Week 6 - Screencasting

For this screencasting project, I would like to describe how I would use it in my beginning orchestra classes.
INTRODUCTION:
One of the tricks in teaching strings is getting the foundation set, which is the basic techniques. That would be how exactly to hold the instrument, from where it sets on the shoulder, what your elbows are doing, the angle and position of the wrist, and the placement of the fingers. The same can be said for the bow hand. What I have found is that in class I can hammer these things, but I so often find them when they come back the next time that they had forgotten the correct technique, and practiced the wrong way. Once they get accustumed to holding it incorrectly, it is difficult fixing it. Maybe this can help!

MAIN IDEA: To set up a screencast that demonstrates, visually and verbally, how to properly hold the instrument. It will be a step by step process that the students will have to follow. The goal is for a parent to be involved and to help...the screencast is almost more for them to make sure that what their child is doing is correct.

DEVELOPMENT OF SCREENCAST:
The first screencast will be a basic "lecture" on all the parts of the instrument. After naming and pointing towards each part, there will be a brief pause for the student (and hopefully parent) to find it themselves. They need to know the names of these parts, so that when describing how to hold it, they know what I am talking about when I name a part of the instrument.

The second screencast will be on how to properly position yourself to hold the instrument.
1. Feet are open 90 degrees, properly balanced.
2. Violin rests on the shoulder...the scroll points in the same direction as your left foot.
3. Head is tilted slightly towards the left so that you are looking at the scroll.
4. The left part of your chin (and cheekbone) rest on the chin rest. The violin should be sturdy...your left hand is not yet touching the violin.
5. Now put your left hand underneath the neck, with your thumb on the G-string side of it, and the palm towards the E-string side.
6. Make sure your elbow is tucked down beneath the violin.
7. Make sure your wrist is of level plane with your hand and arm. It cannot be caved in and touching the neck of the violin.
8. Lastly, place the tips of your fingers on the fingerboard. Each finger should be curved so that the ball of your finger is touching the string.

The third screencast is on how to properly hold the bow.
1. Make sure you don't touch the horse hair of the bow when holding it.
2. Place your thumb on the inside of the bow
3. Place your second finger over the top and extend slightly forward.
4. Your 3rd and fourth fingers balance the bow on the outside.
5. Place your pinky, curved, over the top of the end of the bow.

CONCLUSION:
To put this demonstration together would take quite a bit of work, and timing. This is something that could be used every year, so it would be worthwhile. Each screencast would be used in separate weeks, and would only be used at the beginning level. It would be a part of the first unit in developing the technique of playing the violin. The benefit of it is getting the right information while they practice at home. The beginning stages of learning are very important, and this allows them to learn outside of the classroom, and gives them added help if one of their parents can check to make sure they do it right. The violin can be a painful instrument to listen to in its early stages...hopefully this can shorten that time!