Thursday, September 20, 2012

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

QUOTE:
“No man is complete without a feeling for music and an understanding of what it can do for him.”
AUTHOR: Zoltan Kodaly
MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“Complete fulfillment in life is not possible unless you have some
  music appreciation.”





COMPOSER
CHOPIN

Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 21
F minor III Allegro Vivace 
Performed by Arthur Rubinstein 


GENERAL MUSIC
01.  MUSICAL ALPHABET GRAPHING SHEETS and WORD LISTS TO COMPLETE IF NOT FINISHED
02.  FOR PERIOD 3:  PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT REVIEW SHEET
03.  KEYBOARD RULES and PROCEDURES
04.  PERIOD 1, 2: LOCATING NOTE "D" ON THE KEYBOARD (TO BE STARTED PERIOD 3 NEXT WEEK)
05.  PERIOD 1, 2: USING NOTE "D" and THE MUSICAL ALPHABET TO LOCATE ALL THE OTHER KEYS             ON  THE (KEYBOARD TO BE STARTED PERIOD 3 NEXT WEEK)
06.  PERIOD 1, 2: LOCATING NOTES B A G ON THE KEYBOARD TO PLAY "MARY HAD A LITTLE                        LAMB" and  HOT CROSS BUNS" (TO BE STARTED PERIOD 3 NEXT WEEK)
 KEYBOARD ASSIGNMENT TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK  

ADV. STRINGS
01.  SHALOM CHAVERIM
........a.  FORM OF THE PIECE IS A "ROUND"
........b.  REVIEW RHYTHM 
.............1)  RULE OF THE DOT WHEN ADDED TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF A NOTE:
..................."A DOTE TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF  NOTE IS ALWAYS HALF THE VALUE OF THE NOTE IT SITS                           ON"
.............2)  DOTTED HALF NOTES WORTH 3 BEATS
.........c.  GO OVER FINGERING
.........d.   PLAY WITHOUT ACCOMPANIMENT
.........e.   SIGHT READ WITH ACCOMPANIMENT
02. BURGUNDIAN CAROL
03.  GESU BAMBINO
........a.   CELLO and GUITAR HARMONY PARTS PRACTICED 
........b.   VIOLINS ADDED TO HARMONY

BEG. STRINGS
01.  MARKING BOWS WITH TAPE FOR EACH STUDENT AT THE MIDDLE (SQUARE) and TIP                                (TRAPEZOID)
........a.  BOW STICK PLACED ON VIOLIN WITH FULL HAIR ON THE STRING and STICK AWAY FROM                      THE NOSE
.............1)  ARROWS MARKED ON EACH PLAYERS  MIDDLE BOW TAPE TO SHOW THE DIRECTION THE                     BOW STICK NEEDS TO BE PLACED
02.  BOW ON VIOLIN
........a.  BOW PLACED AT MIDDLE (SQUARE) IN BETWEEN BRIDGE and FINGERBOARD 
             (FULL HAIR; STICK AWAY FROM THE NOSE)
.........b.  BOW LEVELS
..............1)  AT EACH LEVEL (STARTING ON "G" STRING) SILENTLY "SPRING" THE BOW 4X
..............2)  BOW ROCKING ON EACH STRING (SEE-SAW MOVEMENT)
....................a.  KEEP BOW DEPRESSED ONTO THE STRING TO KEEP BOW FROM WIGGLING
..........c.  DOWN and UP BOW FULL MOVEMENTS AT THE UPPER HALF (UH) OF THE BOW 4X TO 8X                         EACH
               STRING
...............1)  MOVE THE BOW FROM MIDDLE TO TIP IN ONE CONTINUOUS MOTION
...............2)  START EACH SOUND (DOWN and UP) WITH A SPRING-ARTICULATION SOUND
...............3)  BOW and ARM MOVE TO EACH BOW LEVEL THEN THE ARM FREEZES AND ELBOW MOVES 
                     THE UP and DOWN (ELBOW MUSCLE IS PRIMARILY USED WHEN MOVING THE UH OF THE
                     BOW)

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

QUOTE:
“Do not take up music unless you would rather die than not do so.”
AUTHOR: Nadia Boulanger
MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“A true musician must be willing to give up everything for his art"









COMPOSER
CHOPIN


Prelude Op.28 No.15 
Played by Horowitz

GENERAL MUSIC
01.  MUSICAL ALPHABET GRAPHING SHEETS and WORD LISTS TO COMPLETE IF NOT FINISHED
02.  FOR PERIODS 1 and 2:  PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT REVIEW SHEET
02.  ALLEY CAT PERCUSSION ORCHESTRATION and PERFORMANCE
........a.  REVIEW INSTRUMENT NAMES
..............1)  GO OVER  and REVIEW (AS NEEDED) HOW TO ORCHESTRATE PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
..............2)  ASSIGN COLORS ON THE CHARTS TO DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS
..............3)  STUDENTS COUNT OUT LOUD and PLAY THE INSTRUMENTS ASSIGNED THAT MATCH THE                        COLORS
..............4)  STUDENTS PERFORM TO THE RECORDING
..............5)  AFTER COMPLETION STUDENTS SWITCH INSTRUMENTS TO TRY ANOTHER

ADV. STRINGS
01.  FROSTY
........a.  WORK ON THE ENDING SO THE ENTIRE GROUP PLAYS WITH ALL BOWS TOGETHER
........b.   READ THROUGH THE ENTIRE PIECE
01. NO HOLLY FOR MISS QUINN
........a.   CELLO 
01.  GESU BAMBINO

BEG. STRINGS
01.  SPRING OF BOW 
........a.  THE LEFT ARM REPRESENTS THE VIOLIN and THE RIGHT ARM IS HIGH AND APPLIES                                DOWNWARD  PRESSURE THROUGH THE POINTER INDEX FINGER TO CREATE A SPRING ON TO              THAT LEFT ARM
.........b.  USING BOW REPEAT THE ABOVE SPRING ACTION ON THE SHOULDER AT DIFFERENT BOW                     LEVELS
02.   DOWN (PULL) and UP (PUSH)  BOWING ON THE SHOULDER U. H. (UPPER HALF) OF THE BOW                     (MIDDLE to TIP or SQUARE to TRAPEZOID ON EACH BOW LEVEL
03.    ROSINING THE BOW AFTER TIGHTENING IT
..........a.  EXPLANATION OF WHAT ROSIN IS
..........b.  HOW TO APPLY
04.   PLACING THE BOW ON THE STRING AT THE SQUARE or MIDDLE SO AS TO MARK THE BOWS 
         (TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

QUOTE:
“There is no top. There are always further heights to reach.”
AUTHOR: Jascha Heifetz
MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“There is always a way to improve yourself.”











COMPOSER
CHOPIN

Etude Op. 10 No. 3
Played by Pollini


GENERAL MUSIC
01.  MUSICAL ALPHABET GRAPHING SHEETS and WORD LISTS TO COMPLETE
02.  RECORDERS
........a.  EAR TRAINING/WARM-UP 
..............1)  NOTES USING FINGERINGS:  1 (T1) alone/ 1 (T1) and 2 (T12)/ 1 (T1),  2 (T12), 3 (T123) IN                                        CONSECUTIVE ORDER (BY STEP-WISE MOTION)
..............2)  REPEAT THE EXERCISES OF ABOVE PLUS ADDING A SKIP USING THE FINGERINGS: 1 (T1)                        TO 3 (T123)
....................a)  SILENT PRACTICE OF THE SKIP TO TRAIN FINGER MUSCLE MOVEMENT                                                        COORDINATION
...............3)  LISTENING FOR SOUNDS:  HIGH-LOW/ HIGH-LOW-MIDDLE IN DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS                     OF STEPS and SKIPS
........b.   RECORDER SONGS USING FINGERINGS 1 (T1 and T2)
...............1)  SHORT EXPLANATION OF TERMS:
....................a)  STAFF
....................b)  SPACE NOTE
....................c)  LINE NOTE
....................d)  STEP-WISE MOTION
................2)  SHORT EXPLANATION OF HOW THE MUSICAL ALPHABET CAN BE USED IN NOTE                                        READING  IN STEP-WISE MOTION
.................3)  REVIEW SONG:  ALLEY-ALLEY O
.................4)  REVIEW SONG:  LUCERNE TO WEGGIS

ADV. STRINGS
01.  ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL
........a.  TOOK THE 2 HARDEST (FAST) PASSAGES AND AMENDED THEM IN ORDER TO PLAY THE SONG               AT  PERFORMANCE SPEED WITH CONTINUITY UNTIL ALL THE NOTES IN THE PASSAGES ARE               LEARNED TO BE PLAYED UN-AMENDED AT PERFORMANCE SPEED (THIS IS A PRACTICE                           TECHNIQUE)
..............1)  THE UN-AMENDED PASSAGES NEED TO BE PRACTICED VERY SLOWLY AND THEN  PLAYED                     A LITTLE FASTER EACH TIME UNTIL THE PROPER SPEED IS ATTAINED
....................a)  PRACTICING TO GET PASSAGES UP TO SPEED CAN TAKE AWHILE TO LEARN SO WHILE
                         PRACTICING THE PIECE WITH THE GOAL OF CONTINUITY (PLAYING FROM BEGINNING                          TO END WITHOUT STOPPING) THE AMENDED PASSAGES CAN BE USED
........b.  WORKED ON THE NEXT 2 PASSAGES FOLLOWING THESE 2 PASSAGES  and PUT THEM                                TOGETHER
........c.  PLAYED THE ENTIRE PIECE FOR CONTINUITY
02.  FROSTY
.......a.  PLAYED THROUGH THE ENTIRE PIECE
.......b.  WORKED ON MUSICAL ROAD MAP DIRECTIONS LIKE WHERE TO REPEAT, ETC. 

BEG. STRINGS
01.  REVIEWED THE CONCEPT OF NOTE READING OPEN STRINGS
........a.  IDENTIFIED NAMES OF OPEN STRINGS ON TO SHEET MUSIC GIVEN OUT USING COLORS                           TO THESE SONGS WE HAVE PLAYED IN CLASS:
.............1)  CRIPPLE CREEK
.............2)  BATMAN
02.   RECEIVED REPLACEMENT BOWS TODAY AND GAVE THEM TO STUDENTS WHO NEEDED THEM

Monday, September 17, 2012

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

QUOTE:
“I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.”
AUTHOR: John Cage
MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“To continue to grow as a human being you must be open to try 
  new ideas otherwise you stagnate.”










COMPOSER

CHOPIN

Waltz No.1 in E-flat major 
(Grande Valse Brillante) 
Op.18, No.1
Performed by LEONARD PENNARIO 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KusVQYcGVwM&playnext=1&list=PL02E4F94F47C60E6C&feature=results_main


SUBSTITUTE TODAY
GENERAL MUSIC
01.  WATCHING A VIDEO ON PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS AND TAKING DOWN IMPORTANT NOTES
........a.  FOLLOWING UP ON THE NOTES STUDENTS CAN VIEW  THIS LINK FROM MY SITE: 

ADV. STRINGS
01.  WATCHING A VIDEO ON NOTE READING FOR REVIEW AND TAKING DOWN IMPORTANT NOTES              AND  POSSIBLY CREATING A LIST OF TERMS

BEG. STRINGS
01.  WATCHING PART OF A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT A VIOLIN TEACHER CALLED "SMALL WONDERS"          (THIS DOCUMENTARY WAS MADE INTO THE MOVIE "MUSIC OF THE HEART")
.........a.  STUDENTS ARE TO TAKE NOTES 
.........b.  FOLLOWING UP ON THE NOTES STUDENTS CAN VIEW THIS LINK FROM MY SITE:






Saturday, September 15, 2012

MOZART MIRROR DUET: MORE EXAMPLES

http://www.kitchenmusician.net/pages/kmmusicalpha.html

THIS IS AN ADDITION TO MY FIRST POST ON 
(A TYPE OF MUSICAL PALINDROME)

WHAT IS A MUSICAL PALINDROME?

In language arts, a palindrome (originally from the Greek palindromos for "running back again") is defined as a word or group of words that when read, either forward or backward, horizontal or vertical, stays the same (example:"Madam I'm Adam").  This idea, incorporated into music generally refers to a composition whereby a melody played backwards can also be played forward. In the "Mirror Duet" piece they are played at the same time (duet format) creating mixtures of tones that work together harmonically; in other words, the harmony or second part plays the same notes as the first part upside down. Not only do the harmonic combinations of sounds work together beautifully in this duet but why they work together so well can also be proven mathematically. That is the genius of this composition.

Many composers have experimented with the palindrome form in their compositions most notably (in classical music) Bach in his "crab canon"(a canon in which one line of the melody is reversed in time and pitch from the other) and Haydn in his "Symphony No. 47 in G" ("The Palindrome") where in the minuet and trio section the orchestra plays the music twice forwards and twice backwards to arrive at the beginning. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palindrome
http://www.westfield.ma.edu/math/prime/concrete.ideas/palindrome_paper.pdf
http://richardatkinsononmusic.blogspot.com/2010/07/haydns-musical-palindrome.html
http://musiced.about.com/od/faqs/f/palindromes.htm
http://blog.kenperlin.com/?p=5290
http://www.grammar.net/palindromes
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060911081828AAWYUN5
http://www.enotes.com/literary-terms/palindrome
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/P/palindrome.html
http://michaelb.org/palindrome/

Mozart The Mirror Duet
(Der Spiegel - Table Top Duet)



Mozart Der Spiegel 
(The Mirror) (El Espejo) Violin Duet 

THIS IS THE MIRROR DUET ARRANGED FOR 2 CELLOS

Mozart Table Music
Orquestra Suzuki (Mokiti Okada)





Mozart Table Music Violin Duet Classical 

Jam Cyrus Beroukhim & Jennifer Choi, Violins



http://forum.makemusic.com/attach.aspx/18720/DerSpiegelP.pdf 





Mozart Der Spiegel (The Mirror) Duet 

Violin & Bassoon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE4gWIHlwUM


Palindrome - marimba duet

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



WRITE A MIRROR DUET LIKE MOZART?


Compose a Musical Palindrome--you CAN do it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1soXb5beHE&feature=related



Original work in the style of Mozart's "Der Spiegel"


more links
links from the first post

Friday, September 14, 2012

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

Chopin "Minute Waltz"
Played in One Minute

Play "The Minute Waltz"

THE "MINUTE WALTZ" WITH WORDS ADDED
CHECK OUT THIS ROCK and ROLL VERSION:

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