BARENREITER’S (Sassittinshaus THE SASSMANNSHAUS TRADITION EARLY START ON THE VIOLIN VOLUME 1Table Of Contents Preface 4 Note Values And Symbols 5 Open Strings 6 String Crossing 17 The “Cuckoo's Third” With The Second Finger 15 The Fourth Finger 18 The Triad 19 The First Finger 24 String Crossings And Fingerings On Different Strings 29 The Third Finger 35 Accidentals 38 Scales On Two Strings 39 More Exercises, Songs And Stroke Patterns 41 New Stroke Patterns 57 Slurred Notes 6] The Portato Stroke 64Preface Many children from age four and up receive their first musical training through music schools or kindergarten programs. After, and sometimes already during this first encounter, the wish to play a stringed instrument emerges. While prior knowledge is not a pre-requisite to using this method, this publication uses simple rhythms and intervals from early childhood programs and transfers them into small and easy steps to build up a basic violin technique. With or with- ‘ut previous musical training children will very quickly become familiar with the rhythmic patterns!) J IJ J 1412 J 41344 | as well as with the melodic building blocks of thirds, triads, and scales. ‘The subject of violin position and other technical details are left to the experience of the teacher. Regular lessons with the necessary instruction and corrections have a much better chance of success than any short written explanation. We would however like to encourage parents, teachers, and students to become familiar with the web site www.violinmasterclass.com, where all the important technical details are shown and performed by children. At the start of this method slow whole bows are avoided, so the longest note values are half notes. Exercises for string crossing precede and prepare the first notes stopped with the left hand. Using frets as an ald to intonation is as old as the history of stringed instruments. Young pupils will find this visual orientation an additional help for the first successful finger exercises. Many children will concentrate better in several short practice periods than in one long stretch. Also, holding the arms in correct positions will cause physical fatigue in the beginning, so small breaks are essential. This method can be used to teach small groups of children as well. The children in each group must be similar in maturity, interest and talent; otherwise a reshuffling of the groups will be necessary very soon. Multiple lessons per week are of course of tremendous advantage. A parent or guardian should attend the lesson or at least be informed at the end of the lesson about the next assignments. Adults at home can greatly influence the success of this endeavor with careful guidance, enthusiasm, and by observing regular practice sessions. Egon Sassmannshaus Kurt Sassmannshaus Munich/Cincinnati, May 2008Note Values And Symbols 6 Our clef is called the treble clef or G-clef. Whole note Whole rest (semibreve) * (semibreve rest) lasts for four beats. Half notes (minims) and half rests (minim rests) last for two beats. Quarter notes (crotchets) and quarter rests (crotchet rests) last for one beat. Two eighth notes (quavers) equal one beat. Two eighth rests (quaver rests) equal one beat. The teacher should explain all the notes and symbols. * British English expressions are in brackets. BA 9676 Barline, double barline, final barline | The repeat sign A v Down-bow Up-bow c-£278 Conventional time signatures The dot lengthens the duration of any note by half of its value. They are called dotted notes. © 2008 by Barenreiter-Verlag, KasselE string Open Strings E Street, E Street, E Street down, E Street up. fr im Ride the E Street high - way, — up-town, E down-town. Itis practical to start with about half the bow length around the middle of the bow. With more and more practice the frog and tip are gradually included, since the goal is to use the whole bow. The left hand still holds the violin on the body to the right side of the finger board.A string A Street, A Street, A Street down, A Street up. ia im Ride the A Street high- way, A up-town, A down-town. All these exercises should be sung first. While the pupil is playing, the teacher or parent should point at each note with a pencil. This guidance is especially important for preschool children.D string D Street, D Street, D Street down, D Street up. i mq Ride the D Street high- way, D up-town, D down-town.G string G_ Street, G Street, G Street down, G Street up. A mn Ride the G Street high-way, G_ up-town, G down-town.The Quarter Rest: ¢ I hope | still have time to play.String Crossing Ca-ble car, ca- ble car, take me there, near or far. Take me up, take me down. In these exercises we pay special attention to bow direction. The upper right arm moves up or down to reach the different string levels.More Open Strings r All the hap - py birds are sing - ing. All the hap py dogs are bark - ing. All the hap - py bears are growl - ing. These exercises should first be practiced in the upper half of the bow, and then in the lower half. 12Hello Mother rm Play - ing mu -_ sic can be fun, 1 have on - ly just be - gun. Hel - lo Dad - dy, can you see? I can cross from D to G. * Here you can substitute any name with two syllables!| Can Play The A String 1 can play the A string. 1 play with a straight bow. 1 can play the A string. | can play the D string.The “Cuckoo’s Third” With The Second Finger Nut Thread Strinas Ss 11/5" of string lenath— For our young violin players the cuckoo's third is a very familiar interval. It is more easily recognized than the whole step or half step. Children will recognize it from many nursery rhymes. We mark the place on the finger board where the second finger finds the cuckoo’s third: the teacher measures one fifth of the string length between the nut and the bridge, marks the point with a pencil and binds a light colored thread or tape around the finger board and the neck of the violin. The thread can be secured with clear adhesive tape. The second finger stops the string right on the thread. This aid soon leads to secure intonation. As the other fingers are introduced, the secure position of the second finger greatly facilitates fast progress.What’s Your Name? fo 0 Hel - lo, what's your name? Hel - lo, what's your name? Lift the second finger off the string after each bar. It should not stay on the string. 16Rain, Rain Go Away mA 0 Rain, rain, go You can repeat this exercise on different strings. Try to play from memory! way.The Fourth Finger The songs on pages 17 through 23 are used to introduce the fourth finger. After playing the open string in the first measure, the fourth finger is used in the second measure. Pupils will find it easy to compare the pitch with the open string. This leads to an improved and comfortable left hand position. In the first few weeks, the pupil can use the open string, then the teacher should introduce the fourth finger with these songs. Bring Your Sled n (0)* 0 4 Bring your sled; the sky is blue. Vv (0) 0 4 Bring your sled; rl sled with you! * alternative fingering 18 SThe Triad Teddy Bear r 0 t Ted - dy Bear, Ted - dy Bear, turn a - round! a 0. 2 (Vv) Ted - dy Bear, Ted-dy Bear, touch the ground! Ty (Vv) Ted-dy Bear, Ted-dy Bear, show your shoe! 5 Ted - dy Bear, Ted - dy Bear, that will do! * During the rest we lift the bow off the string and carry it back to the frog. We call this a retake.Pat-A-Cake = 0 2 Pe Pat - a - cake, pat - a - cake, bak - er’s man; bake me a cake as fast as you can. 0 2 mn (Vv) Pat - a - cake, pat - a - cake, bak - er’s man; fet 0 2 bake me a cake as fast as you can. 0 2 mn (Vv) Ea - a- cake, pat - a - cake, bak - er’s man; 0 2 bake me a cake as fast as you can. 20Dearest Cuckoo nm 0 2 Dear-est Cuck-oo be so kind let me know what is the time? (4) 0 2 0 Cuck - oo! Cuck - oo! nm (4) (4) 0 0 0 0 Thank you Cuck - 00 two o’ clock, and | must stop. O And Two © and two, O and two, list-en how I play for you! Practice this song on different strings 2iHee-Haw! fi Hee - haw! Hee - haw! Hee - haw! Don-key call - ing: 0, 2 0, 2 Don-key call-ing: Hee - haw! sil - ly call! mn Don-key call-ing: Hee - haw! Hee - haw! Hee - haw! ly call Don-key call-ing: Hee - haw! Sil = Oo Don-key call-ing: Hee - haw! Hee - haw! Hee - haw! m Don-key call-ing: Hee - haw! sil - ly call! 22The % time signature The dotted half note Pit A Pat Rain mn (4) 0 0 | can - not play out-side. Drip, drip, drip, drop! (4) 0 a pat, pit a pat, when will — it stop? Pit n 0 0 Drip, drip, drip, drop! When will it stop? f 23The First Finger Place the first finger right between the nut and the thread for the second finger. Exercise rc 0 2 eT Pe Finger 2" Finger Thread od (4) 0 now | use the first one, too. 24Fuzzy Teddy Bear Fuzz - y Ted-dy Bear, look what you have there! Fuzz-y ears and fuzz-y nose, you're my sweet Ted-dy Bear. mn 0, 25Teddy Bear, Come Home With Me! a 0 1 0 0 t 0 Ted-dy Bear come home with me! Hide-and-seek is fun you'll see! 1 0 1 0 1 0 Hid-ing pla-ces, hap-py fa-ces, Ted-dy Bear come home with me! Ted-dy Bear come home.. Iai 0 Sos 0s I 0 Little Peter Rabbit music by Peter Heilbut a * 0 1 eee 2 1 Od) Lit-tle Pe -ter Rab - bit likes to go and play. * Back to the frog (see page 19). 26Sud-den-ly he hopped and then, Pe-ter Rab-bit's gone a-gain! mn i} 1 2—-] 2 1 0 Lit-tle Pe-ter Rab - bit won't come back to - day! Hot Cross Buns 4 z 1 0 2 1 0 Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, 4 0 one a pen-ny, two a pen-ny, hot cross buns. 27A Finger Exercise On All Strings On| ee tao 01-0, O one two one, watchmy fin-gers, O one two one, this is fun! = OF al 2,1 OooString Crossings And Fingerings On Different Strings E string rn A string 0 0 | ] 0 2 Let’s go to the lit athe. creek, there we can play hide - and - seek. A string nr D string 0 0. 1 1 0 2 These exercises are easy to master: they combine the finger exercises on pages 25-28 with the string crossing exercises on pages 16-19. Try to repeat these pages from time to time, as it is always fun to play songs you already know. They will sound even better now with improved bow control. As a daily routine play a few known songs, starting on page 6. 29Ring Around The Rosy al 0 Ring a-round the ros - y. Pock-et full of po - sies, ash - es, ash - es, we all fall down. 30Bye, Baby Bunting Bye, ba-by 0 2 geta_ lit-tle bunt - ing, 0 2 rab-bit skin to Dad-dy’s gone a’ 0 271 wrap his hunt - ing toDog, Stop Barking = D string Ome 2 el 0 2 "te allie ae = = Dog, dog, stop the bark-ing, play with your dog -gy toys, don’t lick my ice-cream sand-wich, ice-cream is for girls and boys! G string ] 0 2 0 1 0 2 ol 32We Are On Vacation! We are on va - ca - tion, we are on the way. The 4 0, beach and the wa - ter in - vit-ed us to _ play! n 0 Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun! 3aCome To The Zoo! music by Diethard Wucher a (4) 0 Last week ! went to the zoo just to see the mon - key. Next, week | will go with you, (4) 0 we will see the don . key.The Third Finger Place the third finger right next to the second finger. This distance is called a half step. We find whole steps from the ‘open string to the first finger, first to second, and third to fourth. 4 0, 2° Finger Now we learn the Half step 34 Finger 3 4 Finger num - ber three. O three, O three, ° this is fun! O — three! 35Up The Ladder 5 O° 2s. = ad Oi ee ee Up the lad-der to our tree house, up the lad-der wait here. 23.4 AS 3 2) pO = 0) 0-1 Up the lad-der to our tree house, down the lad-der stay here. Ole 3 4 4 Up the lad-der to our tree house, up the lad-der wait here.Up the lad-der to our tree house, down the lad-der stay here. All The Little Hamsters All the lit-tle ham - sters run-ning in the wheel, 3 Z 1 0 al- ways get-ting hun - gry wait-ing for a meal. O23) 0 1 0 37Accidentals We can already play in three different keys. From now on we will write the necessary accidentals at the beginning of each staff. First, let's memorize the names for the second finger sharps. They must be played in the high position (next to the third finger) on the D, A and E strings. The second finger on the D string plays an F-sharp (F#): G major The second finger on the A string plays a C-sharp (C#): D major The second finger on the E string plays a G-sharp (G#): A major + A G8 CED E FE GH A These sharp notes are determined by the accidentals at the beginning of the staff and now apply to every measure. (Later on these fingers can change their positions in keys without sharps, like C major or F major. Then they play the notes F, C and G.) 38Scales On Two Strings These scales should be practiced using whole bows. Use open strings. G major 2 D major A major oe!Mary Had A Little Lamb rn 2 1 = 1 ih eel Mar-y had a lit - tle lamb, lit - tle lamb, lit - tle lamb. Mar-y had a lit- tle lamb, whose fleece was white as snow.More Exercises, Songs And Stroke Patterns Good Night Noisy Cricket! n 0, 1 2 1 0 1 2 4 Good night Moth-er, good night Fa-ther, | am go-ing off to sleep. 0. 1 2 3 4 3 a 1 0 Good night Moth-er, good night Fa-ther. You won't hear an - oth-er peep! The teacher should demonstrate different ways of playing short notes. n 0 1 in my bed-room. | can-not get an-y rest. There’s a crick-et 4.3 2) see Moth-er please go catch that crick-et. He is such a noi-sy guest. For more information about martelé strokes visit www.violinmasterclass.com 4lEighth Notes Lh. = Lower half, Uh. = Upper half, Wb. = Whole bow = OLh. 1 2 1 Ar -i- zo-na, Cal-i-for-nia, Col-o-ra-do, Car-o - li - na, 4 Wb. Mas - sa - chu-setts, Min-ne - so - ta, _Mis - sis - sip - pi, Maine, Vv 0 Uh Ar - i - zo-na, Cal-i-for-nia, Col-o - ra-do, Car-o - li - na, 4 3 Tex - as, Kan-sas, U - tah, New York State; I'm on a plane! 42There’s A Hippo rn 0 Wb. 1 2 1 There's a hip - po in my bed - room. ! can - not get an = 7y rest. There's a hip - po in the bath - tub. oOo He is * such a gi - ant guest. 4 * At the end of this note we carry the bow through the air very quickly to start the next note at the frog. 2” 43Bought Me A Cat Bought me a cat, the cat pleased me; fed my cat un-der yon - der tree. Cat went n fid-dle-i - fee, fid-dle-i - fee. Bought me a dog, the dog pleased me; fed my dog un-der n yon - der tree. Dog went bow, wow, bow, wow. A Cat went fid-dle-i - fee, fid-dle-i - fee. 44Bye, Baby Bunting rn 3 4 4 Bye, ba-by bunt - ing, — Dad-dy’s gone a’ hunt - ing to 4 4 4 get a lit-tle rab-bit skin to wrap his ba-by bunt-ing in. Bye, ba - by bunt - ing, Dad-dy’s gone a’ hunt - ing to 4 4 4 get a lit-tle rab-bit skin to wrap his ba-by bunt-ing_ in. 45Old Bald Eagle Preparation: 0 1 2 3 Old bald ea - gle set - tle down, day - light is gone; old bald ea-gle set-tle down, day - light is gone. = 4 (Vv) Old bald ea - gle set - tle down, day - light is gone; n old bald ea - gle set - tle down, day - light is gone. 46Who's That n 0 Who's that tap - ping at = my win - dow? Who's that knock-ing at the door? Who's that tap- ping at my win - dow? Who's that knock-ing at the door? Who's that tap- ping at = my win - dow? Who's that knock-ing atthe door? 47Down At The Station n Down at the sta - tion ear-ly in the morn - ing see the lit-tle puff-er bell-ies all in a row. n See the en-gine driv - er pull the it~ tle throt - tle.Old MacDonald fm 3 o< Old Mac-Do-nald had a farm, Eo> b- Es- 4 8 and 3 0 1 1 on his farm he had a cow, € = ft Sre eee oO with a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, eve-ry-where a moo moo. 0 1 Old Mac-Do-nald had a farm, E- -~t ee 49Cuckoo Exercise: n oO Cuck - 00, Cuck - 00, we hear your call. What are you say - ing, where are you stay - ing? Cuck - 00, Cuck - 00, we hear you all. 50Ludwig van Beethoven From His Famous Symphony No. 9 n 2Canon the new voice starts at the beginning 1 2 0 liz 3 ° n 0 All four voic - es let us sing! [3 2 300 2 6 Om leo 0 This will sound so fine that we should let it ring! ot 1 2 0, ipa 3 0 52Are You Sleeping? (Frére Jacques) rn 0 Are you sleep - ing? Are you sleep - ing? 2 3 4 Broth - er John, Broth - er John? is eer a Morn-ing bells are ring - ing. | Morn-ing bells are ring - ing. Ta 1 4 4 1 4 Ding, dang, dong, ding, dang, dong. 53More string crossing exercises using the third finger: Come See The Clown! music by Wilhelm Twittenhoff n 1 Who will come to town with me and see the cir-cus band? ° w ° 1 will buy a can - dy treat and watch the clown dance on his feet in cir - cus won - der land. wl First, you danced on toes and heels, slipped on the ba - na-na peels, Clown, you made me laugh with tears, please come back for man-y years! 54London Bridge nf 0 3 4 Lon-don Bridge is fall-ing down, —fall-ing down, fall - ing down, 4 4 oO 3 0 Lon -don Bridge is fall - ing down, my fair la - dy.Rocky Mountain 3 1 3 (v) Rock -y moun-tain, rock-y moun-tain, rock-y moun-tain high, q (vy) when you're on that rock-y moun-tain, hang your head and cry. n 4 0, 4 (Vv) re - mem - ber me. Do, do, do, do, doNew Stroke Patterns Let’s try a familiar song, this time in a different way: A Vv Whole Bows And Half Bows fr 4 0 2 3 Wb. Uh. Wb. Lh. 57That’s One HOT Potato n 0 Lh. 1 Hot po-ta-to, one po-ta-to, two po - ta - to, three po - ta - to, 0 1 3 Wb. hot v 3 Uh. 0 po - ta - to, one po-ta- to, two po - ta - to, three, three po -ta- to, two po-ta-to, one po-ta- to, hot po - ta - to, 3 three po - ta - to, two po-ta- to, one po-ta- to HOT! rn 0 th 1 eo - TO, one po-ta-to, two po - ta - to, three po - ta - to, sq Hot po - 0 1 3 Wb. hot po - ta - to, one po-ta-to, two po - ta - to, three, three po -ta- to, two po-ta-to, one po-ta- to, hot po - ta - to, 58three po - ta - to, two po-ta- to, one po - ta - to HOT! Lightly Row Lh. = @) Wb. Uh. Wb. O22 sel 0 4 light-ly row, light-ly row, o'er the glass-y waves we go; Vv Wb. Lh. Wb. ae =I 024 Smooth-ly glide, smooth-ly glide, on the si-lent ride. n Let the winds and wa-ters be min-gled with our me - lo - dy. Sing and float, sing and float, in our lit -tle boat. This song is used as an exercise to practice playing in the lower half and in the upper half of the bow. Half notes should be played with a whole bow. 59VariationSlurred Notes Until now each note had a separate bow stroke. Now we will learn to connect one note to the next without changing bow direction. You simply continue to pull the bow and connect the notes. We call this stroke “Legato”. Your arm will learn this new “Legato-feeling” very quickly. oe Se as ye one two one, ... (see exercise on page 28) Sa 61We can practice slurs on scales: - V aa A scale in broken thirds: n 0 2 1 3 2 4 3 1 —— 62Go Tell Aunt Rhody na ——“ —- Co tell Aunt Rho - dy; go tell Aunt Rho - dy. B viv Go tell Aunt Rho - dy the old grey goose is dead. * We can play two notes in the same bow direction by making a brief stop between the notes.: The Portato Stroke | Eensy Weensy Spider spout. Down came the rain and washed the a Weel spi - der out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain. So een - sy ween - sy spi - der climbed up the spout a - gain. 64(Seassatincshaus THE SASSMANNSHAUS TRADITION Off toa good start... For more than three decades The Sassmannshaus Tradition has been one of the leading violin methods for children in German-speaking countries. Infact, more than half a million players have successfully learned to play tthe violin using this method. The Sassmannshaus Tradition is now available in English and has been adapted, both in content and songs, for today’s English speaking children. What makes this violin method so unique? ~ Large print notes and texts as well as many colorful illustrations are ideal for pre-school as well as school children. + Note reading Is emphasized from the first lesson, encouraging ‘ensemble playing from the very beginning. + Songs and scales in different positions are easily mastered within the first year of playing to ensure that children are not confined to frst position playing. + Advanced violin techniques such as varied bow strokes and shifting are introduced in a basic form. The Sassmannshaus Tradition ensures success on the violin! BARENREITER oe o1-0-404-ssie BA9675