WHAT WE DID TODAY 2011-2012: SEMESTER #1 WEDNESDAY; AUGUST 31, 2011

GENERAL MUSIC periods 1,2,3
OBJECTIVE: BODY LANGUAGE/FOLLOWING A CONDUCTOR
....ROLL
....WORKSHEET: WHAT IS BODY LANGUAGE WORKSHEET/DISCUSSION
....PROCEDURES/CLASS FOLDERS TO HOLD CLASSWORK
.....CLASS RULES TAKE HOME TO HAVE SIGNED
.....PRACTICING BODY LANGUAGE/FOLLOWING THE CONDUCTOR
........01. Body Language: What is it? Why is it needed in the orchestra? Demonstrate some examples.
........02. Silence: What is it? How is it used in music? Is there ever complete silence?
..............a. Sound does not become music without silence (the planned spaces between the sounds)
..............b. Music is a combination of sound and silence the most difficult part being the performance of the silences 
                  especially in a group of musicians.
..............c. Mistakes in the creation of musical sounds are able to be covered up in group playing but all mistakes are 
                  heard if someone in the group plays in the silence.
..............d. Learning to create the silence is a skill that takes training as it takes much control and focus to accomplish.
........03. Listening versus Hearing: What is the difference?
..............a. There are so many sounds around us that in order to function we have learned to block many of them out to 
                   where we have forgotten that our hear capacity is much greater than we know.
..............b. Listening deals with the process of intense focusing; an element essential for the musician
........04. Teams: An orchestra is a team. What other groups are teams?
........05. Teamwork: What is it and why is it important for an orchestra?
........06. Leadership: What is a leader and why is his/her function in a team?
........07. Rules: What are they? Why are they important for a team?
........08. Conduct: What is it?
........09. Conductor: As the leader of the orchestra's conduct, what does he do? What are his/her rules?
..... BODY LANGUAGE PRACTICE/FOLLOWING THE CONDUCTOR
........01. Importance of watching the conductor
........02. Review visual cues
........03. Demonstrate and practice the conductor's starting beat or "gravity" beat
               (What goes up...will come down) so everyone learns to start together
........04. Practice with percussion instruments (after short demonstration of each instrument used) cues on how to:
..............a. stop/start
..............b. get louder/softer
..............c. faster/slower
..............d. how to stop with a silence that is not only heard but seen by an audience             (body movements are completely still until the conductors hands go down)  

ADVANCED VIOLIN 
OBJECTIVE: DIRECTIONS/PROCEDURES
....ROLL
....CONCERT INFORMATION-PLANS FOR THE YEAR
....NEW PROCEDURES ON SET-UP/TAKE DOWN DISCUSSION
....CLASS RULES: TAKE HOME TO HAVE SIGNED

BEGINNING VIOLIN
OBJECTIVE: DIRECTIONS/PROCEDURES
....ROLL
....PROCEDURES/SEATING CHART
....INTRODUCTORY VIOLIN INFORMATION

WHAT WE DID TODAY 2011-2012: SEMESTER #1 TUESDAY; AUGUST 30, 2011

GENERAL MUSIC periods 1,2,3
OBJECTIVE: FIRST DAY DIRECTIONS/PROCEDURES
....ROLL
....WORKSHEET: WHAT IS BODY LANGUAGE....INTRODUCTIONS/QUESTIONS

BEGINNING VIOLIN period 5
OBJECTIVE: FIRST DAY DIRECTIONS/PROCEDURES
....ROLL
....INTRODUCTIONS/QUESTIONS
....CLASS RULES TAKE HOME TO HAVE SIGNED

ADVANCED VIOLIN period 4
OBJECTIVE: FIRST DAY DIRECTIONS/PROCEDURES
....ROLL
....CONCERT INFORMATION-PLANS FOR THE YEAR
....CHECKING OUT INSTRUMENTS

VIOLIN PRACTICE CHECK LIST

WANT TO LEARN A PIECE OF MUSIC WITH LESS PRACTICE AND MORE ACCURACY?

Evaluating your music before practicing will save hours of time.

What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?

These are all elements that must be prepared and practiced.

Use this check list as a guide.

REMEMBER:

The quality of your practice time is more important than the quantity of your practice time. In fact, a large quantity of practice with poor quality might even set-back your progress.

01. RHYTHM: COUNTING AND METER

(Do you memorize the rhythm or do you understand it first before memorizing it?)

02. NOTE READING

(Can you read the music notation?)

03. FINGERING (INCLUDING SHIFTING AND GUIDE NOTES)

(Is the fingering you are using the most practical or musically fitting for the piece you are playing?)

04. KNOWING WHOLE AND HALF STEP FINGERINGS

(Do you know before putting a finger down whether it is a whole step or a half step to the next finger or do you just use your ear to determine the proper intonation of the pitch?)

05. BOWINGS: DOWN AND UP PREPARED

(Before practicing do you know what direction you bow needs to be for every note?)

06. BOWING PROPORTIONS AND BOW SPEED PLANNED

(Do you play with your bow anywhere or do you pre-plan where you are going to start and stop each note, how much bow will be used for each note, and the speed the bow needs to be at?)

07. TONE PRODUCTION/ARTICULATION OF BOW ON THE STRING

(Is the beginning of every separate note played started with an articulation and do all the articulations produce the same tone quality?)

08. INTONATION

(Do your fingered notes that have corresponding open strings have a beautiful “ringing” tone quality to them caused by the sympathetic vibration of the open string?)

09. PHYSICAL MUSCLE MOVEMENT TECHNIQUE

(Can your fingers and/or bow move effortlessly to their proper positions at will?)

10. MENTAL FOCUS/CONTINUITY THROUGH MISTAKES

(Can you play completely through a piece of music at performance speed without stopping or getting nervous even if you make a mistake?)

11. EMOTIONAL FEELINGS/DYNAMICS AND BOWING PLANNED FOR THIS

(Do you play notes or do you play music? Do you pre-determine where in the music you are going to play soft and loud? What role does the bow have in producing this?)

12. WHEN PLAYING WITH OTHERS

(Do you listen and watch others as you play? If you are playing the same passage as someone else has your bowing been planned exactly the same way as theirs? When more than one violin plays the same musical passage does everyone together sound like one large violin or many violins?)

a. ARTICULATING AND BOWING TOGETHER

b. MATCHING PITCH INTONATION TOGETHER

13. DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATIC REFLEXES THROUGH REPETITION

(When you play your music are you thinking about technical matters or are you only feeling the music?)