Assessment Unit
Spring 2022
MUED 355: Instrumental Methods II
Dr. Lychner
Kate Goodin
Introduction: Assessing Bow Usage and Tone Production
The orchestra students at Deltona High School are talented musicians. Overall,
technique is quite strong throughout the violin sections; however, the left hand technique is
much stronger than the right hand technique. The students can play in tune, for the most part,
but their bow usage is not very deliberate or effective. The students are stuck in the upper half
of the bow, making their tone weak. My CT and I decided that I should assess bow usage and
tone production. Figure 1 breaks down the bow into different color-coordinated zones. Students
are missing out on the power and control of the lower half because they only play in zones 1-2.
Along with not using the whole bow, many students play too close to the fingerboard for a forte
dynamic marking. Figure 2 illustrates where to place the bow between the bridge and the
fingerboard to achieve each dynamic level. The sweet spot to play forte is by the bridge.
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Method
For my assessment unit, I assessed Bow Usage and Tone Production within the violins
of the intermediate class at Deltona High School. The sound of the violin section is very soft,
airy and inconsistent. The bow is key to good tone production in an orchestra; music cannot
project without the correct use of the bow. Bow control takes strength in the right arm and
overall knowledge in how the bow affects the sound produced from the instrument. Bow
technique must be a priority for orchestra teachers.
While the students warmed up, I performed my pre-test. I addressed each student and
asked them to play a certain excerpt from the Encanto Melody: Measures 13-28. The test was
one-on-one, but there were students playing in the background to decrease performance
anxiety. I graded the students on four categories (dynamics, bow zones, lanes, and overall tone
production) and collected the data as seen in Table 1. This chart includes the qualifications I
had for each category and how each student did based on their performance. Since the
gathered data wasn’t in the form of a five point system, I converted the data into a score out of
five, using the grading scale shown in Table 2. Each student's pre-test score is contained in
Table 3.
Throughout the five lessons of the assessment unit, I focused on the bow. I implemented
scale warm ups with different dynamics and matching exercises to match the bow usage from
one student to another. Students responded better to demonstrations than to talking, so I
utilized my own playing as a teaching tool. I demonstrated different bow strokes that appeared
in Encanto and had them repeat after me. This was very beneficial in getting them to achieve
new articulations and to venture into other parts of the bow.
The post-test worked the same way as the pre-test. At the beginning of the class, while
the students were individually warming up, I asked each violinist to play the same Encanto
excerpt from before. I recorded their score as shown in Table 4.
Data: Table 1. PreTest Playing Test Data
Dynamic Bow Zones Lane by Bridge Overall Tone
In a musical What zones on What lane is the Production
passage marked the bow are the student playing When the
“Forte” the students using in between the student is
student is based on fingerboard and playing solo,
playing… Figure.1. the bridge based assess the tone
on Figure. 2. production on a
scale from 1-10.
1: Scratchy,
weak, quiet, dry
10: Smooth,
strong, rich
Names Scale: Scale: Scale: Scale:
Piano to Zones 1-6 Lanes 1-5 1-10
Fortissimo
Aaron Martinez Forte 2-4 3-4 7
DW Williams Forte 1-3 2-3 4
Riley Spann Forte 2-4 2-3 6
Nameera Ali Mp 1-3 1-2 4
Larryann Mp 2-4 1-2 4
Renovales
Paola Cordero Mf 1-3 3-4 6
Jimmie Stone Forte 3-5 3-4 7
Lyric Love Mf 1-3 1-2 5
Table 2. Grading Scale Out of 5 Possible Points
1 2 3 4 5
Dynamic pp p mp mf f
Bow Zones 1 2 1-3 2-4 3-5
Lanes 1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5
Tone 1 2 2-4 5-7 8-10
Production
Table 3. PreTest Grades
Dynamic Bow Zones Lane Tone
Production
1-5 Points 1-5 Points 1-5 Points 1-5 Points
Aaron Martinez 5 4 4 4
DW Williams 5 3 3 3
Riley Spann 5 4 3 3
Nameera Ali 3 3 2 4
Larry Ann 3 4 2 3
Renovales
Paola Cordero 4 3 4 4
Jimmie Stone 5 5 4 4
Lyric Love 4 3 2 4
Table 4. PostTest Grades
Dynamic Bow Zones Lane Tone
Production
1-5 Points 1-5 Points 1-5 Points 1-5 Points
Aaron Martinez 5 4 5 4.5
DW Williams 4.5 5 4 4
Riley Spann 5 4 3 4
Nameera Ali 4 4 3 4
Larry Ann 4 4 4
Renovales
Paola Cordero 4 3 4 4
Jimmie Stone 5 5 4 5
Lyric Love 4 4 2 4
GraphMaker
Findings
In the post-test, my data showed overall improvement in bow usage and sound
production. The test was given in the same manner as the pre-test. The standard that had the
largest increase in assessment scores was ST4 which was Tone Production. As shown in my
lesson plans, I spent a lot of time on the warm up to improve tone production. The goals of my
warm ups were to improve sound quality and consistency of tone within the D and G major
scales. As the teacher, it is easy to implement a lesson on bow usage without the students
being aware. The bow is completely responsible for articulations and styles, at this orchestra
level, and the students know what sound they want out of their instruments. My job was to give
them the knowledge and skill to achieve the desired sound. Encanto is a familiar melody with
lots of syncopations, accents, and a complete range of dynamics. Through working diligently in
the different themes of the composition, we were able to tackle a wide range of articulations with
different approaches to the bow. Working with one articulation at a time gave the students an
opportunity to experiment with their bow usage.
The area that saw the least amount of improvement was ST1 which was dynamics. The
goal was to play forte, and the students did that quite well from the beginning. String players
usually learn how to play loud before learning how to play soft.
Overall, this assessment process was beneficial. Through my pre-test, I was able to
clearly see where the students were in terms of dynamics, bow usage, the lane in which they
were playing in and their overall tone production. Throughout the course of five weeks, I was
able to sneak in lessons about using the full bow, increasing and decreasing the speed of the
bow when necessary, achieving different dynamics with the bow, and lessons on how to use the
lower half to achieve sticky accents. Some students showed little improvement compared to
their classmates, but I believe this is because they were absent for some of my lessons. Missing
class hinders the student from receiving all the instruction that they need; however, I am proud
of the progress all my students made in this short assessment unit.
