Hello Orchestra Bulldogs, Just 12 days of school left for this year! I'm really proud of all the work that you accomplished, you have grown so much. Thanks for blessing me with your presence in my M-2 Classroom at BLMS. If you have a school bass or cello and you are not returning to BLMS in my class (moving, dropping out or going to high school) this instrument needs to be dropped off at school next week when you pick up your locker contents. I think they are using the bus loop area for this. If you are returning just keep the instrument over the summer and bring it back in August.
This week I would like your practice minutes focused on braking bad habits. Use your warm up time on your scales or flipchart warmup(7/8) to concentrate on your technique. You all have some new music to download and have fun with. Play some old stuff and play some new. For those of you staying in orchestra at BLMS my hope is that we can play some of these songs together in September or when we are back together. If I drop another song for you I will comment about it in Teams. So here are the things left for you until the end of the year.
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Happy June Orchestra Bulldogs! There are just 15 academic school days left of school and 17 school days until the end of the year! I'm working on your orchestra banquet video. I will have a folder link for you in teams and one sent to your parents email as well so that they or you can put in any great pics of 7th graders at the Washington State fair trip, candid shots of you and your friends at our fall concert, our orchestra performing. I will supplement with some that i have too. I know we would have had more with our Winter and Spring concerts, solo and ensemble, 8th grade Orchestra festival and of course Disney. So far its looking great and want to add just a little more. I will send out the virtual banquet date and time this week so you can get it on your calendar.
Work for the week: I will get you a new song by Wednesday to work on. I will load it to your files on Teams for you to print off or transfer to a device to read it on. You will have a Web Wednesday. Concert Program Assignment: later this week i will drop your last graded assessment other than the web wednesday and practice. I will explain it more in the assignment but you will have about 2 weeks to make me an orchestra concert program for your grade level orchestra. ( if you really get into the assignment you could make if for all 3 orchestras!) You will go on the jwpepper.com website and i will give you parameters to select 3-4 pieces for your orchestras concert. This will also give me some input if you find a piece that would be good for me to buy for us to perform next year! This will be fun!! I'm a little behind in my grading and prep for your week as my dog had surgery last week and has had complications. She will be ok but we all are having to spend more time with her to take care of her. Thanks for your flexibility and understanding. Put that countdown clock on for the end of the year. We are almost there! Take care, stay safe and healthy. Good Morning Orchestra Bulldogs! I hope you had some time last weekend to do some thing that you wanted and made you happy. This is a short week of school so your practice chart this week should only have 80 and not the 100 as we didn't have class yesterday. Of course you may make more music than that but 80 is the minimum i am looking for. There are just 4 weeks of school and 2 days left! Do you have a countdown clock? i would have one on my white board.
Warmups this week for all orchestras: Check your posture/technique. Slowing see if you have any bad habits that you can address and break. Look in a mirror as you set up, have someone take your picture or make a video of yourself and watch it. It is hard to look at yourself to fix things, that was always my job or your private teacher. Really check your bow: is it weighted correctly, are your fingers over the stick, violins and violas pinky on top with NO pressure on it, are you able to add weight and dig in with your 1st finger of your bow to get a good sound at the frog, middle and tip. Left hand: Is your thumb in the correct place and is it just barely touching No pressure on the thumb. Fingers should be curved and the bone is what stops the string from vibrating on the tape or correct note making sure your finger nails are cut so this can happen. check your wrist and those of you using vibrato make sure it is loose and wide enough to hear. Hover your fingers closely over the fingerboard. Don't let your hand frame move. Basses especially! Let that bass stay on your body so your hand can make the notes. Everyone: listen to the recordings on this website. learn the piece from the recording. really check notes and rhythms and count your rests. If you have a lot of rests count outloud even in your playing test recording. Playing tests will be due in Seesaw by Sunday night May 31. I will not accept the test out of the Seesaw platform Don't email it to me. Most of them i can't open and they are not on the correct screen when i'm grading so they could be missed and i didn't think you did the test. Have fun and break a bow hair for good luck! Opus 1 Playing test is on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang measure 53-61 (stopping the last note of 60) This song has C natural in it but there are accidentals. Some parts have slurs Philharmonia Playing test is on The Incredibles 36-43. Make a difference between the staccato and tenuto marks. Staccato is separated and tenuto holds for full length. There are also accents, use a little punch in your first finger of your bow stroke. M 38 Violins/Violas have 2 up bows in a row, it is a hook without the hook mark. 1st Violins divide 41. if you are playing the top part start 41 on a up bow after the rest. Everyone really hit that Sforzando and diminuendo(get softer) Sinfonia Playing test is on Kingdom Dance 104 to the end. Violin solo just start at 109 you don't need to count the rests. Remember this is in 6/8 so I would conduct it in a 2 pattern. each beat has 3 -8th notes in it. It should feel dance swinging but not jazz swinging. The most common mistake is counting a dotted half note as 3. it is just 2 (123-456) Play along with the recording a few times. Check your key, there are Bb, F naturals. low 1, low 2. At 120 the speed is up to you. It is poco a poco, little by little, accelerando, accelerating. But don't make the dancer twirl and fly of the stage!!. Don't forget the accents. Hello Bulldogs, we are in week 5 of online learning. You should all now have Seesaw all worked out. I am not accepting any work other than on Seesaw. Don't just email me your homework or put it in Teams (unless it is assigned there) . It is kind of like you turning in your work on a random desk in the back of the room instead of the turn in bin in the front. I really miss seeing and working with you. I hope that the work I'm giving you is keeping you busy but not making you spend too much time. Please let me know if you think it is too much and you are struggling. This week will be a practice week getting you ready on your song for a playing test next week. Later this week i will post a short music theory quiz that will be related to the focus song you are working on this week. Please listen and play along with the recordings i made for you. It will solve all your note and rhythm questions. Make it fun, change it up. Do the assignment one day and play some older tune a different day. Just stay playing a little bit most days of the week. Currently the plan is that when we are back together again in the fall we can play these songs together!!
6th Grade: warmups are C major( no sharps), G major (F#) and D major (F#, C#) scales try playing these with hooking 2 notes at a time(down down up up) and then slurring 2 notes at a time. If you are ambitious try slurring 4 notes! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Basses stay steady and use a 2nd finger on E for the first note (G). Everyone else say "REST" on beat one to not step on the bass note. try listening to the bass recording as you play your part. The rhythm is the title of the song sung twice. everyone careful of the C naturals in 7 and 8. Bow lifts near the frog/bow grip at 9. (basses still pizz). Basses you have to get your hold up back quick at 28 for the melody with the cellos. you may want to left hand pizz the open G at 28. Basses and Cellos really use a lot of bow length at 29 for your melody. Watch out here are lots of accidentals from 59-64 7th grade: warmup on C, G, and D scales. lets add the Eminor this week with the rhythm at 40 (e F# g a b c D# e) Violins/violas play the D# with high 3rd. your fingers will make a big space (like Mr Spock from star trek) low 2 high 3. Cellos if you are in the low octave the fingering is Cstring - 3 X4 0 1 3 4 X1 -1(or 2) if you are in the high octave D string the fingering is 1 3 4 0 1 2 shift to 3rd position 2 3 (with 3 on the tape for E) Basses the fingering is 0 1 2 0 1 2 shift to 1/2 position 1 (D#) 2(E) The Incredibles Count these rhythms and listen to the recording i made you. Lots of bow lifts at the beginning, get these to the frog/bow grip. measure 9/10 violin/viola trill to an F natural. measure 12 viola/cello this means make the pizz ring. Measure 28 violin/viola this is a glissando. Viola cello melody at 30 bring it out. 1st violins 41 is a divisi - inside plays the high 3 G# G# A(please shift and play this with 2nd finger) the outside player plays the rest and top notes. start the D with an up bow on beat 2) Cellos and basses this tango style rhythm goes throughout the piece. 8th grade: warmup on F, D and G (2 octave). Add D minor this week (d e f g a Bb C# d) Kingdom Dance: Cellos/basses listen to each others recordings as you practice this piece. it will help you keep beat. Violins at 4 the staccato means to lift off and release the note. then land on the accented beat 1 of the next measure. Violas soli means all sections has important part! This is a dance make it fun! We would be playing this today in Disney. careful at 53-56 accidentals. 56 is in 6/8 ( or i would conduct it in 2) a dotted quarter (3 8th notes) is like 1 beat. There are some piano glissandos Rachel! bass/cello soli at 104. 120 Accelerando a little every couple of measures to the end. that is not on my recording. i kept it steady. Keep to the rhythms and the key! Hello Bulldogs, We have 6 weeks left of the trimester. I will continue with the pattern that we have established of your practice focus being on 1 song for 3 weeks and also a Web Wednesday. Yes of course practice anything else in your binder, play older music for fun or refinement(maybe get those dynamics or bowings too), or continue to work on the pieces we have not refined yet. In your warmups continue to look in a mirror and check your posture and hand frame, work on long bow work where you bow stays parallel to the bridge and your wrist and elbow are very involved. Don't shoulder bow and slide your bow! Alternate days with short bow work, staccato or with accents, staying in the lower half and never above the middle. All classes please go and listen to the recording of you parts on my Online Learning Recordings page on this website. If you need help after you have listened to the recording ask me for a meeting in Teams, or email me the question and we can work out any problems you have.
6th grade Opus 1- focus on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang This is a fast fun piece. Start as slow as you need. Lots of bow lifts to the lower half of the bow near the bow grip. When you have the melody use long bows. When you accompany use shorter bows. Cello/Bass at 43 your have a dotted quarter note. That is 3-8th notes long, use the work Quarter dot or 1 & 2, when you count it. (listen to the recording) There are some accidentals in the piece. 2nd Violin at 62 is a G# (high 3rd finger, everyone else may see some C natural and C#. 7th grade Philharmonia - focus on The Incredibles. There is a lot of the tango rhythm Dotted quarter, Dotted quarter, quarter in this piece. you will also find it in the melody with 3 slurred 8th notes, 2 tied 8ths with another 8th slurred in, and a quarter (sometimes tied over the bar) Count this and listen to the recording on this site that i made for you. Do not get stuck playing at the tip of the bow. 8th grade Sinfonia - In honor of our Disney trip starting this Saturday (sad face) lets focus on Kingdom Dance. Listen and play along with the recording i made for you on the Online Learning recordings page. This is a dance in 3/4 and 6/8. keep it light. Go watch the section from Tangled that it is in (that is what you might have done at the sound recording workshop). When you get to the end of the song there is an accelerando (take the speed up at whatever tempo you see fit for the end) Hello Orchestra Bulldogs! It is sunny at the moment. I'm a SW fan so May the Fourth be with you. This is also teacher appreciation week. I'm going to turn it into student appreciation week. I miss our rehearsals and you so much. Keep coming here each week and then going to Seesaw and do your assignments. This week will be a little different.
1. Do your 100 minutes practice chart in Seesaw. This week all classes will be able to practice whatever then like. Sinfonia(8th grade class) you will find a new song in your Teams. Go to Teams, Files, then the folder with Star Wars: The Force Awakens parts if you would like a new piece to work on. Also this Thursday, May the 7th is my birthday. For that day i would like you to take the minutes that you practice, write them down in your log, and then - - do something else that makes your happy! Practice your favorite piece. jump around and sing and dance. watch your 5 favorite TikTok videos, Play some Zelda, go for a run, read a book, write a poem, draw some art (you know how i like to post your art in my room) Just have fun. It's my birthday gift to you. Those minutes will count on your practice chart no matter what you do with them. just write Happy Birthday on the chart on Thursday with those number of minutes. 2. You will still have a Web Wednesday so look for that on 5/6 in Seesaw Number 3 and 4 for this week will require you to go to your Teams page for orchestra 3. It is time to nominate student for our end of the year Orchestra Awards. Most improved, Most Achieved, and Most Inspirational. This is a prestigious award that is given out in grades 6-12 orchestra classes. I will be announcing these at our end of the year virtual banquet(instead of our concert). Go to your Teams page, Go to Files and open the one that says Vote for Orchestra Awards. You will Ctrl click to get to my google form and then write in the name of the student in your own orchestra class that deserve these 3 awards. You only vote for students in your class period. Please do his by May 10 Sunday 4. I'm putting together a couple of picture slide shows for you for the banquet. I would like you to take a picture of you with your instrument. Load it into the file in Teams for Picture of you with our instrument. Have someone take the picture for you instead of a selfie. It can be a nice portrait style shot, action shot or even more creative. A picture of you and your Viola playing chess!, You and your cello looking like you are playing volleyball(don't hit the cello with the ball), you reading your favorite book to your Violin. Let's have fun and get some great photos for the slideshow. Have fun this week. I appreciate you and am so honored to be your teacher. Also remember its Mother's Day on Sunday! Hello BLMS Orchestra. This week you will continue with the practice log of 100 minutes. Last week you worked concentrated your practice on the 1 piece (1st half) and warmups with scales/technique. This week we will continue with mostly the same warmup and take a playing test on a section of the piece you worked on last week. You will record it in Seesaw and it will be in your playing test folder. remember to listen to the recording on the Online Learning Recording page of this site. You should have a metronome playing when you record your test. I will set a number range that you can choose from. Plan to have your video show your instrument, left hand and bow. That means you might need to back up, turn as if I'm your judge at solo and ensemble or even have someone record you. You can do it as many times as you want in seesaw until you like the one you want to turn in. Email me with questions or chat in Teams. I can help with anything you need. You got this! Remember you have had this music since the middle of March and i posted the recordings from March 24-April 7. Its only 2 phrases, you got this!!Find a buddy to practice with online.
6th grade orchestra (remember to check in Seesaw on Web Wednesday for assignment) warmup on D major and G major scales. metronome quarter note equals 90. Start with long slow whole note bows. Is your bow hold correct, elbow in the correct place? Left hand frame without tension, fingers curved, playing on tapes and in tune. Continue playing scale again with slow half note bows, then quarter notes bows, then 2 8th notes bows per note. Up and Down the scale Blue Mountain Pass-Playing test on 9-25. metronome set between 110-115, your choice. Work on the rest of the song to the end when you need a break from your playing test spot. Work on the staccato dot and the tenuto(legato) line style, careful to play F sharp but also C natural sometimes. 2nd violins/Violas measure 23 has a C# high 3rd finger extension. Divisi(to Divide) outside person plays top note, inside plays bottom. if you can't remember just pick one. FS means Foot Stomp!!! 7th grade Orchestra(remember to check in Seesaw on Web Wednesday for assignment) warmup on D, G, C major scales. metronome quarter note equals 96. Start with long slow bows in whole notes, Dotted half notes, Half note, quarter, 2- 8th notes, and 4- 16th notes. 6 different ways per scale. use the flipchart warmup every other day instead of scales. Check left hand frame and bow hold and posture. Concert Piece for Strings- Playing test on Beginning to 16 metronome 100-110, your choice.Work on the rest of the song to the end when you need a break from your playing test spot. Careful of Bb, F natural on the E string, slurs, crescendo(less bow speed and weight, increase bow speed and weight to end of crescendo), Vibrato on all Half notes, no long open string notes (cover or shift). Violins/violas 16th notes at 101 - watermelon, mississippi, 1 e and a, etc - add a slight accent to the 1st of every 4 to keep you steady, try it on an open string first. Bow retakes should be below the bounce point near the bow grip when you have them in the song. 8th grade Orchestra(remember to check in Seesaw on Web Wednesday for assignment) warmup on 1 octave F major scale metronome quarter notes equals 100. 2 octave D and G major scales, quarter notes equals 80. Start with long slow bows in whole notes, Dotted half notes, Half note, quarter, 2- 8th notes, and 4- 16th notes. 6 different ways per scale. Use the flipchart warmup every other day instead of scales. Check your posture, left hand frame, bow hold and weight. Pictures of Puget Sound - Playing test is 21-36 with a metronome setting 95-100, your choice. Learn the rest of the piece when you need a break from the playing test spot. Think about your bow placement, use of bow speed, bow hold and weight for articulation, dynamics. 47-67 cover open strings on long notes, use vibrato and full bows. 6th grade orchestra (remember to check in Seesaw on Web Wednesday for assignment)
warmup on D major and G major scales. metronome quarter note equals 90. Start with long slow whole note bows. Is your bow hold correct, elbow in the correct place? Left hand frame without tension, fingers curved, playing on tapes and in tune. Continue playing scale again with slow half note bows, then quarter notes bows, then 2 8th notes bows per note. Up and Down the scale Blue Mountain Pass- Beginning to measure 33 Work on the staccato dot and the tenuto(legato) line style, careful to play F sharp but also C natural sometimes. 2nd violins/Violas measure 23 has a C# high 3rd finger extension. Divisi(to Divide) outside person plays top note, inside plays bottom. if you can't remember just pick one. FS means Foot Stomp!!! 7th grade Orchestra(remember to check in Seesaw on Web Wednesday for assignment) warmup on D, G, C major scales. metronome quarter note equals 96. Start with long slow bows in whole notes, Dotted half notes, Half note, quarter, 2- 8th notes, and 4- 16th notes. 6 different ways per scale. use the flipchart warmup every other day instead of scales. Check left hand frame and bow hold and posture. Concert Piece for Strings- Beginning to measure 64. Careful of Bb, F natural on the E string, slurs, crescendo(less bow speed and weight, increase bow speed and weight to end of crescendo), Vibrato on all Half notes, no long open string notes (cover or shift) 8th grade Orchestra(remember to check in Seesaw on Web Wednesday for assignment) warmup on 1 octave F major scale metronome quarter notes equals 100. 2 octave D and G major scales, quarter notes equals 80. Start with long slow bows in whole notes, Dotted half notes, Half note, quarter, 2- 8th notes, and 4- 16th notes. 6 different ways per scale. Use the flipchart warmup every other day instead of scales. Check your posture, left hand frame, bow hold and weight. Pictures of Puget Sound - Beginning to 71 Think about your bow placement, use of bow speed, bow hold and weight for articulation, dynamics Hello orchestra Bulldogs! Hey it is just one week from Spring Break, wow are you excited?! Hope you are smiling, laughing, or i'm not hearing what you are saying to me for saying that to you!! Today is my daughter's birthday, she turns 20 and our dog Kit's birthday too. She turns 3! This weeks work for you is following the other 2 posts in my blog. Use scales as a warmup, use a drone to help you match pitch. Take time to write in your music any fingerings that you may need to help you especially ones that relate to a natural, flat, or sharp that is new or you might forget to play. always write on your music reminders of rests, holding out notes, dynamics, etc. Your pencil is your friend!!
You will find recordings of one more piece for you on the online learning tab. This will make 3 pieces that we are working on for technique and hopefully get to play again together soon. Make sure you practice logging into MusicFirst and use some of the free programs for you. All of you have a piece you are working on that is from a movie. Go find the movie on Netflix or Disney or even youtube and watch it. Make it a virtual party with some of your friends and always bring popcorn and Doritos! The right kind of Doritos please! Hello Orchestra Bulldogs, hoping that you had a good week of working on one piece from your binders. I hope you all had a chance to log into MusicFirst and start to use SightReading Factory on your own. This is an awesome tool. Sightreading is hard for most people but an amazing skill to have. Go to my online learning page and you will find recordings of a another song from your binder to work on.. Make a plan for your practice for the week, don't try to do the entire song in one or 2 days. Continue to use the dronetonetool website that i gave you last week in my blog to help with intonation in your hand from and working on small sections. If you would like to work on your music theory skills you can use the Musition program in MusicFirst or use Remember to look on Wednesday for your Webs. Have a great week. Email me with any questions. Stay safe, miss seeing you Bulldogs! Below are 2 links to some coloring pages from Lisa Divig owner of Alto Clef Gifts.
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June 2020
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