And Then I'll Quit--I Promise!

5th Grade Band--When Do I Have To Decide On Everything?

One last post about starting band in the fall. This year, because of our highly 'unusual' spring season, we're postponing all of the official information, signups, and meetings UNTIL THE FALL!  That's right, you don't have to do anything right now! As the confusion about fall clears, we will publish dates for the beginning band meetings right along with everything else that comes out! But, if you were curious, or wanted to do some homework in advance, I do have one more video. This one is put out by Meyer Music and explains how they can support band families with rentals, sales, and service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HULdak5ZqJU

Helpful Website

Not Sure? START HERE!

Here's a GREAT website that was shared with me as a resource to help students and parents make a decision about being part of the music program at school. It is a FUN and INFORMATIVE site--a tremendous resource for you to explore over the summer months! Every instrument is demonstrated here, with helpful information about it's uniqueness!

https://www.bepartofthemusic.org/

Drums!!

5TH GRADE BAND AT ZCS--WHAT ABOUT PERCUSSION?

5th Band--Instruments

5th Grade BAND at ZCS--What instrument will I play?

One of the biggest decisions about band, of course, is what instrument to play. On a normal year, I would have spent a LOT of time talking with and showing my 4th grade students the possibilities. We offer instruction in 5 basic groups at the beginning level:

1. Flute

2.Clarinet

3. Trumpet

4. Trombone or Baritone

5. Percussion

NOTES:

--We 'draft' our alto saxophone players around Christmas time from our clarinet class. 

--We do the same by selecting French horn players from the trumpet class. 

--Percussion players learn mallet instruments (bells) as well as concert drumming.

--Certain motivated students may ask for permission to begin on oboe, tuba, or bassoon. A private teacher may be necessary to make that happen.

Here are some short videos about those choices:

5th Band Schedule

5th Grade BAND at ZCS--WHEN do we meet?

For those of you who have not been involved with band at ZCS before, our schedule is somewhat unique. Each week, your student's band experience will consist of one 50-55 minute class of LIKE INSTRUMENTS meeting together. Each of these classes takes place on a different day of the week at the MIDDLE SCHOOL start time--yes that means getting your student to ZCS by 7:40 am! A tentative schedule of days for these classes is:

Monday--Flute Class

Tuesday--Clarinet Class (and later saxes)

Wednesday--Trumpet Class (and later French horns)

Thursday--Low Brass Class (Trombones, Baritones, Tubas)

Friday--Percussion Class

A SECOND meeting for all band students together (a band rehearsal) is scheduled for Thursday afternoon! I'm excited about adding one more band period per week, and by moving it to the afternoon, I have another morning class time freed up. Full disclosure here--the Thursday afternoon time runs over afternoon recess. I'm hoping students are willing to sacrifice that time for the fun of having band all together. Also, it will limit the early transportation challenges to ONE day per week.

So, to repeat, each student meets once in the early morning by sections, and the entire band meets once per week on Thursday afternoon. I'm excited about next year!

5th Band--Your Choice

5th Grade BAND at ZCS--WHO should join?

If your family is considering joining the wonderful band program at ZCS in the fall, but you are not sure what you need to know to make that decision, you've come to the right place! Follow this blog site over the next few weeks as I attempt to anticipate and answer your questions about the band experience:

WHO should join band? Well, anyone can! But there are a few things to consider about your student and your family situation:

1. Band is tons of fun--but you have to 'want to'. I find the #1 predictor of success in band is motivation! It will involve extra time and effort, but can result in some very memorable experiences. Parent support and encouragement are also needed!

2. Band is tons of fun--but you have to be willing to work. The process of learning to play well takes time and effort. There will be days that are challenging, and your student has to be willing to work through those times. Parent support and encouragement are also needed!

3. Band is tons of fun--but you have to be willing to get up in the morning for it!  Our instrument classes meet one day a week at the 7:40 time period--what I call "0 hour", or the hour before school actually starts. Even students and families who are not 'morning people' are asked to come! 

4. Band is tons on fun--but it involves extra time. Besides getting up early (see #3), there is an expectation that all students will practice at home--consistently. If your family is already running on an overbooked schedule with no margins, please consider how you could make time for success in band.

All that being said--I would love to have EVERY 5th grader join the band program. Fifth grade is a great level at which to 'try out' playing an instrument. Science shows us learning to play is SO GOOD for brain development. And of course, I'm a really fun guy!

Over the next few posts, I hope to answer your questions about how the band schedule works, which instrument to consider, how to obtain and instrument, and how to get 'registered' with ZCS for band.

For HIM in all of our music,

Mr. Schonewill

ZCS BAND BEGINNERS FOR 2020-2021!!

My 4th grader would love to start band next fall--how is that going to happen?

Dear 4th graders and parents, I'm so glad you asked!

On a 'normal' year, during the month of May, we would spend quite a bit of time in 4th grade music exploring this question. We would:
1. review and reflect on our recorder learning experience,
2. ask Mr. S all kinds of questions about band,
3. watch as he takes the instruments out and demonstrates the instruments available to us,
4. be given a letter to take home so we can talk with our parents, and
5. schedule Meyer Music to come in with some brand new instruments to try!

All of this would happen BEFORE we would ask parents to return a letter of intention to begin band in the fall so Mr. S can begin to shape and schedule his classes.  Of course, this is not a NORMAL year at all, and so things will be quite different for beginning band, too. There are many things I don't know about the fall yet, but I can share some thoughts to get you started...

1. I'm planning on doing all of the signing up, trying of instruments, etc. in the fall, as soon after the school year begins as possible. The start of band classes will be delayed slightly.
2. I'll be posting information here on the ZCS music blog site over the month of May, including some demo videos of the various instruments.
3. We'll bring Meyer Music into school in the fall as well.
4. NO DECISIONS HAVE TO BE MADE NOW!  There is enough to think about with everything else going on right now.

Always available for questions!
Kevin Schonewill
ZCS Bands

A JAZZY NEW RECORDER SONG

Here's an American 'spiritual' song that is fun and easy to play. The title is "When The Saints", and I've attached a video and the music to follow along as you learn it. Happy tooting!

Interactive Music Listening

One of the most engaging activities for the curious music student is some sort of interactive music listening in which someone (or something) keeps you as a listener 'on track' as the music is playing. The Carnegie Hall Education Foundation has long been a leader in developing web materials designed to do this. Here is another in their long list of accomplishments: A listener guide to Dvorak's 9th Symphony, usually referred to as the 'New World' Symphony. It was written during and after Dvorak spent a summer in the US, and includes come musical references to things he heard while here in the States. It's full of famous, exciting, and beautiful themes. Here's the link to your musical adventure:

https://listeningadventures.carnegiehall.org/nws/splash.html

Happy listening!

EXPLORING THE CLASSICS!

Exploring the Classics With Your Family!
There is a great website called Classics For Kids which has really 'upped their game' during the Covid crisis, and placed all kinds of wonderful educational content at our fingertips. Tons of classical music, games, podcasts, and activities galore! Also there are great instructional tips for teachers (parents) as well as links to SO MUCH great music related stuff. If your kids need enrichment activities, and music is 'their thing', I couldn't think of a better resource than this one:

https://www.classicsforkids.com/

OUR RECORDER SONG OF THE WEEK!
Here's a brand new song that's fun to learn and play on the recorder! Check out the music here, and then watch and learn to play along with Mr. S. on the video below! Happy tooting!

A New Recorder Song!

"I'm a child of God, yes, I am!" Now you can play that song on your recorder. See the score below. Notice the chorus and bridge are all built around 5 tones:  low E, G, A, B, and C. You can do this!



And here's a video of me playing the song:

SEEKING FUTURE 

COMPOSERS and ARRANGERS!

For all students who may wish to experiment with writing their own music,

or writing out something to play or sing,

NOTEFLIGHT is a free (for the basic version) notation software

that can create a very professional looking music score.

You can edit and arrange it to look like 'real' music,

and then save, print, or share your music.

Sound interesting?

Maybe part of your passion project?

Check it out:

https://www.noteflight.com/

RECORDER PLAY-ALONG SONGS

"Old MacDonald"

RECORDER PLAY-ALONG SONGS

"Lightly Row"

Explore Music With Your Family!

Several families have asked about ways to explore classical music, the orchestra and it's instruments with their family during this quarantine time. Most major symphony organizations have websites which offer a lot of resources. Students, you can explore on your own as well!  

Here are a couple of my favorites:  (Make sure you have some good audio for these!)


San Francisco Symphony:

http://www.sfskids.org/classic/templates/instorchframe.asp?pageid=3

Dalla Symphony
https://www.mydso.com/dso-kids/

Standards of Excellence

Exercise #116-Snare Drum

Standards of Excellence

Exercise #116

Standards or Excellence 

Exercise #115

Mini-Lessons for 5th Band Students

I plan to post a whole series of mini-lessons for the 5th grade band students based on the exercises in our red Standard of Excellence book. I will begin on page 26, even though many of you are further along in your method book than that. Feel free to skip to the posts that are about the songs that interest you. Also, don't be afraid to contact me with questions that arise.

Educational website for clarinet players:
Here's a resource specifically for clarinet players, full of good info and free sheet music you can download to play:
The Clarinet website

The BAND DIRECTORS CORNER

Episode 1B

 for FIFTH GRADE BAND STUDENTS:

The BAND DIRECTORS CORNER

Episode 1A

2nd Grade Music Listening Project

Every year in second grade we listen and respond to a fun piece of music entitled "The Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint Saens.  It's a musical picture of what it may be like to visit a zoo and stroll from one animal exhibit to the next. But watch closely--there are some very unusual animals here!

Understanding Camile Saint Saens' "Carnival of the Animals"

It might be fun for you to see this older recording because it includes live images of the orchestra players, the animals, and poems from Ogden Nash.

A Zoo Concert! with "Carnival of the Animals"

Students, you may like to explore and find some LISTENING GLYPHS like the ones from this website. They are color by number pages that are fun and help you to listen carefully to the music as it is playing. You respond by choosing colors for your drawing! I hope you enjoy the zoo!

Carnival Coloring; Listening Glyphs

Fourth Grade Music Listening Project
"Peter and The Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev

Students, here is some information and some links to fun activities with one of my favorite pieces of orchestral music, "Peter and The Wolf". Besides being a good story with very descriptive music, it's a very good way for us to review together what the various instruments of the symphony orchestra look and sound like. The first part of this post is information you can read, but don't forget to scroll all the way to the bottom, where you will find some fun online games about the piece. And don't miss the link to one of my favorite recordings of the piece done by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra with their conductor doing the narrating. And if course, there are tons of other acitivites and recordings you can search out online. Enjoy the music!

About Peter and the Wolf
Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf is a composition written for symphonic and spoken word performance. Created in 1936 for his own son, Prokofiev has given us a most charming tale of a young boy’s adventures in the meadow behind his grandfather’s house that both tells a story and cleverly teaches children about recognizing musical themes.

Story Summary
Peter is a young boy who lives with his grandfather in the Russian countryside. He is a bit rambunctious and certainly doesn’t listen to his grandfather’s advice – to lock the gate and stay inside! Well, that’s no fun! So one day, while playing in the meadow, he leaves the gate open to let a duck loose for a swim in the pond. While Peter chats and argues with a little bird, his cat sneaks out and is on the prowl. Luckily, Peter sees this, warns the bird and both the duck and the bird are safe.
Grandfather is not happy about this. What if a wolf were to find them? Peter is told to go inside and to lock the gate. As if on cue, a wolf does appear! The agile cat escapes into a tree, but the duck isn’t so lucky. The wolf swallows him whole!
Peter is not going to give up so easily and let this wolf feast on his animal friends. He concocts a plan to string the wolf up on the tree with the help of the daring bird. Together, they capture the wolf and hang him up by his tail. Some hunters, who have also had their eyes on the wolf, come by and prepare for their own attack. Peter won’t hear of it though. He announces that they will take him to the zoo, much to the hunters’ and his grandfather’s chagrin. All Grandfather can mutter to himself is, “What if Peter hadn’t caught the wolf? What then?”
On the way there, guess what they heard?! A quack, quack, quacking coming from the belly of that big, bad wolf!

The Composer
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) was born in the village of Sontsovka in the Donets region of the Ukraine. He was a child prodigy on the order of Mozart, composing for piano at age five and writing an opera at nine. His first teacher was his mother, a talented pianist. He attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1904 to 1914, winning the Anton Rubinstein prize for best student pianist when he graduated. He traveled widely, spending many years in London and Paris, and toured the United States five times.
In 1936, Prokofiev returned to settle permanently in the Soviet Union. One of his first compositions after his return was Peter and the Wolf, written in just two weeks in April of 1936 for a children’s theater in Moscow. Prokofiev invented the story and wrote the narration himself, drawing on memories of his own childhood. He constructed the music as a child’s introduction to the orchestra, with each character in the story represented by a different instrument or group of instruments: Peter by the strings, the bird by the flute, the duck by the oboe, the cat by the clarinet, the wolf by the horn section, and so on.
Peter and the Wolf was an immediate success and has been loved by children all over the world. The music is sophisticated enough to be enjoyed by adults, even through repeated hearings. And its moral — you can’t be a hero if you don’t take risks — delights children as much as it must have cheered the composer.

The Featured Instruments

The string family are instruments that create sounds in two major ways: Rubbing the strings with an object called a bow, made of wood and stretched horsehair; and plucking the strings with one’s finger (called pizzicato). The strings family represents Peter. (violin cello viola bass)
The flute is a metal instrument (but originally made from wood and therefore classified as a woodwind) that works by blowing over a hollow tube to make the air vibrate inside. In Peter and the Wolf, the flute represents the Bird.
The clarinet is a single-reed instrument. The reed is a thin flexible piece of wood that is attached to the mouthpiece of the clarinet. As the player blows through the mouthpiece, the reed vibrates to create a pitch. The cat is represented by this instrument in the story.
The oboe and bassoon are double-reed instruments. Double reeds are two slightly curved single reeds attached together. As the reeds vibrate against each other they create a somewhat raspy sound that is similar to pinching one’s nose while talking. The bassoon is longer than the oboe, so it has a lower range of pitches. The oboe represents the duck and the bassoon represents Grandfather.
oboe bassoon

The French horn is a brass instrument that is made of about 12 feet of circularly wrapped metal that ends in a big funnel called a ‘bell’. Lip ‘buzzing’ on a mouthpiece produces sound. The wolf is represented by the French horn.
Timpani and bass drum represent the Hunters. Percussion instruments make sound when you shake, rattle, or hit them with your hand or a stick.

(Spanish Worksheet)
Learn the following vocabulary words en Español and then see if you can answer the questions below!
Pedrito [ped-RI-to] — Peter, en Español El pájaro [el PAH-ha-ro] — the bird
El gato [el gah-to] — the cat
El pato [el pah-to] — the duck
El lobo [el low-bo] — the wolf
El abuelo [el ah-bway-lo] — the grandfather
Los cazadores [los ca-sa-door-ays] — the hunters Cuidado [quee-da-do] — Watch out!
Pequeño [pay-kayn-yo] — little
Grande [grahn-day] — big
El zoológico [el zo-LOW-hee-co] — the zoo
Write your answers in Spanish:
1. What animal says, “meow”?
2. What is the opposite of little?
3. Where can you find elephants, giraffes, monkeys and tigers in America? 4. Name two animals from the list above that have wings.
5. If la abuela means grandmother, how do you say “grandfather”?
Now see if you can answer these questions:
1. Which animal is más (more) grande – el lobo o el pato?
2. From the list above, which things could live in el zoológico?
3. Who is más viejo (older) – Pedro o el abuelo?
4. In the story, who else wants to catch el lobo?
5. What would you yell to your friend if she walked out in the street without looking? Pedrito y el Lobo — Peter and the Wolf

Peter and The Wolf memory Game

Peter and The Wolf Jeopardy

PETER and The WOLF by the Vancouver Symphony

3rd Music Music Activity:

One of the ways students can explore the Britten piece is through an interactive online game created by the folks at the educational arm of the Carnegie Hall Foundation. I'm hoping this link will connect you to the opening page of the game. From there you can create a free account and explore to your heart's content! (Alternatively simply search 'listening adventures Carnegie Hall')

The YPGO Interactive Game Site

3rd Grade Music Listening Activity

Our listening project in third grade music this spring is 'The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra" by British composer Benjamin Britten. Before our unscheduled vacation, we were in the process of investigating the structure of the piece before listening to the entire piece. Here is a copy of what the students' listening map would have looked like after we had completed it in class:

Section 1                             Section 2                              Section 3                            Section 4

Main Theme	Theme Again!	Solo Variations	A Fugue!
Played by the entire orchestra	Played by each family: woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion	Each instrument has its' own ‘special time’ while the other instruments play in the background.	A musical ‘dog pile’ as one by one the instruments begin playing very actively over top of each other.
Lasts less than a minute	Ends with one more statement by full orchestra	The longest section of the piece—it takes a while to hear every one!	They come back in the same order you first heard them!

Listen for a final statement of the main theme ‘overtop’ of the wild orchestra fugue just before the closing chords! A very clever and majestic ending!

And here is a link to a wonderful 2011 recording of the piece being performed in Sydney, Australia as part of a You Tube sponsored 'world orchestra' project:

Young Persons Guide in Concert

2020 COVID 19--Missing you guys already!

WATCH HERE FOR ELEMENTARY MUSIC UPDATES OVER THE 2020 COVID19 

'Special Break' time!

😊😊