Week of 2/24Hello 3rd graders! Here's what we're doing this week:
Also, check out this fun online note reading game: NAME THAT NOTE See you soon! 
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Week of 2/4Hi 3rd graders! You are making great progress with your bows! This week, our focus is on our three concert pieces: - French Folk Song (with harmonies) - Twinkle Variations - An Ode to Joy Festival and practicing note reading online. Check out the photos below to see if your bow hold position is correct! Here's what it should look like: VIOLIN/VIOLA: CELLO
Week of 1/28Hello 3rd graders! Today we: - Played some bow games to review our bow holds - Played a D scale in different rhythms (including "pepperoni pizza") - Played "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (new handout) and discussed that a "variation" is where the notes of the song remain the same, with slightly different rhythms. We labeled the changing notes in the song and played it as written - Then, we talked about how we can make our own variations by creating a new rhythmic pattern. Students practiced some of the examples and were asked to come up with their own variation! - Reviewed some of our notes with flash cards - Played through French Folk Song #106, labeling only the first note of each measure if needed. We broke it down and played it section by section before putting the whole thing together - Discussed the different sections of Ode to Joy #86 that repeat, and labeled the new section (m. 9-12). Then, we played the whole thing! Assignment for next week Follow the "Practice Schedule" handed out in class today! (attached via email) Ode to Joy #86, French Folk Song #106, Twinkle Variations, not reading game (below!) VIOLIN VIOLA CELLO BASS The practice schedule was handed out in class and is also attached below. Have a great week!
Week of 1/21Hello 3rd graders! Here's what we're doing in class this week:
Try using the practice schedule to help you divide your time so that you have really reached your goals by next week! Here's a video for inspiration. Week of 1/13Hello 3rd graders! We had a very productive class today! Here is what we did: - Learned the "grown up bow-hold" at the frog (see pictures below). Violins/violas received pinky holders and cello/bass thumb cushions to help form the correct bow hold. - Played some open string echo pattern and a D scale, focusing on using long, smooth bows - Reviewed #34 Natalie's Rose. Plucked then bowed the song. - Reviewed labeling for London Bridge. Then played it as a group - Students had a "Name that Tune" challenge. They were broken up into 4 teams and each team was given a measure of music to write out with their partner. Then, we played all 4 measures of music and challenged students to guess what their new song was... It's "Ode to Joy!" We will perform this at our March 10th String Jamboree Concert with nearly 500 performers!! Practice Assignment: #34 (review and play comfortably with bow) #86 (label and practice at least the first half) London Bridge (review and play comfortable with bow) Violin/Viola Bow Hold Cello/Bass Bow Hold Week of January 6thHappy New Year! Hope you had an amazing break and enjoyed the holidays! We had a great class today, and students are really starting to feel more comfortable with their bows. Keep up the great work!
Here's what we did in class: - Played some open string songs on page 17 - Tried some old concert songs with our bows, including Mary Had a Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Talked about the musical staff and the clef each instrument uses. We will be focusing a lot on learning to read music in the next few weeks! - Students learned some silly sayings to remember the letter names of the lines of the staff: Treble clef (violins) Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge Alto clef (violas) Fat Alley Cats Eat Garbage Bass clef (cello/bass) Grizzly Bears Don't Fly Airplanes - Students practiced writing some notes on the staff with their stand partner - Played #32 in the book with our bows Practice assignments #34-35 in the book. Label and play "London Bridge" Helpful practice tips: - Practice #34 plucking first until comfortable, then add the bow - Use the musical alphabet (letters A-G) to come up with words to spell in #35 and draw them in the correct spot on the staff. Use the colorful sheet students received in class to help draw the notes in the correct spot! Students should also use this sheet as an aid when labeling "London Bridge." Students should label the note names, then pluck, then add the bow. Have a fantastic week! Week of 12/16Wow, what a great concert we had last week! Today, students officially earned their Bow License! We will be using our bows in every class from now on, and students understand that getting a great sound with their bows is going to take hard work (and lots of fun!) practicing at home. Here's what we did today:
- Put our bow tubes on and played the "Rosin Raps" on pg. 13. Try making your own bow tube out of an empty toilet paper or paper towel tube at home and playing along with the fun rap tracks HERE. Students who practice frequently with bow tubes will have a MUCH easier time getting a smooth, beautiful sound with the bow! - Discussed how to move our arms (elbow opens and closes smoothly, the arm is not locked like a "robot") to make long smooth sounds with the bow - Played some echo patterns on open strings with the bow, then played songs on pg. 16-17. - Tried a D scale with the bow playing each note 3 times!! - Gave out bows a break and plucked #26 Caribbean Island!! We made up a fun little dance to go with the background tracks. Some kids danced while the others played then we switched. Download the practice tracks HERE to dance along and pretend you are on vacation in the Caribbean!!! Over the next few weeks, here are some ideas to keep your child engaged in practice! Please try to practice extra this week if you will be traveling over the holidays so students feel confident with their bows! PRACTICE ASSIGNMENTS pg. 10-11 (plucking, pg. 16-17 (with bow) try some concert songs WITH THE BOW!! :) I recommend starting with Twinkle Other ideas: - Perform a concert for family members visiting for the holidays! Students can play Dreidel, Jingle Bells, Good King Wenceslas, and find a few other holiday tunes in the book! - Can your student play all of our informance and concert songs with the bow, working on getting a nice smooth sound? - Look ahead in the book and try some new songs, first plucking, then with bow, if your student needs a challenge!! Happy Holidays and have a wonderful Winter Break!!! Week of 12/2Hello 3rd graders! We had a great class today using our bows for the first time! Here's what we did: - Played a D scale to warm up - Played through our concert songs (Old MacDonald, Twinkle, Lightly Row, Jingle Bells) - Learned the "fancy ending" for Jingle Bells A A B C# D rest openD - Reviewed the parts of the bow and how to tighten and loosen it. Found the balance point on our bows and practiced holding the bow at the balance point. - Attached bow tubes to our instruments with rubber bands (image below). These are tubes made out of PVC pipe which help students learn how to use a straight bow. We played some Rosin Raps on page 13 to practice moving our bows down and up and learned the symbols for down and up bow - Took the bow tubes off and played on the open strings a bit (including some songs on pg. 16) Practice Assignments concert songs (Twinkle, Lightly Row, Old Mac, Jingle Bells), pg. 16-17 (with bow!) **** try making your own bow tube at home using an empty toilet paper or paper towel roll. You can then play the Rosin Raps on pg. 13 with the fun download tracks HERE in the bow tubes. CONCERT INFO FOR NEXT WEEK Loker - Tuesday December 10th 9:15am @ LO gym Claypit - Wednesday December 11th 9:15am @ CH gym Happy Hollow - Thursday December 12th 9:15am @ HH gym CONCERT DRESS- black bottoms, black shoes, white top, tie for gentlemen BRING - instrument (labeled with name sticker or ribbon directly on instrument), folding music stand  Week of 11/25Hello 3rd Graders! Here's what we're doing with the classes we get to see this week:
If you need help with the notes, they are: G G G D E E D (Rest) B B A A G (Rest, rest) D [REPEAT THAT LINE] G G G (rest) G G G (rest) G G G G G G G D Third line is the same as the first!
THE ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT CLASS IS: * Review these for the concert! New: try #33 & 34 in the book. Finish your bow permit so you can earn your license next class! Happy Thanksgiving!  Week of 11/18Here's what we did in class this week:
The assignment for next week is:
Our goal is to start using bows on the strings after Thanksgiving! Keep working hard with your bow holds so we can earn our bow license :) |
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