Nuts and Bolts of Recorder Class

This is not a post of how to integrate Orff-Schulwerk into recorder class, nor what curriculum I use, but really, the housekeeping end of teaching recorders.

Right now I have 48 plastic recorders going through my dishwasher. It is the end of the school year and time to clean up so when I start to prepare for the fall, things will be ready to go.

First, I got the school to buy me recorders for the students. I chose the Bare Bones recorders from West Music for $2.25. These have the West logo on them, are 3-piece, and are similar to the Yamaha. The first year I assigned each student a recorder with a homemade strap (made of ribbon and small hair bands just like I learned in my Orff Level 1 class). I wrote the number on each recorder with a sharpie. I have to rewrite the numbers occasionally. I picked up some boxes used for wine and covered up the words on the outside with construction paper and a little sign that said "Room 10 Recorders". I put two recorders in each slot, and each slot has written the correct numbers on the cardboard.

So far, so good. However, that first year I let the students take these recorders home to practice if they wanted. Of course, there were always a few who forgot them on music class day, so I either had to have an old one around for them to use (and clean after), or they could play air recorder or use a pencil.

This was so frustrating that I finally figured out that these were the class set to stay at school. I offered the children a chance to buy their own recorder to keep at home for practice. I order the same recorders as we use in class, and the kids are so excited when the recorders come and they can take them home. After all, most of the kids can afford a $3 recorder. Of course, I order extra since some kids don't jump on the bandwagon at first and decide later they want their own recorder. I charge a little extra so that it can include shipping, and then with the extra money I can buy the materials for the straps and whatever else I need for recorder class.

Some kids use a recorder from an older sibling, or just happen to have one around the house anyway.

This has worked marvelously well. I have to replace straps most years, and occasionally I replace a recorder (one group of students left teeth marks on theirs - yuck, and I had to replace a whole bunch).

Claremont Folk Festival

I cannot believe that I have lived in Claremont for 27 years, and I have never before been to the Claremont Folk Festival. Thankfully, I rectified that on Saturday when I attended the festival for the first time. It was also the first time that the festival was held at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens. What a perfect venue for such a great event. I will be sure to go again.

For the uninitiated, the all-day festival features lots and lots of live music with two stages going. There are workshops from folk singing, drumming, ukulele, songwriting, didgeridoo, and arts. Various vendors sell interesting items and local food vendors have eats and drinks (including Claremont Craft Ales and Dale Brothers).

Here is Peter Harper playing at the Lily Pond Stage (plenty of shade for the audience).

 Here is a mosaic in process at the mosaic-making workshop.

People were enjoying monotype printing.

Kids were enjoying a puppet show.

Here is a "quilt" where people have written the name of a special song on an index card.

You could buy cool banjos and cigar-box ukuleles.

Many people were carrying around their own ukes.

Food vendors

Here is Moira Smiley and VOCO on the main stage. I really, really enjoyed this performance and came home to look them up on the internet. They have a TEDx talk that you can see here.

This group, Fivacious, was supposed to have a spot on one of the stages, but something went wrong, so they were strolling around the gardens and singing in various spots. I stopped for a listen, and they gave out CDs when they were done. They are a family of 5 siblings singing a capella gospel.

Music at BN.com

I was happy to receive a Barnes & Noble gift card for my birthday. Who wouldn't be? I decided to do a little armchair shopping yesterday and thought I would enjoy some music - wow, buying a CD or two!

And while I did end up with two CDs - soundtracks to Battlestar Galactica and O Brother, Where Art Thou? - I have some suggestions for BN.com that would compel me to use them more often.

1) What, no mp3s? Only CDs?
2) No previews as to what the tracks sound like? (I had to go to Amazon / iTunes Store for that).
3) The main page announced that there was a buy 2/get 1 CD/DVD offer, but it never really showed up anywhere else, no matter where I clicked
4) The music selection is not nearly as complete as other sites. Hmmm.

String Quartets For Weddings

It's wedding season again. A while ago I blogged about choices of music that brides made for their ceremony. Today I am thinking about what you get when you pay a group of musicians to set the right mood for your special day. Recently a bride asked me if we could give her a discount since she was "way over budget" for her wedding. (She is not a friend or even an acquaintance - I have actually never met this woman.) After I picked my jaw up off of the floor, I realized that people probably have no idea what it entails to perform in a wedding. It goes well beyond the 30 minutes before the wedding plus the ceremonial music.

You pay for:

• Spending time with the bride selecting the music for the ceremony
• Finding the sheet music (or arranging it which will require an extra fee - this takes a great deal of time)
• Rehearsing (probably an hour - we've played together before, but we might need to discuss and practice where we might end, depending upon how long it takes for certain things to happen)
• Transportation to and from the wedding. Even if the wedding is within 15 minutes, we like to carpool and we arrive early to set up and to make sure we don't get caught in traffic.
• And, of course, performing. Remember, it also took us many years to play at this level, so you are paying for our expertise.

Multiply this by 3 or 4, and we are into at least 10-12 hours. If a professional musician's time is worth $50-$100 and more per hour, then you get the idea why the price seems to be so much.

#ritenpr

Now that I am on summer vacation, lesson plan ideas are springing to mind. NPR had a contest for the 100th anniversary of the first performance of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. They asked readers to create a one-minute video of the final minute of the piece, and then NPR made a montage of their favorites.

The montage is great, the variety of entries inspiring. I especially enjoy the children's version, but I am thinking about showing my students a sampling of the versions for inspiration so that they can create their own movement to either that minute of music, or maybe another piece (Carmina Burana?).