One of our big 4th grade objectives for this quarter is getting a good sound out of the instrument. It's hard! Lots of things have to be just right to get a nice tone. The bow needs to be in the "sweet spot." It needs to be straight. It needs to be on the right string. The left hand fingers need to be all the way down to the fingerboard. Not to mention it's almost impossible to get a good sound with poor instrument position or bow hold. Bless these kids for not quitting!
Our curriculum is great in that it includes a lot of preparatory exercises. We use bow tubes (aka toilet paper tubes) to practice getting a straight bow before we even put the bow on the instrument. After that, it's lots of open strings, and the kids seem to get a great sound. Then we put fingers and bow together. Suddenly, it's much harder to get a good sound. I do a lot of demonstrating this time of year and a lot of moving kids' bows for them. Cello players seem to have the toughest time, which is weird, because I'm a cellist. What are you doing to help your kids get a beautiful sound?
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