How Teachers Can Adapt Other Pieces to This System
The Zerweck System is extremely compatible with currently existing Violin Methods.
At its core, the Zerweck System is a structure for organizing violinistic problems. Considering
a particular student's needs or a teacher's preferences, pieces can be added or removed from
the system at will. This selection process should occur frequently. It's creative, organic, and
students will appreciate that their private teacher has included his or her favorite pedagogical
works, folk pieces, and classical arrangements.
There's nothing magical about the selection of pieces in the Zerweck Method, other than the
fact that they fit several criteria:
1) Hand Positions are an organizational feature.
2) Some particular skill is introduced or strengthened. No system can do
everything, so it's a matter of judgment. What skills are important for your
students?
3) Often, duet parts are available to aid in listening skills, ensemble skills,
and the adjustment of intonation. Sometimes those duet parts also
introduce a new technical skill or practice routine.
4) The repertoire selections and pedagogical moments are interesting
and varied. The selections are usually economical in length.
The structure of the Zerweck System is straightforward:
Students learn a Hand Position, and then play pieces using that hand position.
Fox, Tea, Rabbit, Claw, Crab, Closed Claw.
When multiple hand positions are learned in isolation, then those hand positions
should be mixed in repertoire selections.
It's not extremely difficult to take a body of repertoire, such as the Suzuki
Method, and categorize its pieces according to the Hand Positions it uses.
The following pages will be helpful in analyzing Suzuki Books 1-3 for usage with
the Zerweck System.
This is not the place for a critique of the Suzuki Repertoire.
However, teachers should be cautious with the following:
1) Introducing single finger locations with the support of other fingers.
2) Needlessly avoiding the G String and 4th finger E.
3) Mixing Hand Patterns without adequate mastery of each pattern.
Book 1, Suzuki
Piece Name
Hand
# of
Length Key
Positions
Strings
(Tetrachords)
Other Pedagogical Notes
1 Twinkle
12m.
AM
1st finger usage on the E string occurs
without the support of other fingers.
2 Lightly
Row
16m.
AM
#2-11 are healthy additions to the Fox
repertoire.
3 Song of the F
Wind
14m.
AM
4 Go Tell
F
Aunt Rhody
12m.
AM
5 O Come...
16m.
AM
6 May Song
12m.
AM
7 Long Long F
Ago
16m.
AM
8 Allegro
16m.
AM
9 Perpetual
Motion
16m.
AM
10 Allegretto F
16m.
DM
11 Andantino F
16m.
DM
12 Etude
F+T
14m.
GM
13 Minuet 1 F+T
24m.
GM
14 Minuet 2 F+T+R
40m.
GM
15 Minuet 3 F+T
32m.
GM
16 Happy
Farmer
F+T
20m.
GM
17 Gavotte
F+T+R
4*
32m.
GM
4-5 Pitches on G String No prep for mixture
of Tea pattern. All of the following pieces
are a mixture of Tetrachords.
Adding high 3 without adequate isolation.
*Only one pitch on open G
Book 2, Suzuki
1 Chorus
F+T+R
24m.
GM
2 Musette
F+T
16m.
DM
3 Hunter's
Chorus
F+T
34m.
GM
4 Long Long
Ago + Variation
Almost all T, some
F
33m.
GM
Contains sequence of 3 notes on
the G string
5 Waltz
F+T
23m.
GM
Great selection for blocking of
hand across double stops.
6 Bourree
F+T+R
24m.
GM
7 Two
Grenadiers
F+T+Claw
40m.
dm/DM
8 Theme from
Witches' Dance
F+T+R+Crab+Claw 3
41m.
DM
Lots of hand patterns, many not
followed up on later in the rep.
9 Gavotte from
Mignon
F+T+R
70m.
GM
1 pizzicato on the open G
10 Gavotte by
Lully
F+T+R
55m.
am
3 unique chances to use the G
string
11 Minuet in G
F+T+R
32m.
GM
Contains chromatic and Dim 5th
movement across strings
12 Boccherini's
Minuet
F+T+R
44m.
AM
significant syncopation rhythms
Book 3, Suzuki
1 Gavotte,
Martini
F+T+R
88m.
GM
2 Minuet (II),
Bach
F+R+Claw
32m.
gm
3 Gavotte in G
Minor
F+R
40m.
gm
4 Humoresque
F+T
56m.
DM/ Also encourages a collapsed low 1,
dm at m.23
5 Gavotte,
Becker
F+T+R
50m.
gm/
GM
6 Gavotte in D
major
F+T+R
58m.
DM
3*
52m.
GM/ Has one unique instance of open G
Gm
7 Bourree, Bach F+T+R
low 1 occurs without the support of
other fingers.
