Wednesday, October 20, 2010

WHAT WE DID TODAY #1-35: WEDNESDAY; OCTOBER 20, 2010

GENERAL MUSIC PERIODS 2,3,6 
COMPOSER: BACH: Prelude in C Major ("Ave Maria")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO78AqC1IE4

1. The Bach/Gounod Ave Maria is a popular and much-recorded setting of the Latin text Ave Maria.
2. Written by French Romantic composer Charles Gounod (http://www.charles-gounod.com/vi/index.htm) in 1859, his Ave Maria consists of a melody superimposed over the Prelude No. 1 in C major from Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846), composed by J. S. Bach some 137 years earlier. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ave_Maria_(Bach/Gounod)]
3. The idea of adding a new melody part over an existing older piece of music is not a new idea.
.....a. The term "Mash-Up" is a modern term that is used for this style used in modern pop music
...........1)A "mash-up" or blend is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by
overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another.
OBJECTIVE: NOTE READING ON THE KEYBOARD/NOTE READING BY STEP-WISE MOTION
1. QUOTE AUTHOR: Robert Schumann 
2. BACH COMPOSER REPORT #2
....a. Wrote down information in the first two sections of the report (PLEASE SEE THIS BLOG FOR THE INFORMATION)
....b. Discussed how Bach came from a large musical family and how many of his male family members were given the first name of Johann (Bach's first name also) (http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/tas3/fam.html)
.........1)Having a middle name made it easier to distinguish one Bach from another.
.....c. We wrote down some general information about Bach: dates, country of origin
.....d. Wrote down the names of 5 Bach pieces we heard in class and I briefly reviewed them.
NOTE READING BY STEP-WISE MOTION ON THE KEYBOARD:
.....a. Students took out the songs that they prepared the music notation on and were instructed to play the songs on the keyboard
.........1)JOLLY OLD ST. NICHOLAS
.........2)JINGLE BELLS
.....b. On the top of the music sheet, for each song, is a small keyboard chart showing where the keys are located.
.........1)Students are to place the right hand fingers on the keys in advance before playing so they can use their eyes to watch the music instead of their fingers.
.....c. I was moving about the room to check for understanding and having students play the songs for me as time allowed.
4. For students finishing early, they are to go back to the packet of keyboard songs to be played by finger numbers (a continuation of what we did last week) working on songs starting from "America" and "Yankee Doodle" then moving on to the next piece.
.....a. Each student works at their own pace; at their ability level.
.....b. Because we were doing a few sections of the Bach Composer Report today I mentioned that I had a student's (playable; shortened and by number) version of Bach's "Toccata" (one of the pieces we had learned about in class and had also written down in our report). So, I brought out the music and played it for the class. Some students asked if they could try playing it and after a little instruction some of the students were able to play some of the passages already.
5. BECAUSE WE HAVE STUDENTS AT VARYING ABILITY LEVELS I DECIDED THAT WE ARE GOING TO PUT ON A MINI RECITAL THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 8, 9, 10.
1. Students will choose a song to play from the music we have been working on in class and/or a piece that I pre-approve of at their ability level.
2. During the next few weeks, when we have our keyboard playing days in class, students will practice the pieces they have chosen to play at our recital.
3. I will divide the class into groups of thirds and students in each group will perform on one of the scheduled days
4. Students will perform their chosen song by themselves (solo)

BEGINNING VIOLIN PERIOD 5: 
OBJECTIVE: PREPARATION FOR HOLIDAY PERFORMANCE ON DECEMBER 9th
1. TUNE

2. DO-RE-MI-FA (pattern starting on open strings)
.....a. Combining this DO-RE-MI-FA (0 1 23 ) pattern on two consecutive strings creates a major (1 octave) scale
.....b. Students played "G" major scale, "D" major scale, and "A" major scale (UH and LH of bow)
.....c. We ascended up the scale (placing fingers down in order)
.....d. We descended down the scale
..........1)Lifted off the fingers in order on the higher of the 2 strings
..........2)Placed all 3 fingers down (in the position for which they will be lifted off from) on the lower string ahead of time
..........3)Lifted fingers off in order
3. HOLIDAY SONG: COVENTRY CAROL
.....a. We started practicing with me pointing to the notes and then periodically I would stop pointing to see if the students could follow the music on their own.
.....b. Most of the time students did not get lost.
4. HOLIDAY SONG: GOOD KING WENCSLAS
.....a. Played the song at tempo all the way through.
.....b. Because the music is a little fast, to relax the anxiety from the speed, I had the students break the music up into
"red-D string" notes and "blue-G string" notes.
..........1)With the accompaniment we played only the blue notes, then only the red notes.
We will continue with this song tomorrow.

VIOLIN PERIOD 4: 
OBJECTIVE: Preparation for: Harvest Day performance on October 28th/Holiday Program December 9th
1. TUNE
2. MUSIC STANDS WERE SET-UP
3. REVIEW SONGS FOR THE HARVEST FESTIVAL
.....a. HOEDOWN

.....b. ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL
.....c. DE COLORES
5 SCHOOL PRACTICE DAYS LEFT FOR THE HARVEST CONCERT