FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013

QUOTE:
“Tones sound, and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes.”

AUTHOR: Ludwig van Beethoven

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:

“Some artists can never rest until they are allowed to express themselves.”

COMPOSER
CHOPIN

https://fbcdn-photos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/t1.0-0/398059_605815476112196_1935775020_n.jpg

Etude in C Minor
Revolutionary (Fall of Warsaw)1831

Chopin wrote this piece during his Polish homeland's revolution against Russia.

Due to poor health he could not fight for his beloved country so he wrote this music as a tribute instead.

Etude in C Minor

Revolutionary (Fall of Warsaw)1831

Played by Sviatoslav Richter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hOKcdZJJFU

ETUDE:

An etude is a French word for a musical study piece (short composition)
for a solo instrument designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill.

It is intended to demonstrate technical virtuosity; a musical exercise.

GRANADA ADV. STRINGS
1. Jingle Bell Rock

INTRO. TO INSTRUMENTS
1. Following the conductor: non-verbal cues
2. Recorder: Making the first sounds
a.  Bad versus good sounds
b. Air, breathing and posture
c.  Tonguing/articulation
d. Left versus right
e. Placing fingers down: first notes (to be continued)

RECORDER
SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW THE RECORDER WORKS
1)  IT IS AN INSTRUMENT MADE OUT OF A TUBE WITH HOLES IN IT
2)  COVERING HOLES IN CONSECUTIVE ORDER LENGTHENS THE TUBE
a)  THE LONGER THE TUBE THE LOWER THE SOUND
3)  SOUND IS PRODUCED BY BLOWING AIR DOWN THE TUBE WITH THE SPEED 
OF THE AIR HITTING THE SIDES OF THE TUBE TO CREATE THE VIBRATIONS 
d. BLOWING THE RECORDER
1)  GOOD VERSUS BAD SOUNDS
a)  PLAY THE RECORDER WITHOUT THE FINGERS TO ISOLATE THE BLOWING MECHANISM FROM THE FINGERING 
MECHANISM IN ORDER TO LEARN HOW TO TO PULL A GOOD TONE OUT OF THE INSTRUMENT
b)  BAD SOUNDS HEARD ON THE RECORDER CAN STEM FROM EITHER POOR BLOWING TECHNIQUE, 
POOR FINGERING, OR COMBINATIONS  OF BOTH
c)  USING THE "ECHO" TECHNIQUE TEACHER PLAYS RHYTHMIC PASSAGES THAT ARE REPEATED BY THE
CLASS (SOME PASSAGES THAT THE CLASS ECHOES HAVE GOOD SOUNDS AND SOME BAD ON PURPOSE)
d)  AFTER THE "ECHO" EXERCISE STUDENTS DISCUSS THEIR EXPERIENCES ON THE PRODUCTION OF GOOD 
AND BAD SOUNDS  (PROPER BREATHING, USE OF THE TONGUE, OVER USING THE MOUTH, 
PUFFING THE CHEEKS, BLOWING TOO HARD VS WHISPER AIR)
e)  DISCUSSION AND PRACTICE OF TONGUE ARTICULATIONS TO PRODUCE  EACH SINGLE SOUND
e. PUTTING FINGERS DOWN ON THE RECORDER INTRODUCTION 

GRANADA BEG. STRINGS
1. Assignment of instruments
a. Labelling the cases
b. Passing out of lon forms

HILLVIEW ORCHESTRA
1.  Tuning to concert "A" pitch/long tones
2.  Exercise passage from song : Jingle Bell Rock
a.  Played by the entire group
b.  Chromatic passage taken from the violin part
3.  Jingle Bell Rock first section
4. Jingle Bell Rock second section sight reading
5.  Pachelbel/Jolly: Introduction to the piece

WHAT WE DID TODAY (SEMESTER #2-13): THURSDAY; FEBRUARY 17, 2011

GENERAL MUSIC PERIODS 2, 3, 6:
COMPOSER: Chopin PRELUDE #7 "Funny Version" from the album "Beethoven's Wig" 
Chopin CONCERTO #2 3rd movement

Chopin PRELUDE #7

and 
Chopin Concerto #2 3rd movement

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OBJECTIVE: Intro to Recorder: Beautiful and Ugly Sounds/Articulation/Putting Fingers Down
2. Solfege Roll: Review solfege hand signals adding "Sol." Teacher asks with hand signals: Sol-Mi-La-Sol-Mi ("Mar-y did you finish your quote?")/Student answers with hand signals: Sol-Mi-La-Sol-Mi ("Yes I did") and show the quote to me.
3. HOW UGLY SOUNDS ARE CREATED and VARIOUS REASONS FOR SQUEAKY SOUNDS:
The reason I instruct my students to not put any fingers down yet is because I want them to concentrate first on the production of tone. To fix an ugly sound, first you must determine what caused it. If no fingers are being used in the production of the sound then it is very likely that the cause is associated in some way with the breathing (air control) apparatus.
4. HOW MUCH AIR IS NEEDED TO PLAY THE INSTRUMENT:
Unlike their modern relatives, the woodwind family, the recorders use small amounts of air in their production of pitched tones. These instruments are not capable of producing a good sound when too much air is blown into them. Too much air results in high, squeaky noises instead of distinct pitches. A good rule to think about, when playing the recorder, is never "blow" on it but instead "whisper" into it.
5. ROLE OF POSTURE AND BREATHING:
The speed of the air entering the recorder needs to be controlled and regulated because changes in air speed cause the intonation of the pitches to be altered. Steady streams of air (air speed) need to be going through the instrument in order to keep the sound from becoming wave-like or bumpy sounding. So, good breath control is essential for good intonation and beautiful tone quality. Breath control is directly related to proper posture. Mechanisms in the body responsible for breathing (lungs, diaphragm muscle, etc.) can not work at their optimum best when a person has poor posture. Consequently, poor posture not only affects recorder playing, it most importantly, affects the health of the body. I like to connect the idea of air going through the body to water going through a garden hose: If a garden hose is bent or has a kink in it, does the water run smoothly through it? Poor posture does not allow the air to flow as freely through the body forcing the body to work harder then it should to circulate the air. If you overwork the body parts for long periods of time they may not last as long.
5. WHEN TO BREATHE:
When people talk they breathe at the end of phrases (like using a "comma"). Excessive breathing while talking makes the speech sound "choppy" and uncontrolled not to mention physically uncomfortable for the person who is speaking and irritating for the person who is listening to it. Musicians breathe in phrases just like people breathe in speech. To breathe in phrases, the air taken into the body must be portioned out (not let out all at once) so that there is enough air to produce a beautiful sound on each note. In order to do that the places the player breathes in the music must be planned ahead of time. Using a car and gasoline as an example: If you plan a trip through the desert and you don't want to run out of gas, you plan where you will be filling up your gas tank. If you plan incorrectly you will run out of gas. Just as a car will "sputter" as it is running out of gas, so will the sound of the instrument as the player runs out of air because the air stream becomes uncontrolled and thus "choppy" sounding.
6. IMPORTANCE OF ARTICULATION:
Articulation is how sounds are stopped and started. We articulate when we speak as we use our tongue to start certain sounds (consonances) behind our teeth to form words. Musical instruments are in a way imitations of the human voice; they also use articulation in production of their sounds. An example of a good articulated sound is when a triangle is struck. If the instrument is struck incorrectly, the result will be a vibration of sound that is weak (not pleasing to hear) but if it is struck correctly, the vibration will ring for a long period of time and create a beautiful tone. In recorder playing, separate individual sounds are started with the tongue softly (too hard produces sounds anywhere from harsh to squeaky) touching behind (not on) the upper teeth using a "dah" or "tah" tongue position. When playing in groups, instrumental performers playing the same parts need to articulate (and also breathe) the same way at the same time so the group can be heard by the audience as a single instrument.
7. A LITTLE SCIENCE ABOUT THE RECORDER:
A recorder is a tube that sound waves go through. The longer the tube the lower it will sound. When holes are covered on the recorder, the size of the tube changes altering the pitch. In reality each different fingering combination is a different size tube so the instrument is actually many sized tubes all in one. If those different size tubes were separated and placed side by side they would like the different sized pipes in a pipe organ (only smaller of course).
BEGINNING VIOLIN PERIOD 5:
OBJECTIVE: SPRING CONCERT PREPARATION
1. TUNE
2. SONG: "CIELITO LINDO"
.....a. Worked on harmony part first to keep focus on notes without tracking help
.....b. Added melody part (first section) to the harmony part
.....c. Started to work with melody parts on second half of piece

ADVANCED VIOLIN PERIOD 4:
OBJECTIVE: SPRING CONCERT PREPARATION
1. TUNE
2. SONG: "CIELITO LINDO"
.....a. Worked on ending for the violins
.....b. Worked on the harmony part (first section) for the cellos
.....c. Put all parts together
3. SONG: "YEAR WITHOUT RAIN"
4. SONG: "BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS"