Hermanson's Orchestral Wonders

It has arrived!!! Cookie Dough is available for pick-up this afternoon, 4-6, and Monday afternoon, 4-6. Sorry for the late notice – we only found out for ourselves yesterday.

A huge THANKS to those of you who participated. Time to enjoy your fruits!

What a fabulous week of Olympics, everybody! The weather held up extremely well for all grades, with it even getting warm enough to go coat-less this afternoon for 8th grade.

All Grades: Please do NOT bing instruments tomorrow. 6th and 7th grades will be finishing up a few events, and 8th graders have a presentation about the magnet high schools in the area we will be attending.

Come Monday, we are back to normal (yey!!!). Please be prepared to play and offically begin the second nine weeks. I miss seeing everybody, and can’t wait for you to get your winter concert music.

For those who are wondering, my mother is doing much better and should be leaving the hospital today or tomorrow. Thank you so much for your kind words and being patient with me these last couple of weeks.

Have a wonderful weekend! You have all done so well with your events this week! Congratulations!

Alright guys, I know you hated having your test pushed back – but fear not! I shall return tomorrow (Wedensday), so 2nd Hour is up, with 1st hour playing on Thursday.

6th Grade: Remember your chickies! A well-formed set-up is just as important as playing in tune.

7th Grade: Remember to keep your first fingers in place while playing your extensions. Those fingers like to creep up and get sharp. Phrasings are key, as well.

8th Grade: Practice your half position notes on D and A for Sleigh Ride (Letter B). I’ll see you all in class!

Hello Orchestrians! I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend!

Please remember for Monday:

6th Grade: Be prepared for your playing test on No. 57 – Tribal Lament. Pay particular attention to:
Your bow hold (bumpy thumb and curved fingers – pinkie on top for violin and viola players)
Your playing position
Violins and Violas – Remember your elbow does NOT grow out of your hip! Also, your head should be holding up your instrument – not your left hand.
Wrists smooth – for ALL instruments
Intonation – check your High Ds with your open D before playing every single time
(Congratulations on finally playing notes with your bow!!! You guys are awesome!)

7th Grade: Be prepared for your playing test on No. 56 – Song for Anne. I will be looking for the following things:
G String note fluency
4th Finger use for violins and violas
Dynamics on line 2: it’s a phrase!

8th Grade: You lucked out this Monday, but don’t worry – yours is coming soon, too! I’ll tell you about it on Monday.

The long-awaited time has come: you shall be receiving your concert music soon!

Wow.. October is almost halfway over already! That means one (of many!) things:

All-State Auditions are FAST approaching!!

Those of you who plan to audition and have submitted the required permission slip, please remember I need to hear you in the next week or so. Due to conference week, only before school is avaliable for the week of the 16th. Any day BUT Thursday, and any time from 8am until 9am. It would be nice if you could tell me beforehand when you will be coming, but is not necessary. More than one time is recommended. You will need to play all required excerpts and scales for me when you come, and we will work on things as needed.

Auditions are at Pope HS on Saturday, October 28th. I will get you your audition times as soon as I receive them. Best of luck, or as I like to say from my Drama days: Break a String!

Congratulations to Chloe and Megan of 7th Grade for earning an Excellent for their duet at Solo/Ensemble this past weekend!!!

For those of you who would like to add a little something to your grade, I present the following links that will reinforce theory, listening and playing skills, as well as giving you an opportunity to add some points to your homework logs.

http://www.emusictheory.com/drillRhythmPerf.html

or any other exercise from http://www.emusictheory.com

Print out a screen shot of your results and turn it in before school in the morning.

Also:

http://www.musictheory.net/

Print out the results page and turn it in before school.

You will need to copy the link and paste it into a new browser window. Happy practicing!

These links will be good for extra credit the entire year, so long as each exercise completed is different.

The end of the first nine weeks is upon us! I certainly think McCLure is off to a wonderful start, and I hope you are feeling the same way.

A couple things to remember:

7th and 8th Graders:

Practice Logs are due MONDAY. No exceptions. I will not take late logs this week, as grades are due Tuesday.
If you have anything you would like to still turn in to get some credit for, please bring that Monday.

Please do not forget about the theory test Monday. Review your past notes and tests to study, and the study guides are located below.

Download 7th_grade_theory_test_study_guide.doc

All-State Auditioners: I will talk to you Monday about coming to practice before or after school. The 28th is fast approaching, and I want you to be ready! Remember – everyone must play their audition for me at least a week prior to the 28th. Any mornings besides Thursdays are fine, and if you need to stay after, just let me know the day before, please.

6th Graders:

Any missing Snakes will be accepted Monday only. The snake for this week is due THURSDAY due to a student holiday on Friday.

The big news!!!

I will soon implement a 6/8 mentorship program between the sixth graders and the eighth graders. It will consist of 8th graders having assigned days to come early or stay later to help sixth graders improve their blossoming string talent. This is completely optional, but it will benefit all that participate immensly! I will coach the advanced students on methods of teaching, and it is free private lessons for the beginners. How much more can you ask for??

I have seen a lot of interest for this program, and cannot wait to get it started. I will follow with more details, here and in class, very shortly.

Download 8th_grade_theory_test_study_guide.doc