We are more than halfway through 1st Quarter and things are moving right along! The students have been making good progress and I'm looking forward to our first performances so you can hear the hard work they've been putting in.
Our first concert this year is the Fall Concert for 7th and 8th Graders on Monday October 29th at 7pm at Savanna Oaks. Students should arrive between 6:15pm and 6:30pm to be tuned and to get final seating placements. Students need to wear concert dress: solid black from the waist down, solid white from the waist up. **Check to make sure your student's concert clothes fit and they haven't outgrown them!** 6th Grade Update: 6th Graders have been working on learning or reviewing the basics if they did summer strings. While their ability to focus in a group instrument setting has taken them awhile to get...they are starting to do quite well. We have learned the two of the big three: how to hold the instrument, how to hold the bow, and reading notes. Reading notes is something we'll continue to work on long term. For now we are learning to read notes on the D string to play simple songs like Ode to Joy and Go Tell Aunt Rhody. In the next week or so we will also learning A string notes and start working on concert songs for our first performance on Tuesday December 11th at SOMS at 7pm! 7th Grade Update: 7th Graders worked on reviewing the basics from last year including holding the instrument, holding the bow, keeping good posture to help them play their best, and notes from all four strings. They are starting to sound pretty good on their concert selections and bring really good energy to the pieces. Next we will work on learning new notes including flats and extended fingerings. Our next concert cycle will include harder and more challenging piece to get them to stretch their musical abilities. We will also start a long Solo Unit where each student will choose a solo and prepare it for performance. 8th Grade Update: 8th Graders are pretty exciting this year. They are a high energy group for sure but have really started to develop a big and wonderful sound. We've reviewed some basics much like 7th Graders did but have also worked to add some new skills like vibrato. We are excited to perform one of our pieces for the concert that includes this new skill...and although many students have just a beginning vibrato that still needs some development it's sounding pretty great. Gaining vibrato is a a benchmark in playing stringed instruments and I'm really proud of the students for getting to this point on it. Next we will work on preparing music for our joint concert with BRMS 8th Graders and VAHS Orchestras that will happen in February. We will also start working on a long Solo Unit where each student will choose a solo and prepare it for performance. Fiddle Club Fiddle Club will start on Friday November 3rd from 7:40am to 8:10am!!! I am excited to bring this back this year because it was a ton of fun last year. Fiddle Club is for anyone in Orchestra who would like to play just for fun. The morning time is so it doesn't conflict with sports practices after school. The group will perform mostly fiddle style tunes with maybe some jazz/popular music thrown in. 6th Graders who are looking for an extra challenge (i.e. if you've already played for a year or are just really excited to try something harder) would fit right into this group! We will also incorporate some guitar as students are interested. Early Morning Practice Early Morning Practice starts next week. Students will be able to practice before school every day except the dates listed below. Doors will be opened for students starting at 7:40am to 8:15am. Students need to submit a permission slip either on paper (print here) or by Google Form (click here). Students might also bring this slip home...they just need to turn in one. No EMP on the following dates: Nov 1 Dec 1 Jan 10 Feb 7 Mar 7 Apr 11 May 9 Nov 15 Dec 19 Jan 16 Feb 20 Mar 20 Apr 17 May 15 Nov 29 Jan 10 Jan 24 Feb 21 Mar 21 Apr 25 May 23
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Spanish Translation:Erin BarnardI teach orchestra at Savanna Oaks and write this blog to help keep everyone up-to-date on our classroom. Read more about me/us on the About page. ArchivesCategories |