What We Are Working On

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