Violin demonstration for kindergarteners

January 21, 2011 at 11:59 PM · How long is it? Show them the different parts of the violin and then have a contest to see who can remember. Tell them the story of how the sound is started with the bow and develops through the instrument and out to them. Show them how the violin can make different types of sound. If you dare, have a music and movement game, one I like to use with my little people is that I play, and when I stop they have to freeze qwherever they are. Crowd control skills help a little for that one :)

January 22, 2011 at 03:48 AM ·

I've done this albeit with fiddle music, not classical.  Little kids can get bored quickly.

My advice:  more playing, less talking.  Play different segments of music that aren't too long.  Play a mix of fast fun music and some "sweet" music.  Tell them something about the violin, the music, the composer, etc. between the music.  Or answer a question or two.

But keep the talking brief and the music flowing.  And be gracious when the teacher gently ends the session :-).

January 22, 2011 at 04:27 AM ·

Children love to try and touch everything. 

If you would have or can rent a cheap violin (even if too big), they would surely love to try it / see it from up close!

Good luck! 

January 22, 2011 at 06:40 AM ·

One successful game that I have used is have them squat low when you play the G ,hands on knees for the D, stand up straight for the A and strech as high as you can for the E.Startwith the G and E which they can easily discern, you might have to do it a few times with them to get the idea,then add the other strings one at a time.

January 22, 2011 at 08:37 AM ·

 Hi I play alot fpr this age group.  They love Czardas, you can ask them if they want you to go faster on each repeaet and they usually shout ,'YES' also spring from the four seasons or Lark ascending because they understand the bird-like sounds.

January 22, 2011 at 07:19 PM ·

 I've done a few talks to young kids before and mixed groups of children (ages 4-11) before. The mixed groups are far harder to appeal to because you can't talk too 'young' or too old. 

Anyway, I usually start with a bit of a quiz. I say first off who I am and that I play the violin of course. Then I say stuff like 'Who knows how many strings are on a violin?' which gets them going. I demonstrate different styles that can be played, explaining how diverse the violin can be, usually associating 'big stomping elephants' and 'tiny mice' by making different sounds on the violin. Finally, I invite one or two up and let them hold the bow and run it across the strings on the violin (with me holding it of course) or let them pluck the strings. It is usually really good and fun for the kids, and they all LOVE getting up and having a go. 

At the age group you would be talking to (I'm not sure about the American system but is that 5 - 6 year olds?), the violin has to just be something fun and not boring. It is advisable not to talk about individual notes etc. unless you are going to make it a quiz or song. 

EDIT: Oh, and another thing that always seems to make the kids go 'Wow' is showing them that you can hold your violin at your neck between your shoulder and chin without holding it up with your arm. They always seem to think it is magic!! 

Good luck, make sure you tell us how it goes! 

January 23, 2011 at 03:42 PM ·

When my kids (ages 7, 4) have friends over and are curious about the violins, they seem fascinated by the different sizes - 4/4, 1/4, 1/8, so I end up discussing the entire string family. Maybe a graphic showing all the different 'sizes' (instruments), differing sounds, might be interesting for them? 

They also wonder how notes are played on the violin - placing fingers, stopping/starting the bow, or plucking (comparing it to strumming of guitar) - simple things.

I really like the idea of playing excerpts with familiar sounds - birds etc. My children love it when I make cartoon noises by sliding up/down the fingerboard.

Good luck!

January 28, 2011 at 09:25 PM ·

Thank you all for your suggestions and tips. The demonstration is in April and will let you know how everything went. For now it gives me plenty of time to get my "lesson plan" together and choose pieces I want to play for the kids.