MUSE 355 String Pedagogy Handbook

Name: Kendell Fowler Date: March 2, 2018

Required Topics

Violin and Viola Instrument Set-Up

Definition: Violin/ Viola should have a 45-degree angle from the body
and be parallel to the floor. The left foot should also be at a 45-
degree angle and should be in line with the scroll. The instrument
goes on the left shoulder and the jaw bone is placed on the chin rest
(chin should not be on the chin rest). Sit on the front half of the chair
and have the feet flat on the floor and shoulder width apart. Body
weight should be on the balls of the feet, not the heels.

1. Ask students to draw an imaginary line from their nose to their

bridge and then to their scroll. Then have them touch their nose and
then, using that imaginary line as a guide, touch the bridge and then
the scroll.
2. Tell students that there is hot lava on the back of their chairs, so if
they ever lean back while they are playing and their back touches it,
they will get burned. This will ensure they are sitting on the front half
of the chair.
3. Have the students pull on an imaginary string from above them so
the sit nice and tall with no tension.
4. Have the students slap their cheek towards the chin rest to ensure
their jaw bone is on it and not the actual chin
5. Have students feel the “shelf” that the instrument will rest on. Have
them feel their shoulder and collarbones.

Cello Instrument Set-Up

Definition: All cello players need to sit to play the instrument. The
player should sit on the front half of the chair the player should lean
towards the instrument. The adjustment of the peg is determined of
the heel of the instrument is on the center of the chest. Knees should
be underneath the C bout. There should always be some natural
movement side to side to play cello.
1. Have students hug the neck of the cello and move it gently side to
side. This will give them the idea of the kind of movement the cello
should do.
2. Have the students take both hands off the instrument and have
them pull an imaginary string above them and have the sit nice and
tall with no tension.
3. To ensure their feet are on the floor, have the students stand up
and sit down with a game of Simon says. They should easily stand up
with the instrument in their hand if their weight is in the balls of the
feet while sitting.
4. Have students shuffle their feet to ensure their feet are flat on the
floor.
5. Tell students that the legs should always feel like its hugging the
instrument, not squeezing.

Double Bass Instrument Set-Up

Definition: The bass can be played sitting or standing. For standing
the bass should be on the inner right thigh. The instrument should be
at a slight angle. The end pin should be at height where, when
relaxed, the right arm can bow in the sweet spot which is between the
bridge and finger board. For sitting, a kitchen stool should be used.
The left foot should rest on the rods of the stool while the right foot
should be on the floor. The end pin should be at a height where the
nut of the bass is near the players forehead. The instrument should
again be at a slight angle against the right inner thigh.

1. Have students draw an imaginary line from the forehead to the nut
of their bass.
2. Have students comfortably place their hands on the sweet spot on
the bass. If they ever go beyond the sweet spot tell them that they will
hit the sour spot.
3. Have students stand straight up nice and tall with bass in hand.
Have them dip the bass towards their body but their thy is the brace.
This will ensure the bass goes towards them and their body’s not
towards the bass.
4. To ensure balance, have students relax their hands to the side and
let the bass balance like a balance beam on their body.
5. Have the students hug the bass and do a slight twisting motion
while hugging it. This will have let them understand that the bass
should move and rotate a little while playing.
Violin and Viola Bow Hold
Definition: Thumb should be to the bottom of the stick (at the frog)
and bent. Middle and ring finger should be on top of the stick. The
hand should lean towards the index finger while the pinky is placed
on top.

1. Have students make bunny ears on the bow. Then tell them that
the bunny dies and have it lean towards the tip of the bow.
2. Have students use a pencil instead of a bow to allow them focus
on hand shape without balancing the bow
3. Have students find the balance point, when they find the balance
point have them only hold the bow using their bent thumb.
4. Have them hold a very soft ball using the bow hold. The ball should
not be squeezed but should have just enough pressure to hold the
ball.
5. Have student form the bow holds and tell them to look through their
telescope or spyglasses. This will ensure that there is good enough
space between the thumb and the middle and ring finger.

Cello and Bass (French) Bow Hold

1. Have students put their bow in their air. Have them put their right
hand on the bow as if they are hanging from a cliff and have them put
the bow towards their body.
2. Have them think of swing their arms like a pendulum to have their
arms be relaxed when bowing
3. Have them take a fuzzy ball and hold it so they understand not to
squeeze the bow but get a good grip on it.
4. Have them hold the bow in playing position. Tell them that they
should think about the bow being parallel with the floor and there
shouldn’t be any directional angle to the bow.
5. Tell them that the top four fingers should be like drapes over the
bow with the thumb being the window sill

Détaché
Definition: A French word meaning detached or separated. Uses
different bowings for each note and/or slur.

1. Have the players take a paper towel cylinder and take a stick to
help guide their bowing
2. Have the students take some rosin and use their bow to bow
across.
3. Have violin and violas put their left index finger to their right elbow
and swing their arm back in forth like making a semi-circle
4. Have the students get into buddies and help have their buddies
help guide there arm back and forth
5. Have the students think smooth like butter transition from going
down bow to up bow.

Staccato
Definition: playing short.

1. Have the students think of the analogy of turning a door knob to

open a door and move the hand back and forth to start the staccato
stroke
2. Tell students to play really loud rest between two pitches that are
staccato
3. Have each student put the bow on the string and slightly lean into
the stick. The bow should be “hooked” on the string. Have the
students pull it across the string. If it really scratchy, tell them to
relieve some pressure.
4. Have them say the word “ta” have the imitate the length of the
syllable using the instrument
5.have them bounce a ping pong ball, have them try to match the
sound length of it.

Spiccato
Definition: Spiccato is an off the string bow stroke which uses very
little of the hair on the bow to bounce off the string. This involve using
a V motion to bow the string just below the balance point of the bow.

1. Have students think of a “V” when bouncing on the string.

2. Remind the students that the bouncing motion for using Spiccato is
small. Use the phrase “heard but not seen”.
3. To understand the finger movement of Spiccato, have the students
put the bow at the balance point on a string. Have their bow hand
near the balance point and have them move back and forth only
using their fingers. This will be a rubbing motion on the string. The
arm should move slightly with the wrist bent.
4. Once they accomplish #3, have them do the same thing but have
them move their bow hand towards the frog while flexing their bow
hand.
5. Have them imagine dribbling a basketball as close to the ground as
possible only dribbling side to side. Then have them apply that
imagery to their technique.

Louré
Definition: playing legato notes under a slur. Should be a pulsing
sound.

1. Have the players press and release their hand on the bow while
playing a long stroke. The bow stick should go slightly up and down
while the bow is still on the string. Once students get the hang of it,
tell them to suddenly release pressure then lean back into the bow to
start the bowing again.
2. Have students listen to the first movement of Beethoven’s
symphony No. 7. This symphony uses Louré. Model the opening
melody and then have the students play the melody.
3. Have students play scales alternating between two different bow
strokes. For example, switching between Louré and staccato or
switching between Spiccato and Louré.
4. If students know how to do slur staccato, have students play
slurred staccato and then tell the students to keep the bow in
continuous motion rather than stopping it.
5. Have the students think “length” then “space”, while putting motion
into the bow to distinguish it from slurred staccato.

Slurred Staccato
Definition: playing staccato notes under a slur. Uses collé and
shortened bows.

1. Have the students do 9 slurred staccatos, then 8, then 7, then 6

etc. this will help with students learning to keep a consistent sound in
the articulation.
2. Have students think gently dig into the string using their bow
(collé), and have them create big spaces between notes.
3. Have students practice on a paper towel tube to ensure that the
bow is between the finger board and the bridge.
4. Have them say the syllable “dit” to give them an idea of what is
what it should sound like. They can also say the syllable while singing
5. to ensure they are using all the bow, put markers on their bows
that divide them into to four parts. These markers will let them know
that this is where the string should be on these counts.

Retake
Definition: lifting the bow after the down bow and placing it near the
frog to do another down bow.

1. Have students play a note for 7 beats then on the 8th beat tell them
to think about rewinding what they just played and playing it again.
2. To get them to practice retakes, prepare some etudes for them and
when they approach a retake say “retake” to help them along
3. Have them think about rolling a ball as the bow and the retake as a
toss back to the person who rolled it.
4. Have them practice the motion of bow to the tip and doing a retake
as a shadow bow. Once they get it down, apply it to a note or
passage.
5. Since some retakes have breath marks have the ensemble
physically breath as if they were playing a wind instrument.

Hooked Bow
Definition: a single bow stroke that plays two notes with the rhythm
value of long and then short. There is space between the notes.

1. Have the players sing on a neutral syllable a hooked bow rhythm

then they can sing and do it on their instruments.
2. Have them do slurred staccato, then tell them to only do two
slurred staccato notes down then up. Then the instruct will model the
hooked bow rhythm and have the students match it.
3. Have them think of the name “José” when doing hook bows. This is
a name is closely linked to the rhythmic value of hooked bow.
4. For rhythmic accuracy, have them say “ta-mi” from Takadimi and
have them clap the rhythm before playing.
5. Have each student put the bow on the string and slightly lean into
the stick. The bow should be “hooked” on the string. Have the
students pull it across the string. If it really scratchy, tell them to
relieve some pressure. Apply this concept to the rhythmic values.
Slur
Definition: playing multiple notes in one bow stroke.

1. Have students bow in one direction while playing to or pitches. This

will get them used to playing multiple pitches in one bow stroke.
2. Have students play different staccato pitches in the same bow
direction and then the same noes legato while slurring.
3. Have them sing a melody. Haven them phrase the melody using
there bow. Have them then play that melody
4. Have students do different articulation patterns. For example, have
them play major scales but slurring two notes, then playing two notes
staccato. Change this up to give a little variety.
5. If the slur is for a whole measure, have them think “long notes” in
their bows and eighth notes and/or quarter notes in their left hand.

Tremolo (Bow)
Definition: Means to “tremble”. It is a rapid up and down bow stroke
and it has 3 beams on a note to indicate it.

1. Have students think of a car engine sound as the sort of foundation

for the tremolo
2. Have students place the middle upper half of the bow on the string.
Tell them to “wave” hands from the joint of their wrist. The students
should be moving the bow one to two inches on the string.
3. Have them apply tremolo to scales so the get used of the feeling of
rapid motion in the bow hand and steady rhythmic motion in the left
hand.
4. Have the students think of an “earthquake” in the bow hand to
imitate the motion of a tremolo.
5. Have students practice tremolo using their hand and practice using
their arm. This will help with controlling tremolo’s dynamically as the
hand motion is on softer dynamics while the arm motion is used on
louder dynamics.

Sul Tasto
Definition: Bowing over the fingerboard to create softer thin tone.
Faster bow speed is needed.
1. Divide the strings between the fingerboard and bridge into paths or
lanes. Tell the students to add a lane at the end of the fingerboard so
students understand where the bow should be for Sul Tasto.
2. Have students use the sul tasto bowing at a loud dynamic. They
will find that at a loud dynamic sul tasto does not sound very good.
Then tell them to play at a piano or pianissimo they will then find that
this is a more desirable characteristic of sul tasto.
3. Have them close their eyes and while bowing and have them find
the finger board without having to look at the instrument. This will let
them hear the difference and obtain a feel of sul tasto.
4. Have them listen to a melody that’s using sul tasto. Model for them
that melody and then have them play it. This will have them listen to
what the sul tasto should sound like before they play or do anything.
5. Have them think about pushing the wall that is at the end
fingerboard back (about an inch). This will let them create a barrier
from playing too far back on the fingerboard.

Sul Ponticello
Definition: Bowing really close to the bridge to create a nasal tone
and produce higher harmonics. Faster bow speed is need.

1. Divide the strings between the fingerboard and bridge into paths or
lanes. Tell the students to add a lane at near the bridge so students
understand where the bow should be for Sul Ponticello.
2. Have students use the sul ponticello bowing at a loud dynamic.
They will find that at a loud dynamic sul ponticello does not sound
very good. Then tell them to play at a piano or pianissimo they will
then find that this is a more desirable characteristic of sul ponticello.
3. Have them close their eyes and while bowing and have them find
the spot near the bridge without having to look at the instrument. This
will let them hear the difference and obtain a feel of sul ponticello.
4. Have them listen to a passage that is using sul ponticello. Model
for them that melody and then have them play it. This will have them
listen to what the sul ponticello should sound like before they play or
do anything.
5. Have them think about pushing the wall that is the sweet spot on
bowing back (about an inch) towards the bridge. This will let them
create a barrier from playing too far back on the bridge or playing
directly on the bridge.
Collé
Definition: In French, this term means “glue”. Uses a little extra weight
to the bow to create a nice clear articulation with each bow stroke.

1. Have them put their hand on the edge of a table so their fingers are
hanging off. Have them pull their fingers so the tip of the fingers is in
level with their first knuckle joint. Have them then practice this in the
air. Then have them put their thumb behind their middle finger and do
the same motion. Apply this to the bow.
2. Have them think of the strings being sticky and you want to slide
the bow a little bit from the string.
3. Have them think of the sound of a collé being a click of sound. This
will give them an idea what it should sound like.
4. Have them practice short collé strokes at the frog. Have them do
all down bow, then all up bow. Once they get the hang of it have them
alternate bow directions.
5. Tell them that the finger motion is the secret to collé and that these
fingers are your friends trying to lift something quickly.

String Crossings
Definition: Moving the bow from one string to the next string.

1.Have students put a pencil between the bow hair and stick at the
balance point. Have students move the bow in a string crossing
motion in playing position. The pencil will visually tell them that to play
that string this much movement is needed. Have them use only arm
motion then hand motion hen finger motion.
2. For faster string crossing practice, have students tap their foot to
the metronome while shadow bowing. Across the ensemble the string
crossing should be synchronized.
3. Have students think of cranking motion when thinking about string
crossing from string to string.
4. put rests between notes that have a string level change. This will
give the students time to get to the next string. Shorten the rest the
more they are comfortable with it.
5. Have students place their bows on the bridge at the balance point.
Tell them to move string to string on the bridge. Have them think of
the bridge as an actual bridge and the strings as destination on the
bridge that you want to go to. This will give the motion needed
accomplish string crossing.
Hand Frames
Definition: Finger patters that are used on the left hand to create note
relationships of half step, hole step, and minor third between two
adjacent fingers.

1. Tell student to place all the fingers on one string and keep one or
more gingers on a string while sliding the other ones. Some fingers
can stay on one string while the others slide on another string.
2. Have student play double stops which is playing two notes at the
same time. One note is bowed open while the other is fingered. The
fingered pitch should be higher than the open string that is being
played.
3. For cello, have them pretend they are holding a coke bottle
keeping in mind that the space between all their fingers should have
equal spacing. For extensions tell the students to straighten the index
finger upward and keep the other fingers where they are.
4. Lead students through a descending scale then have play the
scale ascending. But when playing the scale ascending, they should
add one note at a time to understand the relationship and feeling of
notes.
5. Have the bass student do the bass salute. Have them put the index
finger near their eyebrow and their middle finger near the lips. This is
the most common hand frame for bass.

Shifting
Definition: Increasing the range of the instrument, play passages
easier, and to make passages more musical by moving from one
position to another position.

1. Tell the students that the thumb is like a weight on the neck of the
instrument. The more weight on the thumb is the higher number of
pounds on their thumb. Tell students to take away some pounds from
the thumbs without completely removing the thumb from neck. Have
them shift and then tell them to add back the pounds that they took
away.
2. Have students exhale while moving the hand while shifting. This
will let the student’s hands relax instead of adding tensions to the
hands when they are shifting.
3. Have students find one harmonic in one position then another in
another position and switch between the two. They can play each
harmonic separately individually and then eventual slurring the two.
4. For cello and bass, tell the students that shifting is like skiing down
a string and arriving to your destination.
5. tell the students to form a tunnel over a string and bow that string
hat is underneath the tunnel while sliding their finger up and down the
fingerboard.

Tone Production
Definition: The consideration of bow weight, bow speed, and bow
placement.

1. To make sure they are playing between the fingerboard and the
bridge, have them think about putting a wall between the end of the
finger board and about an inch away from the bridge.
2. Have the students vary the bow speed, weight on the bow, and
bow placement in any combination to make different dynamics. This
will have them experiment with what the instrument sound like with
different approaches.
3. Number each lane between the end of the fingerboard to the
bridge 1 through 5. Have the students play the bow in each lane and
see what it sounds like.
4. For speed of the bow, use the term “miles per hour” to affect the
bow speed. 5 miles per hour is slow bowing, 40 miles per hour is
medium bowing and 80 is fast bowing.
5. For weight, use the analogy pounds to refer to the amount of
weight that the students should put into the bow.

Dynamics
Definition: Volume and gradually getting louder or softer.

1. For forte, use the analogy of using pounds to refer to the amount of
weight they can use. Like tell them use 10 pounds of bow weight to
play loud.
2. For piano, use the analogy of using pounds to refer to the amount
of weight they can use. Like tell them use 1 pound of bow weight to
play soft.
3. For speed in terms of forte, have them think of the miles per hour
analogy and tell them to put the bow at about 80 miles per hour for
loud dynamics.
4. For speed in terms of piano, have them think of the miles per hour
analogy and tell them to put the bow at about 5 miles per hour for soft
dynamics.
5. For crescendos and decrescendos in general, have the students
think of turning the volume dial up for gradual getting loud for
crescendos. For decrescendos have them think turning the volume
dial down.

Phrasing
Definition: Shaping a sequence of notes in a passage to express
emotion or impression

1.Have the students sing the passage. Have them keep in mind what
they want to do in terms of shape of musical line.
2. Have students listen to recordings of a piece and have them mark
in their music what the orchestra is doing with the phrases and how
they are phrasing and when do those phrases end.
3. Give students different options of phrasing. Have them pick the
one that they want to do.
4. Have students do facial expressions to shape a line or have them
use their hands to shape phrasing.
5. Have students take exhale while playing and inhale as if they are
playing a wind instrument. Having the bow match the air can help
with phrasing.

Vibrato
Definition: Rapid slight variation of pitch while playing.

1. Have students practice their vibrato with their air before moving to
the instrument.
2. For violin and viola, have the students hold the instrument at the
bout before putting it on their shoulder. Have them have them wave
their hands for hand vibrato and their arm for arm vibrato. Once they
get this motion down have them apply the same thing but with the
instrument on their shoulder.
3. For cello and bass, have the students think of pivoting and sliding
to do vibrato. Have students slide their fingers up and down a string
covering a distance of three half steps. Then have them shorten that
distance until the right rapid pitch motion is obtained.
4. For pivoting for cello and bass, have students think about rotating
their arm like they’re rubbing a magic ball. Have them apply it to the
instrument.
5. Have violin and violas hold the instruments in playing position but
with the scroll leaning against the wall. This will free up the left hand
to practice the motion without having to hold the weight of the
instrument.

Five Elective Topics

Martelé
Definition: A strong accent in the beginning of the note then a release
of bow weight. There should be space between notes.

1. Have students place the bow on a string with the bow. Have them
only hold the bow with their thumb and index finger and then ask
them to lean their index finger into the bow stick and have them
observe the stick moving slightly up and down to when put in more
weight and when the release some weight.
2. Have them do the above with the rest of the fingers on the bow on
the stick.
3. Use the expression “pinch and glide” to help them understand what
the bow should do
4. Have students play scales and/or arpeggios with Martelé bowing
5. Model for them 3 steps of Martelé: the pinch of the string from the
bow to add weight, the pull of the bow from the string to create sound,
and release of weight from the bow to create space.

Direction Changes
Definition: Change of direction of the bow which should be smooth
and controlled.

1. Have student extend their arm in the air with bow tip pointing
straight up, and have the flex them fingers
2. Have students place the bow in a string at the balance point and
have them make short strokes at the balance point by flexing their
right-hand fingers and wrist.
3. Have students do finger and wrist flexes at either end of the bow
while bowing.
4. For cello students, have them place the bow on a string. The left
hand should hold the bow at the tip with right hand positioned at the
frog. Have the students pull their bows back and forth on the string.
5. Have students practice their scales but have them think of their
right hand as the air of the instrument and the scale should be
connected.

Intonation
Definition: Accuracy in pitch when playing

1. Compare and contrast what playing in and out of tune sounds like.
Have something drone an “A” and model that pitch in tune. Then
bend that pitch out of tune so students hear how bad this sounds then
bend that “A” back in tune with the drone.
2. If a student is playing a pitch out of tune, have them hold that pitch
and then using their finger slide their finger up or down the
fingerboard to make it in tune.
3. Collapsing the left wrist or flatting the fingers causes the pitch to go
flat. Remind them about good hand position of the left-hand witch is
making a box with the finger to the first knuckle while keeping space
between the hand and the bottom of the neck.
4. Have them bring out tense parts of music or dissonances by using
wider vibrato and playing loud. For relax parts or consonances have
them play with little vibrato and softer dynamic. This makes the chord
progression more obvious and have them listen for their function in
the chord.
5. Have students sing on the daily basis because singing forces
students to audiate the pitch before singing and this helps with
intonation subconsciously.

Tuning
Definition: Act of adjusting pitch so it is played on pitch.

1. Have violins and violas play open “A” and open “D” simultaneously
after they have tuned the “A” string. While playing those two pitches,
knock the “D” string out of tune and a bring it to pitch using the fine
tuners. Students should listen for the perfect fifth interval.
2. For basses, have them bow at the same time as they are moving
the pegs. This speeds up the process and prevents them from
bowing and then stopping and moving the peg and doing it again.
3. Have the ensemble find their respective harmonics on their
instruments to tune.
4. Have students actively sing the open string that they are tuning.
This will provide a more accurate pitch matching.
5. Have the students always listen down to the bass to tune their
instruments.

Brush Stroke
Definition: Off the sting bow stoke that, unlike the Spiccato stoke,
uses a lot of hair on the bow. Brush strokes should be played at the
balance point.

1. Have students think of the shape U. the bottom of the U is the

contact point of the bow to the string.
2. Have the students think that their string is dirty and that they need
to sweep it up using the brush stroke.
3. Have students think about that girl from 50 first date painting the
garage. When she strikes the wall to paint she is making a big U
shape with the brush.
4. Have the students think of the pirate ship pendulum roller coaster
and how it is always make contact with the water at the bottom of the
U shape.
5. Tell the students that the string has a pebble on it and you want to
kick it to the adjacent string. They can only “kick” it with their bow.