MUSE 355 String Pedagogy Handbook

Name: Justin Phillips Date: 10/14/18

Required Topics

Violin and Viola Instrument Set-Up

Definition: Violins and violas should be placed on the left shoulder
with the scroll pointing at about a 45-degree angle. Rest the left side
of the jaw bone to the chin rest. Finally place your four fingers on the
fingerboard and your thumb across from the index finger. The fingers
should be curved and relaxed.

1. Instruct your students to act like Pinocchio. Ask them to tell a

bunch of lies so their nose will grow. When their nose gets longer, it
should go over top of both the bridge and the scroll. Explain how the
nose, bridge, and scroll should all be aligned in a straight line.
2. Have students pretend to be the statue of liberty. Begin with
instructing the students to hold the violin or viola in the air with the left
hand on the left upper bout like the statue of liberty. Then have them
bring the instrument down the shoulder, and have them place their
head on the instrument.
3. Tell your students that a mouse is sitting in their left hand. The
mouse should have enough space to look out the space between
your thumb and index finger. Then poke the bow through the space to
demonstrate. This will help students improve their left hand position.
4. Instruct the violin and viola players to point their left feet at a 45-
degree angle. Tell them that the violin should sit directly over the left
foot at the same angle.
5. Have students feel the platform. Instruct students to use their right
hand to feel the “shelf” that their instrument will rest on. Guide
students by explaining to feel the side of their necks, the top of the
shoulders and their collarbones.

Cello Instrument Set-Up

Definition: Cello players should sit straight at the front of their chair.
The cello should rest in between the player’s knees. The heel of the
cello should rest against the player’s chest, and the scroll should be
on the left side of the head. The thumb should rest across from the
second finger. Fingers should be naturally curved and relaxed.

1. Have students pretend that there is a spike on the back of their

chair. If they are not sitting on the front portion of the chair, they will
get poked by the spike. This encourages students to sit forward, with
their chest against the heel.
2. Instruct students act like they are a jack-in-the-box. Every now and
then yell out to the class, “Jack-in-the-box!” When you yell this, cello
players should stand very quickly and easily. If their feet are flat on
the ground and positioned correctly, they should be able to respond
very quickly. This encourages flat feet and good posture.
3. Instruct students to act like they love the cello more than anything
in the world. When you play the cello, you hug it with your knees, and
get your chest as close as you can to the heel. You love it so much,
it’s almost like the heel and the students’ chests are inseparable.
4. Have cello players pull out their endpins to the proper length. Once
the endpin is set and they are comfortable in a correct playing
position, use white out or a marker to mark how long the endpin
should be extended.
5. Have students quickly raise and lower both of their shoulders. This
frees their shoulders and arms so they can move more efficiently.
This hinders students from one of their shoulders forward while sitting
in playing position.

Double Bass Instrument Set-Up

Definition: Bass players can either stand or sit on a stool when they
play. The bass should lean against the right leg and the scroll should
be on the left side of the head. The thumb stays on the back of the
fingerboard and lines up with the second finger.

1. Explain to your students how they’re going to play football in

orchestra. Have bass players pretend they are holding a football and
are about to throw a perfect spiral pass. This reinforces their left hand
position. Bring in a football to allow them feel what it’s like.
2. Have students check their balance of the bass. Instruct them to
slowly lower both of their arms. The bass should rest on the students’
thighs and abdomen. If they are unable to balance their bass without
their arms, they do not have the bass in the correct position.
3. Teach bass players the bass player salute. The bass player salute
should be their normal hand position. To double check this, place
your index finger on your temple, and the middle finger on the nose.
When passing the students give them the bass players salute and
have them do the same. This reminds them of proper left hand
position.
4. Bring in and show the students a C clamp. Compare the C clamp
with their left hand. Explain how the thumb acts as the screw and
keeps the left hand on the fingerboard. Also explain how if the C
clamp were all the way extended and the screw were touching the
other side of the C, it would be aligned with the middle finger.
5. Instruct bass players that they need to help their parents bring the
groceries inside the house. Present them with an empty egg carton.
Ask bass players to form their left hand shape by placing their second
and third fingers on the outer side of one egg cup, the first finger on
the cup closest to the second finger, and the pinky finger on the cup
closest to the third. Be sure their thumb is on the other side across
from the middle finger.

Violin and Viola Bow Hold

Definition: A violin and viola player holds the bow in their right and.
The index finger should rest on top of the bow at the first joint. The
middle and ring finger should rest slightly over the bow. The pinky
should be curved and rests on top of the bow. The thumb should line
up with the middle finger and should be bent in between the hairs and
the pad.

1. Begin with instructing your students to create a bunny in their right

hand. The index and pinky finger should be the bunny’s ear. The
second and third finger should be the bunny’s two buck teeth, and the
thumb the bottom tooth. This is the beginning of forming a proper bow
hold.
2. Have students form the bunny and place the stick in between the
bottom and buck teeth so it can eat the bow. “It ate so much; the
bunny is going into a food coma!” Then it falls asleep. Instruct
students to rest the ear or index finger on the stick and the pinky
finger curves on top of the stick. Then, slide the sleeping bunny over
to the frog.
3. Tell students that today in class, we are going to work out! Tell
them about the push-ups that we will do as class. Then, explain to the
class what a pinky push-up is. Have students push their pinkies on
the back of the frog to lift the bow up. This will strengthen students’
hands and pinkies.
4. Give students a straw and instruct them to form their hold on the
straw. Explain how the straw should not be bent or dented in any
way. Because the straw is light and flimsy, it will easily be bent or
dented if a student applies too much pressure.
5. Have students participate in the activity, Leaning in the Wind.
Instruct students to hold a pencil diagonally in the air. Have students
form the bow hold on the pencil and lean their hand towards the floor.
This helps students feel pronation of the hand on the bow stick.

Cello and Bass (French) Bow Hold

Definition: Cello and bass players also hold the bow in their right
hand. The hair of the bow should be parallel with the floor. All four
fingers should be curved and resting over the frog and the stick. The
thumb should be in between the pad and the frog, but only making
contact on the bottom of the pad. The thumb should also be aligned
with the middle finger.

1. Have bass and cello players form the same bunny as the violin and
viola players. However, the bunny is allergic to the stick of the bow.
So when you stick the bow in between its teeth it becomes sad.
Instruct the students to droop their index and pinky finger down to the
same level as the buck teeth.
2. Tell your students to pretend they are rock climbing. They reach
their right hand up and find the perfect place to put their hand. Their
four fingers can reach over and into the crevice, and their thumb rests
on the bottom.
3. Instruct students to hold their right hand at their side with the bow
stick resting at its balance point. Demonstrate how the bow rests on
the fingers without the thumb. The fingers are just like a shelf for the
bow to rest on. Then have students slide their thumb up across from
the second finger, bending their knuckles. Finally, have them
evaluate their position.
4. Have students close their eyes and form their bow position.
Individually fix each students bow hold while they continue to keep
their eyes closed. Finally tell to them to focus on how a correct right
hand position feels like.
5. Have students turn their bows all the way up with their thumbs and
hair pointing the ceiling. This allows students to further check if they
have correct right hand position. Instruct them to look for their thumb
touching the bow correctly and their middle knuckle curved outward.

Détaché
Definition: Each note is played with a separate bow stroke. The
notes should be equal length.

1. Compare the students elbow as a fence door hinge. The side of

the arm connected to the shoulder is the fence, and the side with the
hand is the door. The fence stays still while the door moves. Have
them practice different speeds caused by different weather like a
calm or stormy day. This will help violin and viola players develop
détaché bowing skills.
2. Attach a paper or plastic tube to the top of the strings for the
students to bow through. This will help students learn the proper
bowing motions, keep them from bowing too high or low, or bowing
slanted.
3. Compare the bow to a car that is in neutral. The car is much too
heavy to pick up so it must stay on the string. However, since the car
is in neutral it can move back and forth. This will remind students to
keep the bow on the strings when playing détaché.
4. Instruct your students to hold rosin in front of them. You can then
give students sample rhythms to bow on the rosin. Have students
sizzle the rhythm. This helps them rosin the bow, and practice
détaché bowing at the same time. Remember that basses can only
downbow on the rosin.
5. Have students imagine that they are playing crescendos and
decrescendos as they bow. During down strokes, have them imagine
they’re doing a crescendo during down strokes and a decrescendo
during up strokes. This will cause students to think about pronating
without you telling them.

Staccato
Definition: Each of the notes are separated and have distinct space
in between them.

1. Have your students imagine that their bow is their hand, and the
string is a hot stove. When you touch a hot stove with your hand, you
immediately pull away because it is so hot. So as soon as the bow
vibrates the string stop, so you don’t get burnt.
2. Have students imagine that they are skipping a rock. The string is
the water and their bow is the rock. The rock only makes contact with
the water for a very short amount of time before it’s in the air again.
The bow should only have applied pressure on the string for a short
time before it “bounces” off.
3. Compare starting a staccato note to opening a door. The motion
your hand makes when rotating a doorknob to open a door is similar
to start a staccato stroke. Lean the hand back and forth into the bow
stick to start a staccato stroke, just like you were opening a doorknob.
4. Emphasize the silence necessary for the spaces in between
staccato notes. Explain how the less sound there is, the louder the
rest is. A loud rest is when the bow rests on the string with no motion,
and complete silence is the loudest rest. Challenge students to create
the loudest rests possible in between each staccato note.
5. Have your students perform Bow Pivots. Instruct students to learn
their bow hand into the stick towards the index finger. Then have
them pivot by moving their blow closer and farther away from them,
while keeping the same contact point. Have students experiment with
different contact points.

Spiccato
Definition: Spiccato is an off the string, controlled bouncing bow
strike. It is similar to staccato, but actually starts and ends off the
string. It produces a very crisp and short sound.

1. Have students begin by showing them the balance point of their

bow. Have students balance the bow on only their thumb, and slide
the thumb until the bow is perfectly balanced. Then explain how this
is the point of the bow that should be in contact of the string when
playing spiccato.
2. Illustrate diagrams that represent different heights and lengths of
the drop and lift of the bow. Have the students listen to what each
length and height feels and sounds like. Refer to the diagram when
explaining what you want the spiccato to sound like in context of
music.
3. Remind students of when they were first learning how to write
using the lined paper. “Remember how you first learned how to write
the letter U?” The letter starts above the dotted line in the middle,
then it moves in a curved fashion to touch the bottom line at a single
point. Then you curve the line back above the dotted line in the
middle. This is just like spiccato. Have students slowly practice
drawing U’s with their bow, making contact with the string at one
single point.
4. I can demonstrate spiccato by dropping a rubber ball onto the
ground. Gravity brings the ball down and it briefly touches, before the
elasticity of the ball causes it to bounce back up. Spiccato bowing
should be like bouncing a rubber ball.
5. Challenge the students to “bounce the ball” but have them imagine
that the ball is pretty flat. When you drop a flat ball it bounces back
up, but only a very short amount. Students should try and recreate
this with spiccato bowing. They should bounce the bow with a little
space in between the string and bow as possible.

Louré
Definition: Louré bowing is two or more notes that are linked
together with a slight articulation between the notes. It should be in
one bow motion and sound pulsing or swelling.

1. I can demonstrate louré bowing by modeling or playing Theme

from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. This musical example includes 8
examples of louré bowing in 16 measures. I can model this and also
have my students play it.
2. Instruct students to perform Wavy Bows. Have students play a long
tone. During the long tone tell students to press and release their
hands slowly on the bow. As their skills develop, have students stop
their bows momentarily between the release of one wave and the
lean starting the next.
3. You can compare both the Wavy Bows and louré bowing in
general to waves at the beach. You add pressure like a way coming
in, and release like the waving going back to the ocean. Remind
students that this is a calm beach, the waves come in and touch your
toes, not knock you over.
4. Compare articulating louré bowing to beginning to open a
doorknob but then changing your mind. You move your wrist and
twist the doorknob halfway, but then release and turn away. You add
a little bit of pressure for each articulation, but not enough to fully
open the door.
5. Instruct each student to hum to themselves, then pat their chest.
As their hand hits their chest, the humming becomes slightly
emphasized. It is not accented, just a little more emphasized. This is
just like louré bowing.

Slurred Staccato
Definition: Slurred Staccato is playing multiple notes in the same
bow direction, but with distinct space in between each note.

1. Begin with playing a staccato passage for the students. Next play
the same passage but with slurred staccato. Ask students what was
different about the second time. If they need help, play it again and
tell them to focus on the bow. The students will realize you are
playing staccato, but kept the bow moving in the same direction.
Explain how this is slurred staccato.
2. Have the students imagine that they are a yard sprinkler. The
sprinkler shoots water out in one direction. The sprinkler also only
moves a little bit, then stops, then moves a little more. This repeats
constantly. Tell your students to be a sprinkler when they play slurred
staccato. For fun, ask them to perform the sprinkler dance move for
visual representation.
3. Explain to students that when we play slurred staccato, it’s just like
when you turn on your car alarm when you can’t find your car. The
car produces a pitch that repeats with a good amount of space in
between each pitch. Tell the students that they should try and
replicate this when they play slurred staccato.
4. Instruct students to play a short and easy passage all slurred.
Next, instruct students to play the same passage all staccato. Finally,
explain how they are going to play a combination of both of them.
They play all in the same bow direction just like a slur, and all
separated noted just like staccato.
5. Explain how there are walls between each of the notes. Because of
all of the walls, each note is very separated from each other. The
students will need to keep each note separated or else they might hit
the wall and damage the sound.

Retake
Definition: A retake is when a string player moves their bow in the
air, and “resets the bow” at the frog. A down stroke follows each
retake.
1. Explain to the students how wind players retake with a breath. This
allows them to reset their lips, and play. String players are doing the
same thing when they retake. Challenge string players to breathe as
they retake.
2. Have students imagine that their bow is falling down in a
parachute. They do not want to slam the bow hairs into the string, this
may make extra noise or cause their down bow to have poor tone
quality. Have students imagine the bow is falling in a parachute and
gently lands on the string.
3. Challenge students to not just land and play on the string, but to
purposely engage the string. When students think about truly
engaging the string, it makes them take a moment of consciousness
to begin the down bow with a full vibration.
4. Have students imagine that their right hand holding the bow is on a
track. The track is in the shape of a half circle that moves from the
instrument and then back down to the instrument. When they retake,
they can’t take their hand from this track. Draw several diagrams of
how big or small the track is depending on the tempo and dynamics.
5. Show and demonstrate to students all the times retakes may be
used. There could be rests that show a retake, a breath, or even a
fast passage that doesn’t indicate any break. Students should be
prepared to do a retake in any fast or slow passages. Have them
practice both.

Hooked Bow
Definition: A hooked bow is two notes being playing in a single bow
stroke. Hook bows always include a long note followed by a short
note. Each note should also be separated when using hooked bow.

1. Start students out with playing normal slurred staccato on half

notes. Then slowly vary the rhythm to long short rhythms in slurred
staccato. Move from half notes to dotted quarter and eighth notes.
Then to dotted eighth and sixteenth notes. Finally, explain and
demonstrate what a hooked bow is. This will help them learn and
understand hooked bow more easily.
2. Instruct students to put their instruments down and to skip across
the room. Before they start tell them to pay attention to the pattern
their feet make as they skip. Next, compare this with a hook bow.
Both skipping and a hook bow include a long, short, long, short
pattern.
3. Tell the students how hooked bows sound a lot like a heartbeat.
The heart has a longer and then a shorter beat. This is just like
slurred staccato. The class can then practice hooked bows at
different heartbeats or tempos. Have students play a hooked bow
pattern for watching T.V., going up the stair, or running a marathon.
4. Explain to the students how you have broken your foot. Then begin
to walk/limp with the broken foot. Explain to the students that
because of the broken foot, you have to alternate a long and
weighted stride with the good food, and short light steps with the
broken foot. Finally explain to the students how this is just like hooked
bow with an alternating long-short pattern.
5. Begin students with just air bowing the hooked bow patterns. Next,
instruct the students to play the same hooked bow patterns on an
open string. Finally, have students add their left hand and play
different notes on the hook bow patterns. This approach helps them
learn hooked bows without being confused by their left hand.

Slur
Definition: A slur is when you play multiple notes all in one
continuous bowing.

1. Tell students how their right hand and their left hand got into an
argument. Since they’re so mad at each other, they don’t want to do
the same thing anymore. The left hand starts to play more notes, and
the right hand starts to play less. For example, the left hand could be
doing four quarter notes while the right hand is only playing one
whole note.
2. Have students participate in Trill Slurs. Instruct students to slowly
move their bow and play a long tone in their right hand. On their left
hand, ask them to play a trill. This will help students begin to
coordinate pulling their bows in one direction while playing multiple
notes in the second.
3. Also have students participate in Hooking for Slurs. Begin with
having them play hooked bow with different staccato pitches. Next,
ask students to play the same notes as legato as possible, still in the
same direction like a hooked bow.
4. Explain that overnight, one of the school cooks came in and put
honey all over every ones bows! Because they are so sticky, they
have to move more slowly on all of the strings. The left hand can still
play all the fast notes, but the bow can’t move as fast.
5. Ask students to imagine their kitchen faucet. When you turn the
water on, a continuous stream of water comes out. When you move
your finger through the water stream, you can see that the stream
does not stop. Students should try to model this in their slurs.
Changing notes does not stop the continuous sound of the bow.

Tremolo (Bow)
Definition: A tremolo (bow) is a rapid back and forth movement of
the bow on the same note. It is indicated by three slanted lines on a
notated pitch.

1. Tell your students to wave to each other. Then explain how the
waving motion from their wrist joint is just like the motion you use to
play tremolo on the string. Using the upper half of the bow, have
students wave their hand only moving the bow an inch or two.
2. Forte and louder dynamics use the whole arm instead of the hand.
To keep students from moving their arms too much, have students
imagine that they are an action figure. They only have one joint, so
they can only move their arms back and forth.
3. Have your students play different dynamics of tremolos. For
example, play scales using tremolos in piano and forte. Have
students play crescendos and decrescendos using tremolos.
4. Give students a piece of candy at the beginning of rehearsal. Act
as if the piece of candy gave you a sugar rush. Show the students
that your hands are shaky. Then when you pick up your instrument,
model a tremolo. Have them imagine they have sugar rush or are
super hyper to play a tremolo.
5. Instruct your students to play forzanzos and forte pianos. Let them
practice by pulling the bow faster and longer on the first stroke, and
then light and soft tremolo stroke after.

Sul Tasto
Definition: Sul Tasto is a bow stroke performed over the fingerboard
of the instrument. It is a light bowing with flat hair.

1. Sul Tasto should only be played at rather quiet dynamics. Let

students experiment with trying to play louder dynamics with a sul
tasto bowing. They will soon realize this creates a scratchy and
unpleasant sound compared to the softer sul tasto.
2. Draw a diagram of the bridge, strings, and fingerboard. Create
several four lanes in between the bridge and the fingerboard. Have
students experiment with playing in different lanes. Next, Create two
more lanes on the fingerboard. Have students play from lane to lane
and have them listen to how the sound changes as they go over the
fingerboard.
3. Have students imagine that the two lanes on the fingerboard are
the left lanes of an interstate. The faster cars drive on the left side of
the highway. The same should be done on the bow. Students should
use a faster bow when playing sul tasto.
4. Draw a traffic sign on the board. The sign should say, “No trucks in
the left lane.” Remind students that they need to try and be a smart
car instead of a truck when playing sul tasto. There bow should not
have a lot of weight.
5. Instruct students to close their eyes. While their eyes are closed,
demonstrate a short passage twice. Play one of the passages
normally on the string, and the next one sul tasto. Then instruct
students to open their eyes and say which passage was the sul tasto.

Sul Ponticello
Definition: Sul Ponticello is a bow stroke performed over the bridge
of the instrument. It is very similar to Sul Tasto, but is performed on or
near the bridge. It should still be a light bowing with flair hair.

1. Tell students of the recipe analogy for sul ponticello playing. “My
grandmas secret sul ponticello recipe” for the best sul ponticello
sound. Add flat bow hair, faster bow speed, no weight on the bow,
and the bow location on the bridge. “Voila! That’s amazing sul
ponticello.”
2. Use the same lanes as you created to teach sul tasto. Draw a
diagram of each of the lanes, but add an extra lane a little over or
immediately next to the bridge. Instruct students to play through all of
the lanes moving from sul ponticello, all the way over to the farthest
sul tasto. Ask them how the sound changes in different lanes.
3. Create a Venn diagram on the board showing the similarities and
differences of sul tasto and sul ponticello. Students will realize that
they are very similar. They both have light bow strokes, flat bow hair,
and a relatively fast bow speed. They will also realize that the only
major difference between the two is the location of the bow stroke.
4. Play a short passage twice using both sul tasto and sul ponticello.
Ask students to describe the different sounds of them create. Guide
them by explaining to listen to the mood of the sound. Sul tasto
sounds hollow, airy or sad. Sul ponticello sounds more eerie and
creepy. Instruct students to create mental images for each of these
sounds.
5. Demonstrate, have students listen to, or have students play a
passage with sul ponticello. Ask students to describe the music and
why the composer may have chosen to use sul ponticello in their
music. Explain to students how this is a very suspenseful, chilling,
and eerie sound. You wouldn’t use sul ponticello is a happy or
cheerful piece.

Collé
Definition: A short, accented stroke that is performed by placing and
lifting the bow on the string using only the fingers of the bow hand.

1. Have students practice Frog Collé. Students practice using short

collé strokes at the frog of the bow. First they will practice all down-
bow and then up-bow. Finally, they will practice alternations between
the two. This allows for the teacher to see if students are primarily
using their fingers instead of their arms to lift the bow.
2. Show students how similar the sound of a short accented collé
stroke and the sound of a loud pizzicato produced near the bridge is.
Have students practice on making their collé strokes sound just like
their pizzicato.
3. Tell students that collé means glued. Have students imagine that
their string is extremely sticky. They need to add extra weight to the
bow if they want to move it and pull it up from the string.
4. Have your students imagine that they are digging for treasure.
Their bow is a shovel and the string is the ground. The shovel or
string starts motionless above the ground. They will need to add extra
weight to the bow if they want to get deeper. Then, pull the shovel
back up off the string.
5. Explain to your students that an imaginary bungee cord from the
ceiling is attached to the bow. You have to pull on the cord in order
for the bow to touch the string. Because the bungee cord has so
much tension, you can only touch the string for a small amount of
time before the chord pulls it back up.

String Crossings
Definition: String crossing is when a string player moves from one
string to another while playing.

1. Choose or create music that has rests in between pitches that

involves a string crossing. This gives younger or new students time to
complete a correct string crossing. Gradually use shorter rests in
between each string crossing until students are able to cross strings
without any rest.
2. Have students participate in Bridge Rocking. Instruct students to
place their bow on the top of the bridge at the bows balance point.
Next, ask students to rock their bows over the bridge. Tell them to try
and rock the bow so that they move to each string on the instrument.
This lets students understand how far apart each string is and to
follow the natural curvature of the bridge. Next, instruct them to try
bridge rocking at other parts of the bow instead of the balance point.
3. Tell students that the class is going to be construction workers. As
the cross strings, they should be building a bridge for the sound to
cross from string to string. Their goal is to make a bridge that keeps a
continuous sound. If the sound has a pause in between string
crossing, the bridge fell apart and the sound fell down. Emphasize
that string crossing should not cause any breaks in the sound.
4. Have your students imagine that they are writing in cursive when
they perform string crossings. When you right in cursive, your pen
can move in many directions, but the pen doesn’t get lifted up. It
moves around the paper in a swift, fluid motions. String crossing
should be like this. You need to be able to move to any string, but
must do so in a swift, fluid motion.
5. Tell students to imagine that their bows are teeter totters. As they
move from the lowest to the highest string, their bows should model a
teeter totter. This imagery will allow them to work on the proper
rocking of the bow as they cross strings.

Hand Frames
Definition: Hand frames show string players where their fingers
should be on the fingerboard in any specific key. Hand frames show
players where the half step is. Hand frames are mostly applicable for
violins and violas.

1. Compare a hand frame to a Lego minifigure. If you need to adjust

the arm or the leg of a Lego minifigure, you can easily move the part
that that you want to move. The same should be done when adjusting
a finger in a hand frame. Instead of moving the entire hand, remind
students to only adjust the finger that needs to be moved.
2. Play four notes on a single string for your students. Start with finger
one and move chronologically to the fourth finger. Instruct your
students to listen to where the half step was. Finally, ask them to
show their hand with the correct hand frame that was used. Ask
students to play the same notes using the same hand frame.
3. Choose a string to play on, and play a note for each of the four
fingers. Ask your students to listen where the half step is and echo
the four note pattern back. Begin with scaler motion and more
advanced students can echo back the pattern in a variation of the
four notes. When students are able to understand where the half step
is, they should be able to assume the hand frame.
4. Compare the hand frame to the steel beams in a skyscraper. The
steel beams must be places correctly otherwise the building could
collapse. The hand frame is the same for the right notes. If a
students’ hand frame is not correct, their performance will fall apart.
5. Instruct students to perform tetrachords with their eyes closed. Ask
them to listen to the pitches they played. Were they the right notes?
Were they in tune? Before they adjust their hand frame, ask them to
look at their hand and what needs to be changed.

Shifting
Definition: Shifting is when a string player moves their hand up the
fingerboard to a new position on the string. This can be used to
player higher, or make passages easier. The note at the bottom of a
position is usually the first note of the new, shifted position.

1. Provide students with a very short and simple melody. Be sure that
this melody can be played on one single string. Then, instruct
students to play the melody by only using one finger. Their finger will
have to slide up and down the fingerboard to play all of the notes.
This will begin to teach students the movement they make as they
shift.
2. Have students imagine that their hand is in a cast. They can slide
their whole hand up, but they aren’t able to move their fingers as they
slide up the fingerboard. Remind students to put their cast on before
they shift. This will cause them to be conscious about keeping their
fingers in the same position as they shift.
3. Explain to your students how a metal rod connects their thumb with
their finger. For violin and viola players, the rod connects their thumb
to their index finger. For cello and bass players, it connects to their
second finger. As they shift, their thumb must follow the
corresponding finger because they are actually attached to each
other.
4. As you begin to teach student shifting, explain how they how one
finger is the guide for the hand. Instruct students to use their last
finger to shift from the old position to the new. Then put the new
finger down. Students will shift using their last finger before putting a
new one down. This last finger in the original position is the guide for
all the other fingers and tells them where they should go.
5. Provide each student with a tissue paper. Instruct them to place it
between the strings and the fingerboard. Tell them to slide their left
hand up and down the tissue. This should help students relax their
hand while they are learning to slide up and down the fingerboard.

Tone Production
Definition: Tone production is the quality of sound produced by an
instrument. In a string instrument, tone production is influenced by
bow speed, bow weight, and bow placement.

1. Ask students to imagine their bow as a paintbrush. If they were to

take a paint brush and lightly brush it over the canvas, it would create
a smooth line across the canvas. Contrarily, if they were to take the
same paint brush and press it into the canvas hard and fast, it would
look much different. The same goes for the bow on the string
instrument. The way students move their bow across the strings
creates different sounds.
2. Demonstrate different tone qualities for the students. Ask them to
analyze your sound. “Did it sound like a songbird? Or maybe like a
crow? Next, ask them how they would produce a pretty sound like a
songbird or a louder and raspier sound like a crow. Finally, let them
experiment trying to produce the two or variations in between.
3. Remind students of each of the lanes on their strings. Instruct them
to play long tones as they switch through each of the lanes. Instruct
them to play from lane one (sul ponticello) all the way to lane 6 or 7
(sul tasto). Ask the students which lane sounded best? Finally allow
them to experiment in finding the right lane for their best sound.
4. Remind students that their tone production needs to be the same
when they are both down bowing and up bowing. Instruct students to
play half notes alternating from down and up strokes with their eyes
closed. Tell students to analyze their sound to make sure their tone
production is the same.
5. Create a set of flashcards. Each flashcard should include
information on the bow speed, the bow weight, contact point of the
bow, and dynamics. Shuffle the flashcards and ask them to play each
one. After playing, ask your students to describe the sound that each
variation produced.

Dynamics
Definition: Dynamics are the musical terminology we use to describe
how loud or soft any given sound is.

1. Compare the bow weight on the string to rocks. Ask your students,
“If I were to drop a tiny pebble, how loud of a sound would it make if I
dropped it? What if we dropped a huge boulder, would it make a
louder sound” Explain how the heavier the rock is, the louder sound it
would make when it hit the ground. The same goes for bow weight.
The more weight you have in the bow, the louder the sound the string
will produce.
2. Compare the bow speed to racecars. Ask your students what
happens to the noise of the car as it accelerates? Then explain how
the faster the racecar moves, the louder the engine gets. When it
slowly drives up to the start, you can’t really hear it. When the race
starts and the start to get really fast, the car becomes extremely loud.
This is similar to the bow speed. The slower the bow is moving, the
softer the sound will be. In contrast, the faster the bow moves, the
strings will produce a louder sound.
3. Begin class with talking using very exaggerated dynamics. Start
class with almost whispering and then begin yelling. After students
begin to realize that you are either talking loud or soft, label these as
piano and forte. Ask them to repeat sentences or phrases using
varying dynamics.
4. Explain to students how a plane takes off and lands. They increase
and decrease in altitude at a smooth and gradual level. They can’t
shoot straight up, and they can’t land moving straight down. Ask your
students to model this when playing crescendos and decrescendos.
They need to increase or decrease at a steady and gradual level
otherwise their plane will crash.
5. Provide students with sheet music of a phrase with no added
dynamics. Instruct students to improvise their own dynamics in the
phrase. They can choose to play it all loud or soft, crescendos or
decrescendos, or any combination in between. This will allow
students to practice playing dynamics and have them practice
musicality.

Phrasing
Definition: Phrases are groups of notes that are organized into a
complete thought.

1. Compare phrases to a sentence and a piece to an essay. Each

phrase or sentence is one complete thought. A piece of music or
essay is composed of many sentences or phrases that build off one
another.
2. Demonstrate for the student an example a full phrase. Next,
demonstrate for students a musical idea that is not a phrase. After
that, play random ideas or phrases and have students answer if it is a
phrase or just an idea.
3. Compare a phrase to a mountain. The mountain starts at the
ground, builds up into a peak, and then travels back down to the
ground. Phrases should be like this as well. Phrases have a natural
rise and fall in dynamics. Demonstrate a phrase with musical
expression. This will make students begin to think about phrases as
an opportunity to be more musical.
4. Provide your students with several phrases. Ask them to analyze it
and choose where the mountain peak is. Have students explain their
answer. The students will then perform the phrase with musical
expression.
5. Have your students analyze the repertoire that they’re playing. Ask
for them to provide examples of full complete phrases that they find in
their music.

Vibrato
Definition: Vibrato is a slight change in pitch. The pitch moves very
slightly up and down which creates a rich and pretty sound. This is
accomplished by rolling the fingertip up and down the string.

1. Try to have students have a conversation with you while they

practice vibrato. Challenge the students to keep their vibrato the
same and consistent throughout the conversation. This will allow for
students to make vibrato a muscle memory so they don’t need to be
consciously thinking about vibrato every time it is performed.
2. For violins and viola players, demonstrate the pivot motion by
touching the collarbone without moving your elbow. Next, have a
violin or viola try, but hold their elbow still so it can’t move. Instruct
your students to pretend that I am holding their elbows whenever they
playing vibrato. It is important that the forearm can rotate without
moving the elbow up and down.
3. Instruct violin and viola players to line up against the wall. Next,
have them place their elbow against the wall. Finally instruct them to
practice the pivot motion by touching their collarbones. The wall will
prohibit them from moving their elbows while they practice pivoting.
4. Give students a small bottle or can filled with uncooked rice, beans
or even thumbtacks. Instruct students to hold the container in their left
hand and shake it as if they were performing vibrato. Examine how
the student shakes the container to make sure their arms and elbows
are moving in the correct way. Then, remind students to play vibrato
as if they were shaking the can.
5. Begin cello and bass players by teaching them The Slide. Have
students begin by placing their second finger on the A string. Instruct
students to keep their thumb across from the second finger, but off
the fingerboard. Have them slide their finger up and down the string.
Begin with slides of larger intervals and slowly ask students to reduce
the size of the slide until it’s at one half step. This will teach cello and
bass players the beginning technique of playing vibrato.

Five Elective Topics (These must be string playing skills)

1st Elective Topic: Pizzicato

Definition: Pizzicato is a string technique that involves plucking the
string instead of using a bow. The sound is much shorter and less
sustained.
1. Instruct students where they need to place their right hand thumbs
as they play pizzicato. For violin and viola players, they should place
their right thumb at the of the fingerboard near the highest string. Tell
cello and bass players that their right thumbs should be on the low
side of the strings and two to four inches from the end.
2. Explain or demonstrate for students what happens when you rub
the tips of your fingers against a chalk board. The sound is very
unpleasant. This is similar for pizzicato. Tell students that in order to
get the best sound, they should play with the pads of their index
finger instead of the tips of their finger.
3. Tell students to imagine that they are traveling down a one-way
street when they play pizzicato. As violins and violas pluck the
strings, they need to pluck it in the direction of the next highest string.
Cello and bass players should pluck towards the adjacent lower
string. If they pluck the other direction, they may get in a collision
because the fingerboard is a one-way street. If they are on the
highest or lowest string, have students pretend there is another
higher or lower string that they must pluck towards.
4. Have your students imagine that they just finished eating a fun-dip.
However, they want to be sure to get all of the sugar from the bottom
of the packet. They lick their fingers and scoop out as much of the
sugar as they can. Tell students that they should model this finger
motion as the pluck the string in pizzicato.
5. For violins and violas, begin teaching pizzicato with them holding
their instruments in guitar position. As they become more comfortable
plucking, they can eventually move into normal playing positions.
Cello and bass players can begin learning pizzicato at their normal
playing positions.

2nd Elective Topic: German Bow Hold

Definition: The German bow hold involves all of the fingers being
naturally curved. The index finger and them both touch opposite
sounds of the stick, but form a circle. The other fingers are still curved
like the index finger. The pinky while still curved, sits underneath the
frog for support.

1. Instruct students that as they use a German bow hold, their hands
should have a naturally curve. Tell students to imagine that they are
holding a tennis ball. When students hold a ball, their fingers are
forced to form a curvature. Have them imagine holding the ball before
they hold the bow.
2. Present a dollar coin to the class. Tell students that they should
imagine putting the big coin in between their thumb and index fingers.
The thumb and index finger should be formed in a perfect circle so
they are able to place the coin in this gap.
3. Ask students if they would be able to stand if they didn’t have their
spine. The answer is no. Compare the spine in our back to the pinky
on the German bow hold. The pinky is what supports the bow the
hold. Without support from the pinky, you aren’t able to use German
bow hold.
4. Instruct students to pair up. Tell them to pretend that each of them
are the teachers. Have students examine each other’s German bow
hold and give feedback on what they’re doing right and wrong. Make
sure both students get a chance to be the teacher.
5. Demonstrate a poor German bow hold for your students. Ask them
if they think it is correct or not. Then, ask the students how they would
go about fixing this bow hold to make it correct. Next, ask students to
hold up their own German bow hold and make sure it looked like the
fixed and correct bow hold.

3rd Elective Topic: Trills

Definition: Trills are musical ornaments that involve rapid alteration
between two pitches. String players lift one finger on and off the string
very quickly to perform a trill.

1. Explain to students that as they trill, they only want to be moving

their finger up and down. They should not be moving their entire
hand. Instruct students to not trill like they are squeezing a stress ball.
They should be trying to only move their finger.
2. Ask students if they’ve ever gotten impatient before. “Have you
ever had to wait on your food at a restaurant for a really long time?”
“When you’re really impatient, what do people start doing?” Explain
how people begin to fidget. They’ll move their fingers on the table or
tap their feet really fast. This is similar to trilling. Instruct students to
fidget their fingers on the fingerboard first without the bow, and then
adding the bow.
3. Tell students that as they trill, they should try to lift their finger as
little as possible. This allows for them to trill faster. Compare this to
running fifty feet vs one hundred feet. You will obviously be able to
run fifty feet faster. The less the distance, the faster you can get to
the other side. Challenge students to get only lift their fingers the
smallest amount they can with it still fully coming off the string.
4. Turn on a metronome for your students. Instruct them to play a trill
with as many alterations as they can in one measure. Start the
metronome off slow, and slowly increase the bpm. This gives them an
opportunity to play trills in time.
5. Instruct students to play a scale that they know and are
comfortable with. After they play it, ask them to play trills up and
down the scale. Start with a slow tempo and gradually increase it.

4th Elective Topic: Cello Extensions

Definition: A normal cello hand position only covers a minor third
interval. Cello players perform extensions in order to make this a
major third. This can be accomplished by only extending the middle,
ring and pinky finger forward. It can also be accomplished by only
moving the index finger backwards.

1. Begin with having students hold up their right arms. Tell students to
pretend that this right arm is now the fingerboard of their cello. They
can use their right arm to practice learning the techniques.
2.Have students practice extending backwards on their right arm.
First, tell them to create a normal first position on their arm. Next,
have them move their elbow down towards the floor, and move the
index finger backwards. Be sure that students’ other fingers do not
move. After becoming comfortable, transfer this to the fingerboard.
3. Instruct students to practice extending forwards on their right arm.
Have them practice moving all fingers but the index finger forward.
Give students time to practice moving their fingers up and down the
arm. Once they become comfortable with this technique instruct them
to move their hand to the fingerboard.
4. As students eventually become comfortable enough performing
shifts on their arm and move to the fingerboard, begin students with
playing extensions in pizzicato. This allows them to focus on their
extensions rather than their right arm and hand. Once they become
comfortable performing extensions in pizzicato, have them play
extensions with the bow.
5. Tell students to imagine that you placed extremely powerful
magnets on their thumb and middle finger. When the middle finger
moves to extend forward, the thumb must follow because they are
magnetically attracted to each other. As students practice on their
arms, be sure to watch that their thumbs are following their middle
fingers on the opposite side of the arm.

5th Elective Topic: Martelé

Definition: Martelé is a bow stroke that is very percussive. It begins
with a very strong accent on the string followed by an immediate
release in bow weight.

1.Explain to students how martelé translates to hammered. Explain

how these notes are more percussive like a percussion player using a
hammer. Have students imagine that their bows are hammers, and
they should start each stroke with a strong accent. Also explain how
when someone uses a hammer, they don’t leave the hammer on the
nail after hitting it. They immediately pull away. The same should be
done for a martelé stroke.
2. Compare a martelé stroke to the orchestra chimes. Their sound
begins with an accents and slowly fades away. Challenge students to
make their martelé strokes sound like this. They should begin with an
accent followed by an immediate release of the bow. Demonstrate
both sounds for the students.
3. Ask students if they have ever experienced a hit and run. Explain
how this is when someone hits their car against yours, but then drives
away. Tell students to never do this in the real world, but in string
class its ok. Then explain to students how they want to hit and run the
strings when they play a martelé stroke. After they hit the string, they
need to be sure to release or “run” immediately.
4. Compare a martelé stroke to a very strong pizzicato. It is a loud
and accented beginning, but the sound begins to fade immediately.
Have students alternate playing pizzicato and martelé. Allow them to
experiment on how to make the martelé sound more like the
pizzicato.
5. Demonstrate to students how martelé strokes have three steps.
First, they lean their right hand into the bow. Second, they pull the
bow which produces an accent because of the added weight. Finally,
they release the weight of the bow. Instruct students to memorize
these three steps so they can always remember how to perform a
martelé stroke.