The Violin Lesson Plan: Activities and Theory

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Lesson Objectives
Introductory Part (3 minutes)
Activities (24 minutes)
References

Introduction

Students: Four 4-6-year-old children participate in the lesson. Their parents observe the lesson.

Materials: Boxes in a form of a violin, pencils, personal violins and bows.

Lesson Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will learn how to hold the violin and bow in the rest position, how to hold the violin in the playing position, and how to hold objects with the thumb and middle fingers.

Introductory Part (3 minutes)

The teacher greets students with a bow and asks students to bow too, explaining that a bow means the respect for both a teacher and a student (Suzuki 54). The teacher notes that today students will learn how to greet each other and a teacher perfectly, how to take a right posture for playing the violin, how to hold the violin and bow.

Activities (24 minutes)

Holding the Violin in the Rest Position and Bowing (5 minutes). The teacher asks students to take their violins and bows carefully and stand in a row in front of him. The teacher demonstrates how to stand straight with his feet together. The violin is placed under the right arm, and the bow in the right arm points to the floor. Students are asked to stand in the same position, and the teacher puts the students’ violins under their right arms and helps take bows (Kempter 82). The teacher helps each student stand properly and hold the violin in the rest position. Then, the teacher asks students to repeat his movements step-by-step together. When students are ready and hold the violin and the bow in the rest position, the teacher bows to students and ask them to bow too. The teacher says that students have perfectly coped with this task and thanks students.

Holding the Violin in the Playing Position (5 minutes). The teacher says that now students are ready to learn how to start playing the violin. The teacher demonstrates how violinists hold their violins and bows while playing, and he plays a lively melody to demonstrate what perfect pieces can be played by violinists when they know how to hold the violin properly. The teacher helps each student to place the violin in the playing position out from the rest position. The teacher assists each child, and other students observe and repeat the movements (Comeau 60). The teacher guides students to hold their violins and bows in the rest position and counts to three: 1 – students place their violins in the rest position, 2 – students bow, 3 – students look up and place their violins in the playing position. Students are asked to repeat the movements two times.

Rhythmic Games (3 minutes). The teacher says that now students can perfectly hold their violins in the playing position, but their arms need rest. The teacher invites students to play the rhythmic game. The teacher asks students to listen to the melody and plays the melody with the rhythm “Run, Susie, run!” (Starr 61). The teacher repeats these words loudly and claps the rhythm, students are asked to sing the rhythm and clap it too.

Training How to Hold the Violin in the Playing Position (5 minutes). The teacher asks students to hold not their violins, but boxes in a form of violins and place them in the playing position when he counts to three. When students are ready, the teacher asks them do not use hands for holding the box. If some boxes fall, the teacher encourages students to try one more time. When all students can hold a box for several seconds without the help of the right hand, the teacher asks them to wave their hands. Then, the teacher asks students to shake each other’s hands while holding the box (Starr 69).

The Game for Training How to Hold the Violin in the Playing Position (3 minutes). The teacher says that now students can hold their violins without the help of their hands, and now they can play the game. The teacher asks students to take their boxes-violins and place them in the playing position. The teacher sings the rhythmic melody and asks students to stand on the left foot, stand on the right foot, touch the right ear, and touch the left ear (Katz 22). Then, the teacher asks students to look at each other and shake each other’s hands listening to the teacher’s rhythmic melody.

The Game to Train Fingers before Holding the Bow (3 minutes). The teacher says that students should also learn how to hold the bow perfectly in order to play the violin. The teacher asks students to put their boxes back and look at the teacher’s fingers. The teacher demonstrates the position of the thumb and middle fingers and assists students to cope with it. The teacher asks students to make circles with their thumb and middle fingers and demonstrate them to each other (Bugeja 20). Then, students are asked to take pencils with their thumb and middle fingers. The teacher sings a rhythm and demonstrates students how to move their pencils in the air, holding them with their thumb and middle fingers.

Closing Part (3 minutes). The teacher thanks students for their work during the lesson and asks them to train how to hold pencils with their thumb and middle fingers at home.

References

Bugeja, Clare. “Parental Involvement in the Musical Education of Violin Students: Suzuki and “Traditional” Approaches Compared.” Australian Journal of Music Education 1.2 (2009): 19-28. Print.

Comeau, Gilles. “Suzuki’s mother-tongue approach: Concerns about the Natural Learning Process.” The Canadian Music Teacher 63.1 (2012): 59-68. Print.

Katz, Mark. The Violin: A Research and Information Guide. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.

Kempter, Susan. How Muscles Learn: Teaching the Violin with the Body in Mind. New York: Alfred Music, 2003. Print.

Starr, William Joseph. The Suzuki Violinist: A Guide for Teachers and Parents. New York: Summy-Birchard Incorporated, 2000. Print.

Suzuki, Shinichi. Nurtured by Love. New York: Alfred Publishing Company, 2013. Print.