Elementary Violin Classes

In elementary strings class, students will learn to read and perform music on the violin. For 2023-2024, elementary strings classes at Sudie will take place once per week during 4th and 5th grade students' specials class time. For that reason, it is recommended that only students who are highly motivated and self-driven plan to enroll in elementary strings classes at this time. 

Students without prior experience are welcome to join in 4th grade while 5th grade students should have some musical experience to be most successful. In addition to our weekly class meetings during the school day, students should plan to practice at home throughout the week to learn all of our performance music. If a student is interested in joining and does not know if they would be ready for the advanced 5th grade class, please contact me or set up a meeting. Strings class is also offered to 6th grade students in the form of a 1-year course, which may be helpful for students who are not quite ready to join in 5th grade.

Elementary strings students will have a maximum of 40 minutes of instruction each week during the school day, not counting any changes to the schedule due to standardized testing, field trips, instrument tuning, and the school's morning announcements. Despite our limited class meeting schedule, students can absolutely be successful. However, please understand that without home practice and a strong commitment to personal excellence during class meetings, it will be extremely difficult to make progress in this class. If you feel your child might not have enough time to be successful this year in strings class, please know that middle school orchestra classes will be offered to all students starting in 6th grade. In middle school, students will have significantly more class time and smaller class sizes.

Students in sections B and D will have class on Tuesdays. Students in sections A and C will have class on Fridays. Students signed up for strings class will still attend Art and Music on their scheduled mornings, as well as 2 PE classes throughout the week.

If you have read the information above and feel that your child would be successful in elementary strings class, Please read through the relevant pages of this website and submit the paper form handed out to your child during the first part of the school year to Mr. Powers box in the front office at Sudie. (The enrollment form can also be found on the Orchestra Forms page of this site.)

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Mr. Powers

JOPOWERS@DALLASISD.ORG 

4th Grade 

4th grade violin students will begin with the basics of music performance and literacy. Students with no prior experience are welcome to join. Our goal is to prepare students for the advanced elementary strings class in 5th grade, where they will be set up for long term success in the middle school orchestra program.

By the end of the school year, students will be able to both read and perform music for their instrument at a beginning level. Students will have several live performance opportunities throughout the school year. The skills learned in the 4th grade strings class lead directly into the advanced 5th grade strings class as well as the middle school classes.

After the first few weeks of school, elementary students will be enrolled for the entire school year, with no option to quit or change classes, so please make sure you are committed for the entire school year as you sign up! Home practice is expected and students will be assessed on their progress each week in class, earning a grade for their report card in strings. 

5th Grade

Advanced 5th grade strings students will continue their progress made from the 4th grade strings classes with the goal of joining an advanced middle school orchestra class in 6th grade. Students who studied violin in 4th grade may choose to try a different string instrument in 5th grade as we begin to read more advanced orchestral literature. Select students may be asked to apply for the Dallas ISD All-City Orchestra.

Due to the limited class meeting time each week, interested 5th grade students without any prior musical experience should plan to enroll in beginning orchestra in 6th grade. Since we will have 5-10x as much class time in middle school orchestra class compared to the elementary class, this will allow those students to be as successful as possible and to have a positive experience with music and learning at Sudie.