# Easy violin song that sound good?



## Mike Greene (May 21, 2007)

I'm having some 5th grade kids come over to the studio in a couple weeks and I'll be recording them playing their instruments. The plan is I'm going to give them the music this week for various short pieces I've written (8 to 16 bars) so they can practice ahead of time. Nothing too challenging because I don't want them to stress out about screwing up their songs in front of their friends.

Then when they get here and I record them, I show them the magic of reverb, compression and arrangement (for instance adding a bass line and an atmosphere pad underneath their parts.) The trip is supposed to be about the recording and production process, but I want to have the kids do some playing so it won't get too boring.

Trumpet, sax, drums, guitar . . . I can handle that. But one girl has been playing violin for a couple years and I have no idea what's easy, what's the range for a beginner or what kind of lines would sound nice as opposed to squacky and pitchy. And naturally, she's the shy one, so I have to be especially careful thet I don't give her something ridiculous.

Any ideas for short pieces for violin that more or less guarantee success?


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## Stephen Hill (May 21, 2007)

Mike,
It’s great to hear you are going to do this project.
I teach elementary (K-6) and high school (9-12) orchestra, as well as, jazz and concert band classes. I am fortunate to begin my violin students in Kindergarten using the Suzuki method - so by 2nd and 3rd grade they are already playing Bach minuets and fiddle tunes. (This is not the usual school program.)
The majority of school based programs begin somewhere in the 4th, 5th or 6th grade and use one of many method books like Essential Elements 2000 String Book 1. Students who study privately tend to practice and excel at a faster rate.
The questions could be:
1. How long have they played?
2. What method of instruction? 
3. Group class, individual lessons or both? 
4. Suzuki, or traditional.
Suggestions for quick music pieces. 
1. If you have a music store close by, you could browse through the “string class method” books to see what the music is like (note and rhythm wise) and compare that with the Suzuki Violin book 1.
2. Folk songs are easy to learn. For a quick tune I use, “Are You Sleeping?” aka “Frere Jacques” in the keys of D or A, plus using it in a round makes for more fun for the kids. 
3. Music and scales (beginning with open strings) in the keys of D or A lay very nicely for the beginning students and are quick to learn on the violin. 
4. The variable is how well they read rhythms. Not knowing how much training they have had it is hard to say. You are pretty safe with whole, half, quarter and simple eighth note patterns. (Refer back to Suggestion number 1)
Hope this helps,
Stephen Hill


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## Brian Ralston (May 21, 2007)

Are those kids going to be playing something together...or one at a time? The reason I ask is most kids at that age I have worked with are VERY reliant on having a conductor there to get them going and to keep them together. They will not respond well to a click or trying to look at someone in the booth. 

Not really what you were asking...but hopefully their music teacher will be there to conduct patterns and such. Then they can still experience the playing in the room with headphones on "thing" and still achieve some success. 

And yeah...rhythms will be more of the issue rather than notes on the staff. Whole, Half notes and quarter notes are good. You know...like that quarter note arrangment of Beethoven's ninth symphony we all played in elementary school band. 

o/~ o/~ =o o/~ o=< o/~ /\~O 

:lol:


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 21, 2007)

I'd just keep everything in the first position, i.e. no more than a 4th or +4th above each open string. Those notes are the easiest to find and will be the most in tune. (Obviously they can play most notes in more than one position, but you want to write it for the first position.)

But open strings sound like open strings, so if you can avoid sitting on them you probably want to - unless you're Aaron Copeland or something.


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## midphase (May 21, 2007)

I think you should sample them.....wait....that sounded way more creepy than I intended.


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## Niah (May 22, 2007)

midphase @ Tue May 22 said:


> I think you should sample them.....wait....that sounded way more creepy than I intended.



:lol:


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## Mike Greene (May 22, 2007)

Thanks for the tips, dudes.  

I like the first position idea. Just to be sure, the strings are G (below miidle C), D, A and E, right?

I'll have her play solo without the trumpet, sax and drums. Ideally, I'd like an existing piece, classical or otherwise, that is a pretty 8 bar melody. She can handle something more challenging that Beethoven's 9th.

Isn't there some Brahms or Mozart piece that would come to mind? I'm pretty ignorant about all those guys (Beethoven's 5th and 9th are about the extent of my knowledge! :shock: ) so anything you can give me would be helpful.


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## Synesthesia (May 22, 2007)

Mike,

Have a look at this:

http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/cgi-bin/sh ... reid=36549

To A Wild Rose (MacDowell)

Its a really lovely but very simple piece, we had this as one of the pieces played by a harpist for our renewal of wedding vows last year, its very simple but not trite.

Hope that helps!

Cheers,

Paul


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 22, 2007)

"Just to be sure, the strings are G (below miidle C), D, A and E, right?"

Yup.


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