Miss Jacobson's Music

Monday, January 14, 2013

MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2013

QUOTE:
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything."
AUTHOR: Plato

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“Music can highlight everything you do in life.”

COMPOSER
TCHAIKOVSKY

WAR of 1812

http://www.taringa.net/posts/info/7991618/1812-Tchaikovsky-y-su-monumental-Obertura.html

The French Invasion of Russia

1812 Overture

Version for Orchestra, Choir, Organ, War Canons, and Bells

Conductor: Ormandy

Napoleon's withdrawal from Russia
Painting by Adolph Northen

1812 Overture

(another version)

http://www.lpomusic.com/files/April%2022%201812%20overture.pdf

GENERAL MUSIC
PERIODS 1 and 2:

01. VIOLIN PROCEDURES
........a. CHECKED OUT INSTRUMENTS
........b. REVIEWED PROCEDURES OF GETTING INSTRUMENTS OUT and PUTTING THEM BACK
02. VIOLIN SHOULDER RESTS and LEFT HOLD
........a. LEARNED TO PUT ON SHOULDER RESTS and HOLD VIOLIN AT JAW WITHOUT HANDS
03. FOLLOWING THE CONDUCTOR
........a. LEARNED WHERE TO PLACE VIOLIN BEFORE PLAYING and HOW TO PREPARE FOR PLAYING

PERIOD 3:
01. VIOLIN PARTS/DEMONSTRATION
.......a. LOOKED OVER THE PARTS OF THE VIOLIN
.......b. DISCUSSED CARE and MAINTENANCE

ADV. STRINGS
01. ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL
........a. WORKED ON THE 2 FASTEST SECTIONS TO GET THE PASSAGES UP TO SPEED
02. STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

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: STARTED ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL (HARMONY)
........a. DISCUSSED/REVIEWED EIGHTH NOTES
..............1) LOOKED OVER THE COUNTING IN THE PIECE
........b. REVIEWED THE CONCEPT OF PERFECT FIFTHS WHERE THE SAME FINGER FINGERS TWO NOTES ON CONSECUTIVE STRINGS AT THE SAME TIME
........c. REVIEWED LEFT HAND PIZZICATO and ITS SYMBOL "+"
........d. SIGHT READ THROUGH THE PIECE WITH TEACHER TRACKING HELP
04. SONG: SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW MELODY

Friday, January 11, 2013

SOLFEGE

Curwen Hand Signals

Whacky Do-Re-Mi

Solfege Explained

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2013

QUOTE:
"The artist's job is to be a witness to his time in history."

AUTHOR: Robert Rauschenberg

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“An artists creates art as a response to what he/she experiences during

the course of a lifetime.”

COMPOSER
TCHAIKOVSKY

Eugene Onegin

Eugene Onegin Waltz

"Eugene Onegin" by illustrator Elena Samokish-Sudkovskaya

Eugene Onegin

Lyric Scenes in 3 Acts After Alexander Pushkin

Conductor: Solti

The Duel between Onegin and Lensky (1901) by Ilya Repin

A movie was made of the original story
(written by the author Russian author Alexander Pushkin):

The story Eugene Onegin tells of Larina, a widow, who lives in the country with her two daughters Olga and Tatiana. Olga is more cheerful and outgoing than her younger sister, who spends her time reading romantic novels. Olga is engaged to a young landowner named Lensky. One day Lensky brings a friend from the city to visit Larina and her daughters. His name is Eugene Onegin, a man who is cynical, unemotional and bored by life. Tatiana doesn't realize this and falls passionately in love with him almost the moment she sees him. She writes a letter to tell him but Eugene does not reciprocate and tells her not to be so ridiculous. Tatiana is heartbroken. (http://busraakgonul.blogspot.com/2010/03/story-of-eugene-onegin.html)

“It is a story of this girl’s awakening to love for the first time and the intensity of those emotions to a young girl,”

www.uj.ac.za/EN/Library/Documents/Eugene%20Onegin.doc

View a study guide: http://www.pov.bc.ca/pdfs/onegin_study_guide.pdf

Study for "Eugene Onegin" by Sergey Sudeikin
http://allpainters.ru/sudejkin-sergej/20779-study-for-eugene-onegin-sergej-sudejkin.html

GENERAL MUSIC
01. MUSICAL: MY FAIR LADY

.......a. INTRODUCTION TO THE MUSICAL

............1) LERNER and LOEWE (SONG WRITING TEAM)

............2) BASED ON A FAMOUS PLAY "PYGMALION" BY GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

............3) SHAW BASED THIS PLAY ON AN OLD GREEK MYTH (SEE:
http://missjacobsonsmusic.blogspot.com/2010/01/story-of-pygmalion-and-galatea-from.html)
............4) DISCUSSED THE GREEK MYTH and ASSOCIATED IT WITH THE STORY OF THE MUSICAL
............5) WENT OVER THE TIME FRAME and SETTING OF THE STORY

02. STARTED THE BEGINNING OF THE MUSICAL

ADV. STRINGS

01. MY HEART WILL GO ON

02. STARTED: A RIVER FLOWS IN YOU

BEG. STRINGS

01. WARM-UP

........a. OPEN STRING MAJOR SCALES 1 OCTAVE UH and LH OF BOW

..............1) DISCUSSED FINGER PATTERNS and THEIR CONNECTION WITH SCALES

....................a) 4 BASIC FINGER PATTERNS BASED ON SOLFEGE OF A MAJOR SCALE: FINGERS TOUCH

WHERE EVER THE SOLFEGE IS ON MI-FA or TI-DO
(http://missjacobsonsmusic.blogspot.com/2013/01/violin-finger-patterns.html)

02. SONG: TWINKLE (BY ROTE)

........a. PLAYED ON STRINGS D and A (BOW UH) and G and D (BOW LH)

03. SONG: SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW (MELODY)

........a. SIGHT READ ALL THE THE WAY THROUGH WITH TEACHER TRACKING HELP

.............1) DISCUSSED WAYS OF LEARNING A PIECE OF MUSIC

..................a) PRACTICING FOR AUTOMATIC REFLEX MUSCLE MOVEMENTS

..................b) PRACTICING FOR CONTINUITY

........a. DISCUSSED COUNTING EIGHTH NOTES

..............1) SHOWED EIGHTH NOTE FLAGS and WHEN CONNECTING THE FLAGS THEY BECOME BEAMS

..............2) FELT THE EIGHTH NOTE RHYTHMS BY USING BODY PERCUSSION

Thursday, January 10, 2013

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2013

QUOTE:
"Music expresses that which cannot be said
and on which it is impossible to be silent."

AUTHOR: Victor Hugo

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:

"Feelings can be communicated through music
in a way that words can never express."

COMPOSER

TCHAIKOVSKY

Francesca da Rimini

Symphonic Fantasy After Dante, Op. 32

Paolo and Francesca (1888) -Charles Edward Hallé (1846-1914)

Charles Edward Halle - Paolo and Francesca

Conductor: Fedoseyev

Francesca da Rimini
by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Paolo and Francesca da Rimini

Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatestascene

by Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres

Francesca da Rimini was an Italian noblewoman.
Unhappily married, she fell in love with her brother-in-law.
When her husband learned of the affair, he murdered his wife and brother,
a tragedy recounted in Dante's Inferno.

GENERAL MUSIC
PERIODS 1 and 2:
01. VIOLIN PARTS/DEMONSTRATION
.......a. REVIEWED and QUIZZED PARTS OF THE INSTRUMENT
.......b. DISCUSSED IMPORTANCE OF THE PROPER LEFT VIOLIN HOLD and SHOULDER REST
.......c. STUDENTS TRIED OUT HOLDING THE VIOLIN WITH and WITHOUT THE SHOULDER REST
PERIOD 3:

01. COMPOSER HAYDN DISCUSSION and TIME FRAME OF HIS LIFE (WATCHED HAYDN VIDEOS ON MY BLOG: http://missjacobsonsmusic.blogspot.com/2013/01/haydn-biography-and-information.html)

02. COMPOSER WORKSHEET (50 OPEN BOOK FILL-IN and SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)
........a. STUDENTS TO READ HANDOUT INFORMATION ON THE COMPOSER JOSEPH HAYDN AND FIND THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS ASKED ON THE LAST TWO PAGES (continued)

ADV. STRINGS
01. PARADISE
02. STARTED MY HEART GOES ON

BEG. STRINGS

01. WARM-UP

........a. SHIFTING THE 1ST FINGER (FULL SHIFT MOVING FINGER and THUMB TOGETHER)

.............1) UP: DO-RE-MI (0 1-1)

.............2) DOWN: MI-RE-DO (1-1 0)

...................a) FINGER NEVER LOSES CONTACT WITH THE STRING DURING THE SHIFT

...................b) SHIFT SHOULD BE MADE SLOWLY HEARING ALL THE SOUNDS DURING THE SLIDE PROCESS (A "SLURPY" TYPE SOUND (AS THE SHIFTING SPEED LEARNS TO BE CONTROLLED THE "SLURPY" SOUND WILL NOT BE AS PRONOUNCED and WILL BE ABLE TO BE CONTROLLED AS TO WHAT THE PLAYER MUSICALLY INTENDS)

02. SONG: TWINKLE (BY ROTE)

........a. PLAYED ON STRINGS D and A (BOW UH) and G and D (BOW LH)

03. SONG: PARADISE (HARMONY)

........a. DISCUSSED COUNTING WHOLE/HALF/DOTTED HALF NOTES

..............1) REVIEWED THE "RULE OF THE DOT TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF A NOTE":

"A dot is half the value of the note it sits on."

..............2) REVIEWED TIED NOTES

.........b. REVIEWED NOTE NAMES OF TREBLE and BASS CLEF

.........c. PLAYED THROUGH THE SONG WITH TEACHER TRACKING HELP

04. SONG: SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW (MELODY)

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 09, 2013

QUOTE:
"You are the music while the music lasts."

AUTHOR: T. S. Eliot

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“While listening to music you can escape the realities of life and create

your own universe.”

COMPOSER

TCHAIKOVSKY

http://www.boulderchamberorchestra.org/concerts/201202.html

Serenade for Strings
C Major, Op. 48

Conducted by Fedoseyev

Serenade for Strings

C Major, Op. 48

Recording by London Chamber Orchestra

with Christopher Warren-Green

From the Latin word serenus meaning "serenity, a serenade is a musical composition and/or performance in someone's honor, originally songs of courtship, but evolving later into sophisticated musical works. Serenades of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were more than likely written in a light mood and usually for an evening's entertainment.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Serenade

GENERAL MUSIC
PERIODS 1 and 2:
01. VIOLIN PARTS/DEMONSTRATION
.......a. EXPLAINED PARTS OF THE INSTRUMENT
.......b. SHOWED and PASSED AROUND THE PARTS OF THE INSTRUMENT FROM A BROKEN VIOLIN
.......c. DISCUSSED CARE and MAINTENANCE
PERIOD 3:
01. COMPOSER HAYDN DISCUSSION and TIME FRAME OF HIS LIFE
02. COMPOSER WORKSHEET (50 OPEN BOOK FILL-IN and SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)
........a. STUDENTS TO READ HANDOUT INFORMATION ON THE COMPOSER JOSEPH HAYDN AND FIND THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS ASKED ON THE LAST TWO PAGES

ADV. STRINGS
01. ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL
........a. DOUBLE-STOP PASSAGE CONCENTRATION
02. SOMEONE I USED TO KNOW

BEG. STRINGS
01. WARM-UP
........a. SHIFTING THE 1ST FINGER (FULL SHIFT MOVING FINGER and THUMB TOGETHER)
.............1) UP: DO-RE-MI (0 1-1)
.............2) DOWN: MI-RE-DO (1-1 0)
...................a) FINGER NEVER LOSES CONTACT WITH THE STRING DURING THE SHIFT
...................b) SHIFT SHOULD BE MADE SLOWLY HEARING ALL THE SOUNDS DURING THE SLIDE PROCESS (A "SLURPY" TYPE SOUND (AS THE SHIFTING SPEED LEARNS TO BE CONTROLLED THE "SLURPY" SOUND WILL NOT BE AS PRONOUNCED and WILL BE ABLE TO BE CONTROLLED AS TO WHAT THE PLAYER MUSICALLY INTENDS)
02. SONG: TWINKLE (BY ROTE)
........a. REVIEWED FINGERING
........b. DISCUSSED THE MUSICAL FORM OF THE PHRASES (ABCCAB)
........c. MEMORIZED THE SONG BY LEARNING EACH SECTION and GROUPING THEM TOGETHER
03. SONG: SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW
........a. STARTED TO LOOK AT THE VIOLIN I PART (WITH TEACHER DEMONSTRATION)

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

TUESDAY, JANUARY 08, 2013

QUOTE:
"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except the best."

AUTHOR: Henry Van Dyke

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
“A person does not have to be a professional musician in order to

experience the joys of making music.”

COMPOSER

TCHAIKOVSKY

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35

Performed by David Oistrakh

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35

Performed by Jascha Heifetz, 1937

Violinist Itzhak Perlman talks about this concerto

Violinist Itzhak Perlman (Allegro Moderato part I)

Violinist Itzhak Perlman (Allegro Moderato part II)

GENERAL MUSIC
PERIODS 1 and 2:
01. THEORY
.......a. COLLECTED TREBLE CLEF THEORY FOR GRADING
02. VIOLIN PLAYING OVERVIEW
.......a. DIFFICULTY IN PLAYING A VIOLIN
............1) DIFFERENT MOVEMENTS USED IN RIGHT and LEFT HANDS and ARMS
............2) RIGHT and LEFT TECHNIQUES EACH TOTALLY PLANNED OUT AHEAD OF TIME
a) RIGHT: ALL BOWINGS PLANNED IN ADVANCE
1) UP and DOWN
2) HOW MUCH BOW IS USED AT ANY GIVEN TIME
3) WHAT BOW SPEEDS ARE USED AT CERTAIN PASSAGES
4) BOW PLACEMENT FOR EACH NOTE
5) WHAT PART OF THE BOW IS USED
b) LEFT: ALL FINGERINGS ARE PLANNED IN ADVANCE
1) FINGERINGS DETERMINED BY WHOLE and HALF STEPS FOLLOWING THE PATTERNS FORMED BY WHOLE and HALF STEPS ON A KEYBOARD (THE EAR FINE TUNES THE PITCHES)
2) FINGERINGS ARE DETERMINED BY THE PLAYER IN ADVANCE AS TO NEED FOR MUSICALITY IN A PASSAGE (THERE ARE MANY VARIATIONS)
............3) BALANCE
a) IMPORTANCE OF HOLDING THE VIOLIN PARALLEL TO THE FLOOR FOR BOW TO BE BALANCED ON TOP IN ORDER THAT THE FINGERS ON TOP OF THE BOW REMAIN FLEXIBLE AS THEY DO NOT ACTUALLY HOLD (OR SQUEEZE) ON THE BOW
1) HOLDING THE VIOLIN WRONG ON THE LEFT WILL CAUSE TROUBLE WITH THE RIGHT BOW TECHNIQUE
............4) HOLDING THE VIOLIN AT THE JAW WITH EASE PARALLEL TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT USING THE HAND
a) USE OF A SHOULDER REST TO HELP DO THIS (WHEN NEEDED)
......b. OVERVIEW ON HOW A VIOLIN WORKS SOUND PRODUCTION and GENERAL PARTS
(DEMONSTRATIONS TOMORROW)
PERIOD 3:
01. COMPOSER WORKSHEET (50 OPEN BOOK FILL-IN and SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)
........a. STUDENTS TO READ HANDOUT INFORMATION ON THE COMPOSER JOSEPH HAYDN AND FIND THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS ASKED ON THE LAST TWO PAGES
(LESSON TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW)

ADV. STRINGS
01. STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
02. HOUDINI

BEG. STRINGS
01. WARM-UP
........a. OPEN STRING ONE OCTAVE MAJOR SCALES IN THE CYCLE OF STRINGS
VIOLIN FINGER PATTERN: 0 1 23
CELLO FINGER PATTERN: 0 1 3 4
...............1) PLAYED LOWER HALF (LH) BOW
...............2) PLAYED UPPER HALF (UH) BOW
........b. SHIFTING THE 1ST FINGER (FULL SHIFT MOVING FINGER and THUMB TOGETHER)
................1) UP: DO-RE-MI (0 1-1)
................2) DOWN: MI-RE-DO (1-1 0)
......................a) FINGER NEVER LOSES CONTACT WITH THE STRING DURING THE SHIFT
......................b) SHIFT SHOULD BE MADE SLOWLY HEARING ALL THE SOUNDS DURING THE SLIDE PROCESS (A "SLURPY" TYPE SOUND (AS THE SHIFTING SPEED LEARNS TO BE CONTROLLED THE "SLURPY" SOUND WILL NOT BE AS PRONOUNCED and WILL BE ABLE TO BE CONTROLLED AS TO WHAT THE PLAYER MUSICALLY INTENDS)
02. SONG: SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW
........a. SIGHT READ THE VIOLIN 2 PART
(WILL TRY THE MORE ADVANCED PART POSSIBLY TOMORROW)

Monday, January 7, 2013

MONDAY, JANUARY 07, 2013

QUOTE:
"No artist is pleased...there is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a strange, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

AUTHOR: Martha Graham