Teaching Videos from the Musicians of the Minnesota Sinfonia
A note from Conductor Jay Fishman of the Minnesota Sinfonia:
My greetings to you all, and I hope that you are staying healthy and safe! With so many difficulties created by the Coronavirus, especially to students who play instruments and do not have regular personal interactions with their teachers, we at the Minnesota Sinfonia thought it would be helpful for our players to create short “teaching videos” to offer ideas and suggestions to use with their learning and practicing. These videos should be thought of as supplements to their work in the schools and with their teachers – not replacements. They cover a wide range of topics for both wind and string players starting with some of the basics of note reading, rhythm, care for the instruments to phrasing, vibrato, bow techniques, etc. As you can see as you look over the links below, they are organized separately for winds, brass, percussion, and strings (violins, violas, cello, and bass). In March the second set of videos were posted Some are continuations of this first set, and others cover new topics.
I hope you will find these videos to be helpful and easily accessible. Teachers, please pass the links along to your colleagues, and students, please pass the links along to your friends. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact me at the Sinfonia:
I wish you all well, and hopefully soon we can all do what we do best – playing together and enjoying making music!
Jay Fishman,
Artistic Director
Please enjoy these Teaching Videos created by the musicians of the Minnesota Sinfonia.
Below are five separate playlists. Each one focuses on a different part of the orchestra.
Violins and Violas featuring:
Carol Lebovich,
Violin Bow and Sound
Violin Bow and Sound Part 2
Emily Saathoff,
Violin Bow Strokes and Chords
Violin Bowing Spiccato Ricochet
Julia Persitz,
Holding the Violin
Violin Use of the Bow
Claire Loudon,
Violin Shifting
More Advanced Violin Shifting
Elise Parker,
Violin Shifting
Violin Vibrato
Kseniya Khvashchynskaya,
Violin Pitch and Rhythm
Pizzicato
Angela Hanson,
Phrasing
Phrasing Part 2
Laurel Browne,
Viola Fixing Spots
Viola Fixing Spots Part 2
Susan Crawford,
Violin Practice Strategies
Violin Practice Strategies Part 2
Elizabeth Cregan,
Voila! Viola Vibrato!
Voila! Viola Woodshed Rhythms!
Cellos and Bass featuring:
Darin Anderson,
Cello Bow
Four Cello Bow Exercises
Jane O’Hara,
Cello Use of Metronome with Jane O’Hara
Cello Use of Metronome Part 2
Diane Tremaine Kogle,
Position at Cello with Diane Tremaine Kogle
Cello Left Arm Position
Jennifer Rubin,
Holding and Tuning the Bass
Woodwinds featuring:
Paul Schulz,
Clarinet Embouchure
Clarinet Fingerings – Advanced
JoAnne Bartlett,
Beginning Flute Lesson
Flute Lesson Part 2
Sarah Carmack,
Oboe Basics with Sarah Carmack
Practicing Oboe with a Metronome
Merilee Klemp,
Oboe Basics with Merilee Klemp
Oboe Basics Part 2
Laurie Merz,
Bassoon Basics with Laurie Merz
Bassoon Basics Part 2
Brass featuring:
Neal Bolter,
French Horn Water Removal
French Horn – Tuning and How to Practice
Charles Hodgson,
French Horn Intermediate Level – High School
French Horn Phrasing
Chris Volpe
Trumpet Intermediate Level – High School
Trumpet Breathing Techniques
Percussion featuring:
Kory Andry,
Drum Set – Setting up the Snare
Drum Set – Snare Grip
Tuning Your Snare Drum
Drum and Bell Set Up and Playing
Meet the Musicians of the Sinfonia!
Susan Crawford, violin – Music as a Language that Tells Stories
Elise Parker, violin – Music and Pizza – A Fun Approach to the Violin
Alastair Brown, violin – Player and Maker – Alastair Explains How He Makes Violins
Colin McGuire & Louisa Woodfill-Harris, violin – How We Play Together
Carol Lebovic, violin – How We Use the Bow to Make Sound
Kseniya Khvashchynskaya, violin – What is a Violin?
Claire Loudon, violin & viola – Compare and Contrast Violin to Viola
Emily Saathoff, violin – Rhythm – The How and Why We Count
Angela Hanson, violin – Music and Form
Elizabeth Cregan, viola – A Musical Tale of the Whiskerly Family
Laurel Brown, viola – Music and Motion
Diane Tremaine, cello – Francois [her cello], My Very Special Friend
Darin Anderson, cello – Introducing the Cello
Jane O’Hara, cello – Cello Music through the Ages
Jennifer Rubin, bass – The Bass and its String Cousins
JoAnne Bartlett, flute – The Flute Family
Sarah Carmak, oboe – How We Make Reeds to Play on the Oboe
Merilee Klemp, oboe – The Evolution of the Modern-day Oboe
Paul Schulz, clarinet – The Clarinet Family
Laurie Merz, bassoon – The Many Kinds of Bassoons
Chuck Hodgson, French horn – The Use of the French Horn in the Movies
Neal Bolter, French horn – How the Horn Makes its Sounds
Rebecca Jyrkas, French horn – The origins of the French Horn
Christopher Volpe, Trumpet – The Trumpet Family
Kory Andry, percussion – The Many, Many Kinds of Percussion Instruments used by the Sinfonia