Dear Studio,

I began teaching Todd in February, knowing full well that he would be leaving at the end of the school year when his family moved to Texas. The time went so quickly and on Friday (May 25th) we had his Twinkle Graduation at my house. He played all the twinkles, the A Major Scale, and the A Arpeggio. If we’d had one more week he could have done Lightly Row as well…He has come so far so quickly!

When Todd first began his lessons he was very eager to “start playing,” not really wanting to take the time necessary to get his body organized or to really focus in on the details of what he was doing but once he began going down his checklist (feet, back, nose, violin, etc.) it was smooth sailing–I think once he was introduced to the bow division of Twinkle Theme he was able to add the notes immediately!

Well done Todd! We’ll miss you but wish you the best.

(Too bad I don’t have a picture with his face in it…But isn’t his bowhold beautiful?)

Todd Graduation Certificate

Hello Studio,

There is a lot going on in the next week so I thought I’d post it all to make sure we were all on the same page.

As many of you know, next week there is a RECITAL on May 4th at 6:30pm.

It will be held at the Belmont LDS Chapel (off of the 2). The address is 15 Ledgewood Place.

• Students are asked to arrive 10-15 minutes early so they can arrive calmly, get tuned, and find a seat.

• Sunday dress is required of all performing (no jeans, no flip-flops) and requested of all attending.

• If performing, make sure to bring your instrument and your music (even if you aren’t using it…just in case).

• Please feel free to invite family and friends and to bring a treat to share after the recital.

In preparation for next week’s recital, I will be holding STUDIO CLASS at my house on Monday, April 30th @ 6pm. This is open to any students interested in practicing performing their piece prior to the recital. It will be 30 minutes long.

Also on Monday, April 30th @ 5pm is the Make-Up Group Class for Twinkle Group 1 which I moved from last week. Thanks for your flexibility!

A pdf of the MAY CALENDAR is now available under “Calendars and Events”. Please print it off and keep a copy so you know when I am teaching and when I am not. As many of you know, I am currently taking additional Suzuki Teacher Training at the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut. One of the requirements for the class is to complete a certain number of observation hours prior to the end of the semester. Due to this I am not teaching on May 1st (which was included on the semester calendar distributed at the end of January). I have made arrangements in my teaching schedule to make sure all Tuesday students receive the correct number of lessons to make up for this day. If you would like an additional copy of the semester calendar (it is yellow), I have them on my piano.

All of you should have received the SUMMER SCHEDULING information at this point. If you have not arranged your lesson times, please contact me ASAP–even if you are planning to keep the same time as you had during the school year. I need to know what you are planning so I can arrange all my other students. I am planning to teach Mondays (pm), Tuesdays (am/pm) and Wednesdays (am/pm). Thursdays I will be in Lincoln (pm).

All the information about scheduling can be found in my last post. If you have questions please call me. It is much easier to do this over the phone rather than in an email. If there are specific times you would like, the sooner you schedule the more likely they will be available and consistent over the entire summer. Thank you to those who have already scheduled!

READ ME!!! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!

Scheduling for Summer Semester 2012 and Fall Semester 2012 begins now.

I do not subscribe to the philosophy that we take the summer off. If anything, I view summer as my time to hit it hard with my students. Schedules open up and we can accomplish so much more than when they are busy busy busy. What better way to spend a summer than practicing….

If you wish to keep you current lesson time next fall, I need to know by April 15^th. THIS DOES NOT NEED TO REMAIN YOUR TIME OVER THE SUMMER, BUT THAT CAN BE ARRANGED IF YOU PREFER TO KEEP THINGS THE SAME.

If you do not register for Summer Semester 2012 your time slot will not be held. In the past, I have had students take the summer off, but have paid for lessons simply to hold their spot in the Fall. This would not be my choice as a parent, but it is an option.

Tuning Up: Dates for Tuning Up! 2012 were distributed back in February and I hope they made it to your calendar. It will be held the week of July 16^th – 20^th with a performance that evening. This is a studio wide event. Please refer to the page on Tuning Up! for more details.

Group: Every student is assigned to a group. Group over the summer will be held at the following times:

Twinkle Group is for all Twinkle and Pre-Twinkle students and is held every other Tuesday @ 6pm (see attached Calendar).

Group 1 is for all students who have graduated from Twinkle but are still in Book 1. This class is held every other Monday @ 5pm and will be 45 minutes long.

Piano Group is for all piano students and will be held on July 1^st and July 30^th at 5pm.

****PLEASE NOTE: THESE GROUPS WILL BE HELD AT THE SAME TIME IN THE FALL. If you have questions about which group your child will be in so you can mark your calendar now give me a call. I will also be adding a Group 2 on Tuesdays @ 6pm that will rotate weeks with the Twinkle Group.

Review the attached calendar for Summer Semester 2010. Lessons are scheduled week by week and that begins now. This is easier in person rather than over the telephone. Plan on bringing your family calendar to your child’s next lesson and taking the first five minutes of their lesson to schedule July and August.  (I schedule lessons week by week to accommodate family vacations, summer camps, and conflicts that so often arise in the summer. This is to keep me sane and our lessons together somewhat regular. Many find this very confusing the first time they do it. If it is give me a call and/or we can find a time to meet.)

Thank you!

Libby

Summer Semester 2012 Teaching Schedule

Tuning Up! 2012 Schedule

Great Job to Daphne and Ivy for their hard work in December.

They filled in every tree!

Aren’t their trees beautiful?

During the holidays it is easy to let practicing fall to the wayside so I am providing a little incentive.

Print off the pdf of the Christmas Practice Chart (see below) which can be found under “Studio–Practice Charts.” Every day you practice in December you get to color in a tree. If you color in all 28 you get a prize (often known to be a king-size candy bar or a pack of gum…)

It is already December 4th so I am giving everyone 4 free days/trees. If you miss a day, you are welcome to make it up by practicing twice on another day.

Happy Practicing!

The ants go marching one by one (hurrah, hurrah).

The ants go marching one by one (hurrah, hurrah).

The ants go marching one by one,

The little one stops to check his (or her) thumb

and they all go marching down, to the ground,

to get out of the rain (boom, boom, boom, boom).

Read More...

Many have been asking for the “official” words for the Bow Poem.

These may not be THE original words, but they are the words I use:

Up Like a Rocket

Down Like the Rain

Back and Forth Like a Choo Choo Train

Round My Face Like the Great Big Sun

Land by Your Nose

Round Pinky (Tap Tap)

Curved Thumb

For many Twinklers, especially those who are very young, you do not start lessons with a “real” violin. You begin with a “fake” violin” or a box violin. We do this for several reasons, with safety and durability topping the list. (“Real” violins tend to be broken violins if they fall to the floor…) So until we know your little someone can care for his or her instrument and has the strength to not drop it, we use a box.

To assemble a box violin you will need several items, most of which you will around your house.

1. an empty macaroni and cheese box (or one of a similar size/shape/WIDTH-you want to choose a box that will fit comfortably under the chin of your child, approximately one inch thick)

2. a wooden ruler (or something as thin, wide, and long)

3. tape (one that is durable and another that is clear for decorating)

4. contact paper or any other paper to completely cover the box

5. stuffing material (newspaper, old socks missing their mate, quilt batting, etc.)

6. misc. decorating supplies

Instructions

Step #1: Take your empty box and stuff it full of something…wadded up newspaper works really well. The box needs to be filled so it does not collapse when held between a heavy head and a shoulder.

Step #2: Take your heavy duty tape and tape the ruler so that it is centered on the right small side of the box with 6 or 7 inches hanging over the side.

Step #3: Cover your box with contact paper or wrap it like a present with a paper grocery sack, wrapping paper or construction paper.

Step #4: Decorate it if you like. We will be adding some specific parts to it at lessons.

Happy practicing!