Scale Warm-up Sheet (D Major, G Major, C Major)

 

In about January of students' second year of string playing, I introduce this D Major scale sheet.  Before then, we often warm up in full orchestra with a D Major scale with different rhythm patterns or adding slurs or as a round.  In small groups, we go through each line and review technique.  The hooked bowing is pretty new for students at this point.  In full orchestra, at first we have to pause and regroup between each bowing, but I tell students our goal will be to play straight through the whole sheet.  Eventually a student leader will stand in front and give the breath to start (I'll call out the next bowing as we get close to the end of a line).  It seems pretty straightforward, but I'm always surprised by how much room for growth is evident the first week we attempt this as a full orchestra--and by how proud the students are when we are able to make it all the way through more-or-less together.  

• D Major scale sheet (PDF)

Pretty soon we move into our unit on G Major, so we transfer this warmup to the new key.  Violins and cellos also learn the upper octave in G Major (starting the G above open G), so I usually have them play the warmup in the upper octave too.  In past years, I haven't made a new scale sheet for the new keys; students just have to play the same bowing patterns but in the new key.  They can look at the scale written out in quarter notes in the book if they want a visual.  This year I've made a new scale sheet for both G and C Major, and I anticipate students will appreciate being able to follow along on the page as they play.  Maybe they will be less likely to forget the line with the single eighth notes exists :)  It's funny how often students just stop playing after the repeated eighth notes scale and we have to restart "the fast one."  Anyway, with our focus on the upper octave scale, that's what I typed out for violin/cello, with the scale starting on open G only included in the first line, as half notes.

• G Major scale sheet (PDF)

In the spring (usually around the time of spring break), we do a playing checkup on all the scale bowings in G Major.  We go through the rubric together the week before, and then during small groups the week of, students play individually for me while the other students in their small group are working on their G Major composition.

• G Major scale checkup rubric (Google Doc)--three per page to cut apart and write on for each student
• G Major scale checkup rubric (Google Form)--for any virtual students (I save the individual scores/comments as a PDF and email to the student afterwards)
• G Major scale checkup rubric (PDF)--one to share with students ahead of time for reference

Our last key of the year is C Major, so we apply these bowing patterns to this key too.  Violas and cellos get the higher octave written out (starting an octave above open C), with the scale starting on open C only included in the first line, as half notes.

• C Major scale sheet (PDF)

Beginning-of-the-Year Bulletin Boards

As I'm entering my ninth [edit: 14th!] year of teaching elementary orchestra, I'm starting to get a collection of beginning-of-the-year bulletin board ideas, so here they are all in one place (with links to each post below the picture):

Parts of a Note Bulletin Board

Conducting Bulletin Board

2020 Mask bulletin board

"Welcome" Bulletin Board

"Changes" Bulletin Board 

What Will YOU Create This Year? Bulletin Board

Take Part In A Musical Year! Bulletin Board

Together We Will SCALE New Heights! Bulletin Board 

Metronome Bulletin Board

D Major Sheet: Audio Files for Accompaniment

After putting together the audio files for the Orchestra Expressions supplement, I thought this audio-file accompaniment would also benefit my second-year students, so I went ahead and typed up some Finale files to correspond with their first handout of the year (the D Major sheet).  For the rounds, I created a solo version with piano accompaniment and then a round version with all string sounds.  Some pieces were exported at different tempos (named either Andante, Moderato, or Allegro) to help students at different points in their learning.

• Table of Contents to D Major Sheet: Audio Files (with links)

Enjoy!

Supplement: D Major Sheet

At the beginning of the year for second-year students, I like to start with this sheet of pieces in D Major for review.  We don't get to all the pieces together in class, but it's a nice supplement for those that want extra music at home.  The D Major scale is provided as a reference on the the top of the page.  "Hallelujah" is a round that we spend quite a bit of time on during the first weeks of school.  We spot the D Major scale hiding in the second line and work on the skips in the first line.  Eventually students will get an opportunity to lead their group for the round by standing in front of the orchestra, taking a breath to start off their group, and playing along.  Over the years, I've switched out pieces here and there, so I have a couple versions of this D Major sheet.

Contents of Version 1:

• D Major scale
• Hallelujah!
• A Mountain View
• Do, Re, Mi, Fa
• Where is John?
• Play from "For Children"

D Major Version 1 (Word document)
D Major Version 1 (PDF)

Contents of Version 2:

• D Major scale
• Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow
• Hallelujah!
• Do, Re, Mi, Fa
• Where is John?
• Play from "For Children"

D Major Version 2 (Word document)
D Major Version 2 (PDF)

Contents of Version 3 (also includes a version at the end with Alpha notation):

• D Major Scale
• Do, Re, Mi, Fa
• A Mountain View
• Gopala
• Shortnin' Bread
• Sea Shanty
• Hallelujah!

D Major Version 3 (Word document)
D Major Version 3 (PDF)

 Enjoy!

Together We Will SCALE New Heights! Bulletin Board

With the new school year quickly approaching, I created a bulletin board that is welcoming, punny, and music-theory based: "Together we will SCALE new heights!"

I used the same color scheme for the solfege and scales that I use in the classroom, just on a smaller scale (2-inch squares for the letter names).  Thanks to my mom for letting me use her Cricut to cut out the letters, and then here are the key signatures and images of the hand symbols.  These are the three scales we focus on in beginning orchestra as well as the first scale learned in band.

Happy school year everyone!

Transposition

During sixth grade orchestra, students study the keys of D, G, and C Major.  Students play scales, write compositions, and perform pieces in each of those keys throughout the school year.  At the end of the year, we make connections between the three keys by transposing melodies from one key to another.  We talk through a worksheet together (I usually don't take the time to have students write out all the transpositions on the worksheet, though at least they have the sheet if they'd like a reference or to fill it out on their own later), and we use the solfege Velcro scales as a visual to move from one key to another.  The opening to "Frere Jacques" is the melody we work through together.

Next, I bring out the laminated transposition cards.  These are color-coded by clef, which makes for easy sorting.  Each student gets a different card, and they follow the directions, playing the melody as given and then transposing it to the two other keys starting on the given pitch.  Once completed, students can trade their card in for a different one.

There is a bit of range between "easier" and more challenging melodies as well as between very familiar melodies and not-so-familiar ones, so I take that into consideration when I'm passing out the initial transposition cards.

If I were to adjust these transposition cards, I'd write in the starting solfege syllable for clarity.  While the instructions do say which pitch to start on, students don't always realize that a piece doesn't necessarily start on "Do" and try to start a piece that begins on "Mi" on a G in G Major, for example, instead of a B.  Still, most students have success working through these cards either on their own or with my support.

There are options about which octave to start in, and some students make the connection quickly that many of these can be played with the same fingering but up or down a string.  Once they have caught on to that, I'll have students play up or down an octave so that the fingering will have to change (which usually means that the low second finger will be needed).

While we don't spend very much time on this unit, I like how it ties the whole year together and students can see how they can move between keys.  Students enjoy looking through the different cards and choosing their favorite melodies to transpose--and they enjoy the satisfaction of successfully playing their melody in the various keys.

Transposition handout:

• Word document

• PDF 

Transposition cards with melodies and directions:

• Word document

• PDF

Melodies included (in no particular order):

• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Largo from the New World Symphony
• America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)
• Ode to Joy
• Yankee Doodle
• Long Long Ago
• French Folk Song
• Mattachins (Sword Dance)
• The Alphabet Song
• Yankee Doodle

Others that I have since typed up, but aren't included here are:

• Happy Birthday
• Spring
• Jingle Bells

Enjoy!

"Field Trips"

We go on a lot of "field trips" during small groups in orchestra throughout the school year.  It's gotten to the point where one of my students sings his own field trip traveling music complete with train whistling sounds :)

Here are the different destinations for our in-class field trips:

• World map--point out where a composer is from or a folk song that we are learning to play

• Keyboard--learn to find the notes that correspond to the open strings or play the scale we are studying on our string instruments or the notes on a given string

• White board--write in rhythms together on the board or practice drawing musical symbols together

• Solfege scale ladder--work as a group to unscramble and attach the notes of a scale in order

• My laptop--to watch a YouTube video of a piece we are studying (sometimes over several weeks students will be introduced to a couple different performances or versions) or as an introduction to using Finale Notepad.  After walking through how to set up a new document in Notepad, each student types in a measure's worth of notes and then we all get a kick out of hearing it played it back.  Students are impressed to learn the secret to how their compositions get transformed into the typed up composition packets I create for them.

Sometimes we'll pack up at the end of small groups and then come over to my lap top to watch something so that the next group of students can quietly come in and get unpacked while we're finishing up.  Usually, though, the field trip happens in the middle of small groups to get kids moving and out of their seats for a little bit and break the half hour up.  Learning in orchestra is so much more than learning how to play a string instrument, and I try to create a rich learning environment where students experience so many different layers of what it means to study music.

Solfege and Major Scales

Here's a colorful solfege scale, complete with hand signs.  I also made squares of letter names for the different major scales introduced in beginning orchestra (D, G, and C Major) that line up to the solfege.

Using long strips of colored paper as the background, add Velcro stickers to turn these into interactive  teaching tools.  Scramble up the notes of the scale and have students arrange them in the proper order.  Or have students point to notes of their choosing for their classmates to play for a quick way to practice new notes being introduced and to explore composition and improvisation.