Sirens

Sirens is a game you can play with your students from the beginning stages of playing to prepare them for shifting and vibrato. The idea is simple: Place a finger or fingers down on the string and glissando up and down the string while moving the bow back and forth. Practice doing sirens on all the different fingers, and on all the different strings. When the student reaches the neck block position, they must place their thumb in the saddle. Don't worry about sliding to specific pitches yet, just let them enjoy making sound while sliding around.