Violin hacker

All music teachers have little tricks we use to help our students develop certain areas of technique.  I thought I'd share two things I've been using recently with WonderGirl on the violin.  First, these:

These Dr. Scholls cushions are just perfect for violin teachers, and you can find the at any pharmacy or grocery store.  They are small, soft and have a light adhesive so we can stick them anywhere and they come off easily.  I use one for her left thumb here:

It gives her a tactile reminder of where to move her thumb and keeps it from creeping up over the fingerboard.

I also use it on her bow to keep her pinky in check:

The other thing I'm using lately is a Bow-Right:

It's guides her bow and helps her to notice the difference between using her elbow as opposed to her shoulder.  It's a handy thing to use, and it helps to have it there so I'm not constantly harping on her to use her elbow and I can focus on other things.

Do you have any tricks?