Cd’A Summer Strings!

Week 1: June 16, 2022

Week 2: June 23, 2022

Week 3: July 14, 2022

Week 4: July 28, 2022

Week 5: August 4, 2022

Week 6: August 18, 2022

BASS!

Table of Contents

Rhythm Charts.……………………………………………………………….…………….…………….Page 2

Weekly Funny.………………………………………………………………….….….………………….Page 4

Symbol Glossary..……………………………………………………………….....…………………..Page 5

Scale: C Major..…………………………………………………………………….….………………….Page 6

Warm-ups…………..…………………………………………………………………..………………….Page 6

Fiddle/Folk Tunes: Happy Birthday & Red Wing……………….…………..…………….Page 7

Classical Piece: Minuet No. 3…………….……………………………….…………...………….Page 8

Music Staff Paper……………………………………………………….……………………………….Page 9

Disney Song: You’ve Got a Friend in Me…………………..………….……………..…….Page 10

Christmas Song: White Christmas…………………………………………………….……….Page 12

Movie Music: Fawkes the Phoenix…………………………………….………..…………….Page 14

Pop Song: Shut Up and Dance………..…………………………..…………...……………….Page 16

Theory Lesson…………………………………….………………………..……….………………….Page 18

Note Name Charts………………………….………………..…………..………......…………….Page 20

2

Rhythm Chart Notes

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a 1e+ a 2e+ a 3e+ a 4e+ a 1 + a 2 + a 3 + a 4 + a 1 e+ a 2 e+ a 3 e+ a 4 e+ a 1 e +a 2 e +a 3 e +a 4 e +a

Wait, what does a dot after a note DO??? *A dot after a note adds half the value of the original note. 2 beats + 1 beat = 3 beats ½ beat + ¼ beat = ¾ beat 1 beat + ½ beat = 1½ beats 4 beats + 2 beats = 6 beats

Whole note

= 4 beats

Dotted half note

= 3 beats

Quarter note

= 1 beat

Eighth note

= ½ of a beat Half note

= 2 beats

Dotted quarter

= 1½ beats

Sixteenth note = ¼ beat

(=4 notes per beat)

Dotted sixteenth note

= ¾ of a beat

Various common eighth/sixteenth combination rhythms

3

Rests

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 + 2 + 3 e + a 4 e + a

Triplets *Triplets are just a little faster than their regular relatives. *Three triplets (of any length) fit in the space that two regular notes of the same type fit in. 1 + a 2 + a 3 + a 4 + a 1 + a 2 + a 3 + a 4 + a 1 + a 2 + a

6/8 time – compound meter It looks just like it sounds. Six beats per measure, but now the eighth note gets the beat!! ☺ 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 1+ 2 + 3 + 4+ 5 + 6 + 1+ 2+ 3 + 4+ 5+ 6 + 1 + 2+ 3+ 4 + 5+ 6+ 1+ 2 + 3+ 4+ 5 + 6+

Whole rest hangs

down = 4 beats

Half rest sits on top

= 2 beats

Quarter rest

= 1 beat

Eighth rest =

½ beat

Sixteenth rest

= ¼ beat

Three Eighth note

triplets = 1 beat

Three Quarter note

triplets = 2 beats

Dotted half note

= 6 beats

Dotted quarter

note = 3 beats

Quarter note

= 2 beats

Eighth note

= 1 beat

Sixteenth note

= ½ of a beat

Various common eighth/sixteenth combination rhythms

4

And some fun…

5

Symbols

Dynamics

= pianissimo very soft

= piano soft

= mezzo piano moderately soft

= mezzo forte moderately loud

= forte loud

= fortissimo very loud

= crescendo gradually becoming louder = decrescendo gradually becoming softer (or diminuendo)

Down bow Sharp sign Move the bow to the right A sharp raises the pitch of a natural note one ½-step (from the frog to the tip)

Up bow Natural sign Move the bow to the left A natural sign cancels a flat or sharp and remains (from the tip to the frog) in effect for the entire measure

Bow lift Flat sign Lift the bow and return to its starting point A flat lowers the pitch of a natural note one ½-step

Fermata: Hold the note or rest longer than the indicated time value

6

Scale of the week: C Major

The key of C Major has no sharps or flats. Use 2nd finger

on the A- and D-strings!

Weekly warm-ups

Why do warm-ups??

Just like an athlete, we have to gradually limber up our muscles to be able to play well.

They’re TINY little muscles on our hands and fingers, but they still need warming up!

Scales and exercises are perfect to get your muscles AND your brain warmed up! ☺

7

Fiddle/Folk Tune:

Triplets – see page 3 for counting information. (Three eighth-note triplets fit where two regular eighth-

notes fit before.)

Ritardando (rit.) means to gradually slow down. a tempo means to return to the original tempo.

Fermatas tell you to hold the note longer than its intended value.

8

Classical Piece:

Italian lesson!

*Con grazia means to play “with grace”, or elegantly. Don’t play like a hippo – keep it

light! ☺

Symbols

Bow lift – lift the bow and return it to it’s starting point near the frog.

The hooked bows in Minuet are all up bows with two staccato notes.

Try really hard to make your two shorter staccato notes have a lovely

sound and not like shortened robotic notes! ☺

*C# is played with 4th finger on the A-string

*Although C# is in our key of D Major, the sharp sign appears as a reminder

to use your 4th finger on the A-string. It is called a cautionary accidental

because it’s reminding you of a pitch already within your key signature.

9

Get Creative! ☺

10

Disney Song:

11

Swinging

You’ve Got a Friend in Me is a song in “swing” time. What does that mean??? It means

not all eighth notes are equal in length. ☺ Think about the difference in rhythm

between your running feet and your skipping feet. Swung eighth notes are like skipping

feet. The first of each pair of eighth notes will be twice as long as the second.

The best way to learn this is to make sure you understand how to play all of the notes,

then listen to a recording of the song and try to play it like you hear it. Like most of what

we learn in music, swinging will get easier with time.

Triplets Triplets are just a little faster than their regular relatives. Three triplets (of any length) fit in the space that two regular notes of the same type fit in. In measures 17-19, you have triplet eighth notes:

= They both equal one beat, total

In measure 27, you have quarter note triplets:

= They both equal two beats, total

Articulations A lot of jazz music has a LOT of articulations. It’s a way of giving more character to the

music. You’ve already learned staccato and tenuto, and the third (and last) articulation

mark is the “accent”. To achieve this technique, you will push (or pinch) with your index

finger on the bow stick at the start of the note. You’ll get more of a “taaa” sound instead

of a “laaa” sound.

12

Christmas Song:

13

Key of C Major

One of the first things a musician MUST do when starting a new piece of music is to look

at the time signature (how many beats per measure) and the key signature. This song is

in C Major – NO sharps and NO flats – all notes are naturals. Why does this matter?? You

have to know what key you’re in so that your fingers will be in the correct spots.

Otherwise you’ll play notes out-of-tune, which doesn’t sound very nice…

Finger pattern: G-string: 1st finger in 3rd (III) position for C-natural

D-string: 2nd finger for F-natural

A-string: 2nd finger for C-natural

Ties vs. Slurs

Slurs combine two or more DIFFERENT pitches (notes) into one bow stroke.

Ties combine the SAME pitch into one longer note. Hold the note for the combined

values of the tied notes (addition required!). ☺

Dotted Quarter notes

Remember, a dot after a note adds half the value of the original note. Since a quarter

note has one beat, the dot adds an additional half beat to the quarter note.

1+2 + 3 + 4 +

This leaves half of a beat for the 2nd note – a single eighth note. Eighth notes that aren’t

paired up can’t be connected with a beam, so we know they’re eighth notes by the flag

that’s on the note stem.

Flats

A flat sign lowers a natural note by a ½ step. When you play the E-flat in measures 2 and

18, move your finger one ½ step closer to the scroll of your instrument (between your

first finger tape and the nut). E-natural follows immediately afterwards, so return your

1st finger to where you started. ☺

14

Movie Music:

C# on the G-String When in the key of D Major, we have F#’s and C#’s in our key signature. This means that

ALL F’s and C’s on our instrument are automatically sharp…including the C on the A-

string throughout the piece:

*This is played with 4th finger on the A-string (closer to the bridge)

*Although C# is in our key of D Major, the sharp sign appears as a

reminder to use your 4th finger. It is called a cautionary accidental because it’s

reminding you of a pitch already within your key signature.

15

Dotted Quarter notes

Remember, a dot after a note adds half the value of the original note. Since a quarter

note has one beat, the dot adds an additional half beat to the quarter note.

1+2 + 3 + 4 +

This leaves half of a beat for the 2nd note – a single eighth note. Eighth notes that aren’t

paired up can’t be connected with a beam, so we know they’re eighth notes by the flag

that’s on the note stem.

Remember your low notes?? ☺

Why very fast?? Good question! ☺ This piece is originally in a different time signature called 6/8. In order to make the rhythms less confusing, all of the note lengths have been doubled. To keep it sounding like the original version, you’ll have to play it at a fast tempo. Presto, or vivace, are two tempo markings that mean very fast in Italian.

16

Pop Song:

17

4th (IV) Position!

You get to learn a new position!! Part of Shut up and Dance is in 4th position (starting

pickups to measure 14), which means you will slide your hand towards the bridge until

your thumb gets stuck in the crook of the neck. Your 1st finger should end up on your

highest tape. That’s 4th position! ☺

Why should you play in 4th position? It actually makes your life easier because you’ll

avoid having to shift back and forth between 3rd and 1st positions!!

Rhythms + Syncopations

Thankfully, although pop songs are full of crazy-to-read rhythms, most of them are fairly

repetetive, so even if you do get a tricky rhythm, it’s likely to be repeated often through

the song. Take the rhythm at measures 2, 3, 4, 26, 27, 28:

1e+ a 2e +a 3e +a 4e +a

Syncopated notes fall on weak beats instead of strong beats. An example of this is notes

that are on the +’s (“ands”) of the beats, instead of the numbers. Here is an example

from measures 6-8:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1e+ a2e +a 3 + 4 + 1+ 2 +3 + 4 +

Syncopated rhythms are EXTREMELY common in popular music. Pop music is fun to

play, but complicated to read, rhythmically. Lots of ties…

***It is HIGHLY recommended that you write in the beats/counting underneath the

measures with tricky rhythms. This way you can practice them slowly while counting,

and then gradually speed up, being assured that you’re playing it correctly. ☺

18

Summer Theory #2

Name:________________________________

1. Label each clef by name (Treble, Alto, Tenor, Bass) and by which pitch (note name) it is identified with.

Clef name: __________ Pitch: _______ Clef name: __________ Pitch: _______

Clef name: __________ Pitch: _______ Clef name: __________ Pitch: _______

2. Using whole notes, spell the words given below each measure. Draw the note above each letter.

Look at the clef sign.

3. Print the letter name of each note on the line below the note. Each measure will spell a word.

Look at the clef sign.

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

4. Circle the correct music sign for each name given.

19

An interval is the distance (how far it is) between 2 notes.

An interval of a 2nd is the same as a step. If you

are on a line, you go to the very next space. If

you are on a space, you go to the very next line.

An interval of a 3rd is the same as a skip. If you

are on a line, you go to the very next line. If you

are on a space, you go to the very next space.

2nd UP 2nd DOWN 3rd UP 3rd DOWN

5. Circle the correct answer 2nd (step) or 3rd (skip) below each pair of notes. 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd or or or or or or 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd

6. In each measure below, draw the note or rest which is named below the measure.

Remember the stem rules.

Dotted

Half Note Quarter Note Half Rest Whole Rest Whole Note 4 Eighth notes

7. Draw the bar lines where they are needed on the staff below. Look at the time signature.

8. Write in the beats underneath these notes. Be sure to use: “1 + 2 + 3 +” in EVERY measure!

____ ____ ____ ______ ___ ____ ________________ ___ ___ ___ ___ __ __ __ __ ___ ___ ____ _____________

Bass Fingerboard Chart

Name: ___________________

E

A

D G Low 1

1

2

4

1

4

2

|——

——

-1st Po

sitio

n—

——

—|

|——

——

-3rd

Positi

on

——

——|

A

D

E B

G C# F#

G

A

B

C# D

A E B F# C F

E B F

C E B G#

G#

G#

B

Bass Fingerboard Chart

Name: ___________________

E A D G Low 1

1

2

4

1

4

2

|——

——

-1st Po

sitio

n—

——

—|

|——

——

-3rd

Positi

on

——

——

|