Bluffton schools strings teacher Rachael Lewis’s enthusiasm for music – well, it’s nearly impossible to describe.

VIEW THE PHOTOS BELOW -

That enthusiasm carries over to her creative musical teaching method. Imagine getting students excited about playing scales - especially in the summer.

During this photo shoot of a summer strings class with fourth-graders-going-into-fifth-grade, Lewis asked each student: “Hailey, what did you have for breakfast?”

(What does that have to do with playing a string instrument?)

Hailey: “Cereal and toast.”

Lewis: “Okay, let’s play the B flat scale to Hailey’s breakfast. “Cer – e –al and toast.”

(Imagine you are playing a violin to this rhythm: “Da…da…da-da…da”– and so on, up the scale.

It works. Each musician tells about breakfast and each musician follows by playing each new breakfast rhythm in a warm-up scale.

Lewis has many other teaching techniques just as creative – and we’ll now let you sit back and check out each musician’s bowing technique.

In June and July Lewis holds weekly 30-minute rehearsals with beginning through high school string students. It’s totally voluntary and totally musical.

PHOTOS:

Students in this photo session were Hailey Ballinger, Jordyn O'Connel, Kaleigh Coffman, Zoe Shank, Jordan Schweingruber and Xavier Diller.