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.