Orchestra Classroom

Teaching beginning orchestra is fun.  Students are excited to learn and there are so many warm-ups, activities, and games to play that are engaging and motivating.  I've taught beginners for 15 years and have tried all sorts of methods and techniques.  I now have favorite rehearsal strategies, games, and warm-ups that I used every year with my beginners.  This resource is a compilation of my favorite strategies for teaching beginners.  It's so nice to have it all in one place!  Here are the high

I confess...I always used to dread teaching my students how to shift. It seemed like the exercises in my method books moved too quickly and students were getting frustrated or lost on the pages with shifting. That is why I created this resource to help you (and me!) teach shifting. Exploring Shifting helps students develop shifting technique using easy exercises that provide time for students to master skills and memorize new fingerings. Each section of the orchestra plays in unison for each

Worksheets are a nice way to help students practice note reading, but students need more than a worksheet. They need to PRACTICE note reading using a step by step process. This is a packet for beginning string orchestra and includes a 45 page book for violin, viola, cello, and bass (180 pages total!) This workbook empowers and motivates students to master note reading by utilizing student choice, multi-level parts, targeted practice, creative exploration, and self-assessment. AND, all string

This is a 43 page workbook designed to help beginning orchestra students in middle school/junior high to learn the clef, staff, and notes. Students learn how to draw notes and musical symbols and there are pages to teach notes on the D and A strings for violin, viola, cello and bass. You can print/copy this as a 43 page workbook as many times as you like for each student in your class, or print separate pages to use as individual assignments. This is perfect for the start of the school year i

Curriculum and lesson plans for the first weeks of your beginning string orchestra class. Learn how to set up your beginners for success as they establish good playing habits through step-by-step lesson plans, fun games, and motivating music.

This is how I help my students transition to note reading after learning the fundamental skills on their instruments. This 35 page book includes rote pages designed to help students begin to recognize notes on the staff. The book introduces open strings, D string notes, then A string notes. This set contains a 35 page book for violin, viola, cello, and bass. 144 pages total.

When passing out a new piece of music I have often wished for a better way to drill finger-patterns to help students remember fingerings on each string for the key signatures. So often students ask ..."Is it a high 2 or low 2 on the A string? " I am hoping the drills and exercises in this resource will help students internalize how the key signatures change the finger patterns on each string. This resource is 29 pages total. It contains 7 pages of exercises for violin, viola, cello and bass.

Be An Amazing Notereading PLUS 40 Amazing Notereading worksheets - all you need to get your first year players reading notes on all strings by the end of the school year! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Be-An-Amazing-Note-Reader-for-Orchestra-A-Workbook-for-Beginning-Students-1313791 PLUS https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/40-Amazing-Note-Reading-Worksheets-for-string-orchestra-9681088

This is a set of 24 half page rhythm assignments and 2 full page final rhythm tests to be used as bell-work or bell ringer activities in a string orchestra classroom. Concepts include quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, eighth notes, dotted quarter, dotted half, whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, measures, counting, 4/4 time and 3/4 time. Just copy and cut in half for instant worksheets to reinforce basic rhythm skills.

Over 300 google slides for students to practice note reading! The secret to get students to read notes is to have students practice reading notes and they need LOTS of different excerpts. Some students try to memorize passages or guess the notes. This resource provides many examples in custom categories for you to tailor note reading practice to suit the needs of your students. There are so many ways to use this resource. Here are just a few of the ideas suggested the download: (11 more ideas

Are you stuck in a Warm-up rut? Try something new! Students love learning rounds. They are quick to learn because all parts are unison. When ready to try as a round, there are so many possibilities! 1. Included in this packet is a Conductor Score, Rote pages for each round, Parts for Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass. 62 pages total. 2. 16 rounds included 3. Students get bored with the same old warm-ups. These rounds are fun and easy to learn and are great for warm-ups! Students learn each roun

Get all my beginning orchestra tunes in one file! These are the pieces of music I use at the start of the school year. Each piece has 2-3 parts for each instrument with different skill levels. Included in this 144 page book is the score and parts for the following tunes: Arkansas Traveler Caterpillar March Bonny James Epic Shuffle Fiddle Tune Georgia Railroad John Ryan Polka Mississippi Reel Ragtime Fiddles Simple Gifts Sourwood Mountain Twinkle Extreme (to be played with twinkle melody) Unc

These exercises are written for beginning orchestra classes to be used as warm-ups to improve intonation in your ensemble. Each exercise drills a specific note pattern or fingering to help students achieve more precise intonation. The rhythm in each exercise is always simple in order to help students focus all attention on tone and intonation. There are no fingering markings. It is up to the teacher to determine when you want vioin/viola students to use open strings versus 4th finger. It d

Many method books have a limited rote section. This resource is to be used to supplement your current method book. This resource provides many exercises to help students gain confidence and develop important skills before diving into the method book. This book provides a strong foundation in basic rhythm - which will help students learn faster once they begin learning notes. I have used several different method books over my 11 years teaching orchestra. Some books have just a page or two ded

It's difficult to find a method book for the high school level. I wanted to have something my students could rehearse together that would help them develop advanced skills such as bow hold flexibility, bow control, shifting, and more. 18 Etudes for Advanced String Orchestra Warm-ups drills specific skills in each etude. The purpose of the book is to help an orchestra transition to a more advanced level of playing by working on right hand and left technique. Each etude includes one page of p

This warm up book is perfect for many skill levels. There are ways to differentiate each exercise so all students can succeed as they master scales, fingerings, intonation, bowing, time signatures, and key signatures from 2 sharps to 2 flats. 149 pages total includes score and parts for violin, viola, and cello/bass. Each student book is 33 pages. Check out the many ways to utilize this book as your daily warm-up: Help students learn the scales by having them play ONLY the first note in each m

This is a great way to practice flashcards! Students use a gameboard which is designed like a violin, viola, cello, or bass fingerboard. Students then place each flashcard on the correct note-name on the fingerboard. This helps students know their note names, but also understand where the notes are found on their instruments.

This is an orignal work written in the key of e minor. All of the notes and rhythms are attainable for a 1st year beginning orchestra and students love the sound of the minor key. Students will love to practice the fun melody lines. This will make your group sound way more advanced! Included score and parts for violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello and bass.

After one week of playing, it's a good idea to check in to make sure students are mastering the skills. This assessment is for students to assess each other's instrument placement/posture, knowledge of open strings, reading basic rhythm, and forming bow hands. 5 pages total. One page for violin, viola, cello, bass (german bow), bass (french bow)

If your students can Twinkle, they can play this! Very easy and quick to learn for that first concert with your beginning orchestra students. The entire piece is pizzicato, simple notes (D, E, F#, G, A, B), simple rhythms - all quarter notes and half notes (and rests), and it's FUN to play! Includes score and parts for violin, viola, cello and bass. This resource includes a version WITH note names in the note heads and also a version WITHOUT note names...so you can choose what would work best