Mary Had a Little Lamb
Stepwise, small range, and every phrase starts the same way — a tune built for reading a line that walks up and down by step, one string at a time.
"Mary had a little lamb"
How to play it
Down and back up, all on the G string — high 2, 1, open, 1, high 2. Then three repeated B's. Even bows in the middle third; keep the 1st finger hovering when it's not down so the walk stays smooth.
"Little lamb, little lamb"
How to play it
Repeated A's, then a step up to high 2, then a skip up to the open D string — your first string crossing in this tune. The whole arm changes level for the D; the left hand keeps its shape. Land the D and let it ring.
"Mary had a little lamb…"
How to play it
The opening figure again, then four repeated B's — high 2, still hand, even bow. This is the third line of the verse.
"…its fleece was white as snow"
How to play it
The close: 1, 1, high 2, 1, and down to the open G — a whole note, four counts, one slow full bow, held dead in tune. Read the line straight through from the notation, not from memory.
The one thing this tune is for
Stepwise reading on one string — line, space, line, space — and keeping the bow even while the fingers walk underneath it. Nothing here leaps; it's all steps and one small skip.
The usual mistake
The bow bumping every time a finger drops or lifts — the walk should sound smooth, the bow never noticing. And the high-2 B played in the middle (B♭): keep the 2nd finger forward, against the 3rd, all the way through.