Updates – Page 4 – Orchestra Academy

September 21, 2023 | Advanced

All 5 Parts

1st Violin

2nd Violin

Viola

Cello

Bass

September 20, 2023 | Advanced

Hi everyone! Look for your orchestra to see what we did on Monday:

Beginning Orchestra

This week, we learned how to use our bows!

How to Hold Your Bow

Bows are really tricky, and this is where the scratching and screeching may come into play! There are a few things that are difficult in this stage:

Playing the correct string/only one string at a time
Keeping your bow straight and away from the bridge (it is really squeaky if it is near the bridge!)
Learning to use the sideways motion of the bow rather than push or use very little bow

We will continue to work on these things, but don’t be surprised if your student is a little discouraged at this stage. The best thing they can do is to practice! They will start to get it after a while.

This week, students should practice pages 4 and 5, but with the bow.

Intermediate Orchestra

Our first playing check-in is next week! You will go to a practice room and record yourself playing measures 5 through 13 of Maiden’s Rescue. This will help me know what we need to work on and also determine where you sit in the orchestra. Be sure to practice!

This is what we practiced on Monday:

Maiden’s Rescue: Measures 5-13
The Christmas Train: Measures 1-15
Rain Dribs: Measures 1-13
Rustic Dance: Measures 1-13

Advanced Orchestra

Our first playing check-in is next week! You will go to a practice room and record yourself playing an excerpt from Fantasy on Greensleeves. You will play these excerpts, based on your instument:

Violins: Measures 5- 21
Violas and Cellos: Measures 37-53

This will help me know what we need to work on and also determine where you sit in the orchestra. Be sure to practice!

This is what we practiced on Monday:

Fantasy on Greensleeves: Measures 1-53
Beyond the Thunder: Measures 13-29
Appalachian Hymn: Measures 1-33
Velocity: Measures 1-25

Happy Practicing!

September 13, 2023 | Uncategorized

Hi everyone!

We had a great first week of the Orchestra Academy. This week was mainly just getting to know each other and we started introducing some things to each class. Look below to see the review for what we did in each class.

Beginning Orchestra

Check out the videos below to see what we did in class this Monday. Everyone has the same video for parts of the instrument and quarter notes and quarter rests, but when it comes to how to hold the instrument and play the D and A strings, the videos are instrument-specific.

Parts of the Instrument

How to Hold Your Violin and Play the D and A Strings

How to Hold Your Viola and Play the D and A Strings

How to Hold Your Cello and Play the D and A Strings

How to Hold Your Bass and Play the D and A Strings

Quarter Notes and Quarter Rests

Intermediate and Advanced Orchestras

I will do these reviews together because they were very similar! We spent some time getting to know each other, and we listened to each of our pieces. We also worked on the D Major scale and did a round.

One thing that Intermediate and Advanced Orchestra members should be aware of is that we are doing something new this year — playing check-ins. Each month, I will have a short assignment from one of their pieces that I want students to play. On that day of the month, they will go to a practice room to record themselves playing that section. I am doing this mainly so that I can keep a pulse on the orchestra — this can let me know where we are struggling and what I need to focus on. We will also use these playing check-ins to determine where people will sit in the orchestra. The first check-in will be on Monday, September 25th, and the assignment will be as follows: