Class Syllabus
Instrumental Music Syllabus, school year 2023-2024
Woodmore Elementary School
Mr. Patrick FitzGerald, Instrumental Music Teacher
Overview:
This Syllabus pertains to students enrolled in all instrumental music classes, including:
- Beginning Band or Orchestra (Strings)
- Advanced Band or Orchestra (Strings)
Beginning classes will focus on basic skills of instrumental musical performance including:
- Creating a characteristic sound on the instrument
- Performing rhythmic and melodic music on the instrument
- Reading notes and rhythms in musical notation
- Performance practices for playing in a musical ensemble
- Care and maintenance of musical instruments
Advanced classes will focus on advanced techniques for students who have played their instruments before this year and have mastered the beginning level material.
Placement in a beginning or advanced class is at the discretion of the instructor, Mr. FitzGerald. Students may be moved to or from beginning or advanced classes if the student would be better served by being in a different group.
Grading:
Although it is a voluntary activity for students, Instrumental Music is a graded class, and students enrolled in instrumental music class will receive a grade for the class on their report card.
Grades are calculated, according to PGCPS guidelines, based on the following factors:
Participation in class: 60%
Assessments: 30%
Independent Practice: 10%
Participation in class includes several factors. Showing up to class, on time, and with all equipment needed for the class (your instrument and your book or sheet music) is a major factor. If you are not in class, you cannot learn from the class! Participation also means following instructions and putting forth a good effort in the class.
Daily participation grading scale is as follows:
Student comes to class on time and with instrument/music =100%
Student Comes to class without an instrument and music book = 75%
Student comes to class prepared, but 15-25 min late without an valid excuse=75%
Student comes to class more than 25min late=50%
Student fails to come to class at all, and does not have a valid excuse=Zero%
If a student has a reasonable excuse for being absent or late, (such as being home sick that day) the absence or lateness will not be counted against them. The student must, however, tell Mr. FitzGerald why the absence or lateness has occurred, otherwise Mr. FitzGerald has no way of knowing if it was excused or not.
Assessments come in two forms: From time to time, students will be asked to perform assigned music in class as a playing test. Students will be graded according to the PGCPS Instrumental Music Performance Assessment Rubric (see below) on their tone, note accuracy, rhythmic accuracy, articulation/bowing/sticking (as applicable to their specific instrument), playing position, and overall musicality. Participation in concerts also counts as an assessment grade. Students will receive 100% on their concert assessment grade if they participate in the concerts.
Independent Practice for the class is always the same and is assigned every day; practice your instrument!! After years of training and experience, I can tell if a student has practiced! If the student is not making any progress as a player, and makes the same mistakes all the time, they have not practiced enough! No one is born with skills needed to play a musical instrument. The best players in the world only become good after many many hours of practice. Practicing is critical to success as a musician! Please note that practicing is done at home, playing in class with the whole group does not count as “practicing.”
Class Policies:
Students Enrolled in Instrumental Music are expected to participate fully in the all in school lessons and attend all concerts.
Instrumental Music is a “pull out” class, meaning that students will miss a few minutes of another lesson while they are at Instrumental Music class. Students are expected to make up all work missed in other classes while at instrumental music class. Class schedules will rotate every day so the same students do not miss the same class every time.
Students enrolled in instrumental music may not choose to go to a different class during their instrumental music class time without specific permission from Mr. FitzGerald and the teacher of the other class. For example: choosing to go to PE class instead of band without permission will be counted as an unexcused absence from band and will result in a zero for the participation grade for that day.
Students may not quit/withdraw from the class without a written letter from a parent or guardian presented to Mr. FitzGerald. If a withdrawal from the class is necessary, I would strongly recommend the student waits until after the first concert. No Student will be withdrawn from the class within 30 days before a concert.
Students may be removed from the program all together at Mr. FitzGerald’s discretion for excessive absence/tardiness, abusive behavior towards other students, disruptive behavior during rehearsals, or gross neglect of school owned instruments.
Concerts:
Woodmore's concert dates will be confirmed with a letter sent home by early November (for the winter concert) and April (for the Spring Concert). We have set tentative dates for the concert (which will most likely become the actual dates) of
Winter Concert: TBA
&
Spring Concert: TBA
***PLEASE NOTE: During the pandemic years, our ability to hold regular concerts has been unpredictable. Hopefully we will be able to hold concerts this year as usual.***
Contact information
Mr. FitzGerald the instrumental teacher is only part time at Woodmore, he also teaches at Tulip Grove Elementary School, because of this, contacting him by phone is sometimes difficult, as he may not be in the building. By far, the best way to contact Mr. FitzGerald is by emailing him at Patrick2.FitzGerald@pgcps.org. Please feel free to contact him with any questions.
PGCPS Instrumental Music Performance Assessment Rubric
(This Rubric is a PGCPS approved document and is used in all PGCPS instrumental music programs)
Performances Assessments (in class) are judged by 6 areas of performance. Scores for each area are added for a total score for the specific assessment, with each area graded on a scale of 1 to 4. The highest possible total score is 24 and a lowest is 6. A Zero may be given for a student who refuses to take the assessment. The key below shows guidelines for grading in each category.
Tone
4 Clear, full, controlled, and characteristic tone quality
3 Generally plays with a characteristic tone, but has occasional distortions
2 Has mostly unfocused tone quality
1 Thin, pinched, uncharacteristic, unfocused/spread, or over blown tone quality
Note Accuracy
4 All correct notes
3 Mostly correct notes/fingerings
2 Some correct notes/fingerings
1 Few correct notes/fingerings. Unrecognizable
Rhythmic Accuracy (playing correct rhythms)
4 All correct rhythms with no hesitations
3 Most rhythms are correct and/or slight hesitations
2 Some correct rhythms and/or many hesitations
1 Few correct rhythms and or several start/stops
Articulation (winds)/Sticking (percussion)/Bowing (strings)
4 All correct articulations/sticking/bowings
3 Mostly correct articulations/sticking/bowings
2 Some correct articulations/sticking/bowings
1 Few correct articulations/sticking/bowings
Playing Position (instrument angle, posture, hand position, and/or embouchure)
4 Consistently exhibits correct playing position
3 Mostly exhibits correct playing position
2 Occasionally exhibits correct playing position
1 Rarely exhibits correct playing position
Overall Musicality
4 Consistently exhibits correct style
3 Mostly exhibits correct style
2 Occasionally exhibits correct style
1 Correct style is not existent in performance