4th Grade We will perform the 5 songs from page 13 for the nursery next Tuesday. We are reviewing them. We are moving quickly through pages 15 and 16 (not quickly enough for some students) and will start pages 17 to 19 soon. These often reprise songs we have already learned--while helping us to learn to read music. Our goal will be to get to Jingle Bells on page 20 and let other students catch up.
A number of 4th graders forgot their instruments today. I had enough spares. A number are also forgetting or do not know where there books are; I do not always have enough extra copies. Please confirm that your child has Strictly Strings and remind her to bring the book and instrument to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
5th Grade will hopefully perform for 20 minutes or so during the Christmas Festival on Friday, December 17. We are practicing the following for the festival. Jingle Bells from Strictly Strings Book 1 (page 20). I have made copies for students who do not possess Book 1. The rest of the songs are from book 2. Our line-up is as follows: Scarborough Fair (3), Jasmine Flower (5), Billy Boy (5), The Carnival of Venice (5), Oh, Tannenbaum (17), Lovely Evening (21), and Over the River and Through the Woods (23). I have selected songs that will fit the mood of the festival. After the holiday break, we will return to page 7 and proceed through the book in a more regular fashion for a while.
6th to 8th Grade We are taking a break from Jazz Philharmonic. We have learned a lot from the effort, but the songs will not fit the mood of the Christmas Festival. We hope to play 20 to 30 minutes at the Festival and will play the following songs from More Strings Extraordinaire: Bluegrass Blastoff (2), German Dance (3), Daydreams (4), Fanfare Minuet (5), Round and Round (6), Chatsumi and Rice Planting Song (6), Peasant Dance (7), and Simple Gifts (8). If we master these, we will add a song or two.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Update on what we are working on
4th Grade As I had hoped, students are enthusiastic about playing the songs on page 13, and it warms my heart to witness them practicing the songs in small group during warm-up and tuning time. We also played 3 songs at the altar for the Day of the Dead as our first performance and may play songs my nursery class the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
A number of students are still forgetting instruments and books. I know the schedule shift makes it hard to get used to, but please help your student remember an instrument and book on Tuesdays and Fridays.
We will skip page 14 in Strictly Strings and work on page 15. Students need use only open strings (no left hand fingering), and this provides students a chance to make their eyes and minds familiar with reading notes on a musical staff. I refer to the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster from The Bremen-Town Musicians to help them. To scare the robbers, the donkey stood on the ground, then the dog on top, the cat above that, and then the rooster. In a similar way, a note way down below the staff is likely to be the donkey sounding, thick, low g string--while, by contrast, a note at the top of the staff is likely to be sounded on the thin, sharp, rooster-sounding e string.
5th Grade We will continue to work on songs on pages 3 and 5. The students enjoy playing them. A student who has mastered the A part for Scarborough Fair could learn the B part as well. We have started working on the G major scale on page 6, and will work on those scale exercises, as well as Frere Jacque on page 7. If we do really well, we will start La Cucaracha before Thanksgiving.
6th to 8th Grade We are polishing the songs in More Strings Extraordinaire--pages 2 to the beginning of 6, as well as Ghoulish Gavotte on page 12--with the idea of performing them in the future. In Jazz Philharmonic, we will give the first two songs a rest, and work on "daydream" and "devious," as well as the exercises on pages 10 to 13.
Thanks for your support of our students and school.
William Dolde
A number of students are still forgetting instruments and books. I know the schedule shift makes it hard to get used to, but please help your student remember an instrument and book on Tuesdays and Fridays.
We will skip page 14 in Strictly Strings and work on page 15. Students need use only open strings (no left hand fingering), and this provides students a chance to make their eyes and minds familiar with reading notes on a musical staff. I refer to the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster from The Bremen-Town Musicians to help them. To scare the robbers, the donkey stood on the ground, then the dog on top, the cat above that, and then the rooster. In a similar way, a note way down below the staff is likely to be the donkey sounding, thick, low g string--while, by contrast, a note at the top of the staff is likely to be sounded on the thin, sharp, rooster-sounding e string.
5th Grade We will continue to work on songs on pages 3 and 5. The students enjoy playing them. A student who has mastered the A part for Scarborough Fair could learn the B part as well. We have started working on the G major scale on page 6, and will work on those scale exercises, as well as Frere Jacque on page 7. If we do really well, we will start La Cucaracha before Thanksgiving.
6th to 8th Grade We are polishing the songs in More Strings Extraordinaire--pages 2 to the beginning of 6, as well as Ghoulish Gavotte on page 12--with the idea of performing them in the future. In Jazz Philharmonic, we will give the first two songs a rest, and work on "daydream" and "devious," as well as the exercises on pages 10 to 13.
Thanks for your support of our students and school.
William Dolde
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