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.
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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! |
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June 2020
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