Musical Symbols
On the board, draw the symbol for a down bow.
A square with no bottom line
On your instrument, point to the sound holes.
Holes in the body.
Thumb on the side of the fingerboard, pointer finger plucking, about an inch from the end of the fingerboard.
Point to which string is your “A” string.
Violin: Second Highest
Viola: Highest
Cello: Highest
Bass: Second Highest
DOUBLE POINTS: What is “cello” short for?
Violoncello, or “small large cello”.
What does “pizz.” mean?
Pizzicato, or plucked.
On your instrument, point to the tailpiece.
Anchor for the strings.
Demonstrate the proper posture on your instrument.
Great!
What clef does viola read in?
Alto clef.
DOUBLE POINTS: Name a kind of string instrument not found in this classroom.
Guitar, lyre, harp, etc.
On the board, draw the symbol for an up bow.
An arrow pointing down.
On your instrument, point to the fingerboard.
Demonstrate how to get the fullest sound possible using sticky bow.
Nice and full sound!
What is the lowest string on your instrument?
Violin: G
Viola and Cello: C
Bass: E
DOUBLE POINTS: How many hairs does a bass bow have?
200-250
On the board, draw a tremolo.
Squiggly line.
On your instrument, point to the scroll.
Demonstrate a tremolo
a note repeatedly and quickly, Italian for “trembling”?
Which bow is the shortest?
Bass.
DOUBLE POINTS: Approximately how many years old is the violin?
500.
What does arco mean?
Playing with the bow.
On your instrument, point to the bridge.
Piece that supports the strings.
Demonstrate the proper bow hold.
Hungry bunny?
FREE POINTS: What’s your favorite string instrument?
No wrong answers!
DOUBLE POINTS: What instrument classification are strings?
Chordophones.