Winter Packets

My schools each have a winter band/orchestra/choir concert in December.  The closest we get to performing Christmas music is my arrangement of "Jingle Bells." It has become an orchestra tradition at my schools to end their portion of the concert with combined 5th and 6th grade orchestras playing their different parts and student volunteers ringing bells.  Before my students leave for winter break, I pass out these winter packets for them to enjoy over their time off from school.  These packets are great for sight-reading and reinforcing skills from the fall semester.  I've tried to stay away from the more religious Christmas songs and to include some melodies that may be unfamiliar to my students.  The second-year winter packet includes many rounds and duets too.

Winter packet (for first-year string players):

• Word document
• PDF

Contents:

1. Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
2. Good King Wenceslas
3. Up on the Housetop
4. Overture to The Nutcracker
5. Carol of the Bells
6. Here We Come A-Caroling

Winter packet (for second-year string players):

• Word document
• PDF

Contents:

1. Jolly Old Saint Nicholas (duet)
2. Good King Wenceslas (duet)
3. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
4. Winter is Coming (A three-part round)
5. The Bell Doth Toll (A three-part round)
6. Auld Lang Syne
7. In the Bleak Midwinter
8. Carol of the Bells

Enjoy!

Jingle Bells!

One tradition at my elementary winter band/orchestra/choir concerts is that the orchestras always end their portion of the concert with "Jingle Bells."  I've written an arrangement that works well for where my students are by this point in the year.  Beginners have an open-string arco harmony part, while the 2nd-year players have a more exciting harmony part, with lots of shuffle bowing patterns.  The beginners' harmony part is in unision; while the 2nd-year harmony part has separate parts for upper strings, cellos, and basses.  2nd-year basses are welcome to add slaps on the rests in their harmony part!  The piano interlude gives them time to set bows down and get ready to pluck.

Combined beginners and 2nd-year players play through this twice at the concert:

1st time:

• Beginners--open-string harmony part
• 2nd year players--melody

2nd time:

• Beginners--melody (or open-string harmony--their choice) 
• 2nd year players--harmony

In past years, at the school performance for students, one pre-chosen student from each class comes up and rings jingle bells while the orchestra plays.  I have students from the orchestra help with distributing and collecting the bells.  They're just little jingle bells from a craft store threaded through pipe cleaners with the ends tied together to form a bracelet.

For an introduction, I play the last two measures on the piano, and, as an interlude before the repeat, I play the last four measures again, showcasing the jingle bell players and giving the string players a moment to remember which part they're playing next.

I'm sure "Jingle Bells" is one of those pieces that every orchestra teacher has their own arrangement of, but here are the parts for mine; feel free to use!  It's one that students love every year--and I enjoy hearing and playing too!

• Beginning parts (PDF) (melody/open-string harmony)
• Advanced parts (PDF) (melody/harmony)
• Score (PDF)
• Piano part (PDF)

Audio files (with piano introduction and interlude)

• Slower practice tempo (60)
• Faster performance tempo (90)

Happy jingling!

Composition #3--Arco A-string Notes

And here's the worksheet for a composition for the notes of the A string plus the bow!

Composition #3 (A-string notes, arco):

• Word document
• PDF

Template for composition packet:

• Template for A string notes composition packet (Word document)
• A string VIOLIN (Google Doc)
• A string VIOLA (Google Doc)
• A string CELLO (Google Doc)
• A string BASS (Google Doc)

Enjoy!

Links to other composition worksheets: 

• Composition #1 (open strings, pizzicato)
• Composition #2 (D-string notes, pizzicato)
• Composition #4 (G-string notes, arco)
• Composition #5 (C/E string notes, arco)

Link to Templates for composition packets