Lessons - January 2010

I've shifted around lesson groups a bit, so please take note of new groupings.

Lesson Groups
Group 1 So Yeon Kim, Daniel Logiudice, Sera Song
Group 2 Sophie Balzer, Delaney Guntert, Claire Hill, Eliana Rowe
Group 3 Sydney Marotta, Leo Miller, Joseph Petitti, Katie Yang
Group 4 Michelle Burmistrova, Cory Parker, Sophie Patka, Alfredo Salazar, Alex Selsley
Group 5 Matthew Krieg, Catie Rafferty, Allison Reiner, Rebecca Tucker
Group 6 Asha Anand, Heather Krofft, Rebekah Wolanski
Group 7 Curtis Ericson, Hannah Hernandez, Rose Leicht, Emily Toffenetti
Group 8 Naila Brown, Jennifer Hoffmann, Jacob Rosenberg, Sophia Schermerhorn
Group 9 Alicia Chen, Vivian Dai, Carrie Rose Mulligan, Walter Nyangaga, Erin Templeton, Michelle Yu
Group 10 Arianna Barnum, Shaddai Henry, Sazeed Huq
Group 11 Andy Cummings, Gerardo Salazar, Kevin Zeng
Group 12 Kristina Marinopoulos, Nihaal Pabba, Gianluca Russo, Rachel Swyer, Alana Zervos
Group 13 Markos Abebe, Maddy Farry, Christina Morawski, Jo Ann Mulligan
Group 14 Elijah Clemente, Allyson McAuliffe, Natasha Permaul, Amir Rastegar
Group 15 Mary Jean Mulligan, Mathilde Warren, Amy Toscano, Andrew Xu
Group 16 Ali Gohlke-Schermer, Joe Sipzner, Naomi Tenenini
Group 17 Pranav Kannan, Josh Lamb, Katie Randorf
Group 18 Elise Burby, Laura Chevalier, Karthik Ramesh, Victor Rau-Sirois, Michael Trichilo
Group 19 Sarah Byerly, Sydney Campbell, Julia Chong, Andrea Long
Group 20 Cody Ingraham, Abigail Kedik, Asaph Ko

1/4 AC
8:50 9
9:30 10
10:10 11
10:50 12
11:30 13
2:00 14

1/5 BD
8:50 15
9:30 16
11:30 17
1:20 18

1/6 AC
8:50 7
10:10 8

1/7 BD
8:50 1
9:30 2
10:50 3
11:30 4
1:20 5
2:00 6

1/8 AC
11:30 19
2:00 20

1/11 BD
8:50 14
9:30 13
10:50 12
11:30 11
1:20 10
2:00 9

1/12 AC
8:50 17
9:30 18
11:30 16
2:00 15

1/13 BD
8:50 8
10:50 7

1/14 AC
8:50 3
9:30 4
10:10 5
10:50 6
11:30 1
2:00 2

1/15 BD
8:30 19
1:20 20

1/19 AC
8:50 16
9:30 15
11:30 18
2:00 17

1/20 BD
10:50 8
2:00 7

1/21 AC
8:50 6
9:30 1
10:10 2
10:50 3
11:30 4
2:00 5

1/22 BD
8:30 20
1:20 19

1/25 AC
8:50 13
9:30 9
10:10 10
10:50 11
11:30 12
2:00 14

1/26 BD
9:30 17
11:30 15
1:20 16
2:00 18

1/27 AC
8:50 8
11:30 7

1/28 BD
8:50 5
9:30 6
10:50 1
11:30 2
1:20 3
2:00 4

1/29 AC
11:30 20
2:00 19

2/1 BD
8:50 9
9:30 14
10:50 13
11:30 12
1:20 11
2:00 10

2/2 AC
10:10 16
10:50 17
11:30 18
1:20 15

2/3 BD
11:30 8
1:20 7

2/4 AC
8:50 2
9:30 3
10:10 4
10:50 5
11:30 6
2:00 1

2/5 BD
8:30 19
1:20 20

2/8 AC
8:50 14
9:30 13
10:10 9
10:50 10
11:30 11
2:00 12

2/9 BD
8:50 15
9:30 16
11:30 17
1:20 18

2/10 AC
10:10 7
10:50 8

2/11 BD
8:50 2
9:30 4
10:50 6
11:30 5
1:20 1
2:00 3

2/12 AC
9:30 19
2:00 20

2/22 BD
8:50 10
9:30 9
10:50 14
11:30 13
1:20 12
2:00 11

2/23 AC
8:50 17
9:30 18
11:30 16
2:00 15

2/24 BD
10:50 7
1:20 8

2/25 AC
9:30 2
10:10 1
10:50 3
11:30 5
2:00 4

2/26 BD
10:50 19
11:30 20

Chamber Strings - 8th Rehearsal

We haven't spent much time on Die Forelle, but we will be shifting our focus to this small piece in the next few weeks. I encourage you to listen to recordings of this work by Schubert in any form that you can find it. The most popular arrangements by the composer are for voice and piano or piano quintet. The important thing to know about this piece is where your part falls on the hierarchy of parts. Though the first violins carry the melody throughout, small sections of the 2nd, viola, and cello parts are extremely important in creating that flowing feeling in our trout's river. Circle these important measures and mark them up in dynamic.

Allegretto is coming along, and I was pleased to see how many good cues I received from all sections of the orchestra. It is clear that you are recognizing the importance between the breath and clear entrances. However, I would like to hear evidence of more careful rhythmic practice so that we don't have to continue to take time reviewing the connection between the divisions and melodies.

Our first concert is a little more than a month away, and I plan to play the following pieces:

Die Forelle

Allegretto

Winter

(possibly Song Without Words as well)

We're lucky this year in that almost every section has someone from 6th, 7th, or 8th grade. Practice your parts in pairs, trios, or quartets when possible to drastically improve your skills.

In attendance were:

Joe Sipzner

Ali Gohlke-Schermer

Katie Gonick

Arianna Barnum

William Wang

Bill Dong

Erin Templeton

Rachel Swyer

Karthik Ramesh

Caity Rafferty

Katie Yang

Naila Brown

Andrea Long

We're sorry we missed:

Gloria Zhao
Marko Crnkovic

Emma Pearson

Cody Ingraham

6th Grade - Monday, December 21, 2009

We were able to do so much sight-reading today in 6th grade! This tells me two things:

1. Behavior was slightly improved from the last class.

2. We are becoming more observant musicians, using our knowledge and past performance as a reference to read new works accurately.

Let's continue to work on improving the silence that happens when we stop playing. When I -- or any conductor -- "cuts off" the music, it means that they have something to say to you. Don't begin talking during this time because it distracts from the learning. If you have something to say, I will gladly call on quietly raised hands.

We read the following pieces today:

3 Scenes From Green Valley

Entry of the Tumblers

Celtic Dance

8th Grade - Monday, December 21, 2009

Letters to parents and students were distributed as part of a packet. This packet should be inserted into each student's 3-ring binder and brought to class daily. The letter outlines the expectations for preparation for the upcoming concert period.

In-class listening will become a staple in our spring semester. Today, we listened to the last movement from Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony (IV. Frolicsome Finale). Britten composed this work between his 7th and 8th grade years in school, and while the title implies a work for children, the Simple Symphony is complex in composition and difficult in execution. The other movements of this work are: I. Boisterious Bourree, II. Playful Pizzicato, and III. Sentimental Sarabande.

We began rehearsal with the first 4 measures of Scale Exercise #36 in D Major. These scale exercises are designed to improve intonation through slow and careful chord progressions.

Toy Symphony, by Leopold Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus's father) was our sight reading piece of the day. As with many classical period compositions, Toy Symphony is deceivingly difficult thanks to the bowing and articulation that is demanded at a quick tempo.

Though we fell short in time, we read most of Star of County Down, a medley of Irish tunes. This is a long work with extended sections in 6/8. I like this arrangement, but it may be too long as a programmed work.

A number of students left their packets behind. Andrew Xu, Pranav Kannan, Victor Rau-Sirois, Sydney Campbell, and Sarah Byerly can pick up their packets in the music room any time before next class. I have packets for Laura Chevalier and Emma Pearson, and I also have scale sheets for the cellists. All of these can be found in the orange 8th grade homework folder located next to the lesson cards.

Make sure you bring your packets to class each day for full preparation credit!

7th and 8th Grade Reminders

Just a reminder of the slight changes being made to Orchestra class:

Beginning in January, students must have/do the following each class period in order to receive full participation/attendance grades:

Instrument - complete with shoulder rest, sponge, or equivalent.
Pencil - each student should have their own.
3 Ring Binder (1/2 - 1.5") - where practice parts, practice logs, and other class handouts are stored

You may begin bringing in your 3-ring binder so that I can give you inserts prior to the winter break. Please clearly mark these binders with your first and last name.

Congratulations!

Sixth, 7th, and 8th graders should all be proud of themselves for the work they did in preparing for our winter concerts! I received many positive and impressed comments on your behalf from your family, friends, and teachers. Let's work to make our spring performances even more spectacular!

Congratulations as well to those musicians who were highlighted in the Spotlight on Character assembly last week! I'm glad to see so many string players making meaningful contributions to the Farnsworth community.

Chamber Strings - 7th Rehearsal

Yay for metronomes! Although many of you were not as thrilled as I was with my discovery of the world's loudest metronome, I hope that you recognized how easily and quickly it focused our rhythm practice. Please refer to the post on metronomes to find some online. We worked on Winter for bowings and Allegretto for the divisions in 6/8, and it would really help us out if there was individual time spent with metronome work on these pieces.

Before you begin playing, set a goal for yourself. Do you want to be able to play the practiced excerpt in tempo by the end of your practice session? Do you want to be able to play the excerpt 5 bpm (beats per minute) faster than you started? 10? 20? Make sure your goals are appropriate for the amount of time you have. There is no use trying to cram with practicing a musical instrument -- it just doesn't work. Consider that you have just over 7 weeks before our concert, keeping in mind that I'd like our program to be performance-ready at least 2 weeks before that time. How does this help you to structure your goals? When do you think you would like to be personally ready to perform in public?

Use the metronome, a mirror, and any other tools suggested in the Secrets of Perfect Practicing to help you.

Don't know what tempo to start at? Here are some metronome suggestions:

1. Click to Get Faster Use this method by finding the tempo that is the slowest possible tempo at which you can maintain a subdivision. Play it perfectly: bowings, dynamics, etc. When it is perfect, click the metronome one mark faster. Play it perfectly at this new tempo. Continue to click until you have achieved your desired speed.

2. Click to Get Slower Sometimes the slow tempo is harder than the fast one because it requires more silent subdivisions and divisions of the macrobeat and it demands greater bow control. Set the metronome to a tempo in which you can play all the notes, bowings, and dynamics comfortably. Play it perfectly. Click the metronome one mark slower. Play it perfectly at this new tempo. Continue to click until you have achieved your desired speed.

3. Click for Variety & Checking your Work Bored clicking one at a time? To achieve faster tempos, begin with the "Click to Get Faster" method, but instead of advancing by one click of the metronome each time, advance by 3 clicks. Play it perfectly at the new tempo. Check your work by clicking back one (only one!). Play it perfectly at this tempo. When it sounds good, click it up 3 more (now you're at 5 clicks above your starting tempo). Be careful with this method! Tempo increases much faster, and it can be easier to forget valuable technique this way!

4. Click with a Base Tempo. Choose a base tempo. This should be a tempo that is comfortable for you to play everything correctly, but ultimately outside of the goal (if your goal is to be slower, the base tempo should move along at a faster pace; if your goal is to be faster, make your base tempo slow enough for you to feel all the subdivisions). Each time, click up a few notches on the metronome (exact number tbd by you), and always return to play your base tempo in between. You can choose to climb up one click by one click, or you can skip a couple in between...always returning to your base.

5. Click with a Goal Tempo. This is exactly the opposite as "Click with a Base Tempo." Begin by playing -- as best you can -- the ultimate goal tempo. This tempo can be the one given to you by your teacher, the one printed in the music, or one you've heard on recordings. Once you have played your goal tempo, go drastically in the other direction (slow goals --> go faster; fast goals --> go slower). Climb up or down in tempo from this start, always playing your goal in between.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

After a wonderful 8th grade performance last week, we are starting from scratch once again. I enjoyed reading your responses in the Personal Performance Reviews -- I've even found some to be pleasantly surprising :) I will do my best to keep your preferences and concerns in mind as I introduce music for our next concert. Furthermore, I hope you all enjoyed seeing excerpts from Music From the Inside Out. I find it to be a fascinating and inspiring documentary for musicians of all ages and abilities.

We sight-read 3 new pieces during orchestra yesterday. All three of them were arrangements of other works in very different styles. The first of the three was Ashokan Farewell, a piece written originally for guitar and fiddle at a camp in Ashokan, NY. Ashokan Farewell features the first violin section, with gentle chords in the 2nd violins, violas, and cellos.


If you weren't so busy worrying about all those darn accidentals in our second piece, Round Dance, you may have recognized its melody from Disney's Fantasia 2000. The Firebird (or, L'Oiseau de feu for those of you looking for recordings) was written by Igor Stravinsky in 1910. The ballet is based on Russian folklore. In the ballet, Prince Ivan enters the magical realm of an immortal giant, Kashchei. Prince Ivan does not know that this giant is evil (he captures women and turns men to stone), and so he wanders into his forest oblivious to the dangers. While in the forest, Prince Ivan sees the Firebird, a beautiful creature, and takes one of its feathers.
Now, in many fairy tales there is one prince and one princess (sometimes a good prince, an evil prince, and a princess)...but in Stravinsky's tale there are 13 princesses! Luckily, Prince Ivan falls in love with only one of them. Unfortunately for Ivan, the giant has imprisoned all the princesses. Next comes a series of events involving magic, capture, monsters, the Firebird's feather, and perhaps a happy ending. But you can read all about that another time...


The last piece of the day was Brandenburg 5, movement 1. I have heard that you enjoyed playing Brandenburg 3 last year, and that's what prompted me to take this one out of the music library. The Brandenburg Concertos were written by J.S. Bach and presented as a sort of job application to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721. Bach didn't get the job, but the concertos (more appropriately, concerto grossi) have remained popular since their rediscovery 150 years later. Today, we think of chamber music as trios, quartets, and quintets, but chambers must have been a bit bigger in Bach's day. His Brandenburg concerti are considered chamber works though they are often scored with more than a handful of instruments. The 3rd Concerto has 10 string parts and a harpsichord, and this 5th Concerto is scored for solo harpsichord, flute, violin, and ripieno strings. Of the 6 Brandenburg concerti, the 5th Concerto was probably written last. Check out some videos of these concerti:

Brandenburg Concerto 1 - Note the period instruments: Baroque-style bows (much harder to control!), no chin rests on the upper strings, natural horns (no valves on these French horns), and oboes that more closely resemble their shawm predecessors. No conductors for these large ensembles either -- they move with the music to cue and maintain tempo.

Brandenburg Concerto 2 - The same ensemble.

Brandenburg Concerto 3 - Cellists, notice anything unusual? Why are their cellos almost perpendicular with the floor, and why aren't they sitting like "good" musicians with their feet flat on the floor? Because they don't have endpins... Cellos of this time resembled viola da gambas, instruments held with the knees. Here's that 2nd movement I talked to some of you about. It creates what we call a Phrygian Cadence (movement from the submediant to the dominant in minor). This is the 3rd movement.

Brandenburg Concerto 4

Brandenburg Concerto 5 (the movement we looked at in class). The second movement might be familiar to some as well. And the third...

Brandenburg Concerto 6 - No violins!



More sight-reading to come!

7th Grade Winter Concert Information

Although 7th graders received a letter about our concert a few weeks ago, I'd like to remind everyone of the essentials:

Our concert is tomorrow night, December 10th, at 7:30pm in the FMS Cafetorium.

Musicians should plan to arrive at 6:30pm. Report directly to the orchestra room, unpack, and begin to warm up.

Dress Code is the same for boys and girls: black bottom, colorful top. If you do not have clothes that fit this guideline, come in your best concert attire. Please, no jeans or sneakers.


The concert is a family event -- invite everyone you know! No tickets are required, and the entire performance should last about 1 hour.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at ellisl@guilderlandschools.org


I'll see you tomorrow night!

Lessons for the 2nd Marking Period - Revised

Please note any changes to the Lesson Rotation due to today's snow day.

**Stay Tuned** The 6th Grade Dress Rehearsal on 12/14 (at 1:20pm) will have to be changed barring any additional changes in the school schedule.

12/10 (A/C)
8:50 18
9:30 19
11:30 15
1:20 7th Grade Dress Rehearsal**This will now occur during the 7th grade orchestra rehearsal time, but we will meet in the classroom instead of onstage.
2:00 16
7:30 7th Grade Concert

12/11 (B/D)
8:50 20
9:30 21

12/14 (A/C)
8:50 4, 6
9:30 2
10:10 1, 5
10:50 3


12/15 (B/D)
8:50 9
9:30 10
2:00 7, 8
7:30 6th Grade Concert

12/16 (A/C)
8:50 12
10:50 13
11:30 14

12/17 (B/D)
8:50 15
9:30 17
10:50 18, 19
11:30 16

12/18 (A/C)
8:50 21
11:30 20

12/21 (B/D)
9:30 7th Grade Make Ups - Sign Up Ahead of Time
10:50 8th Grade Make Ups - Sign Up Ahead of Time
2:00 6th Grade Make Ups - Sign Up Ahead of Time

8th Grade Winter Concert Tonight!

Come out and see the 8th grade orchestra perform in their Winter Concert tonight at 7:30pm!

Our last dress rehearsal will be at 8:50am in the Cafetorium. Check in with your homeroom teachers and then come right to the stage.

Eighth grade students should plan to arrive no later than 6:40pm. Come immediately to the orchestra room so that we can tune and warm up as an ensemble. Chorus members will be dismissed to the choir room shortly after we tune.

As a reminder, please wear your most beautiful concert clothes. I have asked for black bottoms and colorful tops, so try to do your best. I'll see you all tonight!

Chamber Strings - 6th Rehearsal

I demanded a lot of focus at this rehearsal, and I appreciate the cooperation I received. We began serious work on Die Forelle, based on Schubert's famous compositions. Between Die Forelle and Allegretto (Beethoven), we have a lot of division-type work to do to differentiate a quarter and eighth note in 6/8 meter from a dotted eighth and sixteenth note in 2/4 time. Use your metronome at slow speeds to help make this distinction.

The Die Forelle parts can be confusing. Remember that 2nd violins play part 3 and violas play part 2. If you are a first violinist who is uncomfortable playing the first violin part, please talk to me about it and I will come up with a solution that works for all of us.

I can't stress enough the need to be at the frog in the 32nd note passages in Winter! Traveling to different ends of the bow is where hooked bowings can really help you. Practice using the hooked bowing (and the faster notation of the 16th notes) to get your all the way to the frog before those 32nd notes come.

At this point, I'm bored with Adiorondack Sleighride, and I'd prefer to work on the other three pieces for performance. I may throw in some easier arrangements in the next few weeks, so do your best to focus on what you've got for now.

In attendance were:

Joe Sipzner

Ali Gohlke-Schermer

Katie Gonick

Arianna Barnum

Bill Dong

William Wang

Marko Crnkovic

Rachel Swyer

Erin Templeton

Karthik Ramesh

Catherine Rafferty

Emma Pearson

Andrea Long

Naila Brown

Cody Ingraham

We're sorry we missed: Katie Yang and Gloria Zhao

Chamber Strings - 5th Rehearsal

In attendance for our rehearsal on November 23rd were:

Joe Spizner

Gloria Zhao

Ali Gohlke-Schermer

Katie Gonick

William Wang

Bill Dong

Marko Crnkovic

Rachel Swyer (left early)

Erin Templeton

Karthik Ramesh

Catherine Rafferty

Katie Yang

Andrea Long

In the Beethoven arrangement of Allegretto, we revisited 6/8 meter and did a lot of switching back and forth between easier and more difficult parts. We are learning to use our breathing as a unifying tool, and we talked about the "priority" of different musical lines in this particular piece (i.e. who to listen to, who to bring out, who to set and maintain tempo). Continue to work on the part assigned to your section, but if you find a particular part unmanageable, you may work on the less complicated arrangement.

We have now made it all the way through Winter, but we're still working on basic fundamentals of bow management. First violins, remember the plateaus of sound we discussed. Make marks in your music to help you remember. Everyone should practice the "circle bows" necessary to make the correct sound in the 32nd note rhythms.

6th Grade Winter Concert Seating

*The person listed first is the outside player

Violin A
Stand 1 Michael Zhu, Gabrielle Sanza
Stand 2 Mackenna Dombroski, Alana Lake
Stand 3 Bill Dong, Jake Kelley
Stand 4 Marko Crnkovic, Gretchen Long
Stand 5 Catherine Seita, John Piechowiak
Stand 6 Annie Lin, Erin Callahan
Stand 7 Libby Reedy, Alex Magnan
Stand 8 Michaela Mazzeo, Sabrina Milks
Stand 9 Britany Nauman, So Yeon Kim
Stand 10 Gabrielle Kernozek, Mary Stammel



Violin B
Stand 1 Gloria Zhao, Lucas Laing
Stand 2 Matthew Darby, Kathryn Gonick
Stand 3 Nora Stevens, Bridget Bellanger
Stand 4 Aurora Trainor, Sarah Hanlon
Stand 5 Megan Govin, Elaine Santos
Stand 6 Nataleigh Huber, Sera Song
Stand 7 Paul Trichilo, Matthew Lurie
Stand 8 Daniel Logiudice, Ryan Dillon
Stand 9 Paul Caruso

Viola
Stand 1 Ahna Pearson, Allison Reiner
Stand 2 Matthew Krieg, Catherine Rafferty
Stand 3 Alex Selsley, Alfredo Salazar
Stand 4 Rebecca Tucker, Cory Parker
Stand 5 Michelle Burmistrova

Cello
Stand 1 Katie Yang, Andre Pinto
Stand 2 Joseph Petitti, Sydney Marotta
Stand 3 Claire Hill, Eliana Rowe
Stand 4 Leo Miller, Delaney Guntert
Stand 5 Sophie Balzer


Bass
Stand 1 Sara Kogelmann, Alex Beams
Stand 2 Rachel Cardiff, Ryan Adkison
Stand 3 Winsor Jewell, Eva Mazzella

7th Grade Winter Concert Seating

*The first person listed on each stand is the outside player

Violin 1
Stand 1 Alicia Chen, Walter Nyangaga
Stand 2 Erin Templeton, Jo Ann Mulligan
Stand 3 Vivian Dai, Gianluca Russo
Stand 4 Christina Morawski, Markos Abebe
Stand 5 Allyson McAuliffe, Gerardo Salazar
Stand 6 Kristina Marinopoulos, Elijah Clemente
Stand 7 Shaddai Henry


Violin 2
Stand 1 Michelle Yu, Carrie Rose Mulligan
Stand 2 Maddy Farry, Rachel Swyer
Stand 3 Nihaal Pabba, Alana Zervos
Stand 4 Kevin Zeng, Amir Rastegar
Stand 5 Andy Cummings, Arianna Barnum
Stand 6 Sazeed Huq, Victoria Blackwood
Stand 7 Permaul, Natasha


Viola
Stand 1 Rebekah Wolanski, Asha Anand
Stand 2 Heather Krofft


Cello
Stand 1 Naila Brown, Jennifer Hoffmann
Stand 2 Jacob Rosenberg, Curtis Ericson
Stand 3 Sophia Schermerhorn, Hannah Hernandez
Stand 4 Rosemary Leicht, Emily Toffenetti

Bass
Stand 1 Julia Manobianco
Stand 2 Thomas Fortune
Stand 3 Emily Gunther

8th Grade Winter Concert Seating

* The first person listed on each stand is the outside player.

Violin 1
Stand 1 Michelle Kang, Courtney Van Oort
Stand 2 Naomi Tenenini, Andrew Xu
Stand 3 Mary Jean Mulligan, Miguel Garcia
Stand 4 Aaron Kester, Pranav Kannan


Violin 2
Stand 1 Joey Sipzner, Ali Gohlke-Schermer
Stand 2 Amy Toscano, Mathilde Warren
Stand 3 Katie Randorf, Josh Lamb

Viola
Stand 1 Emma Pearson, Karthik Ramesh
Stand 2 Laura Chevalier, Michael Trichilo
Stand 3 Victor Rau-Sirois, Elise Burby

Cello
Stand 1 Andrea Long, Sarah Byerly
Stand 2 Sydney Campbell, Jacob Hill
Stand 3 Cody Ingraham, Julia Chong
Stand 4 Michelle Xiong, Abigail Kedik
Stand 5 Asaph Ko