October 26th, 2009

Good morning Davis Academy!



This week, we will be working on our concert music in all classes. We are going to get our hands "dirty" this week. "Dirty" meaning that students will learn how to:

• "isolate" more challenging parts of their music, and how to execute practicing effectively.


• Memorization: We will cover "how to" memorize music this week. There are many ways to go about memorizing one's music. In the defense of all of my Learners, I will introduce a simple, and effective way to memorize music for all to understand and appreciate.


• We will continue to work as "Ensembles."

There are THREE parts to preparing for a concert:

1. Learning the melodic notes, rhythmic patterns, and dynamics (3 parts to this one!)


2. PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!


3. Preparing as an ensemble. Balance of sound between all players.

It is a true ART to be able to take a group of musicians, and produce a "harmonious "
blend" of sound. It takes a lot of patience, and focus for both Teacher and Student to be successful.

I am very proud of my students' accomplishments this year. I see, and hear a lot of growth since August. I am excited to showcase all of our talents in December. Have a great week!

Concert Dates for 2009

Students and Parents:

We have two events coming up at Davis Academy.

The first event (Fine Arts Night) takes place on November 11th, 2009 at 7pm. I am currently working with Ms. Kendrick on a possible performance by one or two groups. I will know more by the end of this week. Stay tuned!

On December 2nd, 2009, we will perform our Chanukah concert at 7pm. I will inform you as to what time your child will need to be at school, prior to the performance that evening. This concert is mandatory, and is part of their 2nd quarter grade.

Thank you!

Mr. Michek

Week of October 19th, 2009

Good morning students and families of Davis Academy.

This week, we will be covering the following material during this "short" week of school!

Guitar One:

1. Introduction to Tablature notation
2. Continued Chord Studies
3. C Scale

Guitar Two:

1. Work on Hall Of The Mountain King for December Concert. Now, that everybody has learned it, we are putting it all together, assigning different parts and working on playing as an ensemble.
2. We will resume working on Blues scales today as well.

Advanced Percussion:

1. We are working on learning notes on the marimba. Last Friday, we took a break from our music, and began reading the melodic staff! Everybody has been given practice sheets to work on for this quarter. They will be tested on their skills throughout the quarter.
2. We will continue to work on our percussion ensemble music. We have recently started working on a new piece.
3. In addition, everybody has been given copies of their concert music to work on at home. They are responsible for practicing at home. I am only asking that they spend about 10 minutes/day reviewing it.

Fusion:

1. We have started a new piece last week. We are now working on "Baba O'Riley" by The Who. In addition, we recently started working on "Brown Eyed Girl." Last Friday, we had the opportunity to have a student vocalist work with us! We are making strides everyday, and can't wait for our concert!

Week 10 in Music!

This week in all of my Music Classes, we will continue to have "play tests" for every class. My Advanced Percussion group has been working hard on their first ensemble piece. It is time to test them on their music!!!!!

Guitar One will be getting back into the groove from being out of school last week. We will be reviewing our notes and learning new ones this week!

Guitar Two will be tested on Peer Gynt. The "complete" song! In addition, we are continuing to work hammer-on and pull-off techniques as well. If all goes well, we will begin our chapter on note bending!

Fusion will be working on Holiday music and tested on their current music. We are going to "sit down" and work on some Music Theory this week!!!!!

Have a great week!!!!!

Week 9

The first quarter is coming to a close! This week, the 6th Graders are going on a field trip to Jacksonville, Florida. I wish them a great trip. Last Friday, they had a playing exam on the A minor and D minor chords. Everybody did very well! Have fun in Florida this week!

Guitar Two will be working on improvisation this week. I will be testing them on their concert music for note accuracy and rhythmic accuracy. We ended last week with pairing up students. They were given a 12-bar blues progression. Everybody had an opportunity to play the accompaniment, and the lead. This week, we will continue to work on reading TAB and work on chord spelling.

Advanced Percussion had a great week 8! We have begun working on an ensemble piece called, "Mambo Schmambo." We have been able to play through the entire piece as an ensemble. This is the first piece that we have been able to complete. We are going to work on dynamics and balance this week.

This week in Fusion, we will be working on new music for our December concert. I will also be testing students on their music.

Here is a link to a site called Jam Studio. It allows you to create your own music, using chords and choosing instruments. It has limited "free" access. Students can have fun with this application! http://www.jamstudio.com/Studio/index.htm