On January 9, I worked on my course work for “String Methods and Etudes” this semester. I have really enjoyed organizing etude materials. I think I have begun to understand the project my teacher has selected for me. It is much different that my recent Suzuki training and I think it might be quite challenging to select etude materials to support repertoire for young players.
The Huber Concertino in the Barbara Barber “Solos for Young Violinists” book 1 has a lot of challenges for the young player. It uses all three basic finger patterns in first position. Although there is no shifting necessary, some can be added if desired. The use of accidentals in the first section and the key signature of B-flat major in one section requires the student to have a master of lowered first finger. To support this, I selected Wolfahrt Foundation Studies No. 10 because of the key signature. In the second section of the Huber, there are various string crossing weight issues and bow distribution that can be practiced using Wolfahrt Foundation Study No. 6. Finally, some of the crisp articulations needed for the sixteenth note sections of the Huber can be practiced using Wolfahrt Foundation Study No. 30. Because none of the Wolfahrt studies include double stops, I thought I could supplement from Josephine Trott Melodious Double Stops #2 for the student to practice double stopping for this piece.