Full Version: Placing Markings On Fingerboards
Would like to have your opinions on whether you think that it is beneficial or not beneficial to place markings(be it in the form of stickers or correction fluid) on bowed string instruments (violin, viola, cello, bass) to help them get familiarized with the finger board. Your views would be much appreciated regardless of whether you are a music teacher or a student learning a bowed string instrument based on your own experiences as a student or teacher.
In my opinion, there should be markings on the fingerboard for beginners.
i`m just not sure when u should remove it......
i`m just not sure when u should remove it......
I'm not so sure. When playing the violin it is crucial to be able to hear that you are in tune to get a good grounding in good intonation. Markings on the fingerboard may stop pupils from listening, and adjusting if they are slightly out.
In any case if a string goes out of tune it will be wrong....and you need to be able to play the fiddle in tune when it goes out of tune, by compensating and adjusting. You can't always stop and re-tune in the middle of something.
This, and using tuners, are crutches which slow the development of a good ear in my opinion.
However it may be a help to very young learners.
In any case I'm not letting anyone put tippex on MY violin
In any case if a string goes out of tune it will be wrong....and you need to be able to play the fiddle in tune when it goes out of tune, by compensating and adjusting. You can't always stop and re-tune in the middle of something.
This, and using tuners, are crutches which slow the development of a good ear in my opinion.
However it may be a help to very young learners.
In any case I'm not letting anyone put tippex on MY violin
Once upon a time (last January) I started to learn violin until my teacher who I borrowed it from needed it back.
While I think Janexxx is right about it not being so good for the ear, I wish that I would have had some kind of marker to tell me roughly where my finger should be! When you are a total beginner it's rather daunting to be relying only on your ear when you have all kinds of things like bowing, posture, tension, co-ordination etc. to be worrying about as well!
While I think Janexxx is right about it not being so good for the ear, I wish that I would have had some kind of marker to tell me roughly where my finger should be! When you are a total beginner it's rather daunting to be relying only on your ear when you have all kinds of things like bowing, posture, tension, co-ordination etc. to be worrying about as well!
yes i do think that beginners should have marks on their violin/viola/cell/contrabass. because begginers have so much else to do that until grade 1 then their should be marks (by this time they should know what the notes soundlike and be able to it anyway) my cello has a little dint exactly where i should put my thumb in first position(which is very handy)
A sticker to remind them where the thumb goes, but then a lot of aural training to bypass the need for fingerboard stickers. It's the only way, otherwise you'll end up with a pupil who keeps glancing at the fingerboard rather than using their ears. Not good.
Violinia
Violinia
QUOTE
This, and using tuners, are crutches which slow the development of a good ear in my opinion.
When I began learning the violin, aged 10, (which is now 21 years ago) the idea of putting stickers on the fingerboard wasn't even considered. I'm sure my teacher would have been horrified by the thought. From day one I was taught to listen and within three months of my first lesson, I had been entered for, taken and passed my Grade 2 violin exam.
Putting stickers on the fingerboard, as many have already said, just encourages the student to look for where the notes should be (assuming the strings are in tune). Once the stickers come off they are totally lost at sea. As a result I've seen pupils playing knocked back considerably.
If I inherit students with sticky strips on their fingerboard, they are removed immediately. I once inherited a student who had relied on sticky strips to get her up to and through Grade 5!!! Can't imagine what the examiner must have thought.
I'm pretty certain players like Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin would never have had sticky tape on their fingerboards, even though they started aged 4.
I hate tape on the fingerboard. If I inherit a student with the tape I whip them straight off !! But if one of my violin students really struggle I do put a dot for 1st finger but the more they play the quicker it gets rubbed off, I do warn the child not to rely on it as once it comes off then no more stickers.
When I taught my eldest the violin I used 1st finger sticker and since then he has mastered 3rd and 5th position all by ear never needed another sticker. He has very good intonation as he has had to use his ears.
The cellist child has a group tuition and everyone has stickers on their cello, so to make him feel as though he fits with his group he has them. But I sometimes rub them down, they come off very quickly as he plays alot. He has been learning alot of shifts recently in his scales, once he masters the shifts I take them off and he has to use his ears to find the notes. He has no problems with that.
My pet hate is teachers that stick tape on as frets as oppose to finger 1, 2 and 3. That is terrible.
When I taught my eldest the violin I used 1st finger sticker and since then he has mastered 3rd and 5th position all by ear never needed another sticker. He has very good intonation as he has had to use his ears.
The cellist child has a group tuition and everyone has stickers on their cello, so to make him feel as though he fits with his group he has them. But I sometimes rub them down, they come off very quickly as he plays alot. He has been learning alot of shifts recently in his scales, once he masters the shifts I take them off and he has to use his ears to find the notes. He has no problems with that.
My pet hate is teachers that stick tape on as frets as oppose to finger 1, 2 and 3. That is terrible.
Definately wouldnt try this, practice your scales and have some fun with them and listen to each note as you play it. In fact I have never known any one to put marker on the fingerboard.
I'm almost of the opinion that stickers are less use for young kids than for older kids - because little kids tend to start out gripping the fingerboard in a sweaty, chubby-fingered deathgrip, which few stickers can stand up to! The sticker starts sliding around, and before long it's practically useless.
On the other hand, a small kid with a good ear who is still playing on only one or two strings may move his/her fingers along the fingerboard rather than tune the violin...which is also death to good intonation in the long run!
One sticker for the first finger sounds like a good compromise.
On the other hand, a small kid with a good ear who is still playing on only one or two strings may move his/her fingers along the fingerboard rather than tune the violin...which is also death to good intonation in the long run!
One sticker for the first finger sounds like a good compromise.
I agree that fingerboards should not have sticky tape. It makes the whole fingerboard icky and sticky (worse with tippex) and messy when you take them off. Why not train them to listen right from the start?
I have another peeve I'd love to add on that note. Teachers who teach kids to play a whole tune and have not trained them aurally, expecting the accompanist to train them for aurals in the 4 practice sessions they have before the actual exam ought to be shot! They should at least be able to hear, identify, play back, the first five notes of the scale before they even begin playing a simple piece!
They don't even listen to their own playing, what more the piano when I accompany!
Gee, does that mean my hearing is getting even better? I used to be able to hear and identify notes on the piano, but wasn't very good on the violin because I couldn't tell if it was only slightly out of tune. Not that my pitching is good everyday. It still has it's lapse days. 
I have another peeve I'd love to add on that note. Teachers who teach kids to play a whole tune and have not trained them aurally, expecting the accompanist to train them for aurals in the 4 practice sessions they have before the actual exam ought to be shot! They should at least be able to hear, identify, play back, the first five notes of the scale before they even begin playing a simple piece!
They don't even listen to their own playing, what more the piano when I accompany!
Gee, does that mean my hearing is getting even better?
I used to be able to hear and identify notes on the piano, but wasn't very good on the violin because I couldn't tell if it was only slightly out of tune. Not that my pitching is good everyday. It still has it's lapse days.
I'm inclined to believe that if a child needs 'fret-marks' on a violin for more than a few weeks that the violin is possibly not the instrument for that child. I'm not saying that the child should be able to play in perfect tune in that time but ought to be able to adjust each note closer to the proper pitch.
Any instrument has intonation problems though, except keyboard ones plus a few others where intonation is independent of playing.
I've wondered if singing should become part of a young violinists curriculum - most children can pitch reasonably well and their aural training might start there.
Sometimes I wonder if we're so eager to press young people into learning an instrument we don't bother to ask if they're really cut out for it. My early experiences with piano were not good - I was always under persuasion - and I didn't take up the violin until much later.
Any instrument has intonation problems though, except keyboard ones plus a few others where intonation is independent of playing.
I've wondered if singing should become part of a young violinists curriculum - most children can pitch reasonably well and their aural training might start there.
Sometimes I wonder if we're so eager to press young people into learning an instrument we don't bother to ask if they're really cut out for it. My early experiences with piano were not good - I was always under persuasion - and I didn't take up the violin until much later.
I never used stickers when I was learning, and agree that the two essentials are a good ear and kinaesthetics of the fingers and hand, but I do make use of my knowledge of the natural markings on the finger board when I am about to make an entry on a high note in the middle of a loud orchestral tutti, when hearing one's bass is almost impossible.
My daughter started playing 2 years ago at the age of 4 on a hired 1/8th size violin. Unlike her older sister who could sing happy birthday in perfect tune from the age of 2 she has had to really work at her pitch, and as such when she first started would have had no idea what pitch to aim for when she first started. The use of stickers kept her on the right track so she could learn the finger shapes and now her pitch has improved considerably and she plays beautifully in tune.
She regularly needed her stickers replaced as they do move around if you practise alot and didn't need them at all after a few months, partly through her own determination not to have them on her own 1/4 size.
I would certainly not advocate the use of stickers as a substitute for aural training, but many really young children are playing they don't know what pitch they should be aiming for so it can be a useful tool.
I also agree with the poster who said that if they are still using them heavily after a few months - maybe it is not the right instrument.
QUOTE(Thisisus @ Sep 27 2005, 07:40 AM)
I've wondered if singing should become part of a young violinists curriculum - most children can pitch reasonably well and their aural training might start there.
Definitely.
QUOTE(sarah-flute @ Sep 27 2005, 12:54 PM)
QUOTE(Thisisus @ Sep 27 2005, 07:40 AM)
I've wondered if singing should become part of a young violinists curriculum - most children can pitch reasonably well and their aural training might start there.
Definitely.
Yes, I wish I had!! but then I wish I was a "young" violinist too!!
QUOTE(sarah-flute @ Sep 27 2005, 12:54 PM)
QUOTE(Thisisus @ Sep 27 2005, 07:40 AM)
I've wondered if singing should become part of a young violinists curriculum - most children can pitch reasonably well and their aural training might start there.
Definitely.
I agree with Jane. My daughter's violin teacher only allowed stickers at the beginning of teaching. Thereafter she was taught to rely on her ear. It is now very good. If she listens, she does know what is in or out of tune, faultlessly. This is in contrast to her older sister, who only began learining the cello at age 10. She relied on stickers for ages and has never had a totally reliable ear.#
Violinma
Amanda said - I'm pretty certain players like Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin would never have had sticky tape on their fingerboards, even though they started aged 4.
All the kids at school had white stickers on their fingerboards placed by the borough violin teachers. So Violinutter asked me why her teacher did not think of using them. I never saw him till several months later by which time it became apparent that not using stickers was a good idea because the child is forced to listen. Apparently, I heard that he has had a 3-yr old as his youngest student ever and never being the sticker-type, I'm sure he didn't use them for such an early age, either. So I guess from day 1, these kids know that the violin is a very hard instrument to learn and they MUST listen ALL the time.
Having said that, some kids might need the markings to ease them gently for the first few weeks/term???
All the kids at school had white stickers on their fingerboards placed by the borough violin teachers. So Violinutter asked me why her teacher did not think of using them. I never saw him till several months later by which time it became apparent that not using stickers was a good idea because the child is forced to listen. Apparently, I heard that he has had a 3-yr old as his youngest student ever and never being the sticker-type, I'm sure he didn't use them for such an early age, either. So I guess from day 1, these kids know that the violin is a very hard instrument to learn and they MUST listen ALL the time.
Having said that, some kids might need the markings to ease them gently for the first few weeks/term???
I suspect most of the above comments stem from idealism not reality - including mine.
I have never inherited a pupil younger than 12 who didn't have stickers or evidence of previous stickers all over their fingerboard, including stickers for 1st 2nd and 3rd finger. And I'll admit it - I've used them myself out - of sheer desperation.
One big problem - the complete refusal of vast numbers of children to sing. If you simply can't get them to sing (especially in front of their friends if they're having a shared lesson), how can you possibly get them to pitch their notes consistently and accurately?
I have a system involving "doh, a deer, a female deer" etc, where they sing doh and re and get them to really internalise the tone interval and then place their finger accordingly, but they refuse to sing, or if they do, they sing it out of tune!!! And then they still play the notes out of tune - unless they've been blessed with a good ear from the start by a singing parent when they were little.
Not for nothing did my old violin teacher refuse to take a child on if they couldn't sing in tune from the start.
I watched the Dylan documentaries the other night and was struck by the old footage of thousands of teenagers and other young people singing their hearts out at folk festivals. This kind of spontaneous, unembarrassed group singing doesn't really happen any more, and I don't really know why. They're happy to belt out pop songs if they think they have a cool voice, but that's as far as it goes.
I despair, sometimes. There just isn't time in a half hour (20 minute by the time they've managed to convince their science teacher they have to go to their violin lesson) shared lesson to do full-on Kodaly training when all they really want is to be able to knock out a few tunes on a battered old school violin, and you've got a Head of Music wondering why they haven't got round to Grade 2 yet.
What to do? I wish I knew. Perhaps I should start refusing to teach anyone whose mother never sang to them.
Violinia
I have never inherited a pupil younger than 12 who didn't have stickers or evidence of previous stickers all over their fingerboard, including stickers for 1st 2nd and 3rd finger. And I'll admit it - I've used them myself out - of sheer desperation.
One big problem - the complete refusal of vast numbers of children to sing. If you simply can't get them to sing (especially in front of their friends if they're having a shared lesson), how can you possibly get them to pitch their notes consistently and accurately?
I have a system involving "doh, a deer, a female deer" etc, where they sing doh and re and get them to really internalise the tone interval and then place their finger accordingly, but they refuse to sing, or if they do, they sing it out of tune!!! And then they still play the notes out of tune - unless they've been blessed with a good ear from the start by a singing parent when they were little.
Not for nothing did my old violin teacher refuse to take a child on if they couldn't sing in tune from the start.
I watched the Dylan documentaries the other night and was struck by the old footage of thousands of teenagers and other young people singing their hearts out at folk festivals. This kind of spontaneous, unembarrassed group singing doesn't really happen any more, and I don't really know why. They're happy to belt out pop songs if they think they have a cool voice, but that's as far as it goes.
I despair, sometimes. There just isn't time in a half hour (20 minute by the time they've managed to convince their science teacher they have to go to their violin lesson) shared lesson to do full-on Kodaly training when all they really want is to be able to knock out a few tunes on a battered old school violin, and you've got a Head of Music wondering why they haven't got round to Grade 2 yet.
What to do? I wish I knew. Perhaps I should start refusing to teach anyone whose mother never sang to them.
Violinia
My teacher got so riled up with me once,he put a dot of correction liquid on my fingerboard...and I was SO embarrased...!
It's really embarrasing when I see markers on the fingerboard!people who heavily rely on them should just switch to the guitar instead...
It's really embarrasing when I see markers on the fingerboard!people who heavily rely on them should just switch to the guitar instead...
QUOTE(Violinia @ Sep 29 2005, 10:11 AM)
I suspect most of the above comments stem from idealism not reality - including mine.
I have never inherited a pupil younger than 12 who didn't have stickers or evidence of previous stickers all over their fingerboard, including stickers for 1st 2nd and 3rd finger. And I'll admit it - I've used them myself out - of sheer desperation.
One big problem - the complete refusal of vast numbers of children to sing. If you simply can't get them to sing (especially in front of their friends if they're having a shared lesson), how can you possibly get them to pitch their notes consistently and accurately?
I have a system involving "doh, a deer, a female deer" etc, where they sing doh and re and get them to really internalise the tone interval and then place their finger accordingly, but they refuse to sing, or if they do, they sing it out of tune!!! And then they still play the notes out of tune - unless they've been blessed with a good ear from the start by a singing parent when they were little.
Not for nothing did my old violin teacher refuse to take a child on if they couldn't sing in tune from the start.
I watched the Dylan documentaries the other night and was struck by the old footage of thousands of teenagers and other young people singing their hearts out at folk festivals. This kind of spontaneous, unembarrassed group singing doesn't really happen any more, and I don't really know why. They're happy to belt out pop songs if they think they have a cool voice, but that's as far as it goes.
I despair, sometimes. There just isn't time in a half hour (20 minute by the time they've managed to convince their science teacher they have to go to their violin lesson) shared lesson to do full-on Kodaly training when all they really want is to be able to knock out a few tunes on a battered old school violin, and you've got a Head of Music wondering why they haven't got round to Grade 2 yet.
What to do? I wish I knew. Perhaps I should start refusing to teach anyone whose mother never sang to them.
Violinia
I have never inherited a pupil younger than 12 who didn't have stickers or evidence of previous stickers all over their fingerboard, including stickers for 1st 2nd and 3rd finger. And I'll admit it - I've used them myself out - of sheer desperation.
One big problem - the complete refusal of vast numbers of children to sing. If you simply can't get them to sing (especially in front of their friends if they're having a shared lesson), how can you possibly get them to pitch their notes consistently and accurately?
I have a system involving "doh, a deer, a female deer" etc, where they sing doh and re and get them to really internalise the tone interval and then place their finger accordingly, but they refuse to sing, or if they do, they sing it out of tune!!! And then they still play the notes out of tune - unless they've been blessed with a good ear from the start by a singing parent when they were little.
Not for nothing did my old violin teacher refuse to take a child on if they couldn't sing in tune from the start.
I watched the Dylan documentaries the other night and was struck by the old footage of thousands of teenagers and other young people singing their hearts out at folk festivals. This kind of spontaneous, unembarrassed group singing doesn't really happen any more, and I don't really know why. They're happy to belt out pop songs if they think they have a cool voice, but that's as far as it goes.
I despair, sometimes. There just isn't time in a half hour (20 minute by the time they've managed to convince their science teacher they have to go to their violin lesson) shared lesson to do full-on Kodaly training when all they really want is to be able to knock out a few tunes on a battered old school violin, and you've got a Head of Music wondering why they haven't got round to Grade 2 yet.
What to do? I wish I knew. Perhaps I should start refusing to teach anyone whose mother never sang to them.
Violinia
Now THAT explains why all the kids at school use stickers. My daughter used to be too shy to sing but she is OK now. I've always sung to my kids and her violin teacher have sung to her and he also made her sing, too, in his lessons but then unlike kids learning in school, she has time for it. On hindsight, no wonder in HER school, the violin teacher refused to give a place to any kid who EITHER could not or would not sing!
QUOTE(princesa siempre vende @ Sep 29 2005, 11:40 AM)
My teacher got so riled up with me once,he put a dot of correction liquid on my fingerboard...and I was SO embarrased...!
It's really embarrasing when I see markers on the fingerboard!people who heavily rely on them should just switch to the guitar instead...
It's really embarrasing when I see markers on the fingerboard!people who heavily rely on them should just switch to the guitar instead...
No, they shd join a choir as VN just did!
QUOTE
No, they shd join a choir as VN just did!
My mother loves good old fashioned 'musicals', but, in herself is about as musical as a brick - despite her own mother being an excellent pianist. My father played the drums in a jazz trio - drums are hardly the most harmonious of instruments, but at least he had an excellent sense of rythmn.
Long before I played any instrument I used to sit at home beside the hi-fi speakers and sing along to all the songs on the musical soundtracks my parents owned.
So, although my parents never sang to me personally I was inspired enough by the sound of other people singing on a soundtrack to want to join in. To a child with a natural interest in music and an ear to pick things up, this method has to be as good as any initial parental help.
I always took part in school musicals and also belonged to a local youth theatre who produced two musicals a year. Tess is right, chorus singing has to be one of the best ways of developing your ear.
QUOTE
I watched the Dylan documentaries the other night and was struck by the old footage of thousands of teenagers and other young people singing their hearts out at folk festivals. This kind of spontaneous, unembarrassed group singing doesn't really happen any more, and I don't really know why. They're happy to belt out pop songs if they think they have a cool voice, but that's as far as it goes.
I've noticed how even the number of schools and youth theatres producing musicals has dropped dramatically.
Sadly, many teenagers seem to think that only Pop Idol or Fame Academy style singing is the thing to do these days.
QUOTE(AmandaL @ Sep 29 2005, 03:29 PM)
QUOTE
I watched the Dylan documentaries the other night and was struck by the old footage of thousands of teenagers and other young people singing their hearts out at folk festivals. This kind of spontaneous, unembarrassed group singing doesn't really happen any more, and I don't really know why. They're happy to belt out pop songs if they think they have a cool voice, but that's as far as it goes.
I've noticed how even the number of schools and youth theatres producing musicals has dropped dramatically.
Sadly, many teenagers seem to think that only Pop Idol or Fame Academy style singing is the thing to do these days.
The one place you do hear (mainly men) taking part in spontaneous, unembarrassed group singing is at football matches. The sound of the whole ground ringing to 'You'll never walk alone' after Liverpool won the Champions League final brought a lump to my throat.
QUOTE(AmandaL @ Sep 29 2005, 02:29 PM)
Sadly, many teenagers seem to think that only Pop Idol or Fame Academy style singing is the thing to do these days.
Yes, it's very sad. It is true that music making in my daughter's school amounts to mimicking either Jenni Lo or Britney Spears. There is no choir and kids normally listen to tapes for music lessons. VN told me yesterday that many kids could not sing in tune the do-re-mi song when the teacher tried it once. No wonder they HAVE to have their markings on their fingerboards. They probably have not learnt what it means really to concentrate and listen!
I know this is a bit off-topic but I wonder why the addiction to Pop Idol, FA, BS and J Lo? Chorus singing and classical music are seen as traditional bores!
If I cannot sing in tune, I wouldn't dare to attempt a solo!
About the singing thing first...I would be embarrased to sing in front of my violin teacher, and I think I speak for most teenagers here. Even though I'm in a load of choirs I get self-conscious around people I know well, because singing is something very personal.
Now onto the issue of markings on fingerboards. My arguments against:
1) It looks very beginner-ish, and if you're learning on a full size you might be stuck with dots when you're doing your grade 4 - not likely to impress.
2) You shouldn't be looking at the fingerboard anyway, you could end up getting a stiff neck and it's just a bad habit to get into so early.
3) When the markings come off you'll still be relying on them, making it harder later on.
Basically, I think it's best to learn the hard way. It takes longer to start, but helps aural skills and pays off in the long run.
As for the whole "easing in" idea, I (apaprently, I can't actually remember my very first lessons) spent around a month on open strings to sort out bowing and plucking, before even moving on to first finger. When it was time to start using new positions, my teacher mentioned that I adapted to finding the right place much faster than most pupils he gets from other teachers. He put it down to relying on the ear from the start.
Now onto the issue of markings on fingerboards. My arguments against:
1) It looks very beginner-ish, and if you're learning on a full size you might be stuck with dots when you're doing your grade 4 - not likely to impress.
2) You shouldn't be looking at the fingerboard anyway, you could end up getting a stiff neck and it's just a bad habit to get into so early.
3) When the markings come off you'll still be relying on them, making it harder later on.
Basically, I think it's best to learn the hard way. It takes longer to start, but helps aural skills and pays off in the long run.
As for the whole "easing in" idea, I (apaprently, I can't actually remember my very first lessons) spent around a month on open strings to sort out bowing and plucking, before even moving on to first finger. When it was time to start using new positions, my teacher mentioned that I adapted to finding the right place much faster than most pupils he gets from other teachers. He put it down to relying on the ear from the start.
I think just one mark for the first finger would be helpful to a beginner, and they can find their way from therer. Also it wouldn't be too hard to get used to the absence of just one sticker when you remove it.
i have just decided to take the marks of the fingerboard on my cello (i dont realy use them anyway so there was no point in them being there)
For beginners on the cello, I think it's OK to stick a small bump of some sort, to be felt by the thumb, on the *back* of the neck of the instrument so as to help confirm the location of the hand in first position. I don't think anything should be needed on the front as the fingers should lie in the right positions, assuming the instrument is not oversized for the person. (That's a big assumption 
)
)
It is important the first few weeks, especially with the younger children. At first, there are so many things to worry about - how to hold the violin, correct posture, how to hold the bow...also, intonation should not be a primary concern at the beginning. Slowly, with time, violinists will grow out of the markings and at that time, they should play without them.
QUOTE(bohemian @ Sep 30 2005, 07:54 PM)
Now onto the issue of markings on fingerboards. My arguments against:
1) It looks very beginner-ish, and if you're learning on a full size you might be stuck with dots when you're doing your grade 4 - not likely to impress.
2) You shouldn't be looking at the fingerboard anyway, you could end up getting a stiff neck and it's just a bad habit to get into so early.
3) When the markings come off you'll still be relying on them, making it harder later on.
Basically, I think it's best to learn the hard way. It takes longer to start, but helps aural skills and pays off in the long run.
Oh dear. I'd never considered this. Son has stickers on his fingerboard - always has done. I don't think he uses them (or ever has done very much) to be honest. He has excellent intonation I'm always told, so I don't think they have stopped him using his ears. They were there when he did grade 4 and he is doing grade 5 this term. Should we take them off? Might his teacher be upset - she put them there after all.
QUOTE(unmusicalmum @ Oct 4 2005, 07:03 AM)
Oh dear. I'd never considered this. Son has stickers on his fingerboard - always has done. I don't think he uses them (or ever has done very much) to be honest. He has excellent intonation I'm always told, so I don't think they have stopped him using his ears. They were there when he did grade 4 and he is doing grade 5 this term. Should we take them off? Might his teacher be upset - she put them there after all.
just remove them one by one each lesson....
....thats what i didQUOTE(unmusicalmum @ Oct 3 2005, 11:03 PM)
QUOTE(bohemian @ Sep 30 2005, 07:54 PM)
Now onto the issue of markings on fingerboards. My arguments against:
1) It looks very beginner-ish, and if you're learning on a full size you might be stuck with dots when you're doing your grade 4 - not likely to impress.
2) You shouldn't be looking at the fingerboard anyway, you could end up getting a stiff neck and it's just a bad habit to get into so early.
3) When the markings come off you'll still be relying on them, making it harder later on.
Basically, I think it's best to learn the hard way. It takes longer to start, but helps aural skills and pays off in the long run.
Oh dear. I'd never considered this. Son has stickers on his fingerboard - always has done. I don't think he uses them (or ever has done very much) to be honest. He has excellent intonation I'm always told, so I don't think they have stopped him using his ears. They were there when he did grade 4 and he is doing grade 5 this term. Should we take them off? Might his teacher be upset - she put them there after all.
His teacher will be pleased!
And... proud of him.
I don't think teachers will generally make a big fuss about it, unless without it, there are huge lapses in intonation. I took off mine by myself, and later, when I purchased my full size, I never used them again.
I do have to agree that people would do best without the markings, while I still find them useful for progress.
I do have to agree that people would do best without the markings, while I still find them useful for progress.
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