Orchestra Classroom

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.

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.

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

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.

This is a 12 page workbook that teaches music students the basics of beat and rhythm. Group class activities and worksheets are included. Students learn eighth notes, quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, corresponding rests (except eighth rests) and time signatures. This workbook helps students develop a great start to counting and rhythm reading.

This is a collection of 24 assessments for beginning orchestra with rubrics and excerpts on each page. All pages are ninja themed as students work to achieve mastery in the areas of bow hold, bowing, intonation, position, and finger patterns (Bornoff 1 and 2 on D, A, and G strings). **On the last page of this resource is a link where you can access the entire template to make adjustments or changes to suit the needs of your students using a Canva.com account.

3 different worksheets where string orchestra students write note names to discover missing words. Treble clef, viola clef, and bass clef included. 9 total worksheets (3 per clef). Worksheet 1 uses notes: D, E, F, G, A. Worksheet 2 uses notes D, E, F, G, A, B. Worksheet 3 uses D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D.

Fiddle Tune for Beginners is an arrangement of a simple fiddle tune for string orchestra. The arrangement includes parts for 3 different skill levels so that this can be used in a classroom with true beginners and more advanced beginning players. Each part is only 8 measure long, but it can be repeated over and over as students try to play a different part each time. I would use this for the first week of my beginning orchestra class. Parts are included for violin, viola, cello, and bass. T

This is a great review game to play with your orchestra class (or any other class - you would just have to think of new 'dares' appropriate to your class setting). Once students have learned their concert pieces, you can have some fun and play this game to get students to focus even better on their playing and work as a team. The game is simple. Divide students into teams. I divide my orchestra class by section. (1 violin, 2 violin, viola, cello/bass) Each teams picks a captain who is the sp

This is a 7 page download of rules for your orchestra class that correspond to the word RESPECT. Each page is a different letter. After printing each page on regular sized 8 1/2 x 11 paper, you can assemble them in one long strip for your classroom. See http://orchestrateacher.blogspot.com/2014/07/rules-for-orchestra-classroom.html to see how this looks all put together.

This is just what you need for your classes on the first weeks of school! Several years ago I was asked to speak to a group of youth about what I do in my profession as a teacher.  I told the group that my job is to MOTIVATE and INSPIRE students.  Yes we make music, we learn instruments, but at the core of those things is inspiring students to try new things, work to achieve their goals, and to discover their potential.  This affects the way I run my classroom.  It creates the climate of my rehe

Need a game that involves the entire class? This one is perfect! I like to play games with my classes, but I don't like it when only a few get to participate in the fun. This game is also called reverse charades is and very easy to play. Just project the .ppt (powerpoint) slides on your screen, divide the class into 2 teams, and have teams select one person to come to the front with their backs to the screen. You show the word on the next slides and groups act out the word while the person

This is a fun 8 1/2 x 11 sign that says: CAUTION: Exposure to music may cause sudden outbursts of joy, happiness, energy, creativity, awareness, increased talent and extreme amounts of fun. PLAY at your own risk.