There's MUSIC IN THE AIR!

PARENT REMINDERS
Thank you for you patience with the renovation disruptions. I am glad they are keeping the place in good repair, but it does cause us some inconvenience from time to time!

FEES for the last (longer session -15 weeks) were due THIS WEEK.
Most level 2 Parents submitted payment Tiesday the 26th, but many Level 1 did not.
ONCE AGAIN, here are the options: pay for the rest of the year till end of  June $65.00
                                                             pay for the next 2 months till end of April $35.00
                                                             and May 7 pay $30.00 for remainder till end of June

NB Next payment opportunity: Thursday March 7 or Tuesday March12th - please have it ready!

LEVEL 2 Individual Lessons Thursday Feb 28  postponed from this week till next week- May 7th

PRACTICE CHARTS ARE IMPORTANT  . Keep this check going and please bring them to
                                                                          class every week for checking. Look around the class-
                                                           the confident children are the ones who review lots each week!

 

 

Homework Level 2: 
                    
1. SCALES: D Major, C Major- NO #'(sharps)
                 G Major- find instructions in last weeks' Blog ie:practice moving the WHOLE HAND up till your 1st finger is exactly on the 3rd finger spot (whole tone above 4th finger spot for cello)Repeat the shift alone MANY TIMES till you have memorized the movt accurately

2.Make sure you are comfortable reading in AFS BOOK# 129-quick tempo, and 133,134, 137.
RE #133 GO TO YOU TUBE! Find Beethoven violin concerto and listen to/watch a performance of the ANDANTE movement. Better still, watch the whole Cnncerto!!!

3. Work carefully on Songs:
Start by repeating more difficult spots till they are neat and clean and in tune :
Then play through and find more spots that need careful work, etc.

There's Music in the Air AFS # 126

Rosa Lee,

Pizzicato Magic

Celtic Dance- needs lots of work!

                                                                 .



























Homework Level 1

1. Eraser exercise : then open strings using wrist to keep bow straight
2. 0-1 string cycle- for 1st finger tuning
3. Scale of D, Scale of G
4. Twinkle- long bows,
then try a rhythm throughout eg. Mrssippi hot dog, etc.
5. NEW RHYTHM  first on open strings-"I stop and you stop"
6. All for Strings Book: Review up to #11
                                              

 

.

ENJOY YOUR MUSIC MAKING,
YOUNG MUSICIANS! 

Making Music: in Harmony Together

It is SO gratifying to see all of our students moving forward week by week, and it is clear to see the effects of the  practice going on at home. Some of our students -and their parents! clearly are putting in the time to review a little each day. This brings such confidence for your child when she or he comes to class with the improved understanding and  skills that your time together at home brings.

PARENT REMINDERS for next week:
1. Some still owe $20 for music stands.
2. Session fees are due next Tuesday: Please bring cash payment to class next week. Total for the last session of 15 weeks till the end of June: $65.00 This can be paid in one instalment or two:
For two instalments : Feb 26- $35.00 and April 30- $30.
3. THURSDAY LESSONS for  Feb 28, next week are changed to March 7th. Please mark you calendars.

Also ADVANCE PLANNING: The Tuesday class MAY 7th will be held on Thursday  MAY 9th instead. Please do what you can do make this switch, and let me know if there is any problem with this- your co-operation is greatly appreciated! By then we will be preparing for our year-end concert. The concert date is not yet decided.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:
LEVEL 2
1.TWO OCTAVE G Scale with "Shifting" for all instruments.
1st octave G to G is same as normal all students shift up on the A string as follows:
Viola and Violin: second octave:G-(3 on D) A(open) B-1 C-2 shift up to play D(normally 3) with 1, then  continue on same string E-2 F#-3 G-4 .
Cello : G-(4 on D) A(open) B-1 C-2 D- 4 , shift up to play E with 1 (thumb is at neck )
NEW #129- let's be ready to play this "up tp speed" next week.
NEW SONG: CELTIC DANCE
Review Concert Trio, Rosa Lee, Pizzicato Magic

LEVEL 1:
Review D scale, G scale with proper position of bow (tilted away from nose) and wrist pulling up on up bow strokes.
Twinkle with rhythms: Mississippi mississppi and Run Pony. Each rhythm is repeated 2 x on each note of song
Review: Long. Long Ago- use hand out if needed to remember notes
NEW: AFS Book #7, 8 .
ADD # 9 and 10

Have a very good week! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

MAKING MUSIC in HARMONY!

LEVEL 2
1.Yesterday's class was QUITE disrupted by repairs in our class area. But a warm THANK YOU goes out to our parents and students who persevered, and helped in every way possible! As the workman said- this is for YOU! So we have no more broken floor areas anyway.
2. Please be reminded that we DO have private/theory lessons on Valentine's Day-tomorrow as scheduled
3. CHANGE in LESSON/THEORY schedule: February 28th class has been changed to MARCH 7th-please mark your calendars. We do not plan to change any of the other dates.

4. HARMONY: Level 2 students have almost arrived! What I mean is, that we are now reading and playing in HARMONY- three parts in the Concert Trio started yesterday. The top part is usually the melody and often has more notes than the lower parts. However,  the middle and lower parts require just as much effort and even MORE listening, as they provide both the foundation and the beauty of the music, through enriching the harmonies! So whichever part we play, we have to begin to LISTEN a lot more CAREFULLY- learn your part well so you can focus on listening to the whole group to make beautiful music!!
 Once we finish the book, we will be moving into more advanced sheet music and then into Baroque Masterpieces!

LEVEL 1
We have reached a milestone in our classes now- reading music opens the door to A WHOLE NEW WORLD! Some of you are practising EVERY DAY- guess who is most confident in class?
PARENTS: Below is a suggested practice routine. Each part can be done each day, but vary the time spent on each part, so that practice is no more than 20-25 min., unless they insist on continuing. NEVER force the child to practise more( if they have a sad or mad face)- make games out of each part and laugh lots. Hve a little concert , where the child chooses to play for you, without you saying anything at all- you are the audience- clap and praise often!
Change up which part comes first each day. 1. STRAIGHT BOWS-string cycles- 4-5 minutes:
Work on correct posture and flexible wrist exercise (with eraser)- keep wood of bow tilted slightly away from you and always hold the bow correctly.
                                                       2. RHYTHMS- open strings: in MIDDLE of BOW use elbow 4min
                                                       3. SCALES of D and G last Blog has all the notes- 5 min.
                                                       4. Long, Long Ago- review each part, then whole song-5-10 min
                                                       5. BOOK READING : review up to # 7- 5 min.
                                                       6. Twinkle :Play through for enjoyment 2 min.- good tuning