Review from 10/9 — No rehearsal next week!
Hi everyone!
Look below to find the review for your orchestra. We will not be having rehearsal on Monday, October 16th. Our next rehearsal will be on Monday, October 23rd. Make sure to practice in the meantime!
Beginning Orchestra
On Monday, we worked on the lines we know from Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and learned the 3rd and final line. I know that many people were a bit confused, so here are some videos explaining it, as well as music sheets you can use to practice at home:
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star is also in your book under the name “A Mozart Melody” on page 15.
We also started learning Mary Had a Little Lamb, which can be found in your book under the name “Rolling Along” on page 8. I have made it easier to read in the sheets below:
Intermediate Orchestra
This week, I announced the results of our playing check-ins and we had a map of where everyone is sitting. Overall, I was very proud of how you all did with the playing check-in! If you aren’t happy with where you are sitting, make sure to practice for the next one. We will start recording for the next playing check-in at our next rehearsal on Monday, October 23rd. Students will be playing measures 21-29 of Rustic Dance. Students who choose not to make a recording will sit behind those who do, so be brave and make it happen!
Here is what we did in our rehearsal:
- Rustic Dance — We played the whole thing! We worked a good amount on measures 21-29, since we will be playing those for the playing check-in.
- Maiden’s Rescue — We also played through this whole song! We definitely need more detail work on it, but you should be able to practice the whole thing. Violas and cellos, make sure to practice measures 33 through 35 because they are a very important counter melody.
- First Finger Suite — We worked on getting used to how this one sounds and making sure everyone is coming in at the right time. It’s a lot easier now that everyone is sitting in their proper section!
- The Christmas Train — We didn’t get much time to work on this, so we will make sure to practice it a lot next week.
Advanced Orchestra
This week, I announced the results of our playing check-ins and we had a map of where everyone is sitting. Overall, I was very proud of how you all did with the playing check-in! If you aren’t happy with where you are sitting, make sure to practice for the next one. We will start recording for the next playing check-in at our next rehearsal on Monday, October 23rd. This month’s playing check ins will be in Velocity, in the following sections:
- 1st Violins: measures 45-53
- 2nd Violins and Violas: measures 37-45
- Cellos: measures 17-25
Students who don’t record a video will be sat behind those who do, so make sure to record a video this time! Here is what we worked on on Monday:
- Velocity — I wanted to make sure we worked on this a lot this week, and we did! We worked on a lot of the details between measure 37 and measure 53.
- Fantasy on Greensleeves — This already sounds so great! We decided to do the bowing as written, rather than the changes I had made a couple of weeks ago. Sorry for switching it up on you! I also did a quick overview of the vibrato technique — try it out and see if you can get a little wiggle in there!
- Appalachian Hymn — 2nds you did such a great job from 49-57! I don’t think I will have to stick violas on that part after all. We are working on intonation and big dynamic contrasts.
- Beyond the Thunder — We didn’t get to this one this week, so we will hit it next week!
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Review from 10/2
Hi everyone!
I’m sorry this review is so late — this week really got away from me! Look below for this week’s review:
Beginning Orchestra
Last week we learned the beginning of Twinkle, Twinkle, which you can see here:
This week, we learned the 2nd line, which goes like this:
Practice at home and we will review next week!
Intermediate Orchestra
This week, we finished our playing check-ins, so if you didn’t get to do it in class, please email me a video ASAP. Here is what we rehearsed during class:
- Christmas Train — We rehearsed from the beginning until measure 23. 2nds and violas, you have a different part at 15, so make sure to look at it!
- Rain Dribs — We learned from the beginning to 29. You should be able to practice the whole thing now, since that’s just 4 extra measures!
- Rustic Dance — We rehearsed from the beginning until 21, and then we briefly learned 21-29. Measures 21-29 will be our next playing check-in, so make sure to practice those measures!
- Maiden’s Rescue — We didn’t get a chance to do Maiden’s Rescue this week, so we will next week!
Advanced Orchestra
- Appalachian Hymn — We know the whole thing now! 2nd violins, make sure to practice from 49 to 57, because you get the melody there. I don’t want to have to put violas on that part, but I will!
- Beyond the Thunder — We spent quite a bit of time on this piece. We worked in detail from the beginning until 54, and then quickly ran through to the end. You should be able to practice the whole thing now.
- Fantasy on Greensleeves — We once again just ran through it since we didn’t have much time. We will dive in on this and Velocity next week!
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Review from 9/11
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.
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:
Intermediate Orchestra
- Everyone — Maiden’s Rescue, measures 5-13
Advanced Orchestra
- Violins — Fantasy on Greensleeves, measures 5-21
- Violas and Cellos — Fantasy on Greensleeves, measures 37-53
Happy Practicing, everyone!
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