Leaps and Bounds
Grade 1, D Major, 3/4
Leaps and Bounds is intended to be an early-level introduction to 3/4 time. The melodic material frequently passes between the sections. Work with your dotted-half note people to land strong on the downbeat and then back off (like an accent), leaving room for the quarter note parts to be more easily heard.
I recommend using a “crawling ninja bow”, where you pull the down-bows slightly faster than up-bows when a dotted half note up-bow appears in the next measure. This will allow those dotted half notes to start nearer to the tip, greatly improving tone and rhythmic accuracy. I remind my students that the slightly faster down-bow direction should be accompanied by a slightly lighter bow weight to avoid lopsided volumes.
I hope you and your students enjoy Leaps and Bounds!
I recommend using a “crawling ninja bow”, where you pull the down-bows slightly faster than up-bows when a dotted half note up-bow appears in the next measure. This will allow those dotted half notes to start nearer to the tip, greatly improving tone and rhythmic accuracy. I remind my students that the slightly faster down-bow direction should be accompanied by a slightly lighter bow weight to avoid lopsided volumes.
I hope you and your students enjoy Leaps and Bounds!