Tiptoe Dance by Gail Ridgway Brown 
Where to put it: Middle of Book 2, Gavotte from Mignon-ish: after Low 1 has been introduced, and after some pizzicato prep has been done.
 
Tiptoe Dance is a great piece for putting a lot of skills together, but not necessarily for teaching them. Students should be comfortable with high 2/low 2 patterns as well as low 1’s and the C Major Scale before learning this piece. It has some fun fast scales, as well as one little lick that’s reminiscent of Gossec Gavotte.  The theme can be done either on the string at the balance point, or brush stroke, depending on the student. It also ends with a fast transition to a pizzicato chord that needs some isolation practice and some pizzicato prep (see: Green Tomatoes).
 
Teaching Tricks:

• Isolate the 16th note runs and teach them separate bows, then hooked martele, then slurred.
• Isolate m. 9 and make sure the student lifts the high 2 while playing the last 3rd finger to reach back for the low 2.
• Use the 8th rests to make sure the bow hand is released and flexible in the air (you can have them shake the bow during the rest to check this).

Dance of the Gnomes, by Charlotte Louise Woodbridge 
Where to put it: Middle of Book 2 – pairs nicely with Two Grenadiers
 
Dance of the Gnomes uses many of the same skills as Two Grenadiers, from the ability to switch between d minor and D Major to the many finger patterns used. Both the bowings and rhythms are simpler than in Two Grenadiers, so depending on the student, this piece can either be preparation for Two Grenadiers or reinforcement afterwards. There are double-stops, but they’re mostly open strings and add a great element of fun. The slurs in the D Major section also help to strengthen the bow skills needed in Suzuki Book 2. Several well-placed ritards also help students develop musical pacing and sophistication.
 
Teaching Tricks:

• Work a lot on arm levels – slurs can be done as martele to help feel the arm drop to the new string during the stop.
• Teach the D Major section with slurs as martele to help both with level crossings and bow distribution.
• Isolate M. 28 to work on the tritone across the strings from 3 to low 4.
• For the student already doing some 3rd position work, the very last note of the piece (m. 20) can be done in 3rd on the G string.

‘Lil Blue, by Hannah Bartel 
Where to put it: Middle – end of Book 2
 
‘Lil Blue is a beautiful piece that features a lyricism not found in many of the pieces in Suzuki Book 2. Students should be able to play a 2 octave A Major scale before they tackle this piece. This is a much friendlier introduction to A Major than Boccherini Minuet. It’s in ¾, and as every phrase starts on an upbeat, provides ample opportunity to discuss strong and weak beats and bow speed. Lots of good 4th finger practice as well.
 
Teaching Tricks:

• Do work on breathing on an upbeat so the student learns to cue it well.
• Having the student sing this first helps them learn where to breathe naturally.
• Depending on where the student is, teaching the slurs as hooked martele can always be usefule, but if the student’s bow arm is already well developed, you can skip this step and go straight to the slurs.

The Marionettes, by Eve Hungerford 
Where to put it: Late Book 2
 
The Marionettes is another great piece in A Major that’s friendlier than Boccherini Minuet. Its cheerful and upbeat character make it a favorite of my students. There are some fun repeated downbows on the G string which give us a chance to work on landing at the frog and pulling the arm weight in the bow. Students will become very comfortable with alternating high 3 and ringing 3.  Dotted rhythms in the middle section will help reinforce the rhythmic concepts introduced in Two Grenadiers and Witches’ Dance. There is also opportunity to work on the left hand frame with plenty of 1 – 4 octave passages.
 
Teaching Tricks:

• The middle section is a great place to talk about subdivision. The tendency is for a student to turn the dotted rhythm into a triplet rhythm. I have them play the 16th note subdivisions, then I play the subdivision while they play normally, then transition them to thinking the subdivision while they play.
• Isolate the 1 -4 octave sections and talk about hand balance, keeping the left thumb soft, and ringing intonation.
• Isolate the repeated downbows. Have the students land right at the frog, do a pinky pushup or some exercise to feel that their thumb is flexible and that their weight is in the back half of their bow arm.
• For students shifting to 3rd position, the last note of this piece can be done in 3rd position on the D string.

Aria, by Ethel Barns 
Where to put it: After Gavotte from Mignon in Book 2
 
Aria is a beautiful piece in g minor that helps develop a lyrical tone and more sophisticated phrasing. Particularly after the faster pieces in the middle of Book 2 (Two Grenadiers, Witches’ Dance, and Gavotte from Mignon), this makes for a dramatic change in character and allows the student to work on their low 1’s and 4’s in a slower paced piece. There are lots of opportunities to talk about breathing (like a singer, since an aria is a song!), phrasing, and pacing. Two simple doublestops at the end allow for a little technical push as well.
 
Teaching Tricks:

• I almost always have students sing and write words to this piece before learning it.
• Have the students play the quintuplets separate bows, then hooked martele before the slurs. A little rhythmic work may be needed to help them make the 5 notes even within the beat.
• The last line needs some isolation to work on changing from 8ths to triplets.
• The doublestops at the end are worth isolating to talk about string levels and left hand frame.

Many, many thanks to Claire Allen for her thoughtful analysis and helpful hints on using these pieces! Check out all the wonderful activities at the Potomac Arts Academy, where Claire teaches (in addition to her own studio, Allen Violin Studio) and is co-ordinator of chamber music. Fairfax, Virginia is lucky to have her!
 
 
 
 
 

Without further ado, here is the next installment of Claire Allen's article!

The Ice Skating Pond, by Hannah Bartel 
Where to put it: After Minuet 2, and then anywhere in Suzuki Book 2
 
This is a phenomenal piece, and my students simply adore it. Especially when they’ve been working hard to master the more sophisticated bow patterns, playing this piece is a huge relief and lets them just play. I don’t teach this piece until after a student has done Minuet 2 and is fairly comfortable with both low 2 and high 3 patterns. Students will want to play this piece fast right away, and rather than rein them in too much, I make sure that there isn’t really anything new for them to learn in it so they can just run.
 
Teaching Tricks:

• Spend the first week on intonation, especially the 4th fingers. Have students stop and hold ringing 3’s and 4’s and tune them to the open strings.
• If you haven’t done so already, this piece is the perfect piece to introduce how to work with a metronome.
• Use dotted rhythm patterns (again with a metronome) to increase speed.
• Depending on the student, you can also have the metronome on half notes and then have them march quarter notes (while playing) to help keep them steady.
• It can be fun to do a travel bow from the frog to the tip in measures 10-11 for a dramatic dimuendo and to play the recap at the tip, then a reverse travel bow for the crescendo in m. 17-18.

 
Buy My Pine, by Edith Winn 
Where to put it: Musette
 
Buy My Pine is a fun, fiddle-ish piece. I’ve found that it works best around the Bach Musette in Book 2 to work both on D Major finger patterns across all four strings as well as slurs that are a little less complicated than those in Musette. There are also opportunities for a lot of good level work.
 
Teaching Tricks:

• Isolate the 4th finger passages in advance.
• Teach the runs first playing each note twice (doubles), then separate bows, then hooked marteles, then slurs.

 
A Picture, by Edith Winn 
Where to put it: After Minuet 2
 
A Picture works very nicely with Minuet 2. It reinforces the Down Up-Up bowing, and also has some great opportunities for building the connection between the high 3rd finger and the 4th finger. There’s more high 2/low 2 finger patterns, and some fun passage work across the strings. Depending on the student, the bowstroke can either be detache on the string at the balance point, or you can have them bounce it a little bit. There are also a great ritardandos to where you can talk about pacing and breathing.
 
Note: I don’t always teach this piece – I use it more in the Minuets if a student is really getting things quickly and needs more repertoire to go in depth.
 
Teaching Tricks:

• Isolate the runs in advance – doubles, singles, and rhythm patterns if needed.
• Point out the key change for the B section in advance.
• M. 25 – 26 and the analogous passages following them also work well if you slur the first two notes and then do an up-bow on the last quarter note of the measure.
• Many opportunities for bow circles and discussion of flexible bow fingers for a soft landing.

 
Green Tomatoes, by Hannah Bartel 
Where to put it:  Early Book 2, after Musette
 
Students love the fact that Green Tomatoes is almost entirely pizzicato. The D Major finger patterns as well as the bowing patterns in the arco section work well to reinforce the work they’ve done in Musette. Playing this much pizzicato helps prepare them for the ending of Gavotte from Mignon later in the book.
 
Teaching Tricks:

• Teach the pizzicato without the bow at all first – have them plant the thumb and pluck.
• Stage two involves holding the bow while plucking.

 
Note: I teach Gossec Gavotte after Bourree in Book 2, so this serves as prep for that as well. Green Tomatoes would also be good between Happy Farmer and Gossec Gavotte in Book 1 if you teach the pieces in that sequence.


Part 3 coming very soon!