TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2013

QUOTE:
“Think more of your own progress than of the opinion of others.”

AUTHOR: Felix Mendelssohn

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“In the end, what only matters is what you think of yourself.”

COMPOSER
DEBUSSY

GIRL WITH THE FLAXEN HAIR

The Bridesmaid by Millais

GIRL WITH THE FLAXEN HAIR 
PLAYED BY HEIFETZ

PERIODS 1 and 2:

01.  VIOLIN: BOWING ON SHOULDER
........a.  SHORT REVIEW OF BOW HOLD
........b.  DEMONSTRATION OF BOW LEVELS
........c.  DEMONSTRATION OF BOWING ANGLES
.............1)  MIDDLE OF BOW:  SQUARE (proper) vs PARALLELOGRAM (improper)
.............2)  TIP OF BOW: TRAPEZOID
.............3)  FROG OF BOW: TRIANGLE
........d.  MOVING THE BOW
.............1)  MIDDLE TO TIP: USE OF THE ELBOW
.............2)  FROG TO MIDDLE: USE OF THE ELBOW and UPPER ARM
........e.  BOW IS PLACED IN BETWEEN THE BRIDGE and FINGERBOARD NOT OVER THE                             FINGERBOARD

PERIOD 3:

01.  VIOLIN: LEFT PIZZICATO CYCLE OF STRINGS
........a.  REVIEWED WATCHING THE CONDUCTOR DIRECTIONS
........b.  LEFT THUMB PLACED AT CURVE OF THE VIOLIN NECK
........c.  PAD OF THE LEFT POINTER FINGER DEPRESSES EACH STRING 8X WITH A SPRING                       ACTION
........d.  REPEAT ABOVE DIRECTIONS and PULL THE STRING TO THE RIGHT TO PLUCK THE                      STRING
.............1)  PLUCKED EACH STRING 4X (DEPRESSING THE STRING DOWN BEFORE PLUCKING                         EACH TIME)

ADV. STRINGS

01.  PIRATES OF CARIBBEAN 
........a.  WORKED ON A SPECIFIC PASSAGE TO GET SPEED
02.  HOUDINI

BEG. STRINGS 
01.  WARM-UP 
........a.  FIRST FINGER SHIFTING DO-RE-MI-FA-SOL/SOL-FA-MI-RE-DO (0-1-1-1/-1-1-1-0) ON EACH                    STRING
02.  SONG:  TWINKLE (BY MEMORY)
........a.   PLAYED ON STRINGS D and A (BOW UH) and G and D (BOW LH) BOWING "HUCK-LE-BER-                 RY HOUND DOG" RHYTHM
..............1)  USED THE SAME AMOUNT OF BOW FOR EACH NOTE NECESSITATING BOW SPEED                        CHANGES
03.  SONG:  STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN (HARMONY)
.........a.  REVIEWED COUNTING
.........b.  REVIEWED SOME FINGERINGS and NOTE READING
.........c.  REVIEWED BOW PROPORTIONING LH (LOWER HALF) and UH (UPPER HALF)
04.  SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW
.........a.  PLAYED THE SONG FROM THE BEGINNING
.........b.  REVIEWED A SPECIFIC PASSAGE FOR COUNTING and FOR BOWING

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2013

QUOTE:
"Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come 

  out of your horn."

AUTHOR: Charlie Parker

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:

“A lot of who you are is due in part to your life’s experiences. 

 Emotions that emanate from those experiences will come out 

 uniquely in the creation of music.”

COMPOSER
TCHAIKOVSKY

"Capriccio Italian"

Carnival in Rome
byAleksandr-Petrovic Mjasoedo, 1839 

Symphonic Poem, Op 45

Conductor: Bernstein

GENERAL MUSIC

PERIODS 1 and 2:

01.  VIOLIN LEFT PIZZICATO

........a.  REVIEW LEFT PIZZICATO EXERCISES WITH EACH FINGER TO ESTABLISH THE PROPER                ANGLE OF THE VIOLIN and THE LEFT ARM UNDER THE VIOLIN

..............1)  FORMED A BACKWARDS "C" AT THE CURVE OF THE NECK

..............2)  PLACED PAD OF THE 1ST FINGER DOWN WITH A "SPRING" ACTION 4X ON EACH                            STRING THEN DID THE SAME WITH ALL THE OTHER FINGERS

..............3)  REPEATED THE ABOVE ACTION EXCEPT ADDED PULLING THE STRING TO THE                              RIGHT CREATING THE LEFT PIZZICATO (PLUCKING ACTION)

02.   VIOLIN LEFT PIZZICATO ON OPEN STRING SONGS
.........a.  CRIPPLE CREEK
...............1)  REVIEWED NAMES OF OPEN STRINGS WHICH HAVE BEEN COLORIZED 
                     GREEN: E/YELLOW: A/RED: D/BLUE:G
...............2)  SANG NOTE NAMES AS THE ACCOMPANIMENT WAS PLAYED
...............3)  SANG NOTE NAMES AS THE ACCOMPANIMENT WAS PLAYED and PLUCKED THE                             CORRESPONDING STRINGS AT THE SAME TIME WITH LEFT PIZZICATO 
.........b.  BATMAN
...............1)  PLAYED BATMAN IN VARIOUS KEYS USING THE SAME DIRECTIONS AS ABOVE

PERIOD 3:

01. VIOLIN PARTS/DEMONSTRATION COMPLETED FROM YESTERDAY

.......a.  REVIEWED THE NAMES OF THE PARTS OF THE INSTRUMENT

.......b.  SHORT QUIZ ON THE NAMES OF THE PARTS
.......c.  NAMES OF OPEN STRINGS REVIEWED
.......d.  DISCUSSED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SHOULDER REST IN HOLDING THE VIOLIN
............1)  EVERYONE GOT TO TRY HOLDING THE VIOLIN WITH A SHOULDER REST ON

ADV. STRINGS

01.  ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL

........a.  WORKED ON THE 2 FASTEST SECTIONS TO GET THE PASSAGES UP TO SPEED

02.  WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL
03.  HOUDINI

BEG. STRINGS 
01.  WARM-UP 
........a.  OPEN STRING ONE OCTAVE SCALES SLURRING 2 NOTES ON EACH WHOLE BOW
02.  SONG:  TWINKLE (BY MEMORY)
........a.   PLAYED ON STRINGS D and A (BOW UH) and G and D (BOW LH)
03.  SONG: ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL
04. SOMEONE I USED TO KNOW

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

QUOTE:

“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly 

  than ever before.”

AUTHOR: Leonard Bernstein

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:

"When you are angry its not the answer. Get your emotions out with your 

  music instead.”

COMPOSER

CHOPIN

Chopin Waltz, Op. 64, No. 1 D-Flat
"Minute"
Played by Rachmaninoff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHqfnoWUmLs&feature=related

Chopin "Minute Waltz"
Played in One Minute

Victor Borge and Leonid Hambro 

Play "The Minute Waltz"

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

THE "MINUTE WALTZ" WITH WORDS ADDED

CHECK OUT THIS ROCK and ROLL VERSION:

http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/DP/2007/02/053_06_Valjean_-_The_Minute_Mash.mp3

WALTZ: 
The waltz is a salon dance that originated from folk country-type dance forms.  It evolved into an eloquent and aristocratic dance and became an important entertainment of royals and nobles at the beginning of the 19th Century

GENERAL MUSIC
01.  MUSICAL ALPHABET GRAPHING SHEETS
02.  MEMORIZING THE MUSICAL ALPHABET FORWARD AND BACKWARDS  REVIEW
03.  RECORDER 
.......a.  WARM-UP (ECHO TECHNIQUE)
............1)  WORK ON NOTES USING FINGERINGS T1, T12, T123 IN CONSECUTIVE ORDER 
........b. PLAY SONGS USING NOTES WITH FINGER NUMBERS
            1)  UN BERGERE
                  a)  SONG USING QUARTERS and T1 FINGERING
            2)  KOOKABURRA
                  a)  SONG USING QUARTERS, EIGHTHS and  T1 FINGERING
            3)  ALLEY ALLEY O
                  a)  SONG USING QUARTERS, EIGHTHS and  T1 and T12 FINGERING
            4)  LUCERNE TO WEGGIS
                  a)  SONG USING QUARTERS, EIGHTHS and  T1 and T12 FINGERING

ADV. STRINGS
01.  FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
.......a.  DEMONSTRATION FOR THE CLASS
.......b.  GO OVER THE DIRECTIONS
.......c.  SIGHT READ
.......d.  GO OVER THE PASSAGES and DETERMINE WHICH SECTIONS ARE REPEATED
.......e.  REPLAY AGAIN

BEG. STRINGS
01.  LEFT HAND PIZZICATO: CYCLE OF STRINGS EXERCISE USING THE FINGER THAT IS THE MOST 
       DIFFICULT (FOR MOST THIS WILL BE THE 4TH FINGER) PLUCKING EACH STRING 4X IN THE                  CYCLE
02.  LEFT HAND PIZZICATO SONG:  BATMAN
.......a.  STUDENTS TO SING THE NOTE LETTERS AS THEY PLUCK THEM
.......b.  DIFFERENT FINGERS ARE USED TO PIZZICATO DIFFERENT SECTIONS
03.  RIGHT HAND PIZZICATO (WITHOUT HOLDING THE BOW)
.......a.  INSTRUCTION ON 2 TYPES OF RIGHT PIZZICATO
............1)  TRADITIONAL
..................a)  PLUCKING (OVER THE FINGERBOARD) WITH THE RIGHT POINTER FINGER and THE                                  RIGHT THUMB ANCHORED TO THE SIDE OF THE FINGERBOARD 
..................b)  THIS IS A MORE PRACTICAL PIZZICATO TO USE
............2)  NON-TRADITIONAL
..................a)  PLUCKING (OVER THE FINGERBOARD) WITH THE RIGHT THUMB and THE OTHER RIGHT                         FINGERS ANCHORED TO THE SIDE OF THE FINGERBOARD 
..................b)  THIS TECHNIQUE PRODUCES A FULLER, RICHER SOUND
..................c)  THE HAND POSITION USED IN THIS TYPE OF PIZZICATO IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF                                         PLUCKING A GUITAR and FOR INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES IS A GOOD LEAD IN TO                                       STARTING TO PUT  FINGERS DOWN ON THE FINGERBOARD TO PLAY SONGS IN "GUITAR                         POSITION"
..................d)  THE RIGHT ARM POSITION WHICH RESULTS FROM USING THIS TYPE OF RIGHT                                           PIZZICATO IS A
                        GOOD LEAD IN TO PREPARATION OF THE RIGHT ARM AND HAND FOR USING THE BOW
.......b.  STUDENTS REPLAY "BATMAN" AGAIN THIS TIME USING THE RIGHT HAND "NON-                                      TRADITIONAL" PIZZICATO

WHAT WE DID TODAY: MONDAY; JANUARY 10, 2011

GENERAL MUSIC PERIODS 2,3,6
OBJECTIVE: Violin Left Pizzicato/Open String Note Reading
1. NO QUOTE instead: Finished Composer Report on Tchaikovsky
.....a. Completed the last 3 sections of the report and turned in
2. VIOLIN LEFT PIZZICATO
.....a. Reviewed left hand pizzicato (Italian word for "plucking") and how using this technique will help in the set-up of the 
         left arm position for the violin hold and also the angle at which the violin is played.
.....b. Procedure
..........1)Left thumb placed at curve of the neck forming a backwards "C"
..........2)Left 1st finger pad touches each open string by feel (try not to use the eyes)
..........3)Then, left 1st finger pad silently performs a "spring-like" action 4x up and down on each open string
..........4)Adding to the last step, the left 1st finger pad pushes down onto the string and then pulls the string out to perform                     the pizzicato
..........5)Before restarting the next pizzicato the finger pad briefly feels the string before pushing down and pulling the string 
             again
.....c. Students performed the left hand pizzicato on each string, plucking 4x using:
..........1)1st finger (pointer)
..........2)2nd finger (middle)
..........3)3rd finger (ring)
..........4)4th finger (pinky)
3. OPEN STRING LEFT HAND PIZZICATO SONGS and OPEN STRING NOTE READING
.....a. Procedure
...........1)Examine the song chart with the open string notes on them
...........2)There are colors given (one for each open string note)
...........3)Comparing the visual image to what we know about the violin strings, find:
..............a)The highest note on the chart and use that image to determine which violin string it represents (highest note 
                  represents the highest string, the lowest note represents the lowest string, etc.
..............b)Using the same process identify all 4 notes with the strings they represent
...........4)Note reading was reviewed then students asked to say the note names as they were pointed to
...........5)Added to the above direction student were to say the note names as they plucked (left hand pizzicato) the                                    appropriate matching string
...........6)This step was redone adding music
.....b. Song we played
1)"BATMAN"
THIS LESSON IS TO CONTINUE TOMORROW

BEGINNING VIOLIN PERIOD 5
OBJECTIVE: Note reading the song "TWINKLE"/Connecting the violin to the keyboard
1. Took out the completed "Twinkle" worksheets and went to the keyboards to play the song by reading the notes
2. I checked the students separately for understanding; this took the whole class period

ADVANCED VIOLIN PERIOD 4:
OBJECTIVE: SUBDIVISION RHYTHM READING
1. TUNE
2. "A Year Without Rain"
.....a. Everyone counted and clapped to the difficult sycopated rhythms using the process of subdivision of the beat. (This is 
         difficult and is going to take some more rehearsal time to perfect.)
.....b. Everyone reviewed harmony parts
.....c. We started to work on the melody parts (a small section at a time)
3. BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS
....a. Entire group played song with both harmony and melody parts