Level II Band

3rd Semester Orchestra Classes for ages 10-18

Second year or higher wind and mallet percussion players will further their playing skills from simple five-note scales to full concert C, concert Bb and concert F scale pieces. Students will also progress from simple quarter/half note/whole note rhythms to more complex rhythms including eighth and dotted half-quarter note rhythms. Tonguing slurs and staccatos will also be introduced and cultivated.

Class 1 Students will review proper posture while holding their instruments as well as care and proper storage of instruments when not in use. The basic overtone series and how it applies to each instrument and how shortening the tube of their instrument by adding fingers will be reviewed. The class will then examine the C concert major scale and the notes they have learned thus far (quarter, half, whole and eighth notes). Students will be challenged to practice the concert C major scale ascending and descending for their instrument. Class will then Review the performance Spotlight section on page 12 and 13 in the Essential Elements for Band instruments lesson book.

Class 2 Class will begin by reviewing the C major scale. Students who are comfortable doing so will be asked to demonstrate their C major scale on their instrument. Ties will be reintroduced as on page 14 and then dotted half notes will be introduced. Class will discuss the correct way to count and breathe through phrases that use a dotted half note. Exercises 61-65 will be worked on individually, in sections and then as a whole group.

Class 3 Class will warm up with their concert C major scale. As a class, we will experiment with various rhythms including scales using a dotted half-quarter rhythm as was introduced in the previous class. Students will then be introduced to the ¾ time signature and listening some familiar pieces in ¾ as they practice the conducting pattern for ¾ as a group. Then the class will play a game where different pieces will be played and they will identify which time signature is being played while they try to conduct 3/4, 2/4 or 4/4 patterns (which were learned in the previous semester). Then class will begin to work on the pieces on page 15 exercises 66-69. After these exercises the accent will be introduced and how to correctly tongue, breathe (hit for mallet percussion) and create an accent with the various instruments. Exercises 70-72 will then be experimented with.

Class 4 Students will be introduced to the concept of an accidental and then namely a flat and how a flat lowers a pitch half a step. On page 16 the new note will be introduced as well as a new key signature that of concert E flat. 1st and 2nd endings will also be discussed and their function in binary sections or pieces. The exercises on page 16 and 17 will be worked through (exercise 73 to 85).

Class 5 Students will review pieces from page 16-17 and work through any trouble areas. Then page 18 with Daily Warm-ups for tone and technique will be introduced with a discussion on how to create the best tone for everyone’s instrument will be reviewed. The concept of “theme and variations” will be taught along with some examples of theme and variations from various composers including Mozart and Beethoven. D.C. al Fine will be introduced as well, and students will compare that with the 1st and 2nd endings in binary form verses D.C. al Fine and their use in ternary form. The use of a natural sign will be introduced as well to cancel either a flat or a sharp note. If time allots for it, we will learn a new note on page 19 exercise 92 and work through the next few exercises.

Class 6 Slurs will be introduced on page 19. The tonguing technique to only tongue on the first note of a slur will be discussed and experimented with. Students will practice correct slurring technique and play alone and with members of the group this new skill. Ragtime as a style will be introduced and examples will be played to demonstrate the sound of this early form of jazz and it’s origins especially some of the pivotal composers of ragtime including Scott Joplin, and “Jelly Roll” Morton. Their influence on classical composers Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky will be discussed and explored.

Class 7 Phrases will be discussed and how they are comparable to a sentence in literature. The rising and falling of dynamics with crescendos and diminuendos will be introduced as well as a the “heart”

Students will learn to play full concert C scales and arpeggios as well as be able to move from Very Easy level (grade 1/2) pieces to Easy level (grade 1 pieces) and perform them at the end of semester concert.