Symphfunny Orchestra

Everything you need to plan a successful first 8 days with your orchestra students!The first days of school are stressful enough: class roster changes, schedule changes, last minute admin requests... all while trying to build an ensemble culture from day one. How do I survive without pulling my hair out? By having a foolproof plan for the first 8 days of school that I can use and reuse each year. This resource includes:A One-Page First 8 Days Lesson Plans Overview Chart8 Days of Lesson Plans (ap

NEW Design Update! (Old Design Still Included) I don't believe in assigning participation points. I DO believe in: Holding students accountable for their choices.Recognizing that Orchestra is a "team" activity and we all succeed or fail together.Teaching students how to be good rehearsers.Assessing students on their rehearsal skills and providing specific feedback.Before I developed this system…I spent my grading time trying to remember how “good” or “bad” each student had been, and agonized ov

EVERYTHING I pass out to my students in the first week of school!PLUS my BEST-SELLING system for teaching my students to run the first 10 minute of class for me, PLUS my Practice Like a Pro Prezi Presentation to guide the how-to-practice conversation!Included in this bundle: First Day of Orchestra Entry TaskOrchestra Musician Hall PassesBeginning Orchestra Instrument Selection FormWeekly Practice Record (click HERE to read why I assign one, in spite of the controversy)My COMPLETE Orchestra Handb

Beginning Orchestra is HARD to teach (but LOTS of fun). This bundle includes resources I actually use each year to increase the "fun factor" of teaching Beginning Orchestra, and decrease the "stress factor." Included in this bundle: Orchestra Warm Up Routines Packet (Lucky you! This also has my Intermediate and Advanced Orchestra Tuning and Warm Up Routines!)Beginning Orchestra D Major Scale Note RacesLiving Room Orchestra Concert AssignmentBeginning Orchestra Instrument Selection FormHow to h

My favorite, "You're so lucky to be a teacher! You get summers off!" response is, "Yea. You should join me." Fascinatingly, no one has taken me up on my offer yet... The reality is that apart from the expertise and training needed to be a good teacher, it also takes careful planning of systems and processes to not lose your sanity. There are 3 systems in place in my orchestra classroom that keep me sane: Having a 10-Minute Start-of-Rehearsal procedure that is student-ledHaving a group of leaders

This year, while proctoring testing in other teachers' classrooms, I noticed a TON of growth mindset posters in my school. As I wandered the rows of testing students, I noticed that the growth mindset messages in the Math, English, and Science classes were things I want my orchestra students to internalize (plus a few more mantras that are music-specific). I created these for my classroom, and am sharing them with you! What's Included:13 Growth Mindset Mantras with Orchestra Instrument Clip Ar

While I always hope for a musician substitute teacher, or that I won't have to be out early in the year before my students can run their own rehearsal, it's always a good idea to have a backup plan - and I'm sharing mine with you! These Print and Go Emergency Sub Plans include: A one-page, editable substitute instruction sheet with the basics for a non-music sub, including suggestions for my favorite study music to play for my students.Four days of orchestra-themed Word Searches for students t

Vibrato is challenging to teach in a group setting!Violinists/violists have a different vibrato motion that cellists/bassists.Depending on the size of your ensemble and your rehearsal space, you may not be able to physically get to every musician to help them individually with their vibrato.Musician who self-teach vibrato often end up with a sporadic, tense, "quiver" vibrato.Practicing vibrato is BORING!Why is this resource titled, Vibrato "Vitamins?"Vitamins are supplements for our bodies, and

Up your Retention and Recruitment Game and GROW YOUR PROGRAM!Included in this bundle: Recruitment/Retention Rockstar Bundle (11 Pages!)50 Reasons to Be in Orchestra (Retention/Recruitment Presentation) (82 Slides!)

Everything you need to teach your musicians 16 of the most common orchestral bowing technique definitions! Suitable for beginners through high school musicians! What is included: A PowerPoint Presentation with vocabulary and definitionsBowology Vocabulary Posters for your classroom (in 5 colors to mix and match!)A Bowology Cheat Sheet for your students to keep in their foldersA Bowology Matching Quiz that asks your students to match vocabulary to definitionsA Bowology Vocabulary Quiz that asks y

How to get your orchestra students to run the first 10 minutes of rehearsals for you! INCLUDED: The First 4 MinutesThe WhiteboardStudent Leaders: Tuning TuningProcedures for Every LevelStudent Leaders: Warm-Ups

This morning, I was communicating with a parent about their student who has started to seem pretty confused on their notes during class. The parent let me know that their student has been practicing less and less since our last concert (in spite of us learning new notes and techniques), and the main problem seems to be that they practice for about 5 minutes and then stop because they are not sure what to do! Sound familiar???? I'm always on the quest to better teach my students HOW to practice.

Need a fun, orchestra-related, computer-based activity for: Emergency Sub Plans?Post-Concert AssignmentEnd-of-Year AssignmentLook no further! While the wording is geared for orchestra, this assignment ADAPTABLE for band and choir, and is appropriate for middle and high school musicians! Send your students shopping for sheet music on www.jwpepper.com with An EDITABLE Google FormA video tutorial introduction to JW PepperA Difficulty/Grade Level Explanation and InfographicAssign as a one-day proje

Who doesn't love a good Sea Shanty with luscious harmonies?! They even temporarily took over the internet! This version is as-seen-on my YouTube and Instagram, though I only performed two of the modulations. This 8-bar shanty refrain, known as The Wellerman, starts in unison, then splits into a beautiful 3-part harmony before modulating to 4 additional keys and increasing in tempo with each new key. Each instrument (violin, viola, cello, and bass) is provided all three parts, which can then b

This year, while proctoring testing in other teachers' classrooms, I noticed a TON of growth mindset posters in my school. As I wandered the rows of testing students, I noticed that the growth mindset messages in the Math, English, and Science classes were things I want my orchestra students to internalize (plus a few more mantras that are music-specific). I created an orchestra version for my classroom, and here is a band version for my wind colleagues! What's Included:13 Growth Mindset Mantr

A fun Halloween lesson for orchestra musicians of all levels! Use Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to help your students experiment with proper instrument placement and positioning, bow weight and speed, special bowing techniques, and moving out of first position (YES! Even your beginners!) through a series of spooky sound effects. Written lesson plan instructions and teacher tutorial audio file with demo and explanation included!

The first days of school are stressful enough: class roster changes, schedule changes, last minute admin requests... all while trying to build an ensemble culture from day one. How do I survive without pulling my hair out? By having a foolproof plan for the first 8 days of school that I can use and reuse each year. Please note: This resource includes lesson plans only. You can purchase all of my referenced resources in the First 8 Days Complete Bundle, or substitute your own materials that yo

Sometimes as lifelong musicians, we forget that effective practice is a skill that needs to be taught just as much as a beautiful bow hand, or how to read sheet music. This is how I teach my students HOW to practice! I use these actual materials with my own students every year! Included in this bundle: Practice Like a Pro Prezi PresentationPractice Like a Pro Companion Worksheet for TedTalkWeekly Practice Record (and WHY I assign one, even though it is controversial!)Living Room Orchestra Conc

Does your classroom need a quick, colorful upgrade? This bundle includes: Practice Quotes PostersColor Code Your Finger Patterns PostersMark Your Music PostersBowing Variables Posters

The Problem:I teach in 2 buildings and 3 different classrooms. Getting my rehearsal/lesson agenda written on 3 different whiteboards is just not reasonable. And don't get me started on those evenings when I realize I need a sub tomorrow, and that the plans currently written on the board are no longer valid. The Need:Access to my daily agenda visual after I leave - whether I've gone to the next building, or home for the day. The Solution:An editable Daily Agenda that is easy enough for studen