Links to December Music recordings!

....professional recordings, that is.

For your reference & home practice:

Concert:
Burgundian Carol
Skaters' Waltz
North Pole Workshop
Dance of the Reed Flutes

Serenade:
Firelight, Candlelight
Christmas Toys on Parade
Rhythmic Snapshots of Christmas

Symphonia:
Moon of Winter
Rock you Merry Gentlemen
Faeries


Philharmonia:
5 Ukrainians
Christmas Festival


Chamber:
Christmas Festival

Three Ring

Register for your free Three Ring account by going to threering.com and entering the unique access code that is posted up on the wall in my room.

For extra credit (submit by next Friday if you want it to count), give me your thoughts on this article:
Why it's good to lose

December Concert Vocabulary

Here is a link to a PDF of the vocabulary list for our December concert music.  On November 1, you will have a quiz over this information.....you will need to show me your COMPLETED vocab sheet by October 31st for a homework grade.  Here's a website that could be super helpful for you to help fill out your sheet....good luck!

Tshirt voting! (early, even!!)

And the winner is.....


G and L!

I will talk to the printer about providing a short AND long sleeve option (maybe baseball sleeve.  We'll see!)

Listening Assignment- Symphonia

Here are 2 songs we recorded in class this morning.  Listen to them (ouch), and for a homework grade, give me the following:

- 5-6 measures PER SONG that need to be fixed
- How YOU (not "we") plan on fixing them
Ghost Carnival

Evil Eye and Hideous Heart



This will be due Thursday, September 19th by midnight.

Listening Assignment- Philharmonia

Here's the song (I deleted HS since we're not playing that one anymore) we recorded in class this morning.  Listen to them (ouch), and for a homework grade, give me the following:

- 5-6 measures PER SONG that need to be fixed
- How YOU (not "we") plan on fixing them
Labyrinth and the Mad King




This will be due Thursday, September 19th by midnight.

Listening Assignment- Chamber

Here are the 3 songs we recorded in class this morning.  Listen to them (ouch), and for a homework grade, give me the following:

- 5-6 measures PER SONG that need to be fixed
- How YOU (not "we") plan on fixing them
Danse Macabre

NOBM

Paranoid Android

(First Violins: that measure that gives us such fits can be found in the professional recording at 3:12)
This will be due Thursday, September 19th by midnight.

Listening Assignment- Concert Orchestra

Here are the 3 songs we recorded in class this morning.  Listen to them (ouch), and for a homework grade, give me the following:

- 5-6 measures PER SONG that need to be fixed
- How YOU (not "we") plan on fixing them
Addams Family
Sneaking Suspicion
Goblin Boogie


This will be due Thursday, September 19th by midnight.

Listening Assignment- Serenade

Here are the 3 songs we recorded in class this morning.  Listen to them (ouch), and for a homework grade, give me the following:

- 5-6 measures PER SONG that need to be fixed
- How YOU (not "we") plan on fixing them

Shadows in the House
Fright Night
Gargoyles

This will be due Thursday, September 19th by midnight.

Links to music recordings

...no, not OUR recordings.  Yikes.

Here are professional recordings that you can use a a practice reference......happy long weekend!

Serenade: Gargoyles
                Fright Night
                Shadows in the House

Concert: Goblin Boogie
              Sneaking Suspicion
              Addams Family

Chamber: Night on Bald Mountain
                Paranoid Android
                Danse Macabre

Philharmonia: Legend of Sleepy Hollow
                     Halloween Spooktacular
                     Labyrinth and the Mad King

Symphonia: The Evil Eye and the Hideous Heart
                  Ghost Carnival
                  Edward Scissorhands

What is success?

As a teacher, I'm given a lot of definitions of what "success" looks like for people in my job. There are national standards and GCPS standards that provide a concrete definition of what doing my job successfully means (if you're curious, these are our national standards and these are the AKS for Gwinnett).

But those are just the beginning of the goals I have for myself and for you. I watched a video recently that asked me to think about what MY definition of "success" is...is it just the national standards? Meeting the AKS? Or is it something more? Personally, I think goal-making (as completely cheesy as it sounds) is important. How do you know where to go if you don't have a final destination in mind?

With that being said, I'm going to share some of my goals for the year with you...and you're going to share some of yours with me. (More on that later!)
My goals:
- create a classroom where you are encouraged to solve your own problems. I want you to be able to find extra music, tune your instrument, and even do some minor repairs without asking me. This not only helps you become a critical thinker, but also frees up class time for more important things.
- work hard and play hard. We have a lot to accomplish during the year. And I know that you are going to be amazed at where you are musically in May. But I don't want every day to be a grueling, painful, boring practice marathon...so yeah, we sometimes watch music videos. Or TED talks. Or we listen to a song. Or we get off on a tangent about commercials of the 1990s.
- scaffold information.  There are key things that you need to know about music: melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, form, style. I want you to be able to recognize and talk about those even if they change from piece to piece.
- be comfortable in this space.  When I was in high school, the orchestra room was THE place to hang out. It's where I saw all of my friends first thing in the morning, during class (dur) and even after school sometimes (you know, before my mom picked me up). Because you are an orchestra student, the orchestra room is YOUR room (except if you have gum. Or food. Because rules.) as well as my room. You should feel welcome here, and this should bethe space where you are most able to be yourself.

Now it's your turn! For a homework grade, tell me 3 goals you have for yourself for the year or for your high school career. They can be musical or non-musical goals...just as long as they are real. If you don't want people other than me to see your goals, you can submit them on paper. This assignment is due by midnight on Tuesday, September 3rd...NO EXCUSES, NO EXCEPTIONS. 

Welcome Back!!!

I'm so pumped to start this school year....I missed you guys!!

A few housekeeping items....I don't know how many of you check this blog regularly (lol, most of you didn't check it when you had assignments....), but if you do see it, share with your orchestra friends!

BOOSTER CLUB: it's so important for the continued awesomeness of our orchestra that everyone joins booster club.  You can visit the booster club website here and find out more about how to join.  WHY is it so important to join? Well, we use booster funds for all kinds of things....awards, new music, hiring instructors, and buying materials like new strings.

We WILL start playing on Monday, August 12th....but if you want to bring your instruments before that we can get them tuned and ready to go.

Our first concert is going to be an awesome Halloween-theme...lots of fun spooky music.  You guys.  I'm so excited I can't stand it.

Rehearsal Recordings

Here are the real, professional recordings for the pieces we're playing....something to PRACTICE with.  (hint hint.)

Walk This Way

Eleanor Rigby

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Sweet Child O' Mine

CONCERT LISTENING ASSIGNMENT

Yyyyyyeah.  Here are the three rehearsal recordings today during class.  Listen to all three of them and give me a list of 3-4 spots that you will practice in each one (so 9-12 spots total).  Be specific with measure numbers and what elements you're going to rehearse on your own....rhythm?  Intonation?  Style?  Dynamics?  etc.

This will be due by MIDNIGHT on Friday, April 19th.  Please remember that late submissions will not be accepted.  If you have technology trouble, you may hand-write your submission and turn it in to me Friday during class (or print out a screenshot of your submission and give it to me).

Walk This Way Concert

Eleanor Rigby Concert

Smells Like Teen Spirit Concert

SYMPHONIA LISTENING ASSIGNMENT

Blargh.  Here are the three rehearsal recordings today during class.  Listen to all three of them and give me a list of 3-4 spots that you will practice in each one (so 9-12 spots total).  Be specific with measure numbers and what elements you're going to rehearse on your own....rhythm?  Intonation?  Style?  Dynamics?  etc.

This will be due by MIDNIGHT on Friday, April 19th.  Please remember that late submissions will not be accepted.  If you have technology trouble, you may hand-write your submission and turn it in to me Friday during class (or print out a screenshot of your submission and give it to me).

Walk This Way Symphonia

Eleanor Rigby Symphonia

Smells Like Teen Spirit Symphonia

SERENADE LISTENING ASSIGNMENT

Woooooo.  Here are the three rehearsal recordings today during class.  Listen to all three of them and give me a list of 3-4 spots that you will practice in each one (so 9-12 spots total).  Be specific with measure numbers and what elements you're going to rehearse on your own....rhythm?  Intonation?  Style?  Dynamics?  etc.

This will be due by MIDNIGHT on Friday, April 19th.  Please remember that late submissions will not be accepted.  If you have technology trouble, you may hand-write your submission and turn it in to me Friday during class (or print out a screenshot of your submission and give it to me).


Eleanor Rigby- Serenade

Smells Like Teen Spirit- Serenade

Walk This Way- Serenade

Full Orchestra Rehearsal Recordings

William Tell

Russian Sailor's Dance

1812 Overture, mm38

1812 Overture, mm 73

1812 Overture, mm 140

T-Shirts!!

Don't forget, tshirt money ($10) is due TUESDAY!!

Ms. B

Rehearsal Strategies...what's yours?

So...we have a lot, and I mean A LOT of music to learn for our pops concert.  That's awesome, since it's all great music....but it's still a lot to learn!  For a grade, please outline for me rehearsal strategies for TWO (2) different pieces of music.  BE SPECIFIC!! I want to know:
- the piece of music you are outlining a strategy for...LOTR, Chicago, I Dreamed a Dream, Walk this Way, Eleanor Rigby, Smells like Teen Spirit, Sweet Child o' Mine, Rainbow Connection, or Willy Wonka
- specific passages from that piece you'll be working on
- how you plan on approaching those passages

This will be due by MIDNIGHT on Friday, March 15th.  Please remember that last submissions will not be submitted.  If you have technology trouble, you may hand-write your submission and turn it in to me Friday during class (or print out a screenshot of your submission and give it to me).

This assignment is for Concert, Serenade, and Symphonia.

Who does it better?

Concert Orchestra's Harlem Shake...

Serenade's version will be up soon!

Philharmonia 2nd Violins

....here's your part, complete with creepy giggle at the beginning.

creeeeeeeepy.

Disney Survey

If you went on the Disney trip, help us plan our next trip by filling out the survey HERE.

Ms. B

Our Pops Concert is coming!! Our Pops Concert is coming!!

Our traditional end-of-the-year Pops Concert is coming...May 14th will be here more quickly than we think!  As in years past, I'm putting control of the concert repertoire in your hands....you purchase the music and we play it.  I'm putting the links to several of the music publishers that I use regularly so that you can peruse their pops selections and start making plans....we need to place orders by March 1.

JW Pepper
Hal Leonard
Alfred

Ms. B

TED talk...seeing sound with fire. This one's for everyone!

Okay, y'all know how much I love a good TED talk.  This one is really interesting, because the presenter  talks about visualizing sound and how different frequencies can be relayed with visualizations.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT!  Watch this TED Talk with Jared Ficklin.  In the comments section, tell me three things:
1.  What unconventional sound(s) you would like to see visualized.
2.  How you would like to visualize that unconventional sound (art?  Software?  Ruben's tube? Something new and different?)
3.  What kind of implications the visualization of sound could have on closed captioning.  Ficklin mentions using it in scary movies--what other applications are out there?

This assignment will be due by midnight on Monday, February 11th.

Concert Orchestra!

Concert orchestra-- listen to this recording of Tumbleweeds...
Our class recording of Tumbleweeds

...and compare it to the professional recording I posted previously.  What are the differences that you hear (other than tempo)?  What can YOU do to improve our performance?

Concert Orchestra!

I'm putting some links to recordings of our concert pieces...maybe practice along with them, but definitely take a listen!
Tumbleweeds
A Road Less Traveled
Rite at Stonehenge

Harold says practice.
Ms. B

Symphonia Listening Assignment- January 29th

Symphonia Orchestra- listen to the following rehearsal recording.  For a homework grade, leave a comment describing:
1. an issue that you hear
2.  A solution for that issue.  Be specific....don't just write "practice" or "count."

Symphonia- Mantras Jan 29

Philharmonia Listening assignment-January 29th

Philharmonia:  listen to the following rehearsal recording.  For a homework grade, leave a comment describing:
1. an issue that you hear
2.  A solution for that issue.  Be specific....don't just write "practice" or "count."

Philharmonia- Elegy

Serenade listening assignment- January 29th, 2013

Serenade orchestra- listen to the following rehearsal recording.  For a homework grade, leave a comment describing:
1. an issue that you hear
2.  A solution for that issue.  Be specific....don't just write "practice" or "count."

Serenade- Declarations

So it begins!

I will frequently be posting rehearsal recordings that we made during class on this blog.  I’ll let you know during class that I’m posting, but I encourage you to “follow” this blog (new posts will be sent to your email) or add it to your reader (new posts will show up in your aggregator).  When something new for your class is posted, it will be tagged with your class’s name (Concert, Serenade, Symphonia, or Philharmonia).  You will be asked to make a comment on the recordings for your class only by the end of that school week.

When you comment on your class’s recordings, don’t worry that you can’t see your comment immediately, and DON’T KEEP SUBMITTING YOUR COMMENT!! All comments are being moderated by me, which means I have to read and approve them before they’ll show up.

Commenting on these posts will be a homework grade.  If you don’t have access to a computer at home, you can always come use the student workstation in my room on Wednesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays during Guided Study.