"SMALL WONDERS"
BACH CONCERTO IN D MINOR
FOR TWO VIOLINS
FOR TWO VIOLINS
Played at Carnegie Hall (1993)
A benefit for the Harlem Public School Violin Program.
Documentary directed by Peter Rosen
"SMALL WONDERS"
FILM NOTES
01. Roberta Travaris Guaspari,
FILM NOTES
01. Roberta Travaris Guaspari,
the subject of this documentary, is a
public school teacher who started a
successful violin program in Harlem
(a poor section of New York City).
02. Some famous violinists
in the documentary are
Perlman and Stern.
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| Isaac Stern |
They helped in the fund raising effort
to save the schools' violin program from
being eliminated due to budget cuts.
03. Violin students are taught to play
with good posture and bows moving
in the same direction.
04. Bowings emphasized:
half, whole, lifted.
05. Playing violin is serious hard
work but also fun at the same time.
06. Playing the violin teaches a mental
and physical discipline that carries
over into all aspects of education.
07. Music lessons taught at public
schools are taught as a group activity.
08. In these group lessons everyone
is trained to use the same amount of bow
(bow proportioning) for each note played.
09. All human beings are artists and
have a need to express themselves.
10. Tapes placed on
the violin fingerboard
help beginners learn
where to put their fingers.
11. Squeezing and tense playing
is incorrect. Players must be
comfortable to be successful.
12. A forward and backward shaking
motion in the left hand while fingering
the violin is called a vibrato; an
advanced playing technique.
get gradually louder.
15. To make sure the bowings are ac-
curate with others in the group, leaders
should be watched at all times.
16. Everyone who plays the same part
must stop and start every note together.
17. Patience is needed when
learning the violin because it is
a very difficult instrument to play.
18. When moving from
string to string, the bow
performs a rocking action.
19. "Rest Position"
is when you hold your violin
under your arm during the
times no one is playing.
20. A "Master Class" is a class
of accomplished musicians
headed by a famous performer
and/or famous teacher.
so the bow can balance on the top.
22. The lower part of the bow, where
the right hand is placed, is called the "frog."
23. Performance dress is semi-formal to formal.
24. To sustain proper focus,
performers participating in a
performance should never
look at the audience.
25. A famous performing
center for classical music is
Carnegie Hall in New York City.
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| Carnegie Hall |
"ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL"
Mark O'Connor
American Music Shop Band
"SMALL WONDERS" LINKS
"MUSIC OF THE HEART"