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Blackwell, Kathy & Blackwell, David - String Time Starters - Viola book

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Sheet Music - £6.50 - • 21 easy, characterful ensemble pieces, plus fun warm ups
• Flexible scoring for violin, viola, cello, and double bass with piano or CD accompanimen

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This piece has an A-B-A structure. You might picture this for pupils as a sandwich and ask them about other pieces they’ve learned with identical and similar structures.

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Check that third fingers are dropping in tune by pausing in the music, saying (or asking pupils to say) “pause” or “stop” when they play third fingers, whose tuning can then be checked against the open string below. To help any pupils who are struggling, you might refer to other pieces that include “the drop”, for example ‘Twinkle, twinkle’ and ‘

Review pieces including “the drop” as a supporting piece if struggling. ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’ and ‘Old MacDonald’.

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Encourage pupils to think about a boat on the water. Talk about journeys by water (boat, ferry, dingy, yacht…). You might ask pupils whether they’ve watched the waves or been on a boat ride. How would they feel to sail on calm water, or in a light breeze, or even in a storm? Prompt different bow weights and lengths and dynamics to represent these different conditions. Model a type of weather first and ask your pupil/s whether it sounded like calm or choppy or stormy water. Ask them to make their own musical choices, creating their own “weather”.

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Listen to different versions of the song, especially those using Scottish instruments, voices, and videos of Skye’s landscape. Sing the song together with the original words or encourage pupils to make up their own.

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The melodic line of the middle section can be “scaffolded” by first learning the descending melodic outline B-B-B B, A-A-A A, G-G-G G, E. The changing note can then be added. Developing this idea further, you can try out a listening game (which also support ABRSM Grade 1 Aural Test 1c, where pupils are asked to identify a change). For example, play the first pattern and then change the pitch of one note. Ask your pupil/s “was it note 1, 2, 3 or 4 that changed?” Numbered cards can give pupils a visual aid as they listen. Finally, play the sequence as it is written. Highlight how that the same note in the sequence changes each time (the second note) and that music is made up of patterns like this. The roles could also be reversed, with pupils changing a note themselves and you or other group members being asked to find it.

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Use the rhythm of either bar 1 or bar 1–2 to play each note of the G-major scale.

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Ask pupils to choose their own sequence of open strings (using the rhythm of bar 1) to make up a short piece. You could accompany them with open-string harmonics, as in the String Time Starters ensemble part for this piece. This allows you and your pupil/s to make music from the very start of the learning experience.

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Play each string in turn (C, G, D, A) using the rhythm from bars 1–2. Encourage good rhythm, smooth flowing bow strokes, and a clear sound. You might consider adding words to represent the rhythm of bar 1, for example “sing me a song” or pupils could be asked to suggest their own words.

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Although the String Time Starters version of ‘Skye Boat Song’ is written in three-time, a flowing performance is likely to have a feeling of being in two (6/8). To help achieve this, you can encourage a swaying action, moving the whole body side-to-side followed by the arms mimicking the bow action, perhaps while a piano accompaniment or performance track plays along.

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I tend to teach this song by ear at first, explaining that traditional Scottish music was often learned this way.

Begin by teaching the melody by ear, creating a more authentic experience. If pupils know the tune and like to work aurally, provide them with the first note then take a step back to see what they can do independently, supporting as and when needed. For those pupils who need a little more direction, build the melody gradually.

It can be helpful to teach the first phrase through each of its component parts before putting these together. For example:

Bar 1’s dotted rhythm on each of the open strings

Next, try the pattern 0-1-0, 0-0 on each string

Add “the drop”, i.e. dropping all three fingers onto the string (0-1-0, 3-3)

Finally, “the hop”, i.e. moving the first finger from the A string to the D string

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Viola Syllabus
Grade 1
Available in exams from January 2024