Orchestra families and students, During this school closure, I will be posting resources for students here. I plan for there to be a mix of fun videos and games as well as informative lessons and links for unique performances for you to enjoy. Please understand that nothing will be require from you, these resources are here for you if you choose to use them. String Instrument Cleaning Tips
Music Games Classics for Kids - http://classicsforkids.com/games.html Music Tech Teacher - http://musictechteacher.com/music_quizzes/music_quizzes.htm Soundtrap - soundtrap.com - Create your own songs and loops Typeatone - https://typatone.com/ - compose by writing words Online Sequencer - https://onlinesequencer.net/ - a cool way to compose Noteflight - Noteflight.com - A more traditional composition website. Concerts
Cool Performances/ Artists 2Cellos - https://www.youtube.com/user/2CELLOSlive Brooklyn Duo - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk_9hHaw0n1Vbbld6cXyh6A Joshua Bell - https://www.youtube.com/user/joshuabellmusic Yo-Yo Ma - https://www.youtube.com/user/YoYoMaVideos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uiUHvET_jg Chicago Symphony Orchestra - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl2Sa1BW9yF55yjqwSLro6Q Nicholas Walker - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD1lnzx_x9vWAMsEAgrXQXA Edgar Meyer - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUC79ESQHGV9rlMPmfTAz6Q Vitamin String Quartet - https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialVSQ Mark Wood - https://www.youtube.com/user/markwoodtv Trans-Siberian Orchestra - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH0B_DiwmtVvsYGWdPhmgrQ Hilary Hahn - https://www.youtube.com/user/hilaryhahnvideos Prague Cello Quartet -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9sPNbXInKkYb4_wu9wRcdA Lindsey Stirling - https://www.youtube.com/user/lindseystomp Piano Guys - https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePianoGuys Punch Brothers - https://www.youtube.com/user/punchbrothers Bach Suites Documentary- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9yUHx26cYo Itzhak Perlman - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ-1OLVBbBoObtTkrFbeObg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haxPfFi58ww Jascha Heifetz - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgiVxQOPT3MBqFnAt8saMxw Pablo Casals - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Gi1zubJMM5jIlDBJL17ng 25 bizarre classical music facts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1lUR7tLjLA Practicing Resources Please be careful while tuning Online Tuner - https://www.alexdemartos.es/wtuner/ HOW TO TUNE VIDEO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWAFbV0bTrw&fbclid=IwAR1cNJ8q1-E2DUZd9EJKLy7CZuIzbb6CpJZbN_CmDBmzTeZ0W820sv3vchI Another How to tune video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUA9XlEWsl0 Yet another how to tune video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJEAI8MeQpk&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1WjuAik8MPzI_uRujVW5ggmox9axWy3fTbAsdNKCAzN1BYjhWL3bqMMw0 How to tune Vioiln: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_LPOIlTXas&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR25eQKZP_ZIaXtkuYvpU0eUVaVEjit_KPXaubmOpyIuRuCw5hMuZh4jyQo Cellos - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jATnJs4NWy4 Online Metronome - https://www.metronomeonline.com/ How to hold the violin bow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_p7mzbLyOk Drones (Great for helping establish pitch and hearing the relationship between notes) - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVI_GbJ5havUqteuAGuEcbQ Rosining the bow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT9Az0e5Xng More Rosin Tips - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUeg-WfOT7s Violin Practice Tips -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNj-J8g1azM More Advanced Practice Tips - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5WY1JQctQA Practice Routine Tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IE5aCjw2I0 Creating A Practice Routine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XGWB2-l4Tk Practice Scale Bow Exercises - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFWig-ExSPw Cello Bow Practice Exercises - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13t_QwbCSeo The Importance of Warm Ups - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp_3Vo4WFCQ How To Vibrato - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVMsMnajeNQ Violin Vibrato in Slow Motion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8OT7EFKE78 How to NOT scratch and squeak - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKS6CwNez5U Keeping the Bow Straight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMh4vHLGbKU Improving Bow Control and Sound - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbWG998uz1M Beginners Guide to Finger Positions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bx7SiGoRbc Notes on a Violin in 1st position - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QS8uJVIjZA Tips to Play Faster - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbyPNxOIif8 Learn the notes to scales Quickly -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wprlxXLc9Ss Practice Strategies THE BASICS *Always set a goal: What musical objectives would you like to accomplish today? Always practice with a goal and don’t stop practicing until you have accomplished something. You may have to adjust your goal as you practice. Make obtainable goals, learning an instrument is process and progress is rarely made quickly. *Make a plan (sometimes): planning your practice before you begin can help you achieve your goals. However, not planning, and simply “following you curiosity as you practice” can help you relax and enjoy your instrument. Mix it up! *Follow a routine: find a place and time that works with your schedule to practice, even if it only 10 minutes after school in the orchestra room. *The orchestra room is available during 8th period. THE CLASSICS Start slowly and gradually get faster: If in doubt, slow it down. Chunking: Zoom in on the difficult parts of your piece Don’t always start at the beginning: Start in a different place every time you practice a piece. Focus your efforts on the parts that need work or the parts that are fun. Use a metronome: Vary your tempo. Try playing slow sections quickly and fast sections slowly. Metronomes can be found for free on app stores. If you search metronome on Google, one appears at the top of your search results. There is no excuse for not using a metronome. Mark with a pencil: Write reminders about accidentals, difficult rhythms, fingerings, note names, etc. More Work backwards: Choose a short passage at the end of a section you wish to improve. Repeat or modify until you feel it is improved. Then, increase the length of the passage by starting a few notes earlier. Repeat this process until you feel comfortable with the entire passage. Change the rhythm: For example: if you encounter a difficult passage with straight eighth notes, try changing them to dotted eighth/sixteenths, and then sixteenths/dotted eighths. Changing the rhythm this way can help show you where the hard notes are and make you think about notes differently. Change the articulations: For example, play the entire passage staccato, and then play it legato. Experience with different placements of slurs and accents. Make it fun: If practicing is a chore, change something. Take a break, or ask for help. Turn practicing into a game. Practice with a friend: practicing doesn’t have to be lonely. A friend can give you an aural model of a passage, give you feedback, and motivate you to practice. Memorize: a passage or an entire passage. When you can play a piece from memory, you have guaranteed that you know the essentials and are ready to dedicate your thoughts to other ideas to make the music more interesting. 4-3-2-1: Repeat each not in a difficult passage four times, then three times, and so on. This is a great strategy for quick moving passages because you are able to practice the bow stroke/articulation at tempo while slowing down the fingering. Improvise: Experiment with your instrument. Create new sounds and melodies. Create variations on a theme in your music. Let your feelings out: Focus on the musical ideas you are trying to convey in your playing. Experiment with expressing different emotions. Tell a story with your instrument. NO INSTRUMENT, NO PROBLEM Use MENTAL practice: Read through your music without making a sound on your instrument. Move your fingers and speak the note names or rhythm. Think about your music when you’re away from your instrument. Sing it/ hum it/ whistle it/ speak it/ clap it: Singing, humming, whistling the melody and speaking or clapping the rhythm can help you develop an aural model of your music, play in tune, and correct errors. Use YouTube: This free online resource contains many amateur and professional recordings. Listening to recordings of your music can help you catch your errors and refine your own interpretation of the piece. YouTube also contains many free instrument lessons on topics such as vibrato, shifting, or bowing techniques. How its Made Videos Gut Strings ( kind of gross, you were warned!) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ywzxkC0NAc Guitars - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoL0Ej_J0ec Violins - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcCGY9lScQ4 Violins - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ4rXpbxqDo Galen Hartley Builds a Violin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xejx48lZVhQ Bows - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFj1ZkuuFKo How String Instruments Make Their Sound - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijTEn2q-jFM Everything You Would ever want to know about the Violin - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL32FBF9B05E51B077 Other Sting Instruments Viola da Gamba - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vosK-NKq9FQ&t=232s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP0YrMKZhkM Octobass - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12X-i9YHzmE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCEYPyUBDAU Nyckelharpa - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sfBcWvVUbs Hurdy-Gurdy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwyznoWJDHI Viola Organista - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoZOkGtygjk |