Suzuki Summer institutes

Hi all,
The Suzuki Association of the Americas has posted a preliminary list of the Suzuki institutes for this coming summer. A complete listing will be coming out in this winter.

http://suzukiassociation.org/events/institutes/

I'd strongly recommend attending a Suzuki institute this summer as a great way to motivate kids throughout the year and keep consistent practicing going through the summer. Kids get to have classes with top-notch teachers and musicians, perform individually and in groups, make new music friends, and take part in a lot of other fun activities. If you are able to fit one into the schedule and the budget, it's well worth it. Some of the top teachers in the country teach at these workshops, so it's a great opportunity. Many of the institutes are quite respected and well-established, so feel free to talk with us about which ones would be good for your child to attend. If you have questions about whether or not an institute would be good for your child, please let us know.

I'll post some information later on about summer fiddle camps too. There are some really fun ones!

Conserving resources

Hi guys,
I'm wondering if we can talk with all the kids that are coming for lessons about being a bit less wasteful with the cups and water. We're seeing a lot of waste, cups being filled with water and then none of the water being drunk, using 3 or 4 cups (or more) for one person within a half hour period, pouring water into the drain just for fun, etc.

We'd like to make sure we're being a bit more environmentally friendly and we appreciate your help.

Thanks!

Free Music Mind Games workshop on Oct 23

The St. Louis chapter of the Music Teachers National Association will sponsoring a free workshop here in St. Louis by Michiko Yurko, the creator of Music Mind Games. These are games to teach theory and music reading skills in a fun, encouraging way so students learn to read music fluently and without fear of failure. Students learn to understand the logic of music reading as well as music theory so they don't have to resort to guesswork.

I have spoken with the Jennifer Spohr who is putting this together and it sounds like they are eager to have a lot of people show up. She's told us to invite as many people as we like, so you are certainly all welcome. You don't need to worry about having any of the Music Mind Game materials if you don't already have them.

The information for the workshop is listed below and can also be found on Michiko's website:
www.musicmindgames.com

Teacher Workshop in St. Louis, MO (Friday, October 23, 2009)

Clinician: Michiko Yurko
Group: St. Louis Missouri Music Teachers Association in affiliation with MTNA
Date: Friday, October 23, 2009
Time: 10 am - noon
Location: United Methodist Church of Green Trails, 14237 Ladue Road, Chesterfield, Missouri
Fee: n/c
Contact: Jennifer Spohr jennifer@spohrpiano.com, home phone 636.230.9884, cell 314.307.0161 Reservations: If you are not a member of this group, please contact Jennifer. Nonmembers are welcome!
Materials: If you own a Puppy Packet, please bring it. A limited number of materials will be available for sale following the workshop at a 10% discount.
Preparation: Participants should wear comfortable, sit-on-the-floor clothes. Table and chairs will also be available

Hopefully we'll see you there!

Group and Fiddle classes 3 and 4 this Saturday

Hi all,

We have fiddle and group classes again this Saturday, October 17 at St. Timothy's.

Fiddle will meet from 2:30 to 3:15.

Let's split up into two groups again. Back up and Push students will be in the choir room and all other students in the Parish Hall.

Groups 3 and 4 will meet from 3:30 to 4:15.

We'll have our usual goodies afterwards!
See you there!

Fiddle and Group Classes 1 and 2 this Saturday

Hi everyone,
We'll be having fiddle and group classes this Saturday, October 10 at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church again. Please plan to get to your classes early so we can tune before class and start right on time.

Fiddle will be meeting from 2:30 to 3:15. We'll be dividing into two groups. Students who have learned all or some of Back Up and Push should plan to come to the choir room. You'll also be working on Orientalische Melody in addition to Back Up and Push. All other students will be downstairs in the parish hall and should plan to work on:
Sally Gardens
Johnny's Gone to France
Fire on the Mountain
The King of the Faeries
offbeats/backbeats. You'll need them for the back up part for Orientalische Melody.
If anyone would like to play their made up solo, that would be cool!

Suzuki Groups 1 and 2 will be meeting from 3:30 to 4:15. Group 1 will be divided again. Students who are on foam-a-lins or playing/plucking open strings will be upstairs with me again. Students up through the Twinkle Theme and Variations will be in the choir room with Kirby. Group 2 students will be downstairs in the parish hall with Maggie. If you're not sure where to go, let us know and we'll get you to where you need to be!

We'll have goodies available in the parish hall afterwards. I'll make sure they are peanut butterless so everyone can enjoy them this time!

Online Tuners

Hi everyone,

It's a great idea to invest in a tuner. It's important to keep those fiddles in tune, and now that we're coming to the colder weather, they are going to start going REALLY out of tune! While we carry some tuners at the school and there are a number of good ones for sale online, you can now use free online tuners or the iphone application. Maggie has the application on her iphone, so talk with her if you are interested in getting it.

Although I still prefer a portable tuner, this online tuner is pretty good in a pinch if you've misplaced your tuner or haven't gotten one yet. (Just be sure to use the fine tuners rather than the pegs on fractional size violins. The website says otherwise.)

http://www.get-tuned.com/violin_tuner.php

You just click on each note and tune the strings to the pitch you hear.

Those of you who have the assignment to sing A everyday to develop perfect pitch or good relative pitch who do not have a tuner can use this one to check if you are singing in tune!

Now if you sound out of tune, you'll know it's not your violin....