Unexpected Intermission

Yesterday the Claremont Concert Orchestra performed our final concert for the semester. We knew from Saturday night's first incarnation of the concert that we would be done in 50 minutes. I was going to blog about how 50 minutes almost doesn't even seem like a concert, even though we played the fabulous Dvorak's 8th. To make the concert a slight bit longer we also played the Farandole from Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite #1.

Anyway, something happened in yesterday's performance that I have never seen in all my many years of orchestral playing. One of the students was not there at the end of the Bizet, and I believe he was the timpani player. We cannot perform the Dvorak without timpani, so we begged the audience's patience and waited for 20 minutes for this student to appear on stage and ready to play. I do not know the story behind this event, but I'm sure I'll hear the details at some point.

The one funny thing that happened during our intermission was that one of the horn players started playing Joy to the World, and after a phrase, the rest of the orchestra joined in and played an impromptu rendition for two verses of the carol, much to the audience's delight.

Creativity

Recently two different websites I looked at referred to this lecture from 1991 by John Cleese about creativity. I took 30 minutes yesterday to watch it, and, although I probably knew most of the information he talked about, it's always good to be reminded to play, make time to be creative, allow creativity to work over a long time span, and don't be afraid of making a mistake.

I have been trying to think of a piece to write for recorder ensemble to send in to a contest - due Feb. 1, 2013. I want to write an original piece, and I have started a few different times, but this talk inspired me to keep at it, and I put in time yesterday working on a piece.

Cleese also talked about how to inspire creativity in the people who work for you, which in my case would be my students. I realize this occasionally that I give more opportunity to my students to improvise (I wish I could see them more than 30 minutes a week). I will go back and look at the notes from the Orff workshop I attended in September and see what I can incorporate when school resumes in January.

Round Singing

On Monday one of my second graders requested that we sing the song America (not My Country 'Tis of Thee, but the one from the Wee Sing America CD). It's very short, and I did need a few minutes of filler, so I said, sure.

After we sang it a capella, the boy who requested it wanted to know if we could sing it in a round. We had done that once before with the teacher leading one of the groups, but this time we had a sub in the room whom I know did not want to sing. So we tried it and I chose the group that had a few very strong singers in it to start and continue by themselves while I sang with the second group. They did a great job and went out of the room happy.

It warmed my heart.

Little Gifts Like Candy

A few weeks ago I gave my beginning strings class their beads. I blogged about these beads in July. The kids love to pull these out, and we have been working on the tricky passages of Jingle Bells with these beads. Because we do them in class the way I would like for them to do it at home, I think it has been very helpful.

They also took their first test this week, and when they all passed, I handed out a little set of note name flashcards on little rings for them to put in their cases next to their beads. They were so excited to get these cards, you'd have thought I had given them candy. Now let's see if they use them!

Gamelan Concert

I am a little slow on posting about the HMC Gamelan concert I attended over a week ago. On the program - Lou Harrison, John Cage and Bill Alves. Bill teaches at HMC and composes for gamelan (and other instruments), often accompanied by visual media. The second half of the concert showcased one of his newest works.

Here is a video of one technique used in the John Cage work, Haikai, which I found particularly interesting.

Third Coast Percussion

In honor of John Cage's 100th anniversary, Pomona College had Third Coast Percussion, a four-member ensemble from Chicago, to campus this past week for workshops and performances. I chose to attend this afternoon's performance, and I was so glad that I went. 

I first heard this group while we were living in Chicago where they are based. I don't remember exactly what I heard that day, but this afternoon they played some Steve Reich, John Cage, and two recent pieces. When I walked into Little Bridges and saw this setup, I was immediately drawn in and wanted to get up on stage and just play all the various bells, gongs, bowls, marimbas, drums, etc. 

Scamfest 2012

Last night we, along with hundreds and hundreds of people, attended the 17th annual Scamfest at Bridges Auditorium. We were treated to the music of 12 a cappella groups from So Cal, many from the 5Cs.

The a capella style has really changed over the years, from barbershop to the current texture of a lead singer with a huge consort of back-up singers with prominent beat-boxing. Now, I like this current style, but two hours of the same texture is tiring to my ear. The audience really liked it, and I liked some of the songs, but I was wishing for more diversity of style.

I did enjoy the various choreography of all the groups.

I also noticed that the groups from USC and UCLA were a notch higher in quality (tone and intonation), and I wondered if it might be because there is a greater chance that more of those students are music majors and/or take voice lessons.

I particularly enjoyed The SoCal VoCals (which I heard on the Sing-Off a few years ago) and their rendition of Bottom of the River and Reverse Osmosis and their 15 Step.

William Blake Poetry Set to New Music

While listening to NPR podcasts during my daily trips to the gym, I heard this story about new settings for some William Blake poems by Martha Redbone. As a child my father read me Blake, and I especially enjoyed The Tyger and memorized it. I am also a fan of Appalachian music - bluegrass as well as the sound of the hymns as heard in O, Brother Where Art Thou.

At the NPR website you can listen to two songs - The Fly and The Garden of Love to get an idea of Redbone's amazing voice and the perfect union of these two seemingly diverse entities. Perhaps this will serve as inspiration for me for some future compositions?

Playing without Pain

This was a concert weekend which meant lots and lots of playing the viola. Two hour dress rehearsal, concert Saturday night (one and a quarter hour) with repeat performance this afternoon.

This morning my friend Wendy, trained in Alexander Technique, came to our Women's Choir at church and worked with us a bit on how to use our bodies more naturally for better tone production.

It got me thinking about the pain I have been having on the left side of my back when I play viola for a long time, and I think it has to do with how I share the stand with my stand partner. I asked Wendy about this and if she knew of anything to do, and she said that it is just a matter of trial and error. I think this problem is compounded with violists since our instruments are larger than violins and can really get in the way of each other.

So just before the concert this afternoon, my stand partner and I worked on a new arrangement that put her closer to the music and me looking at it straight on instead of twisting a bit. We were both happier and more comfortable about this new arrangement, and we wonder why we haven't worked it out sooner.

Now if only the notes were bigger and clearer so we could see better, and if only the Eroica was not so intense for so long a time and it was easier to concentrate through that whole symphony.

Prepared Xylophone

Yesterday I went to an Orff workshop where the presenters (Lissie Quishenberry and Rachael Doudrek) used rubber bands in several great ways. First of all, they used large bands around xylophone bars ala John Cage. One can "pluck" the bands to create a new timbre, but also stick things underneath the bands to create a "prepared xylophone" with yet a new timbre.

Another cool thing to do with rubber bands is to use them to color code each note (ala boomwhackers) which can go with any visual that you might create.

More on Wedding Music

Just curious. Why do brides want music from The Phantom of the Opera at their weddings? Maybe they like the tunes, but they come from a musical where a girl is stalked and kidnapped.

Parents...

Just a few stories from the start-up of this year's Elementary Instrumental Music Program.

1) Some students did not show up for the first day of class. I emailed each family to remind them to come, and that I hoped that their child was not sick (there's a rash of illness going around lately). Today I got an email from a parent that said they were happy to get my email because they weren't sure if their daughter was "in." I replied that, for future reference, for our program when you fill out an application, you are automatically "in." (Although, if one turns in an application very late, they may not automatically be "in.")

2) One student came to the first day of class yesterday and had not turned in his registration form ahead of time. He handed it to me and then wondered where his instrument was. Like we can read their minds? His mom took him to the district today asking about the instrument, and he will just have to be a little patient.

I am always glad once these kinds of things are straightened out and we can get down to the business of making music!

Private LA Phil Concert

Out driving today, I was tuned to 91.5 KUSC and the people on it were talking about the first set of concerts for the LA Phil this year. This is Gustavo Dudamel's 4th season with the orchestra and the 9th season in the Disney Music Hall. As the announcers continued, it became clear to me that they were about to broadcast the concert live on the station, so I hurried home so I could listen to it on my home stereo.

On the program today, Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess, the world premiere of Stucky's Symphony, and Stravinksy's Rite of Spring.

I know it would have been much better to have been IN Disney Hall, but I was pleased to be able to enjoy the concert from the comfort of my living room. Steven Stucky discusses his work at the LA Phil website here. It generally takes a listener time to get to know a piece, and sometimes the first hearing is not too favorable to the listener's ear. Stucky's piece is definitely accessible and I hope to find a way to be able to hear it again soon.

Attention Spans

I have been trying to figure out why my students seem to have much shorter attention spans this year from last. At first I thought it might just be the beginning of the school year. But then it dawned on me that I now teach just before and just after lunch, which are not great times to learn anything.

So, I am going to have to figure out ways to combat this....

Teaching Improvisation

Having attended a goodly number of Orff workshops in the past 8 years or so, I can definitely say that Saturday's workshop with Julie Scott was one of the very best. She presented a chronological and immensely practical approach to teaching improvisation from the youngest children on up. I particularly enjoyed this way of playing drums, and I think I may just have to incorporate that into my upper grade lesson plans very soon.

Name Games

Vista is a small enough school (around 300) where I can hope to learn the majority of students' names. Back when I ran the library there, I did know everyone's names (and who had late books, etc.), but I have not run the library in five years.

This summer I pulled out Doug Goodkin's Name Games: Activities for Rhythmic Development. I am going to make a concerted effort to use at least a handful of these games throughout the year. I would love for the kids to create ostinatos with their names as building blocks and transfer these patterns to pitched and unpitched instruments.

I am inspired by this youtube video where these 4th grade students, over a long period of time, created their own piece of music - over 8 minutes long - (ala Philip Glass, sort of) with ostinatos. I would love to work towards a student-composed piece (or pieces), and I think that using the rhythms of their own names would be a great elemental building block.

Sheet Music Organization

Here are the before and after photos of the sheet music shelf in my studio. The old shelf was not adjustable, and I had lots of unused space. The new shelf is smaller but makes better use of space with adjustable shelves and therefore looks much neater and tidier. Ready now for the new year!

Start of Private Lessons

Good heavens! I just finished teaching 4 private students for 2 hours (and, of course, it went a little longer). I haven't given private lessons in a month now, and I am exhausted! Next week I add classroom teaching to the mix, and then two weeks after that, I add the string program. Little by little! I always seem to forget that it takes a little getting used to to get back into the swing of things.

Pinterest

I have just started to delve into the world of Pinterest. I'd seen my friends who pinned various recipes and craft projects on Facebook, but I didn't think that I needed another time sink. Then I read an article about how teachers could use this tool in their classrooms, and so I thought I'd try it out.

Right now I have a board called Music Teaching Ideas with 22 pins (links to websites) of ideas I think I'd like to try in my music classroom. It's like Evernote in that it's a way to keep the various places I see on the internet organized and in one place, but it is much more visual. 

Using Picture Books in Music Class

I have been thinking about adding literature into my 3rd grade recorder curriculum. In the past I have used the story Tailypo with a simple tune for the repetition of the word Tailypo. As I troll through lists of books, I am reminded of great stories with repetitive phrases that might be good for composing for the students, but there are also the names of books which I don't know. How can I tell if they will be ones I want to buy? I could go to the library and hope that they are there and sit and read them.

The faster way is to look on youtube to see if someone has posted a video of the book being read. Many of these books can be found online, and can give me a quick glimpse to decide if it's a book that I can use or not.

Sorting through Old Files

This summer during Strings Camp, we played a simplified version of Leroy Anderson's The Syncopated Clock. The kids liked it, and it was fun. We took turns playing the tictoc as percussion accompaniment.

I gave out my last 2nd violin part which I had written to supplement the score I had (which only had one violin part which was too advanced for my kids who have just played for one year). I had originally written that out years ago when I worked with the Finale software.

The year I took composition lessons in Chicago, my teacher, James Falzone, suggested that I switch over to Sibelius, and I did, leaving a number of pieces I had arranged, typed out, or composed for students on my computer in Finale form.

Now, four years later and a new computer OS, my Finale Print Music no longer works, and it was also having trouble on my laptop (still running Leopard). A call to support at Finale did not help, but I figured out to download Finale's Notepad - the simplest version of Finale. And free. I think I get it free because I had purchased Finale Print Music, but I think anyone can get it for a free trial, and I think that it's pretty darn cheap to purchase.

If you open up a Finale file, you can export it to an .xml file which Sibelius will open, so I have been been a busy bee the past two days converting files over. This has been tedious, but it has also been very good. I have thrown out music that I know I will never use again, but I have also found hidden gems. Some I will be able to use with our prep orchestra this fall - music that has been too easy for our 3rd and 4th year players, but perfect for those second year kids. Also, I have found a few pieces that I started composing that I never finished, as well as some pieces that would be fun to resurrect.

I usually go through my physical file cabinets to look for music for the coming concerts, but I often forgot to see what is on my hard drive, and this has given me a great reason to revisit that music.

Summer String Camp

I always enjoy the final concert of whatever it is I have been working on, and today was no exception. The Summer Strings Camp finished our two-week stint and played for our families in an informal concert.

On the program:

Our version of Frère Jacques in minor alá Mahler

Pachelbel's Canon
Scarborough Fair
John Ryan's Polka
The Syncopated Clock
All My Loving (Beatles)
Dynamite (Taio Cruz)

I especially enjoy working with these kids. They are happy to come and play, they work well with each other, and we all have a good time.

Fresh Start to a New School Year

It is definitely the catalog season for music teachers. Today I got the Sweet Pipes catalog (all things recorder) and I got pretty excited when I opened it up to the first page. Chris Judah-Lauder has come out with a new recorder curriculum for beginning students which has pdf and powerpoint files. It's called Recorder Success, and I think I will be making a purchase this week. She also has a book called Recorder Games, also with pdfs and powerpoints of short activities.

I know that I the curriculum I have been using and adapting is quite adequate and great for teaching beginning recorders, but I am ready for something new and different. Perhaps these lessons will supplement what I already do and not completely replace my tried-and-true ways.

I am also looking ahead to teaching beginning strings and this year I think I am going to put a notebook together of ideas from Paul Rolland's The Teaching of Action in String Playing. I have been watching the videos and reading the book. Last year I implemented the use of the Bunny Bow Hold chart where each student fills in a grid of 100 squares, one square for each time they make the right hand into the correct bow shape (bunny with ears sticking up) before ever holding the bow. This year I am going to add the Shoulder Shelves chart to the violin and viola students to get them to hold the instrument correctly. I will need to consult with my cellist friend about what to do for cellists....

This really is the New Year for me, not Jan. 1. I love the anticipation of a new school year!

Summer String Camp Begins

There is nothing like coming back from a two-week vacation (including the wedding of one's daughter) and having the weekend to prepare for summer string camp. It would be one thing if I had known ahead of time just exactly who would be coming, what instruments they play, what level of playing they are, but I guess I'll just chalk it up to living life on the edge!

Actually, upon reflection, it went pretty smoothly. After all, string kids are the very best, and the hardest part was trying to figure out how to turn on the air conditioner. Props to the office manager who cheerfully helped me out in a variety of ways so that when the first student walked through the door at 12:30, I was one bite of my sandwich away from being ready to greet him.

I have 27 students registered, and the more strings, the better the sound. I have one student who has switched from cello to bass, one from violin to cello, and no violas.

This year I started with a few rounds which lend themselves to great multilevel work. First of all, you can have the very beginners start with some sort of easy ostinato while the others get to play in a round. Pachelbel Canon, anyone?

Summer Music

I may not have been blogging lately, but I have been busy with music every day. This summer I have practiced violin (Celtic Fiddle and Gliere violin/cello duets), played recorder with the Village Pipers, taught private lessons, arranged music, wrote three haiku for recorders, led Women's Choir rehearsals at church and started preparing for summer string camp in August.

Of course, I always wish that I had done more, thinking that summer months last longer than others, but  that's how it goes.

Alto Recorder

I have decided that I should learn the alto recorder, so I have been working on it a bit, off and on, this summer. So far I am pretty good without sharps or flats or above the staff, so my next goal is to work those tricky bits into my repertoire so I can be as fluent in alto as I am in soprano.

3 Pennies

Lynn altered me to a spot on NPR about getting kids to practice, and I found this tidbit especially interesting.

Instead of pennies, I went to Michaels and bought a package of brightly colored beads and had each of my students chose three (any colors they wanted) and we worked on trouble passages in their lessons with the beads.

I am now going to give out beads in my beginning strings classes this fall to see how that goes!

Irish Fiddling

One of my summer projects is to work on my bowing for Irish fiddle. It's one thing to play the notes of the song, it's another thing completely to use the correct bowing which is not quite related to classical violin bowing.  I was mentioning this to a friend of mine who plays fiddle, and he recommended this book. After starting the book, I realized that I should have ordered the CD, and I went right back to the internet to rectify that problem.  The CD arrived today, and I am just about to pop it in and have a go!

Chops

Last night I streamed this movie, Chops, on Netflix, and I'll have to say that I was hooked the whole way through. If you are a music teacher, a Duke Ellington fan, or just like to root for the underdog, you will enjoy this documentary about a group of high school kids from Florida who compete in a national competition for high school jazz bands called Essentially Ellington in NYC.

I loved how the students worked so hard on getting to the true essence and spirit of jazz in general and Ellington in particular. I loved how these kids became a family through music. This movie gives me hope about the youth of America.

Zimbabwe to Appalachia

I have not been absent from music endeavors lately, just absent from blogging about them! 

A few weeks ago I went to a concert at the Folk Music Center to hear a duo play fusion music from Appalachia and Zimbabwe.  Joti Rockwell of Pomona College played a variety of instruments from guitar to mandolin, fiddle and banjo, while his friend (whose name I don't remember) played the thumb piano (aka kalimba or mbira).  They switched back and forth between music from both cultures and the effect was fabulous.  I pieced together two short clips from their 90-minute concert for your listening pleasure. The first one is obviously the song from Africa.

Ballad of Serenity

I now have an arrangement for violin and cello for The Ballad of Serenity, the theme from Joss Whedon's awesome series Firefly.  I ran across someone's transcription for the violin part on the internet some time ago, but it doesn't really hold up without the melody, so I knew that Lynn would like playing it...and now I have it so we can play it for fun!

Listening Assignment

Tonight at a party, my cellist friend Josh recommended a recording of the  Bach violin sonatas and partitas by Henrik Szeryng, and because you can own 30-some tracks for only $12, I came home and purchased this album. I will be spending some serious time this next week or so listening to this.  Bach is heavenly.

I Heart Music

I was looking through the little folders of my upper grade students and found this little drawing.  Remember my beginning violin student with a cochlear implant?  This was hers.  She has done remarkably well in music this year.

Student Recital

I have not held a recital for my private students in several years.  I think I only had about 3 private students last spring, and my partners in crime (other string teachers) had no students for various reasons.  This year my studio has 1 viola and 4 violin students, and with two more students (a violin and a cello), we had a critical mass for a recital.

Despite the fact that many people do not plan anything for Memorial Day weekend because they think everyone will be out of town, every one of our students could make it this Memorial weekend afternoon, and we had a lovely recital.  At the end the three teachers played a trio of Scott Joplin's rag, The Entertainer.  What a great excuse to get together to play some fun music.

Playing Cello

Today the Vista Orchestra celebrated the end of a great year with a lunchtime party.  We brought our lunches to the music room, and kids brought something extra to share (cookies and chips are favorites).  The biggest hit of the party was when I pulled out two cellos that I have to see which one fit one of my students the best.  I wanted to let her borrow a cello for the summer so she can keep practicing.  

The best part of this party was that every kid in the room wanted to play the cellos and stood patiently in line for their turn.  It was pretty cute.

CUSD Concert

Last night our district string students, 4th-12th Grades, performed our final concert of the year, so now it's time to clean-up, regroup, rest, and think about next year.

I am constantly amazed at how well-behaved string students are.  They sat for a little over an hour, performing and then listening to the other groups play and adults make all kinds of announcements.  We had absolutely no issues (just some students who have no idea how to play their instruments and sit in the back row looking completely lost).

Claremont Youth Symphony

It's always great to see the students who started with me in the CUSD strings program continue their music, and today I saw 11 of my former (and one current) student perform with the Claremont Youth Symphony.  The students played nearly one hour's worth of music which requires a great deal of concentration, and I was proud of them all.

The End of the School Year

It's the end of the school year.  You can tell because of the concerts that pop up on the calendar.  I have discovered that student persistence wanes in May, so it's good to end on a high note.  On Wednesday we had our (3rd or 4th?) annual Vista Orchestra and Recorders Concert.  I really enjoy this one.  It lasts about 30 minutes, the MP room at Vista is standing room only, and the set-up is really easy.

This year we played 10 pieces, about 4 of them new arrangements for this year.  I am always pleased with how everything comes together, and I am always happy when it is over.

Two more concerts on the docket - the district strings concert and a recital for my private students.  Then it's summer (and time to think about composing in earnest).

Haiku and Recorders

I have been asked by the Village Pipers (the recorder group I play with on occasion) to write some music to accompany haiku written by one of our members for a Haiku Convention where we will be performing next summer (2013).  I look forward to the challenge of composing something completely different, experimenting with a variety of sounds, and yet will be accessible to not only the audience, but also the performers.

Goal-Setting

So last New Year's Eve, I blogged about music to work on (compose, arrange). Today when I reread the list, I was not shocked that I have not done much on that list.

I have arranged Sheebeg and Sheemore in a jazzy fashion.
Somehow other things have occupied my Sibelius-time - Celtic arrangements for recorders and violin, music for beginning strings to play at our May concert, a song for women's choir and subsequent string quartet based on that song.

With the end of the school year drawing to a close, it's time to go back to my list and either chip away at it, or revise and add new ideas.

Liking Brahms

This weekend I played viola in two concerts of Brahms' German Requiem.  Knowing that even Classical music fans do not like Brahms in general (just google "don't like Brahms" and see what comes up), I discussed that with various orchestra members.  I think that most of us agree that we like and even love Brahms - symphonies, concerti, this requiem.

I have played all four symphonies, although I can't always remember which movement is from which symphony.  My first impression after listening to a recording of the requiem is that all the movements sounded similar to each other - ponderous.  After rehearsing it for nearly two months, I now have favorite movements, favorite parts of movements, and parts that work their way through my mind at a whim.

For many, Brahms requires a little work and many visits. I imagine that it's like reading Faulkner.  I've read The Sound and the Fury once and found it extremely difficult.  I think that if I read it in a class and worked through it with patience and some other insights, I would come to actually like it.

What I also learned over the weekend that I could not really comprehend during rehearsals is that although the notes are not particularly difficult (the passages are not crazy fast or demand high shifting), playing through the work from beginning to end requires quite a bit of focus for a straight hour.  I found that I missed notes in concert that I never missed in rehearsal, especially in later movements.

It's also tiring to play a controlled muted sound for an hour, since our large orchestra has to play underneath the choir (and soloists) for so much of the work.

I guess I come down firmly on the Brahms side of the Brahms/Wagner debate....

Arranging My Own Composition

Today I started working on a string quartet arrangement of Psalm 137 that I wrote for SA Women's Choir.  I have to say that since I spend most of my musical time with my violin or viola, I think I write better in this medium.  Last week I had the choir try out my singing version, but it was a little too difficult to sight read, especially since we had only a few in attendance that day.  I hope to give the choir version another go or two to see what I can learn about composing for voices.

April is a Busy Month

Even though the end of the music school year is still more than a month away, this is the time of year when we realize that we need to get things done.

This weekend we took a field trip to Disney Hall with our String Orchestra for a children's concert.  You can read more about that on my daily blog here.

On Sunday afternoon I played with the Village Pipers, a recorder group at the Claremont Community School of Music.  We played for a Garden Tour and performed under a large live oak tree overlooking the valley from a garden up in Padua.

The Women's Choir at CUCC is gearing up to actually sing in worship on Mother's Day, so that has involved some extra practice time.

Music Sculptures

Spring Break is a great time to think about things other than music, although one can never really escape music...  Anyway, I just got home from a trip to see family in Colorado, and we took a lovely walk through the Benson Sculpture Garden where I found at least three music-related sculptures.  I try to integrate art into my music lessons once in a while - enjoying the cross-pollenization of the artistic disciplines.

GarageBand for iPad

I have yet to explore all the features of Garageband, on my Mac, and especially on my new iPad.  I am starting with this great youtube tutorial - 40 minutes long - one section at a time.  So far it seems pretty comprehensive and easy to understand.

I think I may be making back tracks for my recorder students, and perhaps my beginning string students.  Who knows what else I will want to do with it?

I Learn More from my Students than they do from Me

Every year I play a passing game with my second graders.  We try to pass first one, then many beanbags around the circle, keeping a steady beat.  Every year about 5-6 kids per class just don't get it and mess up our rhythm.  Someone won't watch when a beanbag is deposited in front of them, or some can't wait to move it along like a hot potato rather than waiting for the correct beat.

So it was last week.  So, I thought to myself, we need more practice at this game.  Today I did not need to lesson plan since we repeated the passing game.  Presto!  The kids were so much better at it today than last week, and they were so (rightfully) pleased with themselves.  I am writing this down for next year:  Passing game for two class sessions in a row.

Orff Workshops

I have been going to Orff Workshops for a number of years now, and I always enjoy getting new ideas for teaching.  I can never keep doing the exact same thing year after year without getting bored, so I either tweak a lesson plan I like or replace it with something that I learn in one of these workshops.  (Of course, there are a few lessons I love so much that I never tire of them.)

When I went to Paul Cribari's workshop on Saturday, it dawned on me that I don't necessarily pay as much attention to the songs/movement being taught as I do to the tidbits and tricks and small ideas that the presenter brings.  For example, we were doing body percussion with a poem (what poem?  it doesn't matter) and Cribari talked about the quality of the clapping and stamping.  So, some of the clapping we did high, some lower (cupped hands), and the stamping (seen here) was given a special movement to make it musical, rather than just mindlessly setting your foot down on the ground.

This week I am doing a canon with my upper graders, and you can be sure we will be paying close attention to the quality of our sounds.

Passacaglia

I have always known that the college students play in recitals, but I have never been to one until Tuesday night.  I found out that our first chair viola (a freshman) was playing the Passacaglia on a theme by Handel by Johan Halvorsen.  I know that he is a good player, but his performance proved to me that he is a great player, and it was a joy to hear this piece played so well.  I didn't tape it, but you can hear it in this youtube video with Pinchas Zuckerman and Itzhak Perlman.

Musical Instrument Museum

Last week I took time off from teaching, composing, practicing and even (gasp!) listening to music.  It was time to take a spring break and see some baseball spring training in Arizona and hike through the beautiful red rocks of Sedona.

Hence, no blogging about music.  However, on our last day, we ended up at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix.  Wow!  What an amazing new museum.  We spent about 2 1/2 hours there, and I'm sure we didn't see everything, and by the end I was so overwhelmed with the offerings that I was basically just walking through the galleries to make sure I hadn't missed anything too terribly important.

I stopped taking photos after 85 shots.

The top floor has instruments from around the world grouped by continent, then country (or sometimes region).  With headphones and a little transmitter, you could listen to various videos throughout the hall from each country - what a wealth of sound!  Also, you wouldn't believe all the variations on a theme - multiple kinds of drums, violins, things you bang on, things you blow into, etc.

I wondered how I could take anything from this experience to share with my students, and I ran across a sign in the China section about instrument classification.  It got  me to thinking about the various ways in which we have grouped instruments, from the modern Western thought of strings / winds / percussion to the Orff classification of metals / woods / skins, and then there are the ways in which instruments are played.  Perhaps I can put together a lesson with some of the photos that I took and have kids create their own classification system.

Why Teach Music?

Music Technology in Education

I am strongly considering getting an iPad 3 when it comes out next week.  I realize that this is definitely a want and not a need.  At home I use my desktop iMac for Sibelius and other music-related fun, and my trusty MacBook goes to school with me to show short music videos to kids, put music and lyrics up on the screen, and run powerpoint games (Poison Melody, anyone?).  I also bring my laptop into my private studio so I can play accompaniment tracks for my beginning students.  (That makes some of the early "songs" sound much more interesting than they really are.)

So, in preparation for bringing home this new toy, I searched for "ipad music education apps" and came up with a blog which I have added to "music blogs of note" on the left side of this page.  It would appear that I have much to learn to see how to integrate new technologies into the classroom.

This could be fun!

New student

I am so pleased with a new student who started with me last month.  He took recorder with me at Vista last year as a third grader (and did quite well).   He did not start an instrument in the school music program this fall, but he went to a children's concert by the Claremont Symphony Orchestra in January and came home to declare that he wanted to take violin lessons.

He has had 5 lessons with me so far, and I can tell that he takes his practicing seriously.  He also seems to have a natural affinity to the violin.  Today he told me that his goal is to be as good as Joshua Bell.  At the rate he's going, he can certainly achieve that goal!

Violin Concerto

I have been toying with the idea of learning a violin concerto.  For fun.  Not to perform for people.  The question, though, is which one?  If it's too hard, then I will give up.  I went through the music I already own and flipped through it and came up with Mozart's 3rd.  I watched it on youtube with Gustavo Dudamel conducting and Hilary Hahn playing.

This morning I followed a link on Twitter from Southwest Strings to take a quiz to see "What Violin Concerto Are You?"  I answered some personality questions, and what do you know?  Mozart #3 popped up as the answer!  Karma?

Song for Women's Choir

This morning I started working on a song for our newly-formed Women's Choir at church, and since I want to take a little break from the arranging mode, I am working on an original piece.  I started by looking through old files and coming across something that I had "jotted down" in 2008 that I had called "Hymn."  I took that 40 seconds of the D-dorian tune and started some harmony, then added a refrain.

The difficult part for me is to come up with lyrics.  I started looking through hymn books to get some inspiration, and, at first, I came up with some words based on the Beatitudes.  I don't think the mode of the song fits the words especially well, so I kept looking.  Although I have not written any more lyrics, I think I want to work on some that are based on Psalm 137 - the poem of longing by the Israelites held captive in Babylon.  You know the one - By the Waters of Babylon, or On The Willows in Godspell.

Question and Answer

Working on the question

Completed q and a

 I have been working with the upper grade students on the concept of a musical conversation - Question and Answer.  I like using these cards which give each rhythm a different color.  This photo on the right shows the two students' completed task of creating a question, and then an answer that uses the same rhythmic material, but in a different order.

Bell Ringer

I chose the photo where I am hiding...

This morning in church I resurrected an instrument from my past.  Okay, the instrument was not dead, but I have not played in a bell choir since high school.  This month in church we are highlighting the music ministry, and I volunteered to be part of an ad hoc group of children and adults in a version of the 150th Psalm.  It was great fun to ring the bells in a cacophonous sound which ended on a C Major Triad.

Arranging....

Here's an update on what I've been working on since the new year in the arranging department:

• Finished the first draft of the jazzed-up version of Sheebeg and Sheemore I am calling Sheebeg Some More
• A recorder version of the Scottish tune Kelvingrove for SAT
• An SA version of In a Land Where We'll Never Grow Old for a new Women's Choir at church

Sheebeg Some More

So, here's how I'm coming along on my goal to do more arranging/composing.  As of this morning, I now have about 1 1/2 minutes of a jazzy rendition of O'Carolan's Sheebeg and Shemore.  My inspiration has been Dave Brubeck's Kathy's Waltz (which starts out in 4/4) as performed by the Quartet San Francisco.  The texture has to be much thinner in my version since it is only for violin and cello, though I may want to make a trio or quartet version of it, too, someday.

Tomorrow we play through what I have written down so far to see what works and what doesn't, and then....expand!

Tiny Desk Concerts

Oh, my.  I think I've found another time-sink.  While browsing my cousin's facebook page, I saw a link to a video that her son put there which included Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile and Stewart Duncan. I wasn't very aware, I guess, of this NPR series of short concerts.  Here is a link to the archive of the 150 or so videos of these little concerts since 2008. Maybe I'll surface one of these days after immersing myself in these videos!