Jingle Bells -- 4th grade

Dear 4th Grade Parents in Particular,

I taught a lesson to the 4th grader right before the break.  After working through exercises on previous pages, we moved to Jingle Bells on page 20.  The student played it confidently and gracefully,  If your student is playing violin at home over the break, you might consider encouraging them to try Jingle Bells.  Some students may need a teacher to write in fingerings.  I will try to find a way to do this for students after the new year.

Blessings,

William Dolde

5th to 8th grade Specific -- Winter Festival

5th Grade  Our musical program remains the same as the one we have been practicing--Scarborough Fair, Jasmine Flower, Billy Boy, Carnival of Venice, O Tannebaum, Lovely Evening, Over the River and Through the Woods, and Jingle Bells.  Please have students bring instruments to the Butterfly Nursery Friday morning.  There is some chance your students will sit with me in the pavilion before the festival begins, and play music as parents enter.  If this happens, we may repeat songs; I may add solos that I play; or we may have to cut a song short if the rest of the festival needs us to.  I have asked the students to prepare to be flexible.

6th to 8th Grade  In recent weeks, students have shown remarkable recall (and strong technical improvement) on Christmas songs we played last year from Strings Extraordinaire (the first green book).  They also requested to reprise Pachelbel's Canon and played it well.  Because the students are so motivated, we have added some of these songs to our program and removed some of the less-rehearsed songs from More Strings Extraordinaire.  I have told students new to the school, students who have switched instruments, or students who have missed many classes in recent weeks not to worry if they feel unprepared for certain songs.  The ensemble as a whole sounds strong, and they can play what they can in a supportive way.

Friday's program will be:  (from the green book)  Pat-a-Pan, Two French Carols; then (from the blue book) Bluegrass Blastoff, German Dance, Daydreams, Fanfare Minuet; then (back to the green book) What Child is This, Carol of the Bells, and Pachebel's Canon.

Thanks for supporting our program,

William Geoffrey Dolde

4th Grade Specific -- Reading Sheet Music Help

Dear 4th Grade Families,

After a class last week which made it clear that our step into reading sheet music while playing the violin was frustrating because it was either too challenging or too easy, we had an indoor class in which I retold the story of the Bremen Town Musicians, and using the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster as metaphors for our 4 strings of the violin, related the reading of sheet music to mapping the journeys of these animals.  I showed a Whidbey Island map that students had drawn with Ms. White and compared the musical staff and measure lines with the grid the students used to help draw and read the map.  While some students still need more help, other students began to see more sense in musical notation.

As a follow-up, I have made copies of pages 18-19 in Strictly Strings Book 1.  On these pages I have written the left hand fingering above the notes--some students said they would find this helpful (and often a teacher in a private lesson will write in fingerings if it helps).  These copies are on the big desk in the lobby.  Please take one home.  We will start on pages 18-19 after the break, and some students might feel more confident with a preview.

The book Strictly Strings strives to help students read music.  After class on Tuesday, I observed one student in a private lesson feeling confident about reading music without the extra fingerings.  This is to say, if my added notations do not help, please do not use them--for some of us (like me), the fewer additional marks on the page, the more fluently we can read the sheet music.

Thanks for supporting our students at home,

William Geoffrey Dolde

5th grade -- no instruments Monday

I will not be present to teach 5th grade strings on Monday.  Carrie Fong will substitute and guide students in games in other activities.  The 5th graders are excited about the break from routine and the quality of their substitute teacher.  We will have our dress rehearsal for the Christmas Festival next Wednesday.  Although some students still find a few pieces very challenging, the ensemble as a whole is coming together well.

Thanks,

William

Instrument Labels for Christmas Festival

Grades 5 to 8

It is likely grade 5 strings will play at the beginning of the festival on Friday, December 17, and the middle school orchestra will play at the end of the festival.  Intrepid volunteers and I will act as roadies to set the instruments before the festival, to remove the fifth grade instruments and replace them with the middle school instruments while the choirs sing.  Our goal will be to do this without distracting from the Advent Spiral.

On Friday, December 17, students in grade 5 to 8 will bring their instruments to the Butterfly Room so that I can tune them.  5th grade students will walk down to the pavilion first thing to place their music book(s) on the proper stand.  Middle School students should leave their music book(s) right by their instrument case.  Please make sure your student has a name on her or his instrument case so that I can put her or his instrument in the right position.

After that festival, please retrieve your student's instrument from the Butterfly Room.

Thanks,

William Geoffrey Dolde

December 17th Festival -- grades 5 to 8

 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.

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