MUS 47411 STRINGS TECHNIQUES

Strings Notebook Project

Fall 2011
Gabriella C. Brockert
12/8/2011

Table of Contents

Ch. 1 = pgs. 1-2

Ch. 2 = pgs. 3-4
Ch. 3 = pgs. 5-8 Sources:
Ch. 4 = pgs. 9-12 *www.wwbw.com  images
Ch. 5 = pgs. 13-14 *Strategies for Teaching Strings
by Donald Hamann & Robert GIllespie
 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P age |1

CHAPTER ONE: General Information

A. Instrument Parts

Violin Viola

Cello Double Bass

 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P age |2

B. Instrument Terminology
Scroll- Curves around the pegbox as a purely decorative carved ornament.
Pegbox- This is where the pegs are inserted and are attached to the strings in order to tune them.
Fingerboard- this is supported by the neck of the instrument and allows you to shorten the vibrating
area which changes the rate of vibration, producing a different pitch.
Bridge- This is held in place by the tension of the strings to support them.
Fine Tuners- After tuning the instrument with pegs, the fine tuners can be used to adjust the tension
of the strings and change the pitch carefully.
f-Hole- these are cut into the top of the instrument to allow the sound to travel.
Chinrest- violins and violas have this for support to hold the instrument.
Endpin- Bass and cellos have this to support their instrument, with adjustable screw for length.
Mutes- these slide on to the bridge or clip which can be made of different wood or rubber materials
as well as plastic for practicing at a minimum volume.
Rosin- used on the hair, violin and viola are less coarse and harder than cello or bass.

C. Bowing Guidelines
 Instruction
–Bowing skills should be developed independently and not combined with skills for
instrument/body/finger position and left-hand shape.
–Skills taught sequentially: bow hand shape, détaché bowing, string crossings, staccato and
hooked bowing.
 Bow hand shape
–Learn to hold the bow at the balance point to relax the other hand before placing.
–Hand placed as if holding a door knob: thumb across 2nd finger forming oval shape , 2nd
finger touching ferrule, index resting around top of stick, third next to cut out of frog,
fourth on top near eyelet (cello&bass) or curved at the tip (violin&viola).
–Hands will be curved either forward (bass), perpendicular (cello), or leaning towards the tip
 Sound production
– CONTACT, WEIGHT, SPEED, HAIR.
–Thinner (higher) strings need more speed, and slower on wider strings.
–Higher the pitch, the closer the bow should be to the bridge; slower speeds used for
bowing close to the bridge.
–Louder sounds are produced by increasing speed or weight. Softer sounds produced with
less weight, or moving the bow farther from the bridge.
–Clear sound production from a right angle travel of the bow.
 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P age |3

CHAPTER TWO: Musical Examples

A. Open Strings and Instrument Ranges

 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P age |4

B. Scales & Positions

 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P age |5

CHAPTER THREE: Instructional Methods

A. Holding the Instrument

Violin and Viola:

1) Resting position with correct posture, or standing for good measure.
2) Instrument parallel to the floor and at eye level.
3) Lift instrument in the air, rotating it to begin go towards your shoulder without turning head.
4) Put instrument on shoulder so that left hand is on the bout and right hand is checking the feel of
the shoulder rest sitting comfortably on the shelf of your shoulder.
5) Turn head so that jaws touch the chin rest. Nose, top of bridge, and scroll should be in line with
each other, nose turned towards direction of the scroll and scroll parallel to floor.
 Left hand shape: *Tips of fingers on string, thumb generally across from index resting on
its side with the tip pointing up. *Base hand knuckle generally across from the top fingerboard. *Left
wrist is positioned away from the instrument, forming a straight line from base hand knuckle to
elbow.

Cello:
1) Adjust the endpin to proper length, scroll near the players nose when standing.
2) Posture—sitting towards the end of the seat, feet under the knees, cello an arm-length away.
3) “Hug” the instrument, keeping head forward. Cello should lean slightly to the left with the scroll
(c-string peg) behind the left ear. There should be space between shoulder and cello neck.
4) Move knees so that they touch below the “C” bout which will balance the cello supported by
endpin. Arms will be comfortable at their side.
 Left hand shape: *Fingers naturally curved, index resting slightly on side corner. *Thumb
generally on its upper pad, behind second finger. *Fingers equally spaced, (half step between each
finger). *Wrist and arm in alignment, elbow free.

Bass:
1) Endpin should be pulled out accordingly and placed towards the front of left foot, about one arm
away and should be able to hold the bass with arm stretched out, parallel to the ground.
2) Feet flat and spaced out for width of the bass and left foot turned to the right creating an L.
3) Bring instrument to body—upper bout rests against left side of stomach, right back edge on left
groin, inside of left knee touching the back of the bass.
4) Checking balance points by dropping hands to their sides with the floor and groin holding the
instrument up. The pitch A on the G string should be over left shoulder and at eye level.
Left hand shape: *Thumb is generally behind second finger, slightly on its upper pad with
first finger straight. *Space between index and long are equal to space between the long finger and
pinky. *Intervals are half-steps.
 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P age |6

B. Holding the Bow

Violin and Viola: Hand leans slightly on the index finger.

1) Index finger rests on top of bow stick near the second knuckle joint.
2) Second finger curved across from thumb, draped on side of bow touching the stick.
3) Third finger draped over, touching the concave side of frog or ferrule.
4) Little finger is curved and its tip rests near inner side of bow stick.
5) Thumb is across from second finger forming an oval shape.

Cello: Hand is more perpendicular to the stick than upper strings.

1) Fingers relaxed, slightly curved, draped over the stick with index finger near the first or second
knuckle joints.
2) Second finger rests near the ferrule of the bow.
3) Third fingerprint near the U cutout of the bow.
4) Pinky near the eyelet of the bow.
5) Thumb curved and the side of its tip rests across from second finger.

Bass –French Bow: Fingers are positioned slightly more over the side of the frog than cello.

Bass –German Bow:

1) Fingers naturally curved.
2) Index finger and thumb form a circle.
3) Second and third fingers are curved and positioned near the index finger.
4) Fourth finger is located under the frog for support.

C. Bow Strokes
Détaché: sound is produced by placing the bow on the string and pulling it back and forth.
 Bow hair should travel parallel to the bridge, touching string halfway between bridge and
fingerboard (at first for producing good sound, then experimenting with it later).
Bow is divided into sections:
Violin/Viola focus—middle
Cello and Bass focus—middle to lower half
Pedagogy involves instrument tubing (plastic tube at top of strings to bow through),
Rosin bowing (holding rosin in left hand and bowing across it),
short bows to long bows (gradually lengthening the stroke),
Straws in the f-hole (violin and viola—helps parallel travel),
Riding rails (cello—hold bow at tip, placing bow on to shape back and forth along the stick),
Frog to the floor (bass—bow back and forth on their strings keeping frog parallel to floor).

Parallel Bowing: letting the air out—having students exhale on down bow, inhale on up bow.
 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P age |7

String Crossings: Moving the arm to the new string level when changing strings.
 String crossing is opposite motion between high and low string instruments
Violin and viola lower their arm when crossing to higher pitch and raise arm for lower-pitched string,
Cello and bass raise their arm when moving to higher pitched and lower their arm for lower pitch.
Pedagogy strategies include bridge rocking (bow hair on top of bridge at balance point, rock bow
across the bridge while basses place bows on string at normal contact point),
Pencil crossings (insert pencil between bow hair and stick at balance point to hold bow in playing
position to rock up and down the string crossing motions),
Rest crossings (place rests between pitches involving a string level change, to allow time for prep).

Staccato and Hooked Bowings:

 Staccato begins with pinch or slight depression of bow stickWhen bow is pulled, extra weight
produces accent which then the finger should release slightly. Hooking is linking two or more staccato
notes in the same bow direction.
 Pedagogy—pinched bows (leaning the index finger onto the bow stick, pinching bows with motion
led by index finger),
Doorknob (turning motion used when rotating the doorknob)
Bow pivots (lean bow hand into bow stick toward index finger, pivot by moving bow hand closer and
farther from body while keeping same contact point of bow on string)
Hook and pull (place bow on string, slightly lean into stick with bow hand pulling it across the string),
Connect the hooks (pull the bow to connect two or more staccato pitches in same bow direction).
Slurs: smoothly pulling the bow in the same direction and connecting two or more pitches.

Smooth Direction Changes: smooth and controlled, all with relaxed wrists thumbs fingers and hands.
 Statue of liberty (extend arm in the air, bow tip pointing straight up, flexing fingers,
Balancing and rubbing (place bows on strings at balance point, make short strokes at balance point by
flexing wrist and right-hand fingers,
Two-Handed pulls (Cello student place bow on string, left hand holding bow at tip with right hand on the
frog using both hands to pull bows back and forth on the string).

Martelé Bowing: accent on beginning stroke, immediately followed by release of weight on bow.
 3 steps: 1) Pinch—Bow hand leans slightly into the bow stick, 2) Pull—Bow is pulled producing the
accent, 3) Release—an immediate release of weight so that bow moves easily.
Pedagogy involves index finger pinches (place bow on string with bow held only by index and thumb,
leaning index onto the stick and alternating lean with release of weight).

Spiccato: bouncing bow on string at slow moderate tempos using the lower half.
 Produced in an arclike motion with a relaxed elbow, shoulder, wrist joint and fingers.
1) move the bow on the string at the balance point, primarily flexing wrist and fingers. 2) bounce the
bow at the balance point with a similar motion 3)gradually move the bow hand on the stick to the frog
while repeating steps 1 and 2.
 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P age |8

D. Quality Sound Concepts  CONTACT, WEIGHT, SPEED, HAIR.

E. Vibrato – a rapid, slight variation in pitch to produce a stronger or richer tone.

 Involves slightly changing the string length by rolling the left hand on the string.
 Rolling the fingertip on the string while flexing the first knuckle joint produces violin and viola
vibrato. Often takes longer to develop because of the complexity of motions involved.
Hand (wrist) and arm vibrato are two different ways to generate it.
 Rolling finger on the string by moving the arm and hand in a straight line produces vibrato on cello
and bass. When sustained, it is permissible for thumb not to touch back of neck if needed.
 Cello and bass: moving the arm and hand as a unit.
Violin and viola: arm and hand can move either as a unit or independently.
 Measured by speed and width  the lower the pitch, slower and wider the vibrato motion.

Pedagogy: Violin&Viola use At The Bout (hold instrument in guitar position to practice first, place third
fingers on top with hand against bout and wave hands for vibrato or wave arms)
For arm vibrato, wrist should remain straight but relaxed as it moves away from the bout. For both
types, first knuckle joint of finger should bend.
Cello&Bass use The Slide (combination of sliding and pivoting. Place second fingers on A string with
thumbs behind neck and opposite of second finger. Slide the fingers up and down the string, about
three half steps and gradually shorten the distance until vibrato is achieved).

F. Positions
2nd and 3rd Positions:

Cello Extensions:
Refer to DVD clips #59-62

Half-Position for Bass:

G. Tuning
1) Play an open A string while turning its peg or tuner, students must indicate if the string is getting
higher or lower in pitch.
2) Play an open A and have the students play their A string either with a bow or by plucking the string
and compare it with the teacher’s A. Have the students pluck their string while turning the tuner until it
matches the teacher’s.
3) Play an A on an electronic tuner and have the student compare and turn the peg accordingly.
4) Repeat the previous strategies with other strings. (A, D, G, C/E)

 In a group setting, do the same thing with #s set for which string you are tuning together. 1-4
 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P age |9

CHAPTER FOUR: String Program Issues

A. Method & Etude Books

“Do it! Play Strings” Teacher’s resource guide; James Froseth 2003 by GIA Publications
 Strings utilized: for violins the last piece uses G, D, and A strings
 Keys: CM, GM, DM, FM, BbM, some minor and some dorian.
 Rhythms: q, e, h

“All for Strings” ; Gerald Anderson and Robert Frost 1985 Kjos Music Company
 Strings: last piece uses D, A, and E.
 Keys: CM, GM, DM, and briefly AM , key signatures aren’t introduced until exercise #60

 Rhythms: q, e, h, w

“Muller-Rusch” ; J. Frederick and Harold Rusch Muller 1961 Kjos Music Company
 Strings: all are utilized by the end of the book from 1st & 4th finger.
 Keys: CM, GM, DM, using accidentals (no key signatures) and no minor keys.
 Rhythms: q, e, h

“String Explorer” ; Andrew Dabczynski 2002 Alfred Publishing Company

 Strings: uses three strings, all but the corresponding highest.
 Keys: FM, GM, DM, AM, no minor keys
 Rhythm: q q q q -also has midi CD with tempo control

<Etude books placed here>

 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P a g e | 10

B. Program Organization
Considerations for organizing and structuring orchestra programs
–Length of time per class and number of days a week you are able to meet, will directly affect how
you run your program.
–Your school system, whether it is focused on “arts” and specially funded, or the amount of
community involvement and its tradition of touring inside the region, state, etc.
–Opportunities to perform in groups through youth orchestras, community ensembles, chamber
music etc. outside of your school program.
–Motivational level of your students in relation to the environment they live.
–The availability of students to take private lessons, and how many students have this opportunity.
–Your instrumentation and their achievements is important to be familiar with when choosing music
–When auditioning students you will need to decide what will be performed, how long it will be,
when and where they happen and how you will evaluate the students.
–Consider what you will say to students at an audition and how you will handle the procedures.
–How will you use the information gathered from an audition?
–Deciding how you will seat the students (stronger and weaker players paired or not) or having
leadership roles such as principal chairs and concert masters.

Recruiting techniques and considerations

–When recruiting by using a concert treat it as a real concert and create the idea and theme for it to
best represent a concert setting for students involved in the recruitment process. Include a dress
rehearsal: this isn’t just a thrown together presentation.
–Keep in mind the music selection for those concerts performed, maybe some that students will
recognize from commercials, films, musicals, or T.V. shows.
–Get students involved, and plan for group participation. Select the audience members as special
assistants, performers, or conductors when possible.
–Talk about the joys and benefits of music study and set aside time for any questions.
–Present a lot of handouts, color coded for bright happiness and include all contact information.
–Greet parents and their students as they are arriving to your recruitment concert.
–Contact the schools you will be recruiting from, get an idea of these students right away.
–There are advantages and disadvantages to recruiting in the fall or spring, keep those in mind.
–Your school system may have a procedure for recruitment already established, look into it.
–Procedures include the announcement and test approach, lecture method, performance
procedure, hands-on technique, and demonstration routine.

Classroom management techniques

–Having a daily routine of physical warm-up, instrumental warm-ups, repertoire introduction and
review, and so on is important with classroom management because routines are easily held.
–Always let the students know what procedures you want them to use, and your expectations.
–Choose your warm-up materials with an eye toward your overall rehearsal goals and objectives.
–Plan the exact amount of time you will spend on each warm-up procedure and each concept within
 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P a g e | 11

the repertoire being reviewed. Leaving no time for interruptions!

–When reviewing pieces, be prepared with string crossings, intonation problems, awkward bowings
or fingerings and difficult rhythms because you must be ready for this to happen and fix it.
–Directive feedback, specific and attention to detail are very efficient and modeling can be provided.
–Follow through on directive in section, evaluate and provide the feedback and repeat procedure.
–Again, choosing the repertoire wisely is advised because the students must be interested.
–Proximity of students, engagement, ability to control behaviors, communicating clearly, presenting
yourself as a leader and using humor in your teaching are also great ideas.
–Be aware of your pacing throughout the rehearsal because speed of instruction or rate is important
as well as controlling how much time is spent on a given concept.

Orchestra selections by grade

–Grade 1:
Apollo Suite Merle Isaac (Highland-Etling) www.alfred.com
March of the Metro Gnome Fred Hubbell (Kendor Music) www.kendormusic.com
Star Valley Suite Robert Frost (Southern Music) www.southernmusic.com
Suite for Strings Edmund Siennicki (Highlend-Etling) www.alfred.com
Ukrainian folk Songs arr. Dackow (Southern Music) www.southernmusic.com

–Grade 2:
Baroque Fugue Ed Siennicki (Highlend-Etling) www.alfred.com
Brandenburg Concerto #5 Bach arr. Isaac (Highlend-Etling) “ “
Dance of the Tumblers Rimsky-Korsakoff (Ludwig Music) www.masters-music.com
Gargoyles Spata (Highlend-Etling) www.alfred.com
Little Bit of…Space…Time Samuel Adler (Ludwig Music) www.masters-music.com

–Grade 3:
Air for Strings Dello Joio (E. B. Marks) www.halleonard.com
Brandenburg Concerto #3 Bach arr. Isaac (Highland-Etling) www.alfred.com
Contrasts in E minor Feese (Young World Pub.) www.youngworldpublications.com
“Farandole” from L’Arlesienne Bizet arr. Isaac (Highlend-Etling) www.alfred.com
Lullaby Hofeldt (Kjos) www.kjos.com

–Grade 4:
Ase’s Death from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 Grieg (Southern Music) www.southernmusic.com
Carmen, Suite No.1 Bizet (Kalmus) www.kalmus-music.com
Serenade from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik Warlock (Curwen) N/A
Preludio for String Orchestra Whear (Ludwig Music) www.masters-music.com
Romanian Folk Dances Bartok (Boosey & Hawkes) www.boosey.com
 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P a g e | 12

–Grade 5:
Choreography: 3 Dances Dello Joio (Oxford University Press) www.oup.com
Fantasia on Greensleeves Vaughan Williams “ “
Holberg Suite Grieg (Kalmus) www.kalmus-music.com
Molly on the Shore Grainger (Luck’s Music) www.lucksmusic.com
Rakastava Sibelius (Southern Music) www.southernmusic.com

Music dealers and contact information:

Luck’s Music Library www.lucksmusic.com sales@lucksmusic.com Madison Heights, MI 48071
Music Mart Inc. www.musicmart.com info@musicmart.com Albuquerque, NM 87110
Pepper Music Co. www.jwpepper.com satisfaction@jwpepper.com Paoli, PA 19301
Southern Music Co. www.southernmusic.com info@southernmusic.com San Antonio, TX 78209
Stanton’s Music Co. www.stantons.com 800-42-MUSIC Columbus, OH 43215

Instrument Accessory Dealers

Caswell’s www.caswells-strings.co.uk
Hammond Ashley www.hammondashley.com sales@hammondashley.com San Diego, CA. 92121
Johnson String Instruments www.johnsonstring.com 800-359-9351 Newton Center, MA 02459
NOVA Strings www.novastrings.com 800-930-1955 Gaithersburg, MD 20877
Shar Music www.sharmusic.com sharserv@sharmusic.com Farmington, MI 48336
 Gabriella Brockert
Strings Notebook Project
P a g e | 13

CHAPTER FIVE: Other Important Considerations

A. Other Information

I believe that in this course, there are other factors that should be incorporated. For example, I
feel there is not enough time spent on second and third positions on each instrument. Due to a
heterogeneous group setting, students are not receiving proper instruction for each instrument.
Because I started with the double bass, I learned jumping octaves for scales instead of being aware
of changing positions.
There could also be some time spent verbally on reviewing some of the other bow strokes such
as spiccato, martelé, louré, ponticello, collé, or any of the others that were mentioned in our
Strategies for Teaching Strings text. I would learn much more through watching a demonstration or
taking notes on an explained lecture instead of reading from a book who can’t answer my questions.
I understand I can see the professor to ask questions, but the point in this factor is to consider
reviewing it in class.
Lastly, I think it would be a great factor and opportunity if every instrument method class were
to incorporate some repertoire reading for maybe a beginning orchestra/band piece. This would
give us a better idea of how to attack a piece of music effectively for the instrument at hand, or in
this course setting, an idea of how to work through a piece from four different perspectives (each
string instrument).

B. Commentary

There are several important ideas that I have learned about string instruction this semester, and
several that I will eventually be able to apply in a real setting with a music education degree. For
instance, I will be better prepared for teaching a heterogeneous class setting of string instruments
because I have had a chance to stand in front of my peers with the pressure of having to understand
each instrument and their particular issues with positions and bow holds. I have also had an opportunity
to play each instrument and learn roughly enough to play different scales because of similar finger
patterns and sight-read music on each as well.

Although I do not have the greatest ability of reading alto clef, I had another chance for getting
better at it since I’ve stopped having music theory. This is a good opportunity, and something I will still
need to work on. I also have a lot more that I need to work on since after changing instruments, I missed
new concepts that were learned later. Thankfully with intricate projects, I will be able to easily access
different materials and information for later which is also an important idea worth mentioning.

Throughout the course I also picked up on some good habits and how to break and recognize
bad habits. This is due to having peers in the classroom as well as me, to fail at certain concepts and
learn from, and get better at. Overall my experience in this course has been sufficient, but I am still not
comfortable with string education. My view, however, is still the same which is that string education is
very interesting and unique and very fragile as well. There are things I will always need to improve on.