Orchestra Poster - Orchestra is HOT

This is my latest poster that I created for my class for a bulliton board and for bumper stickers that I will distribute when I go recruiting.  This will be my theme for the next school year and I will try to motivate students to 'ignite' their talent by practicing and reaching their potential.

copyright Angela Harman www.orchestraclassroom.com

An inexpensive alternative to lapboards

I was recently wishing that my students had lapboards with a staff printed on them so that I could create some quick formative assessments for my students.  If all students had a lapboard, I could easily check for understanding as I teach new notes, fingerings, scales, etc.  We have been learning the notes of the G string, and I wished I could have students draw the note really quick and show me so I could make sure they were really able to know the note names and fingerings.  I priced lapboards and found them to be quite expensive.  Then I started looking for other options and I found these:

I just got these in the mail from Amazon.com, and I LOVE them!  I have already placed a paper inside of each pocket with a staff.  Students can use the staff side to draw notes, key signatures, music symbols, etc, and they can use the back if we need a blank surface.  Also, I love that I can replace the paper inside to be anything I need it to be for my class...these are way more versatile than lapboards (and way cheaper).  I could place a blank fingering chart inside, or rhythm worksheets...so many possibilities.  Also, the expo marker can be stored inside the pocket, so it will not get lost.

We just used these in class yesterday and my students really enjoyed the activity.  I had them work in groups of two to quiz each other on the new notes we have learned and to take turned drawing them on the staff.  As I circulated around the room, I saw great things happening.  My students were on task, and they were helping each other learn the notes. 

After students worked in their groups, we played a game where I call out a note and students race to be the first person to draw the note and hold it up for me to see.  After a few rounds of this note-race, I began to say words and students had to draw the notes for the word I called out (for example:  faced, baggage, bead, dad, bag).

Learning the G string notes: Pre-test

Just thought I would share this little pre-test I created for my students.  We just learned the notes on the G string and this will help me see who gets it and who needs more practice.

Tangled tapes - problem of the past

So, I have posted before about the car pinstripe tape that I use for fingerboard tapes.  The only problem with the pinstripe tape is that it is impossible to keep it in a nice orderly roll and my tapes end up tangled and twisted all together in what I call my 'tape basket.'  Check out what I found at the kitchen store outlet...

I love these little magnetized mini-bins that I just filled and stuck on my filing cabinet in my office!  They were only $1.50 each and they have a little hole in the lid so I can thread my tapes through the side of the lid and easily just grab what I need.  I just re-rolled up my tapes and put them in my new bins.  I also used them to store my little mini-teaching aids that I use in class for bow games and position.  It feels good to finally have my office a bit more organized.

Teaching the dotted quarter note using cookies

In years past, some of my students have struggled with counting a dotted quarter note, even though I felt I taught the concept well and we practiced the rhythm many times.  This year, I decided to try teaching the dotted quarter note differently and I feel students were able to understand how to count a note worth 1.5  beats much more easily.

I happened to have a bag of cookies on hand, so I used cookies  in my lesson, but you could use anything else to represent the beat as long as you can break it in half.

First, I drew 4 quarter notes on my white board and I selected 4 students to come up and stand under each of the notes I drew.  I gave each student 1 cookie which they were to hold out in front of them to represent 1 beat.  We counted the 4 quarter notes together as a class by saying "Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum" - (Yum = 1 beat).  Next, we counted the quarter notes by saying "1, 2, 3, 4".

Next, I added a dot to the first quarter note and told students that now, the first quarter note is called a dotted quarter note and it gets more cookie!  It gets to steal half of beat 2's cookie.  The student under beat 2 had to break their cookie in half and give it to the beat 1 student.  I then showed students how we have to change the 2nd note to an eighth note...because now that student only has 1/2 of a cookie left.

We then practiced counting the dotted rhythm...holding the dotted note through beat 2 since they had more cookie.  At the end, I let students eat the cookies.  Today, when I asked students how many beats were in a dotted quarter note, they said, "One and a half cookies!"

Sometimes, you just gotta have fun - The Orchestra Flamin Hot Cheeto Challenge

Last week I worked all of my orchestras really hard so that we could get back into shape for the new year.  Students worked on a New Year's practicing assignment, plus they had a playing test on Friday.  Normally, students do not love playing test days because they each play alone for me in front of the class and some get really nervous.  Since we had a pretty serious week, I decided to make playing test day a little crazy and fun.

We watched this video on YouTube about an orchestra that stops in the middle of a piece of music and each orchestra member eats a hot pepper.  The orchestra then continues the music and it is very entertaining to watch.  The idea is to put some passion and 'spice' into your performance:

I then pulled out a bag of Flamin Hot Cheetos and gave students the option to place one hot cheeto in their mouth before playing their playing test for me.  This was totally optional, and about half of the students in each class decided to try the 'Cheeto Challenge.'  It was hilarious to watch and students really got into it.  My students had fun, they bonded, and it was a great way to end a week of hard work.

Getting back in shape after a long break...

Tomorrow means back to school after a long Christmas break and I know that my students will be a little rusty.  I'm sure most of them didn't do much practicing over the holiday, so it's time to get them back into shape!  My video of the week tomorrow will be a funny work-out video showing animals working out.  We will focus on getting back into shape with our playing by doing bow games, careful warm-ups with quality intonation, perfect position games, and finger pattern 'reps.'  Students will also be given this assignment to work on throughout the week:

Happy practicing everyone!

Be aware of Orchestra-itis

I made up an imaginary illness that I tell my students about.  We have all seen those students in our classes who barely make a sound and play as if they fear they will be heard.  I tell students to be on the lookout for symptoms of orchestra-itis and we talk about a cure.  Orchestra-itis is a fear to be heard and an attempt to hide with symptoms being poor position, crooked bows and abnormally soft playing.  One of my students just made a website about our imaginary orchestra illness and I got quite a kick out of reading it.  Here's the link:

https://sites.google.com/site/orchestraitis/

Motivating students to learn their note-reading

I got a letter on my desk last week and it really made my day.  It was from a student who thanked me for teaching her how to read notes.  She said in the letter that she had been taking piano lessons for 5 years and had always been struggling with reading notes.  She thanked me for not giving up on her.

Since reading that letter, I have been thinking about what made the difference for this student to begin reading notes.  What did I do that helped her?  I truely believe that the biggest factor is getting students to memorize their notes is convincing them to do it.  Ultimately, students must DECIDE to memorize the notes...I just have to motivate them to do it.

I have a note-reading book that I use and I believe the book teaches students the logic of the staff and how to figure out notes if they come across a note they do not already know.  It is the first step to getting students to read notes...but students need more than a workbook.

From the beginning of the year, I was continuously targeting students who were struggling with note-reading.  We did many exercises and games to encourage memorization.   I also had students make flashcards and pass them off in under one minute.  I taught students exactly HOW to memorize notes using flashcards and let them know that anyone can read notes if they memorize them the way I show them.  Here's how we do it:

Students have a few flashcards to memorize (I like to do 4 at a time).  Students say the note name on the card, AND they must pluck the note on their instrument.  Once students have all of the flashcards on the D and A strings, they must pass them all off by naming and plucking in under one minute.  Students can do this in just one week if they practice their flashcards 5 times per day and I show them that it only takes a short amount of time to practice them.

There are quite a few students to begin in my class with a knowledge of note names because they already play the piano.  These students have a bit of a head start and I use these students to quiz my true beginners.

I also tell my students stories about me learning notes to different instruments in college and how I learned the notes quickly.  I constantly encourage.

We begin class with lots of rote playing.  I don't use much out of the method book for awhile, but to get kids used to reading notes, I like to turn to the first note reading pages.  Even while doing rote activities through most of class, students can spend the last 5 minutes learning and reading ONE note - like open D.  Students need to be introduced to notes slowly, one at a time so that it won't be overwhelming.

Teaching Key Signatures

Understanding how to read and interpret key signatures is very crucial for music students.  I don't like nagging students to play C natural, when they would already know that if they read the key signature.

When introducing the concept of key signatures, I begin with a story about me in drivers ed.  I tell them about my first experiences driving on a real road and my teacher pointing to signs along and road and testing me to see if I knew what all of the signs meant.  We eventually came to a sign I had never seen before and I didn't know what it meant!  I didn't know what I was supposed to do!  We then discuss the importance of understanding signs.

Next, I show students these slides and we laugh at the silly signs.  We then talk about key signatures...what they mean, etc.

When reading music, our eyes are 'driving' along the staff and we must know what all of the symbols mean so that we can play correct notes, fingerings and rhythms.

Christmas Concert Repertoire and A Letter to Students

I haven't had the chance to post much lately because the time between Halloween and Christmas is always so crazy as we frantically learn new music for our Holiday Concert.

This last week, I had my concert and it went pretty well.  My beginning orchestra played 'What Child Is This' from the Strings Extraordinaire book by McCallister/Monday.  They also played A Chanukah Festival by John O'Reilly and A Christmas March by Handel/Meyer.  The Christmas March was quite difficult for my beginning class, but they totally embraced the challenge and they really sounded great.  They were determined to learn that piece and now I feel they are way better players.

My Intermediate orchestra played Dance of the Tumblers - arranged by Sandra Dackow, A Christmas Canon by Michael Green, and A Boomwhacker Christmas by Richard Meyer.  The boomwhacker one was the biggest hit and the audience absolutely loved it!

I sometimes have a hard time finding good Christmas arrangements for this concert, but I really liked what I found for my advanced orchestra this year.  They played 'Sleigh Ride' by Mozart arranged by Seinnicki from 'Three Christmas Classics.'  They also played Boreas by Todd Parish and Fiddle Like the Dickens by Tim McCarrick.

After the concert, I was feeling very grateful for my students and for their hard work.  I really love teaching orchestra and I appreciate the support I receive from students and parents.  I wrote a little note to students on my white board after the concert for them to read the next day.  When learning to play instruments, sometimes it is difficult for students to realize how far they have progressed.  I wanted to help students realize how far they have come since the beginning of the year, and that they are filled with potential to accomplish anything they choose to work on.

Checking for Proficency in Note Reading - 1 minute note-naming exercise

In my district, teachers make goals that we are to work on through the school year.  This year, I have been working on collecting and analyzing data in order to ensure that my students are developing proficiency in their note reading skills.

Today, I had my beginning students do this little assessment to check for fluency on the notes of the D scale:

Students were divided up into groups of two.  I set a timer for one minute.  One student would hold the paper and point to each note while the other student had to name the note and pluck the note on their instrument.  The student holding the paper marked any missed notes with an 'x' and drew a line showing how far they were after one minute.  The students then switched roles so they each could have a turn naming and plucking the notes.

I really liked this assessment because it only took 2 minutes and the I got some great data!  I can see who my really fast note-readers are and I can see who is slower and who needs extra practice.  I was really happy to discover that all of my beginners are able to read notes and all were able to read quite far into the exercise.  I would now like to work on increasing note-reading speed for some of the slower readers.

I have been brainstorming ideas of how I can get my slower note-readers to get a little extra practice.  I decided that I will do this same assessment activity using lines in our method book.  If we do this just one time per class period, it would only take up 2 minutes and that little bit of extra practice with the notes will help all students gain speed and fluency.

Also, I think I will set up a little note reading app on my iPad during tuning time.  Students bring their instruments to me at the front of the room and I tune every student indiviually every day.  While they are waiting, they can play the note-reading app for a few seconds to see how many notes they can get right.