4th Grade
We continue to work on Exercise in A and Green Light from Smart Violin. Some children have learned Twinkle Twinkle Little Star outside of class, and I have introduced this popular song to all children (I observed a beginning band class at the high school on the outservice day and saw 5th grade trumpet and trombone players cheer when they got to play Twinkle Twinkle; it helped me realize how beloved and pedagogically useful this song can be), and we will do some rhythmic variations on it as a Suzuki class might.
Students have various private teachers. Teachers have various techniques to help students become comfortable and fluid as they hold the violin and use the bow. Most notably the approach to holding the bow differs. I have told students that their teachers are all helping them get to the same place and to follow their teacher's plan. I used the metaphor of learning to ride a bike: some of us learn through using training wheels; others of us do not. We all eventually learn to ride without training wheels. I want the students to consider me their ensemble teacher, guiding them in playing together (and they had fun and did well taking turns playing lines of "Twinkle, Twinkle").
That being said, I know not every student is taking lessons, and I will give what coaching I can to help students find comfortable playing positions. I have begun offering Friday lunch recess as an optional time for students to come in for coaching. Every aspect of the student's day seems so important that it has been hard to find an appropriate time to pull a student out of class for extra violin work.
5th & 6th grade
Wow. We are going to play in the lobby during class time next Thursday in celebration for Day of the Dead. I brought students to the lobby to play "Tumba" from memory. They then asked to play "Largo" and "Country Gardens" from memory. Although some students thought there was no way they could play from memory, the ensemble as a whole sounded very strong. I was thrilled to see how well they could play fairly long songs with no music in front of them. We will play this program at the altar on Thursday and then reprise parts of it as well as providing a brief play of "Goblin Walk" for 4th grade.
After these performances, we will work on "German Dance," which is a little more challenging. This would be a good one for students to work on at home; we have played it in class a couple of times and are aware of the challenges.
I will offer Thursday snack recess as a time for any 5th or 6th graders to come to the Butterfly Room for extra coaching if they wish. I will tell students this on Tuesday.
7th & 8th grade
Your students will be on a field trip next Wednesday, so we will take a break from children's music. In a week from Monday, we will play songs at the altar for the Day of the Dead. This coming Monday I will give all students Rise Up Singing whether families have paid or not so that we can work on celebratory and spiritual songs such as I'll Fly Away; Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; When the Saints Go Marching in; Angels Watching Over Me; and the like. These tend to all have predictable and easy chord progressions, melodies most students will be familiar with, and will allow us opportunity for joy and success for our performance with just 1 rehearsal class. I will ask students to practice the songs at home (with the hope they really enjoy it).
With warmth and light,
William Dolde
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Guitar Specific -- Books Coming In
7th & 8th grade guitar I have issued a Backpacker's Songbook to all students. They do not need to buy this or keep this long term. Some students, however, like this book (particularly because it has a chord chart up front); if your student would like to buy and keep this book, please send $6 (cash or check to WIWS). Otherwise, I will collect these books in a few weeks.
Copies of Rise Up Singing are trickling in. I have 4 available to purchase (more on the way). Please send $12 (cash or check to WIWS) with your student (or put it in my parent folder), and I will give them a copy to keep forever. These are gently used copies (some look brand new); I receive no responses from the publisher about the case discount and worry they may be going out of business (or at least on a long furlough) (and that the cost of the books could go up a lot if they go out of print); Nancy Pfeiffer's cost center is making up the difference so that we can honor the price of $12 I quoted this summer.
So if you send $18, your student gets to keep both books.
Copies of Rise Up Singing are trickling in. I have 4 available to purchase (more on the way). Please send $12 (cash or check to WIWS) with your student (or put it in my parent folder), and I will give them a copy to keep forever. These are gently used copies (some look brand new); I receive no responses from the publisher about the case discount and worry they may be going out of business (or at least on a long furlough) (and that the cost of the books could go up a lot if they go out of print); Nancy Pfeiffer's cost center is making up the difference so that we can honor the price of $12 I quoted this summer.
So if you send $18, your student gets to keep both books.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
New guitar book, practice update for all
4th Grade Green Light (page 7) proves to be more challenging than the Exercise on page 6. We will continue to work on these two songs this Thursday, with the hope of introducing "Woke Up Early" next week. If a student is struggling, continued work on the first 6 steps (4 and 5) will be helpful (but not necessary to practice if a student has mastered them).
On next Friday, any student who wants additional coaching is invited to come to the Butterfly classroom during 2nd recess. I will remind students in class next Thursday.
5th & 6th Grade We are balancing familiar repertoire with new challenges. If a student has mastered something, she or he should seek other material practice. We are still playing from Strings Extraordinaire the following: Harvest Reel, Largo, Tumba, Country Gardens, and Garden Walk. As a challenge, we are beginning German Dance (we played it by sight today). We continue to work on learning a jig by ear in class--this is meant to be challenging and it is; the process is more important than actually learning the jig note by note.
7th & 8th Grade Because of delays in Rise Up Singing shipment, I will be lending each student a copy of Backpacker's Songbook; it has 200 songs and has a page showing dozens of chord shapes. This will be useful in the short term. If a student really likes the book, you may buy it for her or him by sending a check for $6 to WIWS and putting it in my parent or teacher folder (Dolde). Otherwise, I will collect these when Rise Up Singing becomes available (for which we will charge $12). Students are free to explore and practice any song they want. In class we will work on familiar and relatively easy tunes to build up repertoire and confidence: America the Beautiful, Aunt Rhody, Molly Malone, and This Old Man.
We'll continue to work on the 12 bar blues in A.
On next Friday, any student who wants additional coaching is invited to come to the Butterfly classroom during 2nd recess. I will remind students in class next Thursday.
5th & 6th Grade We are balancing familiar repertoire with new challenges. If a student has mastered something, she or he should seek other material practice. We are still playing from Strings Extraordinaire the following: Harvest Reel, Largo, Tumba, Country Gardens, and Garden Walk. As a challenge, we are beginning German Dance (we played it by sight today). We continue to work on learning a jig by ear in class--this is meant to be challenging and it is; the process is more important than actually learning the jig note by note.
7th & 8th Grade Because of delays in Rise Up Singing shipment, I will be lending each student a copy of Backpacker's Songbook; it has 200 songs and has a page showing dozens of chord shapes. This will be useful in the short term. If a student really likes the book, you may buy it for her or him by sending a check for $6 to WIWS and putting it in my parent or teacher folder (Dolde). Otherwise, I will collect these when Rise Up Singing becomes available (for which we will charge $12). Students are free to explore and practice any song they want. In class we will work on familiar and relatively easy tunes to build up repertoire and confidence: America the Beautiful, Aunt Rhody, Molly Malone, and This Old Man.
We'll continue to work on the 12 bar blues in A.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Contra Dance Sunday, what we are working on
On Sunday, October 11, 3 - 6pm, Deer Lagoon Grange, the Swinging Nettles (which includes Kat Fritz and William Dolde as a guest fiddler player, possibly other familiar faces) will play jigs and reels for a family contra dance. There is no admission fee, though Kat is seeking donations to cover the cost of the excellent caller and the hall rental--feel free to bring your student to some or all.
At the summer contra dance, we played a few sets of songs that might be familiar to your students and welcomed students into the band. Here is the set list below; your student should feel free to bring an instrument and sit in when she or he feels comfortable. Some of the guitar chords are relatively easy, too (some are not).
Set List
Here is what we have been working on--what students can be practicing at home.
4th Grade -- From Smart Violin, Exercise in A major. Thursday I introduced "Green Light," and we will spend a good deal of time with this on Tuesday.
5th & 6th Grade -- From Strings Extraordinaire, Harvest Reel, Tumba, Country Gardens, and Goblin Walk. Pairs of students have been portraying goblins as the rest of the orchestra plays; it is both fun and helps us all work on contrasts in dynamics, accents, tremolos, and dramatic playing.
7th & 8th Grade -- Is learning chords quickly; each student now has a sheet of 8 beginning chords, C, A, G, E, D and Am, Em, and Dm. Students should be proficient with all these chords by next Wednesday. We are playing many songs.
For the nursery, students are working on a play of "Three Men in a Tub" with sea songs. "Row Row Row Your Boat" in D and "We Roll the Old Chariot Along" (which alternates between Em and D).
We also played and sang Skip to My Lou, This Land is Your Land, and Yellow Submarine, among others.
More students are comfortable playing rhythm for the 12 bar blues and we have begun working on improvising melodic lines above the rhythm section.
At the summer contra dance, we played a few sets of songs that might be familiar to your students and welcomed students into the band. Here is the set list below; your student should feel free to bring an instrument and sit in when she or he feels comfortable. Some of the guitar chords are relatively easy, too (some are not).
Set List
Jigs
Jump at the Sun (Dm)/Fair Jenny (D)
Morrison’s Jig(Em)/Kesh (G)
Cowboy Jig (G)/Coffee (Am)
Irish Washer Woman (G)/Haste to the Wedding (D)
Tobin's (D)/Old Favorite (G)
Reels:
Flowers of Edinborough (G)/Staten Island (A)
Turkey in the Straw (D)/Arkansas Traveler (D)
Bumble Bee in a Jug (D)/ Girl I left Behind Me (G)
Whiskey Before Breakfast (D)/Red Haired Boy (A)/June Apple (A
Cripple Creek (A)/Old Joe Clark (D)/Boil Them Cabbage Down A
La Bastrainge
Waltz:
Amelia’s (D)
Far Away (Bm)
Tear Drop (D)
Here is what we have been working on--what students can be practicing at home.
4th Grade -- From Smart Violin, Exercise in A major. Thursday I introduced "Green Light," and we will spend a good deal of time with this on Tuesday.
5th & 6th Grade -- From Strings Extraordinaire, Harvest Reel, Tumba, Country Gardens, and Goblin Walk. Pairs of students have been portraying goblins as the rest of the orchestra plays; it is both fun and helps us all work on contrasts in dynamics, accents, tremolos, and dramatic playing.
7th & 8th Grade -- Is learning chords quickly; each student now has a sheet of 8 beginning chords, C, A, G, E, D and Am, Em, and Dm. Students should be proficient with all these chords by next Wednesday. We are playing many songs.
For the nursery, students are working on a play of "Three Men in a Tub" with sea songs. "Row Row Row Your Boat" in D and "We Roll the Old Chariot Along" (which alternates between Em and D).
We also played and sang Skip to My Lou, This Land is Your Land, and Yellow Submarine, among others.
More students are comfortable playing rhythm for the 12 bar blues and we have begun working on improvising melodic lines above the rhythm section.
Friday, October 2, 2009
What we are working on
4th Grade While the Smart Violin Books can stay at home, I have been working on the 6 steps to getting started with children on pages 4 and 5. Next week we will work on the Exercise in A major on page 6 (I have not been using these drier names with the children). Feel free to use the printed music yourself at home to support your child.
If your child tends to get anxious, you or your child's violin teacher could go ahead a little bit in the book (adult playing or singing, child playing out of imitation) so your child feels more comfortable in class. If your child tends to get bored easily, I'd recommend avoiding moving ahead in the book; instead your child could try to figure out other songs by ear or work on other material provided by a private teacher.
It is not so essential that the students play exactly what is written in the 6 steps to getting started. They are typical of call and response games we are playing. I play. Students play back. Eager student volunteers come up to play; other students play back. I have been impressed with how many 4th graders are willing to play alone in front of the class (because it is in the form of a game, of course, this helps make it fun rather than feel like a child is being put on the spot).
I have no problem with you or a teacher working on reading the music notes with your child at home. Learning to play the violin is challenging enough, learning to play in a group can be more challenging (but also very fun as your children have demonstrated), and learning to play the violin and read music in a group setting can be even more challenging. We will start doing the work of note reading (and having students bring books to school) in the new year.
5th & 6th grade
In Strings Extraordinaire, we are working on Harvest Reel, Tumba, and Goblin Walk. Have students pay particular attention to dynamics in Goblin Walk. I have hopes of finding an excuse for us to perform Goblin Walk around Halloween time. Even if we cannot, I have some ideas to make it very interesting in class (and allow our students to really work on expressive playing and dynamics).
Goblin Walk is the first piece we have taken on in which the B parts require left hand fingering rather than just open strings. Students or their teachers are welcome to write fingerings into their books if this helps them; this is why we are having students purchase and keep the books. If a child needs additional help, I would be willing to help during a recess time on Thursday or Friday. Have the child contact me.
We will play every song in the book. It may help some 5th graders and 6th graders to look ahead in the book with a parent or teacher. For some students--especially ones who tend to get bored rather than anxious--this would likely be the wrong thing to do. They would do well to practice other material such as
A) How to improvise over an A 12 bar blues. The blues scale. At some future assembly, we will have a blues jam along with the guitar students, and any students who want to will be allowed to solo. Cellists and violists could also learn to improvise bass lines. (Students will also be allowed to solo on other instruments such as trumpet or baritone at this assembly and could work on this with a teacher).
B) other material provided by their private or group teacher.
In class, we will work on figuring out Irish tunes by ear. This is something that will be hard to practice at home. It is challenging for the students; my intention is to give them a little of this challenge each class. I want them to develop both their note reading skills and their ability to play by ear. I remain convinced that it is possible to do both (though it can take many years to become proficient at both).
7th & 8th grade
We have introduced the C chord. Some students seem ready to learn many chords and are figuring out their own songs (which is wonderful). I will try to balance songs to meet the 7th and 8th graders with songs we are learning as a service to the younger children.
Next Wednesday, we will perform Skip to My Lou (in D) and If You're Happy and You Know it (in G, it uses the C chord we just learned) for the nursery children.
We will also continue to work on the 12 bar blues in A until all students feel solid on playing rhythm. When that occurs (which will be soon), we will work on improvising melodies and bass lines.
Rise Up Singing continues to be hard to acquire (at least at a discount price). I will keep you posted.
If your child tends to get anxious, you or your child's violin teacher could go ahead a little bit in the book (adult playing or singing, child playing out of imitation) so your child feels more comfortable in class. If your child tends to get bored easily, I'd recommend avoiding moving ahead in the book; instead your child could try to figure out other songs by ear or work on other material provided by a private teacher.
It is not so essential that the students play exactly what is written in the 6 steps to getting started. They are typical of call and response games we are playing. I play. Students play back. Eager student volunteers come up to play; other students play back. I have been impressed with how many 4th graders are willing to play alone in front of the class (because it is in the form of a game, of course, this helps make it fun rather than feel like a child is being put on the spot).
I have no problem with you or a teacher working on reading the music notes with your child at home. Learning to play the violin is challenging enough, learning to play in a group can be more challenging (but also very fun as your children have demonstrated), and learning to play the violin and read music in a group setting can be even more challenging. We will start doing the work of note reading (and having students bring books to school) in the new year.
5th & 6th grade
In Strings Extraordinaire, we are working on Harvest Reel, Tumba, and Goblin Walk. Have students pay particular attention to dynamics in Goblin Walk. I have hopes of finding an excuse for us to perform Goblin Walk around Halloween time. Even if we cannot, I have some ideas to make it very interesting in class (and allow our students to really work on expressive playing and dynamics).
Goblin Walk is the first piece we have taken on in which the B parts require left hand fingering rather than just open strings. Students or their teachers are welcome to write fingerings into their books if this helps them; this is why we are having students purchase and keep the books. If a child needs additional help, I would be willing to help during a recess time on Thursday or Friday. Have the child contact me.
We will play every song in the book. It may help some 5th graders and 6th graders to look ahead in the book with a parent or teacher. For some students--especially ones who tend to get bored rather than anxious--this would likely be the wrong thing to do. They would do well to practice other material such as
A) How to improvise over an A 12 bar blues. The blues scale. At some future assembly, we will have a blues jam along with the guitar students, and any students who want to will be allowed to solo. Cellists and violists could also learn to improvise bass lines. (Students will also be allowed to solo on other instruments such as trumpet or baritone at this assembly and could work on this with a teacher).
B) other material provided by their private or group teacher.
In class, we will work on figuring out Irish tunes by ear. This is something that will be hard to practice at home. It is challenging for the students; my intention is to give them a little of this challenge each class. I want them to develop both their note reading skills and their ability to play by ear. I remain convinced that it is possible to do both (though it can take many years to become proficient at both).
7th & 8th grade
We have introduced the C chord. Some students seem ready to learn many chords and are figuring out their own songs (which is wonderful). I will try to balance songs to meet the 7th and 8th graders with songs we are learning as a service to the younger children.
Next Wednesday, we will perform Skip to My Lou (in D) and If You're Happy and You Know it (in G, it uses the C chord we just learned) for the nursery children.
We will also continue to work on the 12 bar blues in A until all students feel solid on playing rhythm. When that occurs (which will be soon), we will work on improvising melodies and bass lines.
Rise Up Singing continues to be hard to acquire (at least at a discount price). I will keep you posted.
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