next recital will be Saturday, December 12 at 2pm, and our last recital will be Sunday, December 13 at 1:30pm. After all of our recitals we'll have goodies to eat and would love the chance to visit with you, so feel free to stay. We hope you have a great week and hope to see you at the recitals!

Toy room at St. Timothy's

2009-11-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

The secretary at St. Timothy's church has asked me to remind everyone who comes in for group classes, fiddle, and recitals to be sure to put things away in the children's room upstairs if their kids go and play in there. They've had a few Sundays now where the toys have been left out after we've been there.

Let's keep things nice and neat so the church will continue to enjoy having us use their faciltiy. Thanks!

Fiddle Rehearsal Saturday

2009-11-29T15:30:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We'll be meeting for our dress rehearsal this Saturday, December 5th at 2:30pm. We are anticipating that the rehearsal will be approximately one hour. We'll be at St. Timothy's as usual. Since this is our last rehearsal and we have a lot to do to get ready for the recital, we need to have everyone there. Thanks everyone for making such a commitment to fiddling!

A few notes for practice speeds this week:

Sally Gardens - practice with metronome at around 70=quarter note

Back Up and Push - practice second half (cross shuffle) with metronome set at around 104=quarter note

Johnny's Gone to France - Slow tempo practice with metronome at around 92= quarter note. The second time through will be twice as fast for everyone who can play it really fast, so the tempo will be 92=half note. (You'll fit 4 eighth notes into each beat instead of two.) For those of you who still would like to count quarter notes, the metronome marking will be 184=quarternote.

Other notes on practicing this week:

King of the Faeries - please look over your notes and bowings this week. There are a few memory lapses and intonation issues happening that hopefully will be mostly sorted out before we meet on Saturday. We'll get the ending worked out Saturday too so be sure to practice that!

Sally Gardens - please be sure to count on all half and dotted half notes. We're still not quite all together sometimes. In the group, if you are not sure, just watch Maggie's bow and don't change before she does.

Back Up and Push - besides metronome practice to keep our speed steady, please check bowings this week and watch that Fs and Cs are not too flat.

Orientalische - Great job off beat people!! Melody guys, let's check bowings and make sure we're playing the second half in tune; there are some sour notes in there at times.

Thanks guys and happy practicing!!

Thanksgiving Break

2009-11-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

Next week we'll have Thanksgiving break from Monday (23nd) through Saturday (28th), so there will not be any lessons. Some of us may be doing make up lessons during that time, so check with your teacher to see if she is planning to see you for a make up during the break. Otherwise, have a great break! Don't forget to do lots of practicing. Our last set of recitals is coming up really soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Group and Fiddle this Saturday (Nov 21)

2009-11-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,
We'll have our last fiddle class this Saturday at 2:30pm at St. Timothy's again. Students who will be performing Back Up and Push need to arrive at 2:15.

We'll be working on all the tunes. After this class, we just have our dress rehearsal on December 5th, so we need everyone there this Saturday to get it all pulled together for the concert.

Suzuki groups 3 and 4 will be meeting this Saturday from 3:30 to 4:15pm at St. Timothy's. We'll have treats/snacks available after class. This will be the last group class till February. Hope to see you all there!

Fiddle Assignment

2009-11-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

First of all,
Thanks to everyone in Suzuki group 1 for being so flexible this past week. The church had a mixup with their scheduling so we didn't have the (much larger) room we were supposed to have. Thanks for being patient and good sports about being in such a small room!

Fiddlers, here's your assignment for this week:

Fire on the Mountain: Soloists, please practice with a metronome so we can keep the tempos steady as we switch from solo to solo. Your target tempo is between 140 and 150 for a quarter note beat. Don't forget to play out. We want to hear how good you sound!
Orientalische Melody: Those of you playing the melody, please work on your intonation. Those low ones are still a bit icky. Continue to practice shifting too. Let's plan to play it a bit faster as long as the offbeat part can be played fast enough.
Offbeats!!! Practice them in your lessons!!!! We need to get them much more steady. Try them at home too. Parents you can clap the downbeat while kids play the offbeat.
Johnny's Gone to France: Sounding great! Let's get it just a bit faster for our final tempo. Remember we decided we'll play it 2 times through for the performance
Sally Gardens: Practice line 3 for good counting on the half notes and dotted half notes.
The King of the Faeries: Practice the second half for memorization. Be sure to be playing all the right notes and slurs! We will work on getting it more in tune at the next class too. Those of you doing the ending, please practice this in lessons this week to get the timing right.
Back Up and Push: We didn't get to this Saturday, so please do lots of intonation practice on the second half as well as rhythm practice in the first half. (Subdivide if needed for rhythm.) For intonation, watch the Fs and Cs. (The low 2s.) Most of the time for most people they are extremely flat.

Students playing Back up and Push, could you come 15 minutes early to the next fiddle class? We will start at 2:15 on Back Up and Push.

Thanks!

Fiddle and Group Classes this Saturday

2009-11-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

Hi All!

First of all, a big congratulations to all of our performers on the Halloween Recitals. I thought it was our best set of recitals yet! You all were so well prepared and poised on stage. I really enjoyed each performance and all the costumes! Good job!

This Saturday, November 7th we'll be having group classes again.

Fiddle will meet in the Chapel/Choir Room from 2:30 to 3:15. We'll have the whole group together. Please be prepared to work on all the fiddle tunes, especially Orientalische Melody.
Please keep in mind that we just have two more classes and one rehearsal left, so we really need everyone to make it to these last few classes so we can be ready for our performance in December.

Suzuki group classes 1 and 2 will meet from 3:30 to 4:15. Group 1 will not be divided into two groups this time.

Join us for snacks afterwards!

Suzuki Summer institutes

2009-10-21T10:00:00.001-07:00

Hi all,
The Suzuki Association of the Americas has posted a preliminary list of the Suzuki institutes for this coming summer. A complete listing will be coming out in this winter.

http://suzukiassociation.org/events/institutes/

I'd strongly recommend attending a Suzuki institute this summer as a great way to motivate kids throughout the year and keep consistent practicing going through the summer. Kids get to have classes with top-notch teachers and musicians, perform individually and in groups, make new music friends, and take part in a lot of other fun activities. If you are able to fit one into the schedule and the budget, it's well worth it. Some of the top teachers in the country teach at these workshops, so it's a great opportunity. Many of the institutes are quite respected and well-established, so feel free to talk with us about which ones would be good for your child to attend. If you have questions about whether or not an institute would be good for your child, please let us know.

I'll post some information later on about summer fiddle camps too. There are some really fun ones!

Conserving resources

2009-10-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,
I'm wondering if we can talk with all the kids that are coming for lessons about being a bit less wasteful with the cups and water. We're seeing a lot of waste, cups being filled with water and then none of the water being drunk, using 3 or 4 cups (or more) for one person within a half hour period, pouring water into the drain just for fun, etc.

We'd like to make sure we're being a bit more environmentally friendly and we appreciate your help.

Thanks!

Free Music Mind Games workshop on Oct 23

2009-10-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis chapter of the Music Teachers National Association will sponsoring a free workshop here in St. Louis by Michiko Yurko, the creator of Music Mind Games. These are games to teach theory and music reading skills in a fun, encouraging way so students learn to read music fluently and without fear of failure. Students learn to understand the logic of music reading as well as music theory so they don't have to resort to guesswork.

I have spoken with the Jennifer Spohr who is putting this together and it sounds like they are eager to have a lot of people show up. She's told us to invite as many people as we like, so you are certainly all welcome. You don't need to worry about having any of the Music Mind Game materials if you don't already have them.

The information for the workshop is listed below and can also be found on Michiko's website:
www.musicmindgames.com

Teacher Workshop in St. Louis, MO (Friday, October 23, 2009)

Clinician: Michiko Yurko
Group: St. Louis Missouri Music Teachers Association in affiliation with MTNA
Date: Friday, October 23, 2009
Time: 10 am - noon
Location: United Methodist Church of Green Trails, 14237 Ladue Road, Chesterfield, Missouri
Fee: n/c
Contact: Jennifer Spohr jennifer@spohrpiano.com, home phone 636.230.9884, cell 314.307.0161 Reservations: If you are not a member of this group, please contact Jennifer. Nonmembers are welcome!
Materials: If you own a Puppy Packet, please bring it. A limited number of materials will be available for sale following the workshop at a 10% discount.
Preparation: Participants should wear comfortable, sit-on-the-floor clothes. Table and chairs will also be available

Hopefully we'll see you there!

Group and Fiddle classes 3 and 4 this Saturday

2009-10-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

We have fiddle and group classes again this Saturday, October 17 at St. Timothy's.

Fiddle will meet from 2:30 to 3:15.

Let's split up into two groups again. Back up and Push students will be in the choir room and all other students in the Parish Hall.

Groups 3 and 4 will meet from 3:30 to 4:15.

We'll have our usual goodies afterwards!
See you there!

Fiddle and Group Classes 1 and 2 this Saturday

2009-10-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
We'll be having fiddle and group classes this Saturday, October 10 at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church again. Please plan to get to your classes early so we can tune before class and start right on time.

Fiddle will be meeting from 2:30 to 3:15. We'll be dividing into two groups. Students who have learned all or some of Back Up and Push should plan to come to the choir room. You'll also be working on Orientalische Melody in addition to Back Up and Push. All other students will be downstairs in the parish hall and should plan to work on:
Sally Gardens
Johnny's Gone to France
Fire on the Mountain
The King of the Faeries
offbeats/backbeats. You'll need them for the back up part for Orientalische Melody.
If anyone would like to play their made up solo, that would be cool!

Suzuki Groups 1 and 2 will be meeting from 3:30 to 4:15. Group 1 will be divided again. Students who are on foam-a-lins or playing/plucking open strings will be upstairs with me again. Students up through the Twinkle Theme and Variations will be in the choir room with Kirby. Group 2 students will be downstairs in the parish hall with Maggie. If you're not sure where to go, let us know and we'll get you to where you need to be!

We'll have goodies available in the parish hall afterwards. I'll make sure they are peanut butterless so everyone can enjoy them this time!

Online Tuners

2009-10-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

It's a great idea to invest in a tuner. It's important to keep those fiddles in tune, and now that we're coming to the colder weather, they are going to start going REALLY out of tune! While we carry some tuners at the school and there are a number of good ones for sale online, you can now use free online tuners or the iphone application. Maggie has the application on her iphone, so talk with her if you are interested in getting it.

Although I still prefer a portable tuner, this online tuner is pretty good in a pinch if you've misplaced your tuner or haven't gotten one yet. (Just be sure to use the fine tuners rather than the pegs on fractional size violins. The website says otherwise.)

http://www.get-tuned.com/violin_tuner.php

You just click on each note and tune the strings to the pitch you hear.

Those of you who have the assignment to sing A everyday to develop perfect pitch or good relative pitch who do not have a tuner can use this one to check if you are singing in tune!

Now if you sound out of tune, you'll know it's not your violin....

Matt Glaser Worshop CANCELED

2009-09-30T08:03:00.001-07:00

Hi Guys,
Matt Glaser had a medical emergency in his family yesturday and is having to postpone his trip to St. Louis. He'll be rescheduling his workshop here once his family member is feeling better.

Sorry for the late notice!

Concerts and Workshops this Week

2009-09-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
There are two FREE events coming up this week. One is the workshop with jazz violinist Matt Glaser I mentioned last week. It will be this Thursday, October 1st at 7:30pm at University United Methodist Church. It looks like it'll be fun, so I'll be there to check it out. Hopefully I'll see you there!

Below are the address and directions.

University United Methodist Church
6901 Washington Ave
St. Louis MO, 63130

Directions from I-170
Take Forest Park Parkway (Exit 1E)
Left onto N. Big Bend
Right on Delmar
Right on Trinity
Right on Washington
The church should be on the right. This should get you there ok. There always seem to be construction projects in University City, so be on the lookout!

The second event is a free recital this Saturday, October 3rd at 1:30pm at Southern Illinois University. Violinist and Suzuki teacher Scott Conklin will be performing with Dr. Linda Perry on piano. They performed this recital over the summer and it was so successful they are bringing it here. The recital will take place at Lovejoy Library on the SIUE campus.

If you are interested in attending, please email me or call the school for directions.

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful Fall weather!

Fiddle and Group Class home assignments

2009-09-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
Great job today in classes today! Those of you in fiddle group and group class 4 were given assignments for your home practice. Here’s a reminder of what you need to practice (in addition to what your teacher has given you in your lesson.)

Fiddle Group:

We had some new vocabulary words today that I’ve put in blue.

1. Chops: Once you’ve got them, they are all about creating a really groovy rhythmic effect. Practice at least one day each week. Don’t forget; chops are WAAAY down at the frog, almost on the silver clip. It’s a heavy bow stroke, so be careful not to hit the string WITH the silver clip! Chops move a bit sideways towards your fingerboard rather than perpendicular to the string to create that “chh” sound. Remember that chops are the ONLY time you can play with a straight bow thumb.

2. Creating Solos: Talk with your teacher about creating a solo for Fire on the Mountain. Even if you are not a soloist this semester, this is a great thing to learn. Fiddle players usually do this on the spot when they are performing or jamming (which is called improvising).
Remember, the three good ways to make a fiddle solo out of the basic tune are to:
• Change the rhythm
• Add extra notes
• Add double-stops (playing two strings at once)

3. Off-beats/Back-beats: Practice these with a parent this week. Your parent can clap on the beat. See if you can play on the off-beat. For good back up playing, this should be done at the frog. Do them all up-bow if you can. Remember to start from the string with something a bit like a colle stroke. (Ask your teacher if you forget what colle means! ) For back up playing, these notes will eventually be double-stops.

4. Sally Gardens: We need to make sure we’re counting better on the phrase endings so we’re really together. Because it’s an air this tune is SLOW! Don’t be in a hurry! At the places that have long notes, have your parent count out loud to make sure your rhythm is good. At the dotted quarter notes, count 3 eighth notes before playing the next note. (This is called subdividing). Practice these spots repetitively at home!

Group 4:

Kirby asked you all to make sure you have Gavotte from Mignon memorized and sounding good for the next class. (Maybe take a look at the section with all the flats. The intonation can get pretty icky there!) Also start paying attention to the names of your pieces and the composer. It’s good to know what it is you are playing!

Famous violinists and Upcoming group classes

2009-09-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to Maggie for making the cool new montage on the wall! It's got tons of famous violinists on it, so be sure to ask us about our favorites that are good for listening!

Next week, I'll send out a list of some really good violinists that are good to listen to or go see perform. One of them (Pinchas Zuckerman) is performing in St. Louis this spring! More details on that later.

This Saturday (Sept 26) we've got fiddle and group classes again. Fiddle will be at 2:30 to 3:15 and Groups 3 and 4 will be from 3:30 to 4:15. We'll be at St. Timothy's again at 808 N. Mason.

Fiddlers be prepared to play a swing Suzuki song, Orientalische Melody, some of Bach Up and Push, along with the tunes we did last week. We'll also talk a bit about how to create your own solos and how to play back up during solos and such.

See you there!

Matt Glaser Jazz Violin Workshop Oct 1

2009-09-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
Andrew Driscoll and Victoria Brannan of Fiddleback (and also local Suzuki teachers) are bringing in famous Jazz violinist Matt Glaser for a workshop 7:30pm Thursday, October 1 at University United Methodist Church in University City. Matt Glaser is the head of the String Department at Berkley College of Music in Boston and is well-known and respected as a fantastic musician and string educator. The workshop is free of charge and students are welcome to bring their instruments and join in the fun!

I'm not sure of what level students need to be to feel comfortable joining in, although certainly kids at late book 1 and up should be fine. Younger students are welcome to observe if the material seems a bit too challenging. I think more advanced students (book 6 and up) will also find it informative.

Hope to see you there!

Listening to Music is Key to Musical Success! (part 2)

2009-09-15T09:34:00.001-07:00

Continuing the discussion of good violin music!

I would suggest having a special listening assignment each week in addition to the daily listening to the Suzuki CD/your current pieces. Find a violin piece each week to listen to and tell your teacher about it in the lesson! Be sure to tell your teacher the violinist/group that played, the name of the piece and the composer too. That's important information to know!

Now onto more music...

Romantic music:
Music from the Romantic period is very emotional, intense, and virtuosic, all the stuff kids go for. It really shows off what the violin can do. There are literally HUNDREDS of pieces I could list here, so I’m just going to mention a few of the major concertos that are an absolute must for listening.

Violin Concerto in E Minor by F. Mendelsohnn: This is one of the greatest pieces ever written for violin. Of the artists who have recorded this, my favorites are Isaac Stern, Nathan Milstein, and Yehudi Menuhin. There are a number of current violinists who have done great recordings of this piece too. Kyung-Wha Chung, Sarah Chang, etc. I would avoid Joshua Bell’s recording as he changed parts that really should not be changed…He's a fantastic musician worth listening to, so check out some of his other recordings!

Brahms Violin Concerto: I love David Oistrakh’s rendition of this, although pretty much every good violinist out there will probably have a recording of this amazing piece. I also like Ida Haendel’s version, although that’ll be hard to find I think. I like this concerto even more than the Mendelssohn, if that’s possible. It’s one of the most difficult violin concertos.

The Sibelius Violin Concerto: This piece is amazing. I have been listening to Jasha Heifetz play this and it really makes me want to go practice more so I can learn it. (Heifetz usually has that effect on violin players!) The second movement is especially beautiful. I believe that Leonid Kavokos also has some good recordings of this piece. He’s one of my favorite living violinists and he often comes to perform in St. Louis. He’s definitely worth checking out. Disclaimer though: his posture and position of his bow arm are both atrocious even though he plays amazingly well. I guess it’s a freak of nature…

The Tchaikovsky Concerto: This is probably the most famous violin concerto. David Oistrakh and Itzhak Perlman both do AWESOME things with this piece. I grew up listening to Isaac Stern’s recording of it with the Philidelphia Symphony, so I’m partial to that recording too.

Brahms Sonatas for Violin and Piano: I have to mention these even though they are not concertos. These are astonishingly beautiful. My favorite is No. 1 in G major. The first movement is…there aren’t words for it… Also check out the Franck Sonata for Violin and Piano. (The one in A major) The fourth movement is heavenly.

There’s also a lot of great short violin pieces (around 2-3 minutes) from the Romantic period that would be good for kids to hear. I’ll mention those another day as well.

I’m out of time to tell you about the 20th century music for violin, although much of that would be less appealing to kids anyway, but there is some that is tonal and quite enjoyable.
This should get you started. Talk to your teachers if you have questions about what would be good for your child. Also check in with us if you need help choosing what artist to hear. There are a number of amazing violinists both from the past as well as those alive today that are really essential for any good violin music library. I’ll get a comprehensive list of them later.

Happy listening!!!

Recitals: A change

2009-09-15T09:31:00.001-07:00

Hi Guys,
We need to make a change in the recitals. The fiddle group will perform on the 11AM recital on December 12th instead of the 2pm recital. Sorry for any confusion.

Thanks!

Stay tuned for more listening ideas!

Fiddle and Group classes 1 and 2 this Saturday

2009-09-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
We have fiddle class meeting this Saturday at 2:30pm to 3:15pm.

We'll be working on:
Sally Gardens
Fire on the Mountain
The King of the Faeries
Johnny's Gone to France
I'll also be teaching a harmony part to the Klesmer tune.

Don't worry if you don't know all these tunes. Most of us don't yet, so just play what you feel comfortable on.

Also, Suzuki group classes 1 and 2 are meeting from 3:30pm to 4:15pm. Group 1 is for Pretwinkle songs through Lightly Row and group 2 is for Song of the Wind through Etude. If you are unsure which group class your child is in, talk with your teacher.

We'll be at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church at 808 N. Mason Road. The church is right next to the Andrew's Academy and the Hope Montissori school. The driveway winds around to the back of the church where the parking lot is. We use the side door up the ramp as the main entrance will be locked.

This particular week, we will not have use of the parish hall, so classes will be in the choir room and in one of the larger classrooms upstairs. I'll have a sign up to show you where to go. We may need to divide group class 1 into two classes just for this week since we have a smaller space than usual.

Students are welcome to stay and have cookies and juice after the Suzuki group classes.

See you soon!

Fiddle Music

2009-09-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
I've finally figured out a way to get you the easier version of Back Up and Push.

http://www.mediafire.com/?yjnzrnjmojo

You just need to click on "click here to start download." The website puts ads up sometimes, so I would suggest parents doing the download and not kids. I don't know what kinds of ads pop up on file hosting sites, so better safe than sorry.

I'm sorry I can't seem to figure out how Dennis nicely hyperlinked the fiddle music straight into the blog, but hopefully this will work out just the same.

The King of the Faeries

I've added a few slurs here and there to make the bowing come out easier. Your teacher will point out where these slurs go.

Let me know if there are any problems getting the music.

Fiddle kids I'll see you soon, on September 12 for our first class!!

Listening to Music is Key to Musical Success! (part 1)

2009-09-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!

Disclaimer: This is a really long post with lots of good information. Save it for a time that you can sit down and read it all. I know you’re all very busy! To help out, I’ve divided this topic into two posts so you have more time to digest the info.

Listening to good violin or fiddle music is the best way to develop a good musical ear. Although listening to the Suzuki CD and your current piece on at least a daily basis is also helpful, nothing beats having music on as often as possible. In fact, listening is equally important to daily practice. As a child I remember we always had music on, Jazz, Classical music, Baroque music, Classic Rock, pretty much everything. (We were eclectic in our tastes.) It’s also good to get to some good concerts as that is a great way to motivate kids and show them the possibilities of their instrument. That’s another post for another day. (I’ll post from time to time about upcoming concerts to see in St. Louis.)

Today I’ll be posting on good Classical violin music to listen to. I’m saving fiddlers for another day. I find itunes is a great resource as is Pandora.com. On Pandora you can create a free radio station. I’ve discovered many an artist or wonderful piece/song through Pandora. This list is not exhaustive in any sense, but is a starting point. I have included music here which features the violin. There is a ton of orchestral music and chamber music which is fantastic. I’ll put that in another post another day.

Baroque music:

Solo Partitas and Sonatas by J. S. Bach: I have Rachel Podger’s recordings which are incredible. She’s a Baroque style violinist which means she plays the music the way it would have been heard in Bach’s day. The Henryk Szeryng recordings are an excellent example of the more modern approach to Bach, as are the Nathan Milstein recordings. (Milstein is one of my absolute favorite violinists. He’s definately worth checking out!) The 2nd Partita is particularly beautiful, especially the “Ciaccona.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partita_for_Violin_No._2_(Bach) for more info on Partita No. 2.

Devil’s Trill by Giuseppe Tartini: This is an AWESOME piece. There are several violinists who do a nice job with this piece. I have Rachel Barton Pine along with others.

Corelli trio sonatas: These are for violin, viola de gamba (precursor to the cello) and harpsichord. Very cool music if you like Baroque stuff.

Classical music:

Music from the Classical period is wonderfully refined and demonstrates the beautiful tone of the violin.

The Mozart Violin Concertos: These, along with Mozarts violin/piano sonatas are pretty much the crowning jewel of the Classical violin repertoire. Concertos 3, 4, and 5 are the ones most worth listening to. Joshua Bell does a beautiful job with Mozart, so it’s worth checking out his recordings.

The Mozart Sonatas for Violin and Piano: You can’t go wrong with these. I don’t have a particular artist I listen to for these. There are several that are good.
The Beethoven Sonatas for Violin and Piano: These are getting into the end of Classical period stuff but are still wonderfully refined. Absolutely beautiful and worth checking out!

Stay tuned for info on some of the great violin music of the Romantic period including several of the best violin concertos!

Back Up and Push: The Playable version

2009-08-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,
I'm trying to upload the simpler version of Back Up and Push (without all the crazy double stops) but am having some technical difficulties. I should have it for you this weekend though so you can get started learning it. Once the tune is learned, we can add in some of the less troublesome double stops to make it sound more Bluegrassy!

I would make sure to learn the cross shuffle first. (It's the second half of the tune with all the 16th notes). Get the pattern by practicing on open strings. Eventually the pattern will be played very fast, so if your bow knows what to do at a fast speed, it'll be a lot easier to play.

Keep a lookout for the music here...

Calendar

2009-08-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
Here is our calendar of violin events that we have planned so far. Workshops, studio classes, and Dennis' masterclasses have not yet been set but we'll add these to the calendar soon.

Don't forget to get these dates into your calendar!

Group Classes: Saturdays 3:30 to 4:15

September 12: Groups 1 and 2
September 26: Groups 3 and 4
October 10: Groups 1 and 2
October 17: Groups 3 and 4
November 7: Groups 1 and 2
November 21: Groups 3 and 4

Fiddle Group Classes: Saturdays 2:30 to 3:15

September 12
September 26
October 10
October 17
November 7
November 21
December 5 (Dress rehearsal)
December 12: 11am performance

Recitals: Saturdays 11am and 2pm

October 31: Halloween Recital for kids through 5th grade (wear your costume!)

December 12

How to Subscribe to this Blog

2009-07-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

We are currently trying to work out some kinks in the subscription process for our blog. In the meantime, you can still subscribe to us. See below for detailed instructions:

1. Write your email address in the box on the right top corner where it says “your email address”. Click the button that says “get email updates.”

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“FeedBlitz could not add your subscription. Please try again or contact support.”
Ignore the message.

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4. Next enter your email address and choose how you receive your updates. I would suggest email as that is all we have tested ourselves.

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New Fiddle Music

2009-07-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

The new fiddle music is finally here! I have listed the link below where you can retreive the music to print out. There are currently six songs:

Orientalische Melody (Klesmer)
Back Up and Push (Bluegrass)
Fire on the Mountain (Old-time)
Johnny's Gone to France (New England)
Sally Gardens (Irish)
The King of the Fairies (Irish)

I have included only the basic tune for Fire on the Mountain, but will be adding solos later. There will be some solo parts available in the other tunes as well. For Back Up and Push, I have provided the most advance version. (Caution: CRAZY hard). A more playable version will be available on this blog in a week or two.

We will be recording the music in August, so keep a look out for the audio files.

Click here to get your music!

Don't forget to fill out a fiddle registration form by August 10th to be a part of the fiddle group this fall!

New Blog

2009-07-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
We are starting this blog for students and parents of the St. Louis School of Music so we can more easily keep you informed about upcoming events and offer various resources to help your music learning experience. This blog will include:

*Calendars for events such as Suzuki group classes, recitals, group performances, fiddle group classes and rehearsals, masterclasses, and parent workshops

*Helpful articles and tips on practicing for parents and students

*Fiddle Group music and audio files (music to be learned this semester)

*Fiddle Group music archive (music learned in previous semesters)

*Twice a month, we hope to include feature a new youtube video of outstanding violin or fiddle playing.

We'd love for you to subscribe to our blog so our updates and resources can be sent to your email box. To subscribe to our blog, check out our next post entitled "How to Subscribe to this blog."

We hope you enjoy our blog! If you ever have any suggestions on how to improve it, feel free to email Laura Yeh at laura@stslschoolofmusic.com.

Thanks!