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March 20, 2020 | Advanced

Orchestra Academy Plan during COVID-19

Hi everyone!

We are all kind of reinventing the wheel right now, having to self-isolate with COVID-19. I have been thinking about how we can continue to make progress in the Orchestra Academy. I have a couple of ideas about how we can keep students practicing and engaged.

First, I have created some online content for my students.

Here is a video showing the Beginning Orchestra what they should be practicing:

And below are links to practice videos for the other orchestras.

Intermediate Orchestra:

Advanced Orchestra:

In addition to these practice videos, I would like to offer online private lessons to the students of the Orchestra Academy. I have been using a free service called Zoom with my private students and it has worked pretty well. I will allow each student to sign up for 2 20-minute private lessons in the next 3 weeks using the link here:

Sign Up!

My expectation for these lessons is that the students have practiced and come to the lesson having put in some effort themselves. They should be ready to play what they can of their pieces for me and ready with any questions they may have. They definitely don’t need to be perfect—all students will be a work in progress—but I want to make sure that they have done some work at home.

My hope is that we will get to go back to rehearsing on April 20th and still have our concert in May (the concert date still hasn’t been confirmed, I am so sorry about that).

Please let me know if you need any help or if students have questions. I am here to help! Thank you all for your patience through all of this!

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March 5, 2020 | Advanced

Review for 3/2/20

Look below to learn what we did this week in the Orchestra Academy!

Beginning Orchestra

In the Beginning Orchestra, we reviewed the notes on the D string and played the music on pages 8 and 9. I also taught the students a “mystery song” which might annoy their parents all week!

Then we learned how to play B, C#, and D on the A string. This week, students should practice the music on pages 10 and 11. Look below for information about the A string.

Violin:

Cello:

Bass:

Intermediate Orchestra

In the Intermediate Orchestra, we spent a lot of time practicing First Finger Pachelbel. This week, students should practice the music from measure 21 to 29.

Then we practiced the First Scale March. Students should practice up to measure 20 still. We didn’t get to Dragon Slayer or Impulse this week, but students should still practice them.

Advanced Orchestra

We started with the Brandenburg and tried to learn the music from measures 17 to 32. Students should practice this section this week.

We then practiced Gauntlet and learned the section from measure 41 to 47. We then quickly practiced In the Hall of the Mountain King and then Conquistador.

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February 14, 2020 | Advanced

Review for 2/10/20

Hi everyone! First off, let me remind you all that we will NOT have rehearsal this coming Monday, February 17th due to President’s Day. Our next rehearsal will be Monday, February 24th.

Look below to find out what we did last Monday and what you should practice this coming week.

Beginning Orchestra

In the Beginning Orchestra, we reviewed the bow hold and the open strings, and then learned how to put left fingers down to play E, F#, and G on the D string. Explanations of how to do this on each instrument are below.

Violin:

Viola:

Cello:

Bass:

This week, practice the music on pages 6 and 7 (you may use your bow!) that use the D string notes.

Intermediate Orchestra

IMPORTANT: If you are one of those people that feels like you need to write in the name of every note in order to play a song, you need to do that in your music AT HOME. I don’t want to waste valuable rehearsal time waiting for people to write in notes. Ideally, you would be able to learn to read music and not write in the notes. But if you want the extra help, write them in at home so that when we meet together we can play our music.

In the Intermediate Orchestra, we started by reviewing the songs in our Essential Elements book on page 20. Practice the music on page 21 this week if you haven’t already.

In the First Scale March, we quickly went over the music from the beginning until measure 20. Again, if you need to write in the notes in between the scales in this song, feel free to do so at home. I’m hoping to play up to measure 20 when we see each other again.

We then learned the first 8 measures of Impulse. Students should try to learn at least through measure 16 this week.

Then we only had time to quickly review First Finger Pachelbel. Students should practice through measure 20 this week.

We didn’t have time to practice Dragon Slayer this week, but students should still practice it at home.

Advanced Orchestra

In the Advanced Orchestra, we started with the Brandenburg and tried to play through the first 16 measures. Students, especially 1st and 2nd violins, really need to practice this. Watch the key signature!

We then moved on to Conquistador and learned measures 21-32, then reviewed the whole song up to measure 32. Next week I am hoping to get up to measure 54.

We then read In the Hall of the Mountain King up to measure 27. I’m hoping we can get to measure 51 soon.

Lastly, we played Gauntlet and learned measures 25—32. We then played from the beginning through measure 40. Next week I am hoping we can learn through measure 56.

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February 4, 2020 | Advanced

Orchestra Academy Review for 2/3/20

Hi everyone! It was cold and the roads were slippery, but we had great rehearsals this Monday. Look below to know what we did and what students should practice at home this week.

Beginning Orchestra

In the Beginning Orchestra, we reviewed everything we did last Monday. We then learned about our bows, how to take care of them, and how to hold them correctly. If you want more information about the bow, look to the videos below:

Basic bow info:

Violin/Viola:

Cello:

Bass:

This week, students should practice the music on pages 16 and 17 to practice using the bow on the D and A strings.

Intermediate Orchestra

This week we did a lot of work in First Finger Pachelbel. This piece is unique because it only uses open strings and 1st fingers. I made this cheat sheet to help the kids with the notes:

In our remaining time, we learned the beginning of Dragon Slayer.

Students should continue to practice at home and try to learn the pieces on their own. We will do more work in the book next week and definitely introduce Impulse.

Advanced Orchestra

In the Advanced Orchestra, we started with Conquistador and learned through measure 20. This week I’m hoping students will learn through measure 40 at home.

We then moved on to In the Hall of the Mountain King and learned the 2nd theme so that everyone can learn the difficult sections early on. We will start putting the song together in its real order next week.

Then we played Gauntlet and played through measure 24. I’m hoping we can get to measure 41 next week, so students should try to practice at least that much this week.

We then only spent a brief amount of time on the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. 1st and 2nd violins especially need to practice measures 5-15 this week.

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