Beginning Orchestra 1.1.4 “What’s for dinner?” Week 2

Everyone gets their violin out in a line at the back of the room. They put their binders on the floor in their spots. Helpers tune instruments, put practice instructions in binders, and record smiles on the chart while children go to the bathroom, wash hands, get a snack and a drink.

Sing “Delicious Music.” Please tell the children I got the words for the “we will work to train our fingers” translated into sign and will be posting the video online. They can check online for it.

Sing and sign an ascending and descending major scale in Solfa. Only do one high do at the top.

Review the assignments given last week with helpers correcting as they play. Give these commands.

1. Before we begin sharing, we are going to review all together what we practiced. Please get only your violin or cello out. Leave your bow in your case. Everyone show me rest position. Our helpers are going to look and correct anything they see that you can fix. Helpers, please correct the child and then ask them what you did so the child can understand and try to change it permanently. Give praise for their effort.
2. Everyone show me playing position. Check your left hand: is the thumb where it needs to be, close down by the scroll? Is there a hole for the rabbit to crawl out of? Is the back of your hand even with the back of your arm, making a slide for that rabbit to slide down? (Helpers checking.)
3. Now show me how you get ready to pluck the strings. Is your thumb hanging onto the end of the fingerboard? Is your pointer finger ready to pluck over the fingerboard? Now we are going to pluck each string and sing it’s name beginning with E and ending up on G, then playing G again and coming back to E, just like you did at home. 1-2-ready play.
4. Now we will pluck do on the D string 8 times. Everyone get your pointer finger ready to pluck the D string 8 times. Helpers, you sing “do” while they pluck. 1-2-ready-play!
5. Now please get out your bow. Now check your bow hold. Is your thumb bent and in between the stick and the ferrule? Is your pointer finger curved over the bow grip? Is your fourth finger covering the eyelet? Is your pinkie curved over the end screw?
6. Now check your bow placement: Is your bow in the middle of the “playing road?” (The space between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge) When you “drive” your bow, where do you need to drive it? Right down the middle of that road.
7. Now get ready to play do 8x times on D. Are you LH fingers up in the air so they are not touching the string? Is your bow ready to drive in the middle of the road? 1-2-ready play!
8. Now we will place our first finger on D so we can play re 8 times. Get ready. 1-2-ready-play!
9. Now we will alternate do and re 4 times, so we’ll play do, re, do, re, do, re, do, re. We will stop between each note. Watch and do not play while I show you (demo). Now let’s do it together. 1-2-ready-play.
10. Great job! Now we will have sharing, and you can take turns showing us how your garden grew this week. (Have several children show demo their practicing assignments, including the quote of the week.)

Instruments in cases for a minute. Everyone sing “I am like an apple seed” in Solfa. (Have a volunteer child lead.) Ask them which lines everyone already knows how to play on their instrument now (=first line). Ask for a volunteer to show the second line (ddddrrd). Then take another volunteer to show the third line (ddrrddr). That is their practicing assignment: to practice lines 2 and 3, and then they will be able to play the whole song! (I will send the practice instructions to Stacia to print and copy at school).

Put instruments away. If there is time, review notation of quarter and half notes in the apple seed song. Then split into classes and work on lines 1, 2 and 3.

Sing “Adios, Amigos” in classes before ending.