Suzuki Jingle Bell Strings

Hello Everyone!  Yes although we look forward to the warm and cozy Thanksgiving Holiday in two weeks, the Christmas season is quite here.  We are preparing for our Holiday concerts on December 19th at 10:30am at the Salt Lake City Public Library Auditorium downtown, and on December 21st at 4pm at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in the mezzanine.  Today Olivia Gonzales' school outfit was perfect to add on a Christmas vest.  Here is Olivia modeling the girls outfit for the Suzuki Jingle Bell Strings Concerts:

Black skirt with black tights and black shoes, white blouse and red vest.

The boys outfit is identical except black trousers of course.  Boys may wear a bow tie or regular tie; that is optional.  The rental cost for the red vest is $20.  If you grow out of the one you have, we trade it in for a larger size.  When you leave the studio just return the vest that you have.  Everyone should try on their red vests ASAP.  If it doesn't fit, I may have to order a new one for you. There is a shortage of medium size vests.  Kari Child, Sophie's mom is a wonderful seamstress and has agreed to make new vests this year.  However the orders need to be in by next week at the latest.
PLEASE TRY ON YOUR RED VEST!  
The Christmas books are ready.  The cost for a new book is $5.  Please bring your Christmas book every week to lessons and to every group lesson in November and December.

Here is a picture of our Suzuki Jingle Bell Strings

from 2006!!!

Halloween Fun

Saturday October 24 we had our Violin Group Lessons for this month.  The theme of course was Halloween, and several violinists showed off great costumes!  The best game of the day was Violin Jeopardy. Miss Ruth reads a piece title or a description of a piece.  Everyone stands poised with their violin bow on the E string ready to play a fast tremolo (that is their bell!) when they want to answer correctly.  After a correct answer the student then plays the piece with the group and wins candy corn and pennies for points. The Jeopardy categories were Book 1 pieces for 3 points, Halloween Songs for 4 points and Christmas Carols for 3 points.  We often have many more categories to choose from when we play Jeopardy but on this day we were focused on Halloween musical tricks and Christmas Carols since the holidays are just around the corner.  Here is a picture of Miss Ruth in her award winning Galadriel costume for her family party.

 However this past Saturday she was simply a nice witch with a black hat.

Turning Suzuki pieces into Halloween Songs was fun.  We played Twinkle Twinkle Little Witch by making our first fingers low on the A and the E strings.  We played Go Tell the Goblin by playing B flat on the A string and F natural on the E string in Go Tell Aunt Rhody.  It made a spooky impression!  It's fun to play tremolo bowing on Song of the Wind and turn it into Song of the Spooks. We turned May Song into October Song by playing low 1's and low 2's throughout the piece.  Everybody knew exactly which piece to play when Miss Ruth said, "A piece about Dancing Scary Old Ladies...."  Witches' Dance by Paganini of course!  Here are a few of the great people who came to Halloween group in their costumes: 

                    L to R: Jane, Grant, Sophie, Abby and Maeve

                  Masquerade, Queen Maleficent and Professor Trelawny

                  The short and the long of it, we all play a mean fiddle!!

The Book 3-5 Group swelled to 12 people counting Miss Ruth.  In this group we practiced our Telemann Concerto for 4 Violins that is one of our featured numbers at the Christmas Concerts.  Please enjoy listening to the audio files of this fun piece! 

Telemann 1st mvt. Telemann 2nd mvt.

Monkey Song and A Scale

Dear Parents:  Following are the links to the demos of the important Pre-Twinkle steps that you are doing or soon will do with your Pre-Twinkler.  Please let me know if you have any questions! The pieces should be taught and practiced at home in this order: Flower Song (see preceding blog entry) Monkey Song, Ed Song (in preceding blog entry) and finally the A Scale.  Happy Practicing!

Welcome Pre-Twinklers!

We are excited to have many new students in the Godfrey Studio this fall.  At this time I particularly want to shout out to our adorable Pre-Twinklers, Emma G and Liam H.  To assist our wonderful Suzuki parents in getting those beginning songs going that build the strength, skills and focus leading up to the Twinkle Variations, I am attaching some short instructional videos.  They include The Flower Song and The Ed Song.  The Monkey Song and The A Scale will follow.  Happy Practicing!

Time to Update The Godfrey Studio Blog!!

Dear Families and Friends:

Sadly my blogging entries are a year and a half behind!  So much has happened in the Godfrey Violin and Viola Studio since April 2014, many concerts and recitals, group lessons, two Suzuki Institutes at the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute in Draper, a Godfrey Studio Care Center Tour on July 31, 2014, the Utah Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival in March 2015 and more recently a fun Canyon Play-In at the Storm Mountain picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon on August 14, 2015.  Following are some images of our experiences. Thank you for taking this musical journey with me....

                      Naomi age 5 practices her Best Bow Hold

Grant, Jane, Clark and Jack after a great Fall Recital

Bailey makes her violin sing on Nigun by Bloch

Brianna aces the Vivaldi A minor 1st movement

Karina and Brei, happy sisters with a lot of talent!!

Sophia plays a lush Handel D major 1st mvt.

Sophie really rocked her Bach D major Gavotte

WE ARE SO PROUD OF EVERYONE'S PROGRESS AND PARTICIPATION.  30 students performed on the Fall Recitals held on October 1-2, 2015 at Summerhays Music.  Our amazing accompanists Denise Farrington and Jules Snarr completed our polished playing with so much skill and sensitivity.