We have a new addition to the music studio:  Lydia!

For years we have had cats, including my beloved Sophie, her brother Watson, and their mother Stella.  And so when the last two died last spring, it felt pretty empty over here.  If you’ve ever had to put a pet down, you know how it leaves a hole in your life, your heart, and your home.

With my husband’s illness and our planned travels in May and August, it seemed like good timing and so we endured the loss.  I got in touch with a breeder of mini aussies who plans on having a litter ready to adopt in December 2019.  We put ourselves on the list for a female, black and white mini.

And then, I got this picture in a text from our son Jamie, with the words “Look what Grandma and Papa have!”

Oh my, something was up.  They already have two big dogs.  And we were due to arrive at their house for a visit in a week.

My dad teaches piano at ASU, and one of his doctoral students bought a puppy for her children to play with while she practices long hours.  Unfortunately, potty training was a challenge in these circumstances, and so at four months the pup was still making messes all over the house.  Stressful!  And so, knowing that my parents are great with dogs, she asked them to take her.

She just happens to be a female, black and white mini aussie.  Perfect!

And so Lydia came home with us.  It’s a little earlier than we were planning on, and 90% of her care (and exercise!) falls to me.  However, she has quickly and thoroughly filled the hole in our lives, our hearts, and our home.  Yes, we have had to work hard to get her potty manners under control, but because her first family’s children played violin and cello, she settles nicely during lessons (as long as we ignore her).  Priorities, people!

We were out for a walk the other day, and I saw a front doormat that said “I hope you like cats”.  I need one that says “I hope you like dogs” because when you come for your lesson, you can count on a warm welcome from our sweet, extraverted little Lydia.  She loves you all!  And hopefully one of these days I’ll get her to keep all four paws on the ground when you arrive.  😊

I haven’t written much over the past two years because my husband has been fighting a long illness, and then last May we ended up with a puppy.  So free time has been in short supply!

However, I remembered a finger independence exercise from my childhood last week when I was in a lesson with my student Evie.  I don’t know what it’s called, so we named it “Second Finger Sit-Ups”. 

Evie is at the point in her beginner book when she is playing tunes with both high and low 2nd fingers, sometimes back-to-back or with just a note in between.  She has a great ear, but her fingers don’t always do what they are supposed to. 

And so, Second Finger Sit-Ups:

With just the left hand (no bow), place your 1st finger on the D string (on an E) and your 3rd finger on the A string (on a D).  Then move your 2nd finger back and forth from F# (high 2 on the D string) to C natural (low 2 on the A string) while keeping the 1st and 3rd fingers down.

Go slow at first, and make sure your hand stays relaxed.  Tapping your thumb while keeping the fingers down helps release the tension, and imagine your left hand hanging on the fingerboard by the tips of your fingers.

Use your 1st and 3rd fingers as guides for where to put your second finger:  high 2s just behind the 3rd finger and low 2s just in front of the 1st finger.  And you don’t have to raise the 2nd finger very high – just enough to move it cleanly to the next string.

Be sure to tap the 2nd finger on the tip, inside corner, and keep all your fingers round and relaxed.

Evie had trouble at first lifting and lowering the 2nd finger.  It’s like you’re looking at the finger, but it won’t move and you don’t know why.  Try touching the top of the second finger to help your brain make the connection. 
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At first it feels a little like the first time you tried to tap your head and rub your stomach, but if you go slowly and do it a little every day, you’ll get it.

When someone decides to start taking violin or viola lessons, here is the typical list of equipment:

• Instrument
• Bow
• Case
• Rosin
• Shoulder rest
• Beginner book
• Music stand

It’s a good list, but it is missing a really important item:  the chin rest.  Of course, this is because violins and violas come with a chin rest already attached.  But that is like saying watches come with watch bands:  sometimes it doesn’t fit and you have to take links out or get a different kind of band that is more comfortable to wear.

For some reason, music stores and music teachers talk a lot about the different kinds of shoulder rests available and how to adjust them to fit the shape of your shoulder.  But we almost never talk about the importance of getting the right chin rest, even though they are easy to replace, inexpensive, and play a critical role in how comfortably you can hold up your instrument.

Most chin rests mount to the left of the tailpiece, even though only about 30% of the population fits this style.  The rest of us need some version of the center-mount chin rest, because that is where our jaws naturally fall when the instrument is properly balanced on the left collarbone.  (Btw, it really should be called a “jaw rest”.  You don’t put your chin on it, you rest the side of your jaw on it.)

Even if you need your chin rest on the left, there are several different shapes available and the one you have on your instrument might not be the most comfortable for you.

I’m currently teaching a beginner viola class at an elementary school (a terrible way to learn a stringed instrument, btw, but we do our best for the kids who will never take private lessons) and for most of these kids, holding their instruments correctly is really uncomfortable.  They try to adjust by holding the viola in front, “viola beard” style, because it doesn’t hurt that way.  How do you tell a kid that even though it hurts, they are doing it right?  “Play” is supposed to feel good, not hurt.  That goes for playing an instrument too.

And so, I wish that every music store that rents violins and violas would stock a good variety of chin rest styles, and that they would spend time helping the student get the right chin rest for them, just as they make sure the student gets the right size instrument and the right shoulder rest.  It should be a standard part of fitting a student to the right instrument.

Here’s how it works:

Have the student stand facing you.  Tell her not to move anything, but to let you place her hands/arms/head around the viola.  Balance the instrument on her left collarbone, all the way against her neck, parallel with the floor, at a 45° angle.  If you are standing in the middle of the room facing a wall, the scroll should point into the front left corner.

Place the student’s left hand in playing position with the palm of her hand up against the shoulder of the viola and her fingers hovering like an umbrella over the strings.
Have her move her head up and down and side to side (like saying “yes” and “no”) to make sure her head is comfortably upright and centered.  Then help turn her head slightly to her left and gently rest the left side of her jaw down on the instrument.  Her head should drop just an inch, and the natural weight of her head should make it easy for her to hold the viola up with her arms down at her sides.

Is the current chin rest cupping her face comfortably?  Or is it off to the left, and her jaw comes down on the edge of the chin rest, or sits on the tailpiece?  Does she instinctively want to stick her chin out, or cock her head, or move the viola higher on her shoulder or down in front of her?

Try different chin rests until you find the one that sits directly underneath her left jaw and feels comfortable.  It should feel to her like the viola is nestled comfortably, not pulling away from her.  There should be no sharp edges poking under her jaw or hard lumps pushing her head out of the way.  She should be able to turn her head to look forward and back down the fingerboard.

Here are several styles to try:  https://www.sharmusic.com/Accessories/Chinrests/
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If you are renting your instrument, keep the chin rest that came with it somewhere safe so that when you return it, you can put it back on.

Email me if you have any questions.

​I don’t know about previous summers, but this year was quite international.  There were several from Canada who are involved with El Sistema, a music education program that started in Venezuela to teach children from the slums.  There were teachers from Korea, Japan, Australia, Spain and Portugal, Brazil, and India, as well as several states in the US.

This summer also drew a lot of young teachers in their late 20s to early 30s.  There were a few around 40, and then the three of us "older" ladies:  me, Sarah from Muncie, IN, and Jane from Prestwick, Scotland.  All three of u are on our second (or third) careers and set up our teaching studios two years ago.  It was lovely to get to know these women!  We were often joined by our friend Paul from SoCal.  Here is a picture of the four of us at the Irish Lion in Bloomington.  
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And here are Jane and Sarah:

On the last day of the workshop we all gathered at Mimi’s house for our last session (Kreutzer etudes!) and brunch.  We got a chance to chat with the professors more, and I was surprised to learn that they thought this workshop would run for a few years and then stop – because there would be no more teachers interested.  But every summer they get a new crop of about 30-35 teachers, even now after a couple of decades.  I hope they continue.  It is excellent.

If you are interested in attending the workshop and have any questions about my experience there, feel free to email me at bryn@bryncannon.com. ​

Somehow, the word “discipline” has become synonymous with “punishment”.  Corporate HR departments and public school administrations have “disciplinary procedures”:  the process to follow when someone breaks the rules.  A parent might be referred to as a “disciplinarian”, meaning they are the parent who punishes you when you disobey.

This isn’t particularly new.  In fact, Merriam Webster says that in the 13th century, the term referred to religiously inspired punishment, such as self-flagellation.  These are probably the same people who misunderstood the proverb “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”  More on that in a minute.

In my opinion, all of this is a misunderstanding of the word.  Just as “discipline” sometimes refers to a body of knowledge or field of study, the word originally referred to the activities of a student who is learning something or following a particular teacher.  That student is a “disciple”.

Learning something well requires regular, consistent, persistent, and sometimes repetitive action.  This is discipline, and it takes time.  No punishment is needed, just motivation to do it, do it correctly, or at least do it better than the last time, and keep on doing it.

Few things in life require as much discipline as learning to play an instrument.  This is one of the reasons why music students score higher on their SATs, do better in math and science classes, and are pursued by law schools and med schools.  In order to succeed in learning an instrument and getting good at it (where the fun really begins) you have to have developed a capacity for discipline.  Therefore, you are already used to the dedication needed to study law (so much reading!) or medicine (long, long hours) or any body of knowledge that takes concentration over a long period of time.

One of the hardest things I do as a violin teacher is teach my students how to practice.  It isn’t consistent with our culture to stop playing with your friends, or turn off the video game, and go practice.  Alone.  Doing something that, at first, feels awkward and sounds terrible!  And later, it sometimes feels like a journey that never ends.  It's hard to notice improvement, which would be so encouraging if it were obvious!

I don’t believe in punishment for failure to practice, by the way.  That “rod” that we’re not supposed to spare was originally referring to a shepherd’s crook.  And a shepherd would never use his rod to hit his sheep!  If he did, he would either damage them or chase them away.  He might use the rod to hit or threaten a predator, but for the sheep, the rod was for guiding and keeping them on the path and moving in the right direction.  This is what a good parent does.

Parents play an important role in helping their child to practice – not being there with them, though occasionally that is a good idea, but creating the conditions that make good, consistent practicing possible.  Parents can help by setting aside a space that is relatively free from distractions (the TV isn’t on 20 feet away), setting a regular time every day that doesn’t conflict with other desirable activities (“We’re going to the park to play; you stay here and practice.”), reminding the student that it’s time to play violin, and not tolerating excuses.

Here are some ideas I have come across that might work for you:

• A friend of mine in youth symphony got to skip doing the dishes after dinner if he would practice his cello while his mom washed up.
• One of my adult students plays for an hour every day after breakfast.  (Now that is discipline!)
• The mom of one of my youngest students made a sticker chart with different stickers for either a day practiced or a day skipped.  Every night, her daughter puts either the one or the other sticker on the chart so she’s aware of practicing throughout the week.
• “Mindfulness” is the new buzzword these days.  The Bulletproof Musician blog describes mindful practicing as writing down a list of specific goals (play measures 24-36 up to tempo; play that shift in tune 5 times in a row; memorize the B section of that fiddle tune; etc.) and then working on those specific things until you can check them off the list.
• Of course, nothing beats having an upcoming performance or audition for motivation to practice.  If others are going to hear you, you want to be prepared!
• Also highly motivating is making sure you have some things you are excited about learning.  One of my students logged his all-time high in practice time over two weeks when I finally let him learn vibrato.  Everything got better, even his etudes!

I once heard discipline described visually in this way:

Water is the talent.  The riverbanks are the discipline.  If you have no riverbanks, you have a swamp full of stagnant, smelly, muddy water.  But if you have good boundaries, the water flows – sometimes very rapidly – in one direction, eventually reaching its goal.

Jeff was the featured guest, escaping from the ​snowy weather in Cleveland for a few days in the Nevada sunshine.  He gave a master class, played in the viola choir, and hung out with Kate and me.  Just as I remember him, Jeff is kind, generous, and engaging.  He obviously cares ​about the people he is working with.  He always starts with positive feedback before identifying the weaknesses.  He asks questions, uses insightful analogies, demonstrates and coaches through new techniques and approaches to problem solving.  Jeff was the first teacher who walked all around me while I played, observing my form from all angles and correcting a bow hold here or a neck tilt there.  It was unnerving at first, but he caught things my previous string teachers hadn’t noticed for years.  I soon came to appreciate his unconventional style, and rapidly improved.​

Cuban American violist Yunior Lopez gave the master class for high school students from the community.  In addition to performing and teaching viola students, he is the founder and conductor of the Young Artists Orchestra in Las Vegas.  I didn't get a photo of his master class, but you can check out these excellent performances by Yunior and a few of his high school musicians:  Bach Chaconne for Four Violas and  Brandenburg #6.

​If you’re not sure you like the sound of the viola, listen to a viola choir – you will develop a new appreciation for this beautiful, rich sounding instrument.  Twenty-five of us gathered on the stage to play a few pieces, where finally, with no violins in sight, we got to play the melody.  And that melody wasn’t just for the Viola 1 part:  violists are nice people, and we like sharing.  Each of the four parts took turns playing melody, harmony, and accompaniment.

Fingering:  One of the first things for more advanced students to do – when the basics I’ve already described become second nature – is look through the music to see what notes go higher than first position.  Once you are used to shifting you will be able to figure out a good place to shift up and when to shift down.  And if you can figure this out before you get there, you won’t need to stop and figure it out.

Articulations, Dynamics, and Other Nuances:  For more advanced music and musicians, you’ll want to look at the markings the composer has written into the music – e.g. slurs, staccato or spiccato, up-bows and down-bows; mezzo-pianos and fortes and crescendos; fermatas and caesuras and ritards; and so on.  Just take a quick look over the page to be aware of what’s coming up so it won’t take you by surprise.

Intervals:  Musicians who have had ear training have a huge advantage over those who haven’t.  If you’re one of the lucky ones, you can hear intervals in your head when you look at the notes.  This helps you anticipate what the next note is going to sound like.  When your eyes, ears, and fingers are all helping, you will be much more fluent in your note reading.

Scale degrees:  For more advanced students, I ask them to look at what note the piece starts on.  Where in the scale is that note?  Musicians who know their scale degrees and intervals can hear it in their heads, and can hum the music out loud.
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Eventually, your goal is to read music the way you read a book.  You don’t know how the story goes before you turn to Chapter 1, right?  But as you read the words, the story unfolds.  You can hear the words and get pictures in your mind as you read.  Sight reading music is the same:  by looking at the music, you will hear it and feel it without playing a single note.

Over the last two months I have been writing about sight-reading skills.  First I discussed the importance of developing these skills, and the levels of ability.  Next I outlined the basics I start with when teaching young and less advanced students.  Here, I go into more detail, and I'll post a bonus section for more advanced musicians next month.

More details about key signature

​Major & Minor Keys:  Usually at first, we are just working with major keys.  But when we come across a minor key, I explain the concept of relative minor and show the student how to find the minor key a minor third down.  It’s a little tricky for younger and less experienced students to understand, but with repetition everyone gets it eventually.

To explain the concept of relative minors, I talk about relatives having the same signature – the same last name – but are different people.  This helps students remember that E minor and G major, for example, are relatives; they have the same last name and “sign their names the same way” – with an F#.

Next I point out that a lot of music starts and ends on the tonic (e.g. C is the tonic in C major).  Not always, but it’s a clue if you’re not sure (and might be a clue that this one is in the relative minor).  And I have them find the lowest of that note on their instrument and play a scale in that key so they orient their ear.

Accidentals:  I ask students to look for accidentals, so they’re ready when they get to them.  And I ask:  Will you just slide your finger up or down when you get to that note, or is that going to be an extra wide stretch from first to third finger, or…?  Those might just be chromatic notes, or they might indicate a modulation to another key.

More details about rhythm and meter

Rhythm:  In addition to clapping the rhythm, I also have students look for anything unusual; for example, a triplet in 4-4 time, syncopated notes, or ties across a barline.

Tempo Marking:  We look at the context for the rhythms and meter, because the tempo can have a dramatic effect on how the music sounds and is played.

• What does “Moderato” mean in English?  Is it faster or slower than “Allegro”?  How about “Andante”? 
• Does that 3-4 time actually feel like you are counting in 1? 
• Are those 8th notes fairly slow or super fast in this context?

Form:  I might also have students take a step back to look at the big picture, the “road map”. 

• Is there an A section and a B section?
• Are there any repeat signs?
• Is there a D.C. al fine?  A coda?
• Are there any meter changes or new tempos part way through?

Putting It All Together

Once a student can do all of the basics pretty easily with prompting, I start having them do it silently in their heads.  We turn the page to a new piece of music, and I wait while they look at all the basic elements.  When they’re ready, they give it a shot (starting with a quick one-octave scale if they want to orient their ear), and then I compliment them on the parts they got right and have them take another look at the sections they missed.

The Goal

What we are aiming for is a musically expressive rendition of what’s on the page.  Slowly (with practice) students move from the music equivalent of “See – Jane – run – see – Dick – run – see – Spot – run” to a dramatic interpretation of whatever the composer wrote.  And eventually, musicians learn to do all of this pretty quickly.  You won’t need to play a quick scale to orient your ear to the key, because you’ll be able to hear the notes in your head and translate that as you play.

Things that help:

• Learn all the note values, common tempo markings, and other terminology.
• Practice hearing intervals on a keyboard or your violin without music in front of you.  Practice also identifying the intervals you see on the page – both double stops and adjacent notes.  Then start associating what you see with what you hear.
• Sight read something new every day.
• Join a group, like a string quartet, that gets together to read music regularly.

Have fun, and don’t be in a hurry.  You will learn how to do this, but it will take time.  If you want, record yourself trying to sight read something today, and then in a year record yourself again.  If you have been working on it consistently, you will be amazed at how much better you are!

Last month I wrote about the importance of sight-reading skills and the different levels of ability.  It’s a complex skill that involves more than just the ability to read notes and note values correctly on a sheet of music.  It also requires musical instinct and an engaged musical ear, just like with learning and playing music by ear with no music in front of you.

Although it does take time to learn sight-reading skills, and even more time to develop confidence in your ability, there are specific things you can do beyond just using your musical instinct and your ear.  This post describes how I have been teaching my students to approach a new piece of music they have never heard before.

Note Names and Note Values:  The first thing students must learn is what notes they are playing (the note names, not just what finger to use on what string) and how long that note lasts.  I ask questions such as: 

• What note is that?  (e.g. “C”, not “second finger on the A string”) 
• What is that dot to the right of the note head?  How does it change the length of the note?  What if that dot were under the note instead of next to it? 
• What kind of rest is that, and how many beats is it?

These are the basic elements students need to know before I start teaching them to sight-read.  I have found that my former Suzuki students are a little hazy on some of this, even though their playing is quite advanced.  For example, they might or might not know that that note is called an 8th note, though they probably know it is faster than a quarter note.  Because they have learned the music by ear first, and then are using the printed music as a reminder of how it goes, I need to figure out what gaps they have in their knowledge and fill those gaps in.

Next I introduce students to the steps for sight-reading a piece of music.

Key Signature:  When we turn the page to a new piece, these are the first questions I ask: 

• Are there sharps or flats?  Which ones?  

Then I have the student figure out what the key is.  If it’s sharps, then the key is the note above the last sharp (reading left to right).  If it’s flats, then the key is the second-to-last flat.

This means there are two keys you have to memorize:  C major, which has no flats or sharps, and F major, which has only one flat.

I also point out that the first sharp in the sequence is always F# and the first flat is always Bb and the order of the sequences is always the same.

Time Signature:  The time signature is the first clue to the rhythmic feel of the music.

• What does the upper number mean?  What does the lower number mean?
• Can you count a few measures in that meter?
• How are the 8th notes grouped?  In a measure that has all 8th notes, do the beams (the bars connecting the note stems) connect 2 or 3 or 4 notes?
• Which beats in the measures are accented?
• Is there an incomplete measure at the beginning (a pick-up note or two)?

I have students clap the rhythm while I tap the beat on the stand with my pencil.  Or I have them point to the notes while saying the rhythm:  “One two-and three four”.
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• How about the rests?  Where are they, and how many beats are they?

​As they get used to these basic elements, I start to add more details.  Next month’s post will talk about these details, and I might add a bonus section with some extras for more advanced students.