Week 8

Good morning Davis Academy Families!

This week, we will be working on the following:

Guitar One:

- Review all chords to date.
- Work on Concert music for December.
- Review and prepare for Test on Friday!

Guitar Two:

- Review all concert music.
- Continue improvisation in Blues for concert.
- Scale review.

Percussion:

- Work on sight-reading fundamentals.
- Work on concert music.
- Scale review.

Fusion:

- Warmups.
- Concert Music.
- Dynamic exercises.

Have a great "short" week!!!!!

Guitar One, Week Seven

This week in Guitar One, we will continue to work on our basic skills and resume learning "traditional" songs like: "Twinkle Twinkle," Ode To Joy," "Tom Dooley," and "Lightly Row."

Our "first" ensemble piece, "Au Clair De La Lune" is coming along very well. Students are excited about the upcoming concert in December.

As the week progresses, we will continue to build our library of major and minor chords.

Advanced Percussion, Week Seven

This week in Advanced Percussion, we are working on our "first" percussion ensemble piece. The piece is the 1812 Overture, by Peter Tschaikowsky. It is an "intermediate" piece, and the students will be challenged greatly. In addition to working on this piece, we will continue to work on sight-reading, learning new notes on the keyboard instruments, and playing as an ensemble.

Guitar Two, Week Seven

This week in Guitar Two, we will be working on learning new Major scales. Last week, students were tested on C, D, G, and A Major scales. Everybody is doing very well. This week, we will add another group of scales to our list.

We are preparing for the December concert, and I am very pleased with the progress of my Guitar Two class. They are very excited and come to class ready to work! They are looking forward to showing their stuff in December!

Fusion, Week Seven

This week in Fusion, we will continue to work on our concert music. In addition, we will take time to work on reading rhythms in different meters. New music will be introduced as students will be exposed to "sight-reading."

Link to JOURNEY video

Here is the link to watch and study "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. Fusion will be performing this song at our December concert! Good luck!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUkksIV8dC8

Advanced Percussion Week 6/7 Pass Offs

Students will be tested from the Standards of Excellence Book One for Percussion on the following exercises: 7, 12, 14, 17, 22, 23, 29.

The same exercise numbers will be required for mallet percussion as well.

Snare Drum exercises will be tested on Thursday, September 17th.
Mallet exercises will be tested on Thursday, September 24th.

Guitar Two Assignment - Week Six

Guitar Two Class Assignment:

Play the following Major scales in ascending and descending order: C Major, G Major, D Major, A Major.... Assignment is due 09/17/09. Students are working on the scales today in class, and are expected to work on them at home provided they have an instrument at home.

I allocated time during class (every day) for them to review the scales.

In addition, they can come during lunch and work on them.

Guitar One - Week Six

This week in Guitar One, we will continue to work on our first composition for the December concert. We are continuing to learn new notes on the staff each week, and learn new chords as well. The students have been playing for me in class individually, in small groups, and as a class. Everybody is contributing!

They are a great bunch of kids and I look forward to working closely with them this week!

Advanced Percussion - Week Six

This week in Advanced Percussion, we will continue to work on short "ensemble-type" pieces, that incorporate snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, xylophone, marimba, and bells. I have picked a few pieces for our concert in December, and I am preparing the ensemble for the next level.

We will continue to work on major and minor scales this week. I am excited about the upcoming concert as I am working on having the Percussion Ensemble perform with the Guitar Two class for the concert!

Guitar Two - Week Six

This week in Guitar Two, we will continue to work on our concert music. We have been working on two Classical pieces - In The Hall of The Mountain King, and Canon in D. The students are enjoying the "Classical" genre, but, are more eager to learn Blues and Rock! We have been working on improvising and Blues Scales. Hammer-on and pull-off technique is being worked on as well.

We will continue to work on fundamentals, as each student in this class is doing very well!

I can't wait for our December concert! We have alot of surprises, and we are not going to hold back!

Fusion - Week Six

This week in Fusion, we will continue to work on our Concert Music for December. In addition, we will be working on Scales, Balance, and Sight-Reading. As of week six, we have made great strides in learning a few songs already! Our goal is to build a repertoire of songs that cover many musical genres.

This past week was our most productive week since our first day of school. I am very excited!!!

Guitar One - Week Five

This week in Guitar One, we will be working on our first "song." We will continue to review our chords, and add to the "library" of chords that we are memorizing.

One of our goals is to learn all "natural" notes on the guitar in "first position." "Natural" notes are defined as the "white" notes on the piano. (C,D,E,F,G,A, and B.) "First position" on the guitar is defined as the index finger placed over the first fret of the guitar. The first fret is located below the head of the guitar.

Guitar Two - Week Five

This week in Guitar Two, we will continue to work on "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" from "Peer Gynt." Last week, students were tested on playing the piece. We will also be working on "Canon in D." The students have embraced Classical music, and are working hard to learn the pieces for the December concert.

We will resume working on 12-Bar Blues progressions, and improvisation.

We will continue to work on playing chords and learning new positions on the guitar.

Advanced Percussion - Week Five

This week in Advanced Percussion, we will continue to work on pitched percussion instruments. Pitched percussion instruments include: Marimba, Xylophone, and Bells. We are currently working out of the "Standards of Excellence" book. We have been working hard on learning to read the staff, and playing as an ensemble. In addition, we have been working on playing Snare Drum, Triangle, Sleigh Bells, Suspended Cymbal, Woodblocks, and Bass Drum.

We are starting to work on concert music for December.

Fusion - Week Five

This week in Fusion, we will continue to review our music for the December concert. Our focus is on learning how to "blend" as an ensemble. We are working on a wide variety of musical styles, such as Classic rock, British rock, and Blues. In addition, we will continue to work on sight-reading, playing major scales, and playing blues scales.

Playing Tests - Week Four

Playing Tests will be given to the following classes on Friday, September 4th, 2009:

Guitar II: "In The Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt Suite.

Guitar I: Chord test on the following: C / G7 /G / D7 / D / A7 / Aminor / D minor / E7.