Spring semester - January 24th, 2010

Dear students & parents,

It is very important to take your orchestra music to your private teacher. To use your lesson time in the most effective manner you should have the difficult sections marked so that your teacher can target the problems.
Remember that I want you to be working on all of the pieces now, so that when we come to rehearse them you already have some familiarity with the material.

Rehearsal/Homework - Sinfonietta

Notereading class 3-3.30pm:
-This is a "come when you want to" class & you do not have to attend weekly.
-It was a great turnout with Niajea, Jack, Carlos & Rita in attendance.

I handed out Suite for Strings by Edmund Siennicki. This Suite has 3 movements & we may do some or all of it depending upon how quickly it comes together.

Air & Caprice:
-there was already improvement on the counting of the rests.
-Vln 2-please take m4 to your teacher to correct the notes, rhythm & bowings.
-everyone should practice counting & clapping m55-59 with the metronome.
-please review m75-end for the rest & the very slow bow in the upper strings.

Fancy Fiddles:
-one of the main issues in this piece are the rests, especially when they occur on beat 1. Clapping & counting is the key to mastering this.
-everyone must work on m21-28 using all of our practice tools.
-Vln 2 & Vla should prepare for a quiz on m37-44 at next week's rehearsal.

Suite:
-please begin the Aria. If everyone uses our practice skills on this - clapping & counting, say note names, say fingerings, bow in the air - then next week's playing of this piece will go smoothly.

Music Theory:
-you need to practice the rhythm sheet #15. Clap & count aloud.

I was impressed with the examples that you had thought of for the elements in the acronym for PRACTICE. Keep thinking about how each element works in your own practice.

Rehearsal/Homework - Sinfonia

7 REHEARSALS LEFT BEFORE THE CONCERT!

Lovers' Waltz:
-there is some improvement in the rhythm counting & playing. Until it is so ingrained that you can count it in your sleep, you need to KEEP practicing clapping & counting the rhythms.
-Vln 1-you have the greatest difficulty regarding the rhythm. Please do not make us spend valuable rehearsal time on rhythm work that you can do at home.
-Vln 1-prepare m41-48 for a quiz next week. Do ALL of the practice elements on this section.

Ave Verum:
-Great work! This is coming together very well. The pitch of the chromatic sections is key so please practice at home with your tuner & check that every note is in tune.
-Vln 1-please take m45 to your teacher to get help on doing a shift to 3rd position, as this will make the trill sound better.

Skywalker Scenes:
-Just as we did in the rehearsal, you need to get your metronome & start at a slow speed that you can play this perfectly at & then increase the tempo on the metronome so that you can play this faster.

Music theory:
Good job on the memorizing of the order of sharps. This week please memorize the order of flats.
For the rhythm sheet #43, please write in the counting & then practice it alot. This will help the Lovers' Waltz.

Well done! It is clear that you are all working hard & I am pleased.
Have a great week,
Louise :)

Spring semester - January 17th, 2010

Dear students& parents,

So we are at the start of a new semester & it is note learning time. The easiest way to thoroughly learn your part is to do the following:

Take a small section of a piece & do the following:
-clap/count rhythm (with & without metronome)
-practice bowings in air
-say note names
-say fingerings
-play each note very slowly with the tuner
Remember that you are going to do all of these things on one small section at a time. When you have progressed on that small section, then you move to the next small section.
It is also important to focus on the highlighted parts of your music because that is where your section has a problem. It won't be fixed until everyone practices it.

Rehearsal/Homework - Sinfonietta

Notereading class 3-3.30pm:
-This is a "come when you want to" class & you do not have to attend weekly.
-You can practice these skills online @ the links on this page.

So far we are dealing with two relatively easy pieces. That means that if you all practice your music we can move onto some harder pieces.
Both of your pieces require the following:
-clap & count all of the piece
-take your music to your teacher
-focus on the highlighted sections
You also need to review the sheet which has an acronym for PRACTICE. There will be a quiz.

Rehearsal/Homework - Sinfonia

8 REHEARSALS BEFORE THE CONCERT!

Lovers' Waltz:
-This is by far our hardest piece for the March concert. It is full of rhythmic complexity which means that your practice should consist of LOTS of clapping & counting, & yes I do mean clap with your hands hitting each other & count aloud. You must take this to your teacher for help with your highlighted sections & the rhythm.

Ave Verum:
-I am very pleased with how quickly you are picking this up. The biggest overall issue is the intonation of the chromatic sections (where there are lots of accidentals) & the only way to work on it at home is to practice small sections slowly with a tuner.

Skywalker Scenes:
-You are doing a good job on this already, so now we begin to start increasing the tempo using the metronome. I suggest that you start by figuring out what speed you are doing it at now-play some, feel the pulse & then find that speed on your metronome.

Music theory:
By our next rehearsal you will all have memorized the order of sharps!

We are off to a fabulous start everybody! Keep it up!
That's all folks,
Louise :)