Tag Archives: ensemble

3.5 Rules for Picking Christmas Music

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Lady Fair

It’s that time of year, when music teachers all over America (and I assume other places too!) begin picking Christmas music with their students. I enjoy this particularly because it is like hitting the reset button for the students: they … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching Piano, Teaching Private Lessons, Teaching Voice | Tagged channukah, choose, Christmas, clarinet, concert, duet, ensemble, hannukah, help, holida, holiday, lesson, music, perform, performance, piano, pick, picking, play, program, recital, seasonal, select, sing, solo, trio, violin | Leave a comment

Don’t Do That! (Try This Instead!)

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Lady Fair

By Dr. Matthew McCutcheon This is a list of common pitfalls that many school ensemble directors unknowingly fall into. While directed more toward wind ensembles, these can be applied just as easily to chorus or strings. The basic concepts are … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching Band, Teaching Chorus, Teaching Orchestra, Tips and Tricks | Tagged bad habits, band, chorus, conduct, direct, directions, do, don't, ensemble, habits, help, high school, how-to, listen, mccutcheon, middle school, music, orchestra, pitfalls, practice, school, teach, tips | Leave a comment

Gorgeous Icelandic Hymn

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Lady Fair

A gorgeous hymn sung by a men’s choir in a train station. Sure to enhance your evening. 🙂 Árstíðir is a band from Iceland. Here they are singing the 13th century Icelandic hymn “Heyr himna smiður” at a train station … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspirational | Tagged beautiful, choir, chorus, ensemble, frozen, germany, Heyr himna smiður, hymn, iceland, male, man, men, norway, quartet, quintet, scandanavia, septet, sing, song, train station, video | Leave a comment

Music Appreciation Class Lessons – Timbre, Ensembles, Genres

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Lady Fair

These are some lessons that I did as a unit on a 4 week school week in a middle school music appreciation class. We discussed the timbres of instruments, different ensembles, and different genres. The recorded music can all be … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle School Lessons - non-ensemble, Teaching Other Music Classes | Tagged appreciation, art, art music, brass, composer, decade, education, ensemble, era, families, folk, free, general, genre, instrument, lesson, lesson plans, lessons, middle school, music, plan, pop, popular, power point, string, style, timbre, traditional, woodwind | 4 Comments

“Did you know?” Facts about music’s effect on us.

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Lady Fair

In 2012 I had the privilege of teaching at a middle school and working with a very kind and smart student who loves music, and enjoys composing. He is now a sophomore in high school and taking composition classes. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Informational, Inspirational | Tagged all-county, attendance, band, brain, chorus, compose, composer, composition, did you know, ensemble, FCAT, graduation, music, nervous, orchestra, perform, play, reading, rehearse, research, SAT, science, scientific, score, skill, speech, studies, study, system, test, violin | Leave a comment

Music and Autistism

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Lady Fair

I found an article today about how music helped one autistic student to find confidence, feel more socially secure, and improve in verbal skills. I have taught several autistic students, and I have seen them do wonderful things through music. … Continue reading →

Posted in Informational, Inspirational, Lesson Plans & Ideas, Teaching Band | Tagged autism, autistic, band, belong, bullies, bully, clarinet, community, education, ensemble, group, Kolman, Mano, mozart, music, music therapy, social, therapy, treatment, verbal | Leave a comment

It will get better!

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Lady Fair

As I was subbing the other day, and lamenting the behavior of the terrible chorus children I had in those classes, I longed to have my own classroom. Then I thought to myself, “why would my own students be any … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Management, Neutral | Tagged band, beginning, behavior, chorus, class, classroom management, elementary, ensemble, Finding, high school, lesson, lessons, magnet, management, middle school, Mrs., music, new teacher, orchestra, piano, strings, sub, subsitute, teacher, teaching, Warneke | Leave a comment

Cheap Violins for Sale Are Not a Good Deal

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Lady Fair

Taken from http://www.violinist.com I could not find a way to contact the author directly, but I will keep searching. Please visit the site for the original article by Laurie Niles. The website has been VERY helpful to me as an … Continue reading →

Posted in Informational, Instruments, Instruments, Teaching Orchestra | Tagged bass, cello, ensemble, laurie niles, middle school, orchestra, school, the violin site, theviolinsite, viola, violin, violin shaped object | 2 Comments

4th Grade Lesson – Timbre

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Lady Fair

This lesson should come before the lessons on Ensemble Timbres and Texture/Ostinato. This lesson is most effective when the students can see the instruments demonstrated and see how they work. I am a clarinetist, can play oboe relatively well, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 3rd-5th Grade Lessons | Tagged 4th grade, baritone, bassoon, brass, children, clarinet, class, drum, education, elementary school, embouchure, ensemble, euphonium, flute, fourth grade, french horn, frequency, lesson, lesson plan, listen, mouthpiece, music, oboe, orchestra, Ostinato, percussion, reed, saxophone, sound, strings, timbre, trombone, trumpet, tuba, vibration, woodwind | Leave a comment

4th Grade – Ensemble Timbres

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Lady Fair

This lesson is from the Making Music 4th grade teacher’s book.In this lesson students learn about different ensembles and the way they sound. They learn that there are no saxophones in an orchestra, but there are strings. There are no strings … Continue reading →

Posted in 3rd-5th Grade Lessons | Tagged 4th grade, band, ensemble, fourth grade, jazz band, lesson plan, music, orchestra, timbre | Leave a comment