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Welcome to Instrument Night! Welcome to Instrument Night! “ta” . not “tmiller” Mrs. Tani R. Miller, Director of Orchestras Hershey Elementary School [email protected] HES Orchestra Social Media & Orchestra Website Instagram • chocolatetownfiddlers • https://www.instagram.com/chocolatetownfiddlers/ • A few fun photos of kids in orchestra. Edublog • Chocolatetown Fiddlers • http://chocolatetownfiddlers.edublogs.org • The new primary page for communication with parents & students. • Facebook • Tani Miller in Hershey, PA* • https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013294788523 • Communication with parents and the Hershey community. • *this name will soon change to Chocolatetown Fiddlers . when FB allows me to do so! ;o) DTSD Teacher Site • Tani Miller, on the intermediate staff page • http://www.hershey.k12.pa.us/Domain/281 • May soon simply have a link to my Edublog site. Welcome from Mrs. Miller! Thank you for your interest in enrolling your child in our elementary school orchestra program. In the last 13 years, our program has grown from an initial 34 students to between 150-250 students each year. Our students demonstrate much learning and musical growth in their time spent learning to play a string instrument. This packet of information will include lots of answers to your questions. Read carefully. This will be posted all year long so you may refer back to this document. Yes, playing an instrument requires a financial commitment. Our music teachers have researched instrument brands with the goal of seeking out quality instruments that allow for success in music-making but also that are of a reasonable cost. Please feel free to dialogue with music teachers should you see an instrument and wonder if it is a good deal. Program structure information is included as well as starting dates and concert dates. Please familiarize yourself with the requirements of our program. Our music ensembles are an enjoyable experience for kids but do have some very firm expectations regarding practicing, attendance, and concerts. I encourage you to always email me with questions . All questions and comments are welcome! Email is the preferred method of communication. Mrs. Tani Miller, HES orchestra director [email protected] (717) 531-2244, ext. 5001 I. String Program Structure Parts of HES Orchestra Program Lessons Small Group Sectionals Full Orchestra Lessons Students learn “how” to play their instruments during lessons. – Posture/instrument position – Shape of the LH – Finger patterns – Bow hold – Bowing technique • Smallest group • Best place to ask for help. Mostly grouped according to rhythm/tonal aptitude. • Only component that involves missing classroom instruction. • May be on a week day or cycle day. • Starts first week in October. Look for lesson form at end of September. Small Group Students learn group performance skills unique to their instrument. • Sectionals – Violin A: Tuesdays – Violin B: Wednesdays – Viola: Thursdays – Cello/Bass: Mondays – Harp: will join one violin group • Small group learning bridges the gap between individual performance technique and ensemble group performance skills. • We also reinforce music reading skills. • Starts week of October 17. Held during recess. Full Orchestra Students learn to perform together as a full ensemble with all orchestra instruments. • Involves all orchestra students. • We learn to play together as a group with multiple parts. • Listening to different parts and uniform performance skills are emphasized. • Largest group rehearsal • Held every Thursday, 2:45-3:30. • If your child has regular early dismissals, please contact Mrs. Miller. Avoid appointments during this time if possible. Does my child have to practice at home? • Yes! Practice Is Required & Necessary. • Students will receive weekly assignments and will be assessed on this material. • Why? • Builds muscle memory, reading fluency • Develops fluency in reading music • Music lessons involve curriculum, homework, & assessments. • Students who don’t practice will struggle, especially with music reading • Some kids need more, some will want to practice more, . More is always a good thing! • Kids who practice, like playing their instruments. • Kids who don’t practice struggle with music reading and often don’t develop muscle memory for physical skills. • Kids who practice regularly in elementary school, are usually successful in MS & HS orchestra. Ideas & Insight for Parents on Practicing . Today’s students need parent help in finding time to practice. Here are some ideas for parents . • Make practicing part of homework. Monitor to ensure they practice their assignment. • Have family performances each week. Cheer for them! • Students are asked to practice 4 times per week • 4th graders will start with 10 minutes and build up to 20 minutes, if you don’t tell them that 20 minutes is up they will probably continue for longer! :o) • 5th graders are asked to practice for 20-30 minutes, students in orchestra 5 have more music to learn so they truly do need more time. • Shorter times in the beginning while fingers are adjusting. Patience! • Even if new skills are challenging, tell them to keep at it. Sometimes new skills take several weeks to develop. All new notes can be found in the lesson book with labels. Be resourceful! • Not sounding good is okay and part of learning! Dare to make a mistake! Laugh at a mistake and try again! What should my child practice? I. Lesson Book Assignments, circled in the book each week All students must have the following books. (parents must purchase these for new students): a. Essential Elements 2000 book 1*, for their instrument b. Fiddling Fingers, for their instrument c. Don’t buy teacher books. Check the instrument carefully. A violin book will not work for a bass player. d. Students who already take private lessons must have these books, too. e. Please purchase lesson books when renting instrument. II. Other exercises on worksheets kept in white binder (rhythms, scales, fiddle tunes, folk songs, harmony/bass lines) a. Provided by Mrs. Miller b. Reinforce pockets with duct tape. c. Kids will decorate covers so that their binder is unique and can be easily and quickly located. d. Students are expected to keep binder organized. III. Orchestra Music I’m worried about my child missing class for lessons . Will it affect my child’s school progress? • Lessons are the only part of our program that involves missing additional instructional time. • Classroom teachers do have great strategies in place to help students with making up work. • Parents can also help by monitoring this on the night after the lesson. Simply ask your child if they have made up the work they missed. • Research shows benefits: Robert Gillespie, OSU, reviewed literature and completed a new study showing strong evidence that students who miss class time for music lessons tend to perform better in academic settings and on standardized tests than students who do not take music lessons. http://musiced.nafme.org/resources/the- elementary-pull-out-crisis-using-research-effectively/ • No lessons will be scheduled during recess or specials. Recess time is used for one small group rehearsal. Kids need the rest of their recesses for play. How do concerts work? We do two concerts per year for Orchestra 5 and one concert per year for Orchestra 4. • Orchestra 5: – Holiday Concert – Spring Concert – School Holiday Concert Assembly (not for parents) • Orchestra 4: – Spring Concert II *Spring concerts are a different format than in previous years. Dates can always be found on DTSD Activities Calendar Family Vacation Conflicts: Avoid for concerts please. Attendance is expected and required. We do our best to avoid Thursdays/Fridays as other community groups do things on these days. Kids LOVE concert performances! Invite family and friends. The DTSD never charges ticket fees for school music concerts! What are the dates of my child’s concerts? • It depends upon your child’s grade. • Fifth Grade Orchestra – Holiday Concert, December 13, 2016 – Holiday Assembly, December 14, 2016 – Spring Concert I, May 1, 2017 – Chamber Strings will also perform on May 2 concert. • Fourth Grade Orchestra – Spring Concert I, May 1, 2017 – No holiday concert for beginners • We wear dressy black and white clothing for all concerts. More to come on this. II. What kind of instruments do young students require? Example of a real Stradivarius Violin . A really awesome violin! This not what you want. Real Strads are unaffordable by most of us. Also, the name “Stradivarius” is used by many luthiers as an advertising ploy and does not indicate quality. If you have an old instrument with a label indicating a “Stradivarius,” it’s probably not the real deal. There are many poor instruments on the market today. Avoid E-bay and big box store instruments as they have many flaws. Our district recommended vendors sell quality products at reasonable prices. Their instruments come from companies Owned by Yale University, that engage in ethical labor practices. Collection of Musical The Samuel Eastman instruments are the number one recommended student Instruments, New Haven, CT. instrument brand, according to Strings magazine. Characteristics of good quality student instruments . • Sound is resonant and full. Strings are good quality, not scratchy and without rough edges/fraying sections. • Bridge is fitted properly to the individual instrument. Cheap instruments often have unusable bridges. • Pegs fit snugly and don’t slip easily. Good pegs are made out of ebony and are hand-fitted to the instrument. • Fine tuners are a must! • Instrument is the proper size for student. This not negotiable as it inpacts the physical health of the child. Proper sized instruments include those that you may already own. It must be the correct size for your child. • Student instruments can and should sound beautiful! • The appearance is no indication of quality. Pretty shiny instruments and colored instruments can and are often not usable as they can’t be tuned and played properly. What will I see in poor quality string instruments? • Poorly fitted pegs.
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