Clyde Hill Elementary
5th Grade Band
Check out these two web resources for learning note names, counting, etc.
www.musictheory.net www.emusictheory.com
Recordings of new music (iTunes format): Chant and Canon Mary Ann
What to work on for next time:
No more next time! Hope to see you all in band next year at middle school! Have a great summer!
What we have done in class so far:
Friday, June 15 - Last day of Band for the year!
Students had a substitute and reviewed from the book. They also received certificates and their end-of-the-year progress reports.
Tuesday, June 12 - Review from Book
We finished up our writing/listening assessment using the notes that we took last week. With time left over we played through lines from the book. Students also received their corrected tests from last week.
Friday, June 8 - Sticker Solo Retakes! #18, #22, #37, #49
Many students were gone on the Patrol Field Trip, but the ones who were here got the chance to add to their sticker points by retaking past sticker solos.
Tuesday, June 5 - Page 16, #54, #55, #56, #57
We took a written test that reviewed concepts we'd learned this year (counting, names of notes/rests, etc.). We also took notes on a listening assessment that we'll finish next week and second class played a little bit from the book.
Friday, June 1 - Page 16, #54, #55, #56, #57
We reviewed pick-up notes, worked on playing #55 faster, talked to snare drummers about doing rolls and reviewed some basic concepts for a test we're going to take on Tuesday.
Tuesday, May 29 - Book Review
There was a substitute today, so students worked on reviewing lines from the book that we had done in the past.
Friday, May 25 - Page 16, #54, #55
We worked on playing pick-up notes in 4/4 and 3/4 time. We also talked about the concerts and students received their sticker points update.
Tuesday, May 22 - Concert Performances!!!
We had great concerts, both during the day and in the evening. Nice job everyone!
Friday, May 18 - Mary Ann, Chant and Canon, Book (various pages)
This was our last practice before the concert! We played through the sheet music several times and reviewed from the book as well. See you on Tuesday!
Tuesday, May 15 - Mary Ann, Chant and Canon, Book (various pages)
Students received information about the concert next Tuesday and we worked on all of the lines from the book that we will be playing.
Friday, May 11 - Mary Ann, Chant and Canon, Book (various pages)
We focused on being accurate with all notes, especially in Chant and Canon. Our concert is coming up soon, so students should be practicing every day!
Tuesday, May 8 - Mary Ann, Book (various pages)
We played lines from the book (potentially for our concert), had auditions for 1st parts for trumpet/clarinet/percussion and worked on Mary Ann.
Friday, May 4 - Mary Ann, Chant and Canon, Book (various pages)
There was a substitute today, students reviewed from the book and worked on the two pieces of sheet music.
Friday, Apr. 27 - Mary Ann, Chant and Canon
We met as a large group for the third and final time. We worked on the beginning and ending sections of Mary Ann and played through Chant and Canon. Our next meeting is Friday, May 4th because of WASL conflicts.
Tuesday, Apr. 24 - Mary Ann
We met as a large group again because of WASL. Students received a flyer with information about our May 22 Concert. We focused on specific measures from Mary Ann and then played through the whole piece.
Friday, Apr. 20 - Page 15, #49, #50, #51, #52, #53
We all met together because of Chinook's WASL schedule. We reviewed Page 15 and talked about how our Concert is coming up in about a month (Tuesday, May 22). Students should be practicing regularly and working on their new sheet music.
Tuesday, Apr. 17 - Page 15, #49, #50, #51, #52
We worked on Page 15 and then handed out new music: Mary Ann / Chant and Canon
Friday, Apr. 13 - Pages 6-15
Review Day with substitute.
Friday, Apr. 6 - Page 8, #18, Page 9, #22, Page 13, #37, Page 15, #49
We are going to spend this class allowing students to retake sticker solos.
Tuesday, Apr. 3 - Page 15, #49
We spent most of the class working on playing right notes in #49. There was some time left over for students to retake sticker solos.
Friday, Mar. 30 - Page 14, #44, #45, #46, #47, #48, Page 15, #49
We checked off more assignments (#48) and reviewed all of Page 14. Then we worked on a new note and talked about accidentals in #49.
Tuesday, Mar. 27 - Page 14, #44, #45, #46, #47, #48, Page 15, #49
We checked off students who did their assignment (#48). We then had students play #45 as a duet with another student in class. We talked about the need for more students to be practicing outside of class and reviewed Page 14 up through #46. We spent a few minutes on #47 but will need to spend more time on that for next time.
Friday, Mar. 23 - Page 14, #44, #45, #46, #47
We reviewed playing slurs and work on the lines from Page 14. Students were also assigned #48 (drawing in the bar lines in 3/4 time) for next Tuesday.
Tuesday, Mar. 20 - Page 13, #40, #41, #42, Page 14, #44
We reviewed concepts from Page 13 and then worked on slurs and dotted notes in #44.
Friday, Mar. 16 - Page 13, #37, #38, #39, #40, #41
We did sticker solos for #37. Then we worked on the rest of Page 13.
Tuesday, Mar. 13 - Page 13, #37, #38, #39, 40
We worked on playing different 1/8th note rhythms and spent time refining lines 37-40.
Friday, Mar. 9 - Page 12, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, Page 13, #37, #38, #39
We reviewed all of Page 12 and then began working on Page 13.
Tuesday, Mar. 6 - Page 12, #32, #33, #34, #35
We worked on all of page 12. Counting 1/8th notes, "hissing" through songs and playing through them. Students also learned their next Sticker Solo will be on Page 13, #37. It will take place on Friday, Mar. 16.
Friday, Mar. 2 - Page 10, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, Page 12, #32, #33
We checked off students who did their assignment (#31). Then we reviewed the lines from Page 10 and then moved on to Page 12 (1/8th notes!).
Tuesday, Feb. 27 - Page 10, #27, #28, #29, #30
We had a good first class after the break! We worked on all the lines above from Page 10. An assignment was given to students to fill in the information (note names) for #31 for Friday.
Friday, Feb. 16 - Pages 6-9 (Review)
There was a substitute today. Students reviewed all lines from Pages 6-9 by playing along with the CD from the book.
Tuesday, Feb. 13 - Page 9, #24, #25
We worked on playing #24 as a round and then learned #25. After that we reviewed all of Page 9.
To see the archive of what we've done since the first day of class, click on the link below:
Other News/Event(s)
Percussion Students: Tuesday will be the day we play the bells, Friday will be the day we play the drum.
Helpful Tips for Practicing at Home
For Everyone: Remember to hold instrument correctly and sit correctly
- feet flat on the floor
- chin up
- don't conform body to the instrument, make the instrument conform to good posture
- proper hand position
- occasionally try looking at yourself in a mirror when playing and check to see everything looks correct
- no puffy cheeks!!!
Clarinet:
- flat chin
- bottom lip rolled in over bottom teeth
- top teeth lightly touching top of mouthpiece
- fingers close to the instrument, even if they're not pushing any keys down
Flute:
- bottom lip firm in order to rest headjoint on it, lips should form a slight frown when playing
- fingers over the correct keys, and close to the instrument
- think "Tu" when blowing air
- practice playing the headjoint only, with right hand over the open end
Brass (Trumpet/Trombone/Baritone):
- lips together, think of saying "Mmmm" and hold the lips in that position
- blow through the instrument, not at the instrument
- let the lips vibrate, that's how the sound is created
- practice playing just the mouthpiece and get it to make a good buzzing sound
Percussion:
- hand position is EXTREMELY important, hold sticks with thumb and index finger with the rest of the fingers lightly curled around the stick
- bottom of hand should be facing flatly toward the ground, not facing inward or outward
- lightly tap drum/bell and let the stick rebound off the instrument, do not pound the instrument really hard