Band and recorder

It's getting to be about time for band to begin.  Before then, however, there are a couple of things the kids need to to accomplish.  Before I can give them their instruments, they need to know the note names as well as basic rhythm notation.  

In grade 5 we have learned about the hand staff, learned the mnemonics to help with the notes of the lines and spaces of the treble clef, and played Grand Staff Twister.  We also went to the computer lab and played some games on musictechteacher.com.

What they need to do is pass a little quiz on the the notes.  If they go to musictechteacher (link on the sidebar) and click on quizzes, they can do a lot of game practice with the note names.  They had a great time with it on Tuesday, and were excited that they can do these games at home!

I'm including here a little graphic of the treble and bass clefs for them.  They can remember the mnemonic for treble:  The lines, starting from the bottom, make the sentence "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge."  The kids also liked "Elephants Get Big Dirty Feet."  :)  The spaces from bottom to top spell FACE.

The traditional bass clef mnemonic for the lines from top to bottom is "Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always", but I kind of like "Granny's Brains Don't Function Anymore".  Hehe.  Sounds like me...  The mnemonic for the spaces is "All Cows Eat Grass."  

If using the mnemonic helps--I say go for it.  If it slows them down and they can figure it out faster without it, that's great, too.  The important thing is that they be able to look at the lines and spaces and know exactly what the note is without thinking about it too much.  For the most part, the kids will be reading in treble clef, but trombone will be in bass, and since we don't have private classes for each type of instrument, all the kids will be learning that clef as well. 

Below you'll find the treble and bass clef notes for reference.  The top one is the treble clef.

I'd encourage you to have your kids work on these games every day for a time until they have the notes learned.  I'll be quizzing them next Tuesday, in the hopes that we will be able to at least put instruments into their hands to experiment with by next Thursday.  The kids are really excited, and I want them to finally get their instruments, but they will only be frustrated if they have to learn how to make a nice tone, learn how to finger the different notes properly, and also have to learn the notation at the same time.  The more they practice these concepts at home the more successful they will be, and I want them to LOVE playing in a band! 

If you have not paid your rental fee yet, please do so ASAP.  Your child will not be able to bring an instrument home until the fee has been paid.  Some of you have gotten in touch re: a payment plan, and that is fine.  We just need to work something out.  :)  

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Thanks!

Lynn