Tackle The Difficult Bits In A Piece

Tackle The Difficult Bits In A Piece

How To Tackle The Difficult Places

This section is about how to help your child improve the difficult places in a violin piece. 

Typically your child will start from the beginning and play to the end with a few hesitations or stumbles.

Step 1. Ask your child to find the first difficult bit in the piece.

Step 2. Check the notes. Here is a diagram of the usual finger shapes on each string for violin players who are pre Grade 1.

Notice how the notes ascend the alphabet. 

Only the first 7 alphabet letters are used to name notes. After G, we start again at A. So it goes like this:

A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C etc. 

If we take the G string as the lowest note the violin has, it goes:

G string (no fingers), then finger 1 = A, finger 2 = B, finger 3 = C.  

D string (no fingers), then finger 1 = E, finger 2 = F#, finger 3 = G.  

A string (no fingers), then finger 1 = B, finger 2 = C#, finger 3 = D

E string (no fingers), then finger 1 = F#, finger 2 = G#, finger 3 = A

Don't worry about the #sign for now. It is actually called a sharp, your child will learn more about it as he she progresses closer to Grade 1 and 2. I only included the # sign because it would have been musically incorrect if I didn't!

Step 3
Find those notes on the violin.

Step 4
Puck the passage slowly. Don't worry about the rhythm, just focus on getting the right notes.

Step 5
Keep going over it slowly until it's fluent. This could take between 5 and 10 attempts. 

Step 6
Now check the rhythm by suggesting your child tap it out on his/her knee. (Refer to the 'Getting Started' section for help with note values and counting).

Step 7
Now ask your child to pluck the difficult bit without the bow, just plucking. Aim for the notes and rhythm correct. Give your child the challenge of playing it accurately 3 times in a row before moving on.   

I'm aware this section is lengthy so I'm going to cover adding the bow in the next section.  

Ultimately we are working towards your child following these steps without any prompting from you. However, this will take time, so in the early stages you will have to prompt each step.

Cover as many of these steps as you can within the given practice time. Refer to the 'Getting Started' section for advice on how long practice sessions should be.

Don't forget to leave a few minutes to play through some earlier favorite pieces which require less effort and are more fun!

  • Playing the piece through once and then stopping is NOT practice
  • Follow the 7 step system above routinely in practice session. Know them well
  • Don't always start from the beginning - rather focus on the bits that are challenging
  • Avoid trying to get everything right in one go. Work on rhythm, notes and bowing separately. Then after several repetitions and a clear improvement start putting them together
  • Always end practice sessions on a positive note...play a favourite tune or a musical game

Adding The Bow To The Difficult Bits

It's always best to break things down when tackling difficult bits and I suggested in the previous section that you work on the rhythm and notes separately without adding the bow.

Well now it's time to look at how best to incorporate the bowing. There are several different elements to bowing.  

Being able to cross from one string to another can be tricky and often produces a clashing of strings if not done correctly.

Synchronizing the fingers with the bow can also cause difficulty, not to mention getting the angle of the arm right so that the bow travels in a straight line. 

It's a good idea to get your child doing some bowing in front of a mirror. Ask him/her to stand at a slight angle to the mirror to see easily. 

The bow should be moving in a straight line up and down. 

Do long slow bows to observe this and work on it. A few minutes at the beginning of each practice will help enormously. 

The upper arm should only move up and down to cross strings. A common mistake is for a child to move the upper arm backwards and forwards. This simply makes the bow move up and down crookedly.

The wrist should be soft and bendy, lowering on a down/pull bow and rising on an up/push bow leading the hand upwards.

Your child should be opening and closing the elbow, keeping the upper are still and moving the forearm up and down.

All of the elements will be addressed in your child's violin lessons I'm sure. Let's take a look at the simple mechanics of the up bow and the down bow. 
Pieces nearly always start with a down bow even if there's no down bow symbol. 

If the piece is supposed to start on an up bow the up bow symbol will be printed.

Play each note alternating down bows and up bows.

If there is a curved line joining 2 or more notes then you have to play those notes all in one bow. Here's an example.  
On the down bow use half the bow for each of the first 2 notes. Do the second 2 notes in an up bow, using half a bow for each note.
If the bowing in a piece is challenging your child needs to isolate and work on just the bowing, no notes, no rhythm. 
Here's how you do it.

•Put the violin and bow down
•Raise the bow hand and hold an invisible bow or use a pencil and hold it as if it were a bow
•Try doing the challenging bow pattern in the air, don't worry about the rhythm just focus on getting the downs and ups correct
•Do this a few times until your child is confident and doing it correctly
•Now do it adding the rhythm. It sometimes helps to sing the tune at this point so that the rhythm is easier to grasp
•Once your child is confident with the bowing and can include the rhythm he/she can pick up the violin and bow and try it on open strings. This means using no fingers - just move the bow on the correct strings. Of course it won't sound anything like the proper tune but don't be concerned with this just aim for the correct up and down bows and the correct rhythm and string changes
•The final stage is adding the fingers to make the proper notes.

Each of the above steps should be done several times correctly in a row before going on to the next one.

  • Try not to clash the strings when using the bow. The height of the bow arm and elbow control this.
  • Use a mirror regularly in practice to see if the bow is moving straight. Stand at 45 degrees to the mirror for the best view. Look to see if the bow arm is straightening on down bows and bending on up bows. Is the wrist soft and bendy too?
  • Know the UP bow and DOWN bow signs well
  • Remember that pieces usually start with a DOWN bow
  • Know the slur sign and get good at slowing the bow speed so that you can fit the slurred notes into 1 bow
  • Get used to using the steps listed above when adding the bow to difficult sections of a piece

Help Your Child Keep A Regular Beat

You have now covered the essentials on counting the beats, knowing the notes and how to tackle the difficult bits. I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to a useful little tool to help your child keep to a regular beat when playing the violin. 

It's called a metronome. 
There are various different makes and models. Some run on batteries, some don't. Here's a few examples of what they can look like. You can purchase them from most good music shops and online. 

You can also download a metronome app for iphones, ipads etc.
The mechanical metronomes on the left and in the centre have a long metal arm in the middle. When released from the resting place the arm swings like a pendulum at a speed that you set. It makes a tick noise with each swing.   
The metronome on the right is battery operated and simply gives a ticking noise for every beat. 

Metronomes have a variety of numbered speed settings. Set it at a high number and it will tick quickly, set it at a low number and the tick is slow. 
You will often find metronome markings like this above a piece of music. It tells you what speed to set the metronome to.
This means that there will be 120 crochet beats - and metronome ticks - per minute. Of course it won't always be 120. If the piece is slow it's going to be a lower number for example 70 or 80.

Using a metronome can be off putting, and some children find it difficult to get used to. I wouldn't advise playing a whole piece with the metronome going, but it can be very useful to play small sections of a piece with the metronome to establish the right speed.

When your child starts a new piece it's advisable to play it very slowly until the notes and rhythms are accurate. 

You can set the metronome to what ever speed you like to keep your child playing to a regular beat. 

Once your child is confident with the mechanics of playing the piece you can look at the number at the top of the page and begin to attempt to play the piece at the required speed.

  • Get access to a metronome - either buy one or download the metronome app
  • Observe the metronome marking at the top left of your child's piece if there is one.
  • Don't attempt to play it at the speed to begin with. Only try it at the set speed when the notes, rhythm and bowing are confidently correct
  • Avoid playing a whole piece with the metronome ticking - it can be off putting. Use it for small sections at a time

The Important Little Finger

The little finger is very weak and needs strengthening.

As you may already know the violin strings are G D A E (in that order). G being the thickest string on the left and E the thinnest string on the right.

Pressing down the 4th finger (little finger) should make the same sound as the next string to the right.
So for example finger 4 on the D string should sound the same as the A string, 4th finger on the A string should sound the same as the E string.

If your child has a piece requiring the use of the 4th finger, do encourage him/her to check that the finger is in the right spot by checking it against the next string to the right.

Here's a diagram of a string with the most common finger spacing for a beginner. Notice that finger 1 and 2 are well apart. Finger 2 and 3 touch and finger 4 is apart from finger 3.
As the little finger is so weak it really needs to have finger 3 pressed down too. This gives the 4th finger more support.

Finger 4 is a stretch even for adults, however the stretch is easier if fingers 1 and 2 are lifted off the string. This allows the hand to stretch more comfortably when placing finger 4 down (and finger 3 with it as I have suggested).
Ideally the left elbow should move closer in towards the body when stretching finger 4, this automatically twists the forearm and hand round to the left allowing the 3rd and 4th fingers to stretch to the right place.
Take a moment now and place your own left hand in the air and hold an invisible violin. Bring your elbow in closer to your body and twist your forearm round bringing your little finger into a better position to press down on the string.

You will feel the stretch in your arm, but it's only momentary while the 4th finger is used. When it's not
being pressed down the hand/arm resumes the normal position.

This is what your child needs to get used to doing. So the left arm/elbow need to be flexible and adjust positions when the little finger is used.

If your child has been learning for 2 or 3 terms it's likely that he/she is approaching the first violin exam. The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, known as the ABRSM offer an undercut to Grade 1. This is called the Preparatory Test, or Prep Test for short. This exam requires the use of finger 4. The fourth finger is also used in all the later Graded exams so it's a good idea to help your child get accustomed to using it comfortably at this early stage.

  • If the little finger is positioned correctly on the string it should sound the same as the next string on the right
  • You don't need to keep fingers 1 and 2 down but do keep finger 3 down when using 4th finger to give it some extra support
  • Bring the left elbow further under the violin while you play the finger 4 note - it puts less strain on the hand
  • You can make up exercises doing finger 3 then 4 over and over again to strengthen it

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