Graduation

Dear Parents,

Apologies for confusion. With each middle school class taking a trip at different times, we have had only one rehearsal with the entire ensemble, and it is hard to get a sense of what will work.

Here are definites.

We will not perform Bookends.

8th grade and 7th grade will perform Scarborough Fair/Canticle (Simon & Garfunkel) and Moon River.

My strong preference is students bring their own instruments (guitars for 8th grade and violin or cello for 7th) and music to graduation and get their instruments safely in a parent's car after graduation. I will bring extra copies of the music.

6th grade missed our rehearsal in which we finally synchronized 8th grade singing with 7th grade strings. At least one 6th grader no longer has an instrument. My preference would be to excuse 6th grade from performing Friday--except for any 6th graders who feel so motivated they choose to play (let me know by Friday morning).

With early childhood and other responsibilities, I have not had a break until late at night this week, and I have not had time to check in with the 6th grade teachers (who were away). It is possible they will reverse this decision and require 6th graders to perform. Even so, 6th graders will be in a sense following along and faking it (which is what many adult professionals do as well).

I apologize for confusion. My feedback for next year's ensemble teachers would to be cautious about suggesting a group performance at graduation when it is likely the classes will be taking trips at different times making it hard to have a rehearsal together. I feel I need to be realistic here.

William


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Instruments Home Monday and Tuesday

Dear Families,

As I think you know, strings ensembles are not performing at Friday's assembly. 6th and 7th graders will possibly perform with the 8th graders at graduation depending on how Tuesday's rehearsal goes. Because of class trips, we have rarely had these grades together in rehearsal, and Tuesday will determine how well things will weave together. I've also told the 6th and 7th graders about this possibility, and it seems appropriate not to force a performance if a better platform for the 8th graders would be for them to perform individually.

In any event, please remind your student, yourself, and other parents picking up in carpools to bring home instruments as follows below. It will make the classroom cleaning and moving up so much easier if instruments are safely home.

PLEASE ALSO RETURN FIDDLER'S PHILHARMONIC BOOKS UNLESS YOU HAVE PURCHASED IT.

Monday -- Final strings class with instruments for 5th grade. Please bring instruments home.

Tuesday -- Final strings classes for 4th grade and middle school. Please bring instruments home.

Thanks,

William Dolde


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No Worries

Dear Families,

With field trips and travels, we have some off days from classes in the coming weeks, and I do not want students and parents to take on unnecessary stress. So here are some updates.

First, note that strings classes are not performing at the year-end assembly. Students would do well to bring their instruments home after their final regular class.

4th grade will have class as usual this Friday. Next week 4th grade will be on a field trip on Tuesday, and I will be at an early childhood festival on Friday, so we will have no strings classes next week. On Tuesday, June 7, we will have our final class and play our new songs (Devil's Dream and Turkey in the Straw) and try to remember songs from the year. After this, students should take their instruments home.


5th grade will be on a field trip tomorrow, and we have no class on Memorial Day. The Tchaikovsky Festival seems too much for the group to take on with limited classes. We will work on the three new fiddle tunes (Devil's Dream, Turkey in the Straw, and Cluck Old Hen). We will have class on Wednesday, June 1, Monday, June 6, and perhaps on Wednesday, June 8 (that is the final regular class of the year). We will likely reprise songs from earlier this year (and maybe see how much we remember from last year).

8th graders will definitely play guitar and sing at graduation. Two songs come from Simon and Garfunkel arrangements: Bookends, and Scarborough Fair. We will also play and sing Moon River, which has been a favorite of that class for a number of years.

It has been a challenge this year to integrate the guitar with a regular orchestra class, so it is nice to end the year with something the guitarists feel very confident on.

Some to many of our other strings players note that our bowed instruments do not yet sound as smooth as the 8th graders on these three songs. While the 8th grade is on their trip, I will rehearse these 3 songs with 6th and 7th grade. If we are ready, we will accompany the 8th grade at graduation. If it is not coming together, the 8th graders will sound great by themselves, and since it is their graduation, it will not be tragic if they are not joined by violins and violas and cello and bass. I will let you know after our last class on Tuesday, June 7, whether students should bring their bowed instruments to the graduation.

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Classes this week

4th grade will have class as usual this week on Tuesday and Friday. We will work on Turkey in the Straw and Devil's Dream. We will likely reprise familiar songs the students find pleasure in.

5th grade will have class with me Monday and then be on their trip Wednesday (with no class next Monday for Memorial Day). We will also work on Turkey in the Straw and Devil's Dream--plus Cluck Old Hen from Basic Fiddler's Philharmonic. Because a number of students really enjoyed classical bash, we will also take a look at the Tchaikovsky Festival at the end of Strictly Strings 2. It includes the themes from Swan Lake and March Slav. It could also be a bit too challenging for our group as a whole to pull together in a few classes. That said, I want to offer at least an attempt at it for those students hungry to play some of the great classical themes.

6th to 8th grade are preparing for graduation, and the 8th graders will lead us in the music on guitar and voice, with our violins and violas and cellos and bass adding background. The songs we are working on are Scarborough Fair/Canticle (Simon and Garfunkel version); Bookends (Simon and Garfunkel); and Moon River.



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Looking Ahead for 4th grade

While I do not expect 4th graders to spend a great deal of time with their violins during Potlatch, I know some students feel more comfortable and confident if they can preview what we will work on in class. While we still touch on other songs that some students have fallen in love with (some students have apparently tried every song in Basic Fiddler's Philharmonic), we will focus on the following 2 songs in class for our final 2 weeks of school:

Devil's Dream
Turkey in the Straw (which is challenging, but we can sing to help us along)

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Thanks--and respite

Dear Families,

I want to thank you and your students for making the concert possible, for the practice and lessons, the transportation of instruments, the acquiring of clothes (students looked like an ensemble when I watched the choir), and for enduring the weather. Students impressed me with their effort and achievements.

It seems organic to have a class of games and movement after a concert. Because classes have a lot of other intense activities right now, this means the following for the various grades:

4th grade will have outdoor play time with me this Friday. No instruments needed. Next week they'll be at Potlatch during Tuesday's strings class and off from school next Friday. We will dive back into playing on Tuesday, May 24. Some students have expressed enthusiasm about other fiddle tunes in Basic Fiddler's Philharmonic, and we will try a a number of these to see which one or ones seem to work best for the ensemble as a whole.

5th grade. Although 5th grade has had lots of chance for movement with their additional Olympiad training and will be off from school next Monday, it still seems to make sense for me to hold a games class with them next Wednesday, May 18. I feel this will increase enthusiasm and focus when we return to instrumental practice on Monday, May 23. I am still considering what will be the best piece of pieces to work on in the final weeks.

6th to 8th grade will play volleyball with me tomorrow, Thursday. No instruments needed. Even though 7th grade will be away next week, 6th and 8th graders should bring instruments and be prepared to play--I am working with Ms. Kenney and Mrs. Pfeiffer to see if there are vocal songs that would work well with a strings ensemble (8th graders could sing and play; 6th and 7th--when they return--can be the orchestra).

Thanks,

William Geoffrey Dolde

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White Shirt Help

Dear Families,

I know some parents are at work donating or collecting donations of white shirts for Wednesday's concerts. I realized this morning that I have a collection of 6 white shirts--all cleaned and pressed--that I used to wear at one restaurant job, and now I have a completely different set of shirts for my current restaurant. Rather than donating the first set to Good Cheer, I will bring them to school to be available for the concert. They will obviously be too big for some of the students, but they remain as an option if no other methods of acquiring white shirts or sweaters or tops are working for your family.

The ensembles are all coming together. The material challenges the students in very different ways--some are chomping at the bit for even more challenge, while others express some anxiety. I have tried to let students know that the ensemble can still sound strong even if an individual misses a note here or there or has to sit out a section. I guess my message is: worry not.

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Concert Program

4th and 5th grade

Bonny James Campbell (first time through, cellos and bass on drone; 2nd time through violins on drone; 3rd, mixture)

Bile Them Cabbages Down (7 times; optional improvisation 3rd and 4th times; singing times 5 to 7).

Oats and Peas and Beans (3 times; 2nd time advanced part only for melody instruments; 3rd time singing optional)

Sourwood Mountain (4 times; 1st time instrumental; 2nd time first verse and chorus; 3rd time advanced melody parts only and rhythm section; 4th time singing 2nd verse and chorus)

Arkansas Traveler (small group with individual solos or duets)

Classical Bash (5th grade only)


6th to 8th Grade

Mari's Wedding (3 times)
Alison's Waltz (3 times)
La Polka and La Indita (once each, with a return to La Polka's A part at the end)
Lanigan's Ball (3 times), directly to Swallowtail Jig (played by a small group from memory while the rest of us turn pages; 3 times), followed by Off She Goes (3 times)

Hymn of Praise
Vive La France!

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Arkansas Traveler for 4th and 5th

Some 5th graders have worked assiduously on the tune Arkansas Traveler with their private instructors. While I had planned to refrain from including this song on our program because it seemed too challenging for the group to learn in the time we had, I now plan to present it as an intermezzo during the 4th and 5th grade set. Any 5th graders who want to play Arkansas Traveler will be able to do so as a small ensemble; any 5th graders who want to will also be able to play a solo for one time through the song.

4th graders who feel inspired are also welcome to join us for Arkansas Traveler. We will spend very little time in class on this song, so most of the practice will take place at home or at private lessons.

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Please Bring Instruments Back

Dear Families,

We begin preparing and refining our music for our May 11 Wednesday night concert. Please have students bring instruments to school right away this week. What follows is a reminder of their rehearsal schedule.

4th grade on Tuesdays and Fridays.
5th grade on Mondays (only until after Olympiad)
6th to 8th grade on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Thanks,

William Dolde

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Solos

On our May 11 concert, for all the fiddle tunes from Basic Fiddler's Philharmonic or Fiddler's Philharmonic Encore, I will encourage small groups of students to play the advanced part of the piece as a small group while the rest of the ensemble lays out. This is something students seeking enrichment can work on during our breaks from class.

4th and 5th Grade

4th grade has added Bonny James Campbell (page 10, Basic Fiddler's Philharmonic) to our repertoire. The children were intimidated because it was new; when I worked on it in a private lesson with a student, he and I found it very manageable. It is pentatonic and could be played on a Choroi pentatonic flute, a kinder lyre, school glockenspiel, or (in a different key), on the black keys of a piano. Some students might want to try the song this way, too.

5th grade will also take up this song. 5th graders will also continue to have Olympiad preparations during strings class time on Wednesdays through April, so I will plan on making good use of our Monday class time with the 5th graders.

With warmth and light,

William

4th grade yes, middle school off

Dear Families,

Necessities of play rehearsals for grades 5 and 6 to 8 have altered the schedule for strings classes in coming weeks. I look forward to starting fresh with the students after their robust performances in Eurythmy and drama in the coming weeks.

4th grade strings will meet as usual (barring illness) for the next 2 Tuesdays and Fridays, but not the Tuesday before break (April 12).

5th grade strings will likely meet next Monday and Wednesday (not at all this week because of illness, Olympiad, and an extra 5th grade play rehearsal), but not the Monday and Wednesday before break (April 11 and 13).

6th to 8th grade strings will meet again with instruments on the Tuesday after Easter (April 26). Students would do well to keep their instruments in a safe and convenient spot until then.

Class teachers or I will update you with any changes.

William

Instrument Choices for Rising 5th Graders

For current 4th grade parents, please remember that it is likely your child will be able to switch to bass, cello, or viola next school year. As you may know, our instrumental program has changed and evolved over the years, and we are still working toward a stable, long term plan for the program (when the time is right, we would like to bring the winds program back for upper grades). In the meantime, it is relatively safe to assume that current 4th graders will have the same instrument choices next year as the current 5th grade (and it might be good to talk to parents of bass players before you give your child the option of playing bass). It is not time to switch yet, but keep this in mind as you consider buying or renting new instruments.

Concert Ahead: What we are working on

In May, there will be a concert for the choirs and strings ensembles. We will give you exact time and date soon. As Olympiad and Musical preparation subside, my classes will focus on preparing.

4th grade. When we play "Bile them Cabbages Down" or "Oats and Peas and Beans," every student plays something. The strength of folk music is that it embraces players of many different levels. That we can sing the songs to helps some of the players tremendously. We will likely perform "Cabbages," "Oats and Peas," and "Sourwood Garden." Students have been excited to play the next song in Basic Fiddler's Philharmonic--Arkansas Traveler. We will play this in class. I don't plan to play it in concert; it has many more technical challenges than other songs in the book.

5th grade. In addition to the songs we will play with 4th grade (above), we will perform "Classical Bash" from Strictly Strings 2. We may also add additional folk songs from Basic Fiddler's Philharmonic.

6th to 8th grade. We will definitely play Vive La France and Hymn of Praise from More Strings Extraordinaire. I want to find one more challenging piece in the classical realm. Some violinists are doing well with Handel's Rigaudon and navigating the shift to 3rd position; that said, the piece has counterpoint that is not coming together yet, so it is still a maybe.

We will likely play Mairi's Wedding, Alison's Waltz, and Indita and Polka (from the Southwest) from Fiddler's Philharmonic Encore. We may find additional songs to play from there.

Opportunities, Illness, and Correction to Jazz

I trust that families in grades 5 to 8 have been informed of the Olympiad classes on Wednesdays at 2 (in lieu of strings class) and the Musical rehearsals for the middle school on Thursdays during strings class.

Because I have been ill and missed class, this has caused some bigger gaps in the strings curriculum than we anticipated; in other cases it has been a blessing to have such a rich alternative to strings--today, for example, I have no voice to teach and feel blessed that the 5th graders have an enriching Olympiad class already scheduled this afternoon. When I stepped in to help with the strings program, I had hoped to bring movement into the classes to bring a wholeness to the activity (to avoid having class just being about drilling violin, technique).

Similarly, the middle school musical works on many of the same elements of musicality and ensemble work that I might in strings. My vision is that students will emerge from the play as an ever stronger ensemble, ready to prepare for future orchestra concerts.


Students seem very nourished by my regular substitute Carrie Fong on other days. Although they are not playing their instruments, I get the sense they are working well as an ensemble, and I find this helps their ensemble playing more when I return (similarly, I devoted one 4th grade class to observing the children at an extra recess and had a much better sense of how to reach them as an ensemble afterward).

I received mixed reports of the success of the day when I had a substitute conduct the ensembles.

Some students may be disappointed (others thrilled) to have these alternatives. Some parents may have questions what to do about lessons in these times. In my lessons I teach privately, I find it a great opportunity either to help a child catch up with the group (I can sense the child's feeling of relief) or work with a child on music that stretches her or him that is not part of the school curriculum.


ABOUT JAZZ

In reading Mr. McDanniel's communication to parents, and in observing the class schedules in the middle school, I note that teachers (and perhaps students) still refer to the class I teach as jazz. My intention was for jazz to be part of the class, not the whole class--somehow this name took hold for scheduling purposes (not my intention). I did intend to try to use jazz to bring together the 8th graders--who have had a different instrumental experience through the years--with the 6th and 7th graders, who have had a consistent strings experience. Although the exercises and melodic lines in Jazz Philharmonic were just right for some of the 6th and 7th graders (and perhaps too challenging for some of the others, who tended to sit out rather than play), the music did not work for our ensemble as a whole. Although some of the rhythm players made excellent strides, the rhythm section as a whole was not strong enough to support the playing of the entire group. In checking with class teachers, it did not seem likely there would be time to get the rhythm section solidified to make the music work. It was an experiment to try to work with jazz in this way with the middle school. I'm glad I tried it, but it didn't seem to be working. Some students might want to continue working on songs or exercises with a private teacher if they are interested in playing jazz violin, viola, or cello.

For this reason, I switched us back to folk music (Fiddler's Philharmonic Encore), which can be driven by the melodic players, has a more predictable harmony part, and has something for players of all ability levels to play. This being said, the 6th and 7th graders also benefit from the technical challenges and counterpoint of classical music, and we are continuing our work in More Strings Extraordinaire.

Feel free to contact me with suggestions or comments or concerns or questions.

Thanks for your support,

William

New Music Coming After Break

In all our ensembles, I have been seeking music that works well with the mix of instruments and ability levels.  I will have new books for all students after break.  Parents need not purchase these books, but students will be asked to return  the books at the end of the year.  If a student likes a book, you may, of course, purchase it.

4th and 5th Grade students will receive Basic Fiddler's Philarmonic.  The book has tunes in 3-5 versions, so students of all ability levels can find something to play.

A)  Simplified tune with note names printed.
B)  More advanced version of the tune.
C) Back-up part (violins) or bass line (cellos and basses).
D) Guitar chords to help students improvise easy parts (open strings) or challenge themselves with improvisiation.
E)  Lyrics for all the songs so that students can use their vocal skills to help them play.

Many tunes students will recognize; we will sing them.  I will encourage advanced students to improvise or play harder parts.  5th grade in particular has enjoyed the fiddle tune we've played already--it uses our basses to the best advantage to have them play a bass line.  I think 4th graders will be relieved to have more varied degrees of challenge.

Classes will continue to be separate, but I have hopes of 4th and 5th grades performing together in the future.


6th to 8th grade  While I still seek a longer, recognizable orchestral work to finish the year, after the break we will also have a new book, Fiddler's Philharmonic Encore, similar to our fiddle tunes book last year.  This also allows students to play at many different levels of difficulty, and this genre of music seems an effective way to integrate our guitar players with the rest of the orchestra.  We will continue to work on and polish songs from More Strings Extraordinaire but will likely take a break from Jazz Philharmonic--there was a great deal to learn from those songs, but the challenges were too great for our rhythm section (more advanced jazz chords and syncopated rhythms), and a number of our melody players felt similarly lost.  My intention is to work on improvisation for advanced players with the fiddle tunes of our new book.

No More Instruments Needed this Week

Dear Strings Families,

Unless your child has a private lesson, she or he does not need to bring an instrument to school Wednesday to Friday this week. We'll look forward to starting back into our repertoire the week after break.

William

5th Grade Classical Bash

5th Grade -- I'm sorry if I neglected to mention that 5th grade students will continue to work on "Classical Bash" from Strictly Strings Book 2 in addition to our work on fiddle tunes in parts. A number of students are quite excited to play "Classical Bash," which creates a medley of themes from Beethoven's 5th Symphony, Haydn's Suprise Symphony, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

FIddle Tunes for 4/5

4th Grade: As the year progresses, some students seek more challenging music while others would benefit from simpler music. The time seems right in 4th grade to present music with different levels of complexity to allow students to progress gracefully at their different levels. I have passed out a copy of Bile 'em Cabbage Down to 4th graders. This has three parts: 1) the tune, which is relatively easy, all on the D string (and has lyrics that can be sung above); 2) the break, which is relatively difficult; and 3) a back-up part, which looks difficult but is not so hard once you get used to it. There are still more options. A) For students really struggling with the notes, playing an open A or D string in rhythm will still help the song along (that is, no reason to sit out this song); B) For students seeking more challenge, they can work on improvisation with their teachers. If this works well, I will procure books (no new charges to parents). I might still pass out one song at a time--the books have not in general held up well in 4th grade, and a number of students do not seem to know where their books are.

For teachers who know bluegrass--please note that some of the traditional fiddle tunes have been dropped a 5th to make it easier for cellos and basses.

We will still work on Jingle Bells and Mozart Serenade for a bit more.

5th Grade: We are blessed to have 3 cellos and 3 basses in our ensemble, and the time seems right to seek music that allows each instrument to sing in its own voice: that is, rather than the unison music we have been playing, I am seeking music with different bass, cello, and violin parts. In the short term, we will also work on Bile 'em Cabbage Down in D, with the idea that perhaps grades 4 and 5 can perform together in the future. See above for my description of parts. This also has the tune, which is easy for students who are struggling, and breaks and backups for students seeking more challenge, as well as a bass line that sounds like a bass line. Teachers are encouraged to help their students improvise as well (please note that we are playing the song in D, not A). I am passing out the music today.

6th to 8th Grade: No instruments needed Thursday--students will be auditioning for Man of La Mancha during our strings class time. We will continue refining Vive La France, Hymn of Praise, and Rigadoun for a future performance. We have begun reading through more of our Jazz Philharmonic book--at present, it seems this book works best as an occasional rhythmic exercise for in class and likely won't be something we perform from.

Update - what to work on

4th Grade -- Because some students had new violins without tape to help them place their fingers, they seemed very confused in class. We took a class off today, and I put tape on violins for students who remembered and checked in with every child. It was a positive experience. It will also be really helpful for students not taking lessons for their parents to review Strictly Strings with them at home. The information students need is at the top of every page.

We will continue to work on Jingle Bells and Mozart serenade on page 20 and Folk Dance and Can-Can on page 19. These songs only use the D and A strings. I have distributed copies of fingerings for students who feel helped by them.

5th Grade -- The songs on page 9 seem like they will be more rewarding than the songs on page 7. Next week we will work on San Severino, The Minstrel Boy, and Trumpet Voluntary, all on page 9. I have previewed Classical Bash for the students on page 10, and we will start this medley of 4 famous classical themes (Beethoven's 5th, Haydn's Surprise Symphony, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and Beethoven's Ode to Joy) in a couple of weeks. Students could start previewing at home.

6th & 7th Grade -- Students have shown great sight reading skills as we have delved into a bunch of new music in More Strings Extraordinaire. We will continue working on to polish for future assemblies Vive la France (10), Hymn of Praise (15), and Rigaudon (18). I will add other songs to our list of songs to polish, but we will also continue exploring new music next week.