The Rolland Shuttle
B. Place a small piece of toilet paper, tissue or small cloth between the finger and the fingerboard then simply slide up and down on a middle string. Youth- ful students somehow find this exercise entertaining, yet, like the “Shuttle,” this movement shapes the left hand, correctly places the elbow, moves the hand as a unit, and frees the “sticky” feeling.
C. Left hand thumb games are always in or-
der. A small piece of sponge placed between the thumb and neck can help younger students get the idea of a “soft thumb.” Tapping and rubbing the side of the neck are early exer- cises quickly done, often overlooked, yet essential to future development. More advanced students can
play a phrase or
line of music taking the thumb completely off the neck of the instru- ment. The student soon finds
a relaxed, more
natural, thumb position that releases the tension in both the thumb and left hand.
D. Mental pictures are always important for youngsters. Try
this: pretend that you are in a swimming pool shoulder deep in water – relax the arms. They will float to the sur- face. That is how you want the arms to feel when set up correctly. I used what I called the “Flab Tech- nique” for some time. Without an instrument, I demonstrated flipping the relaxed flab on both my forearm and upper arm and told my students that is how you want your arms to feel – not clenched or tight. This worked for a
while until one young fourth grader said with plaintive eyes, “But JANUARY 2014 45
front of the students. It is a pattern, so have them figure out the fingering starting on an open string, and then starting on first finger. The basses may need some assistance with fingering – see below.
G. I used The Blob for a number of years in string orches- tra warm ups. One reader asked: “Did you use The Blob dur- ing the entire school year?” Well, yes, certainly not every day. I did vary it. I inserted slurs; played it in rhythms (a particularly difficult ensemble rhythm or even cross rhythms in our selected repertoire); used different bowings including Martelé, Marcato,
Tom, I don’t have any flab.” You may have your own visuals – something to do with Jell-O or perhaps with Neil Armstrong and weightless space; but whatever story you concoct, it is important pedagogically to give youngsters something they can visualize.
E. Students from second year through high school can learn
a scale on one string beginning on the first finger or using first finger alone. Or, try Au Clair de la Lune, Mary Had A Little Lamb or some other simple linear melody on one string and first finger only. Make sure students keep all their fingers lined up with the string.
F. Play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in each key going up the fingerboard chromatically or in the key of the literature placed in
Spiccato, Staccato, as well as simple Détaché; and bow placement including Sul ponticello and Sul tasto. Variation was key to have students buy into the repetition. (The Blob can be downloaded at
https://sites.google.com/a/dslextreme.com/cmeamagazine/
TEMPO
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