Week of November 15th.

This week in MUSIC, my classes will be working on the folowing:

GUITAR ONE:

• Continue to prepare Chanukah Concert Music.
• Work on BLUES PROGRESSIONS in the Key of, D, G, A, and E.
• Conitune working on reading notes in First Position.

GUITAR TWO:

• Continue to work on Chanukah Concert Music
• Work on CLOUDS/Improvisation
• Work on new music

PERCUSSION:

• Prepare Concert Music
• Work on new music
• Work on Major scales

FUSION:

• Work on Concert Music
• Adding vocals to concert music, with the help of a few Drama Students!
• Work on new music, possible to play at the Concert!

Thank you all for your support last week at Fine Arts Night! I am very proud of my FUSION group for performing so well, under "new" experiences!!!!

Week of November 9th...

Good morning Davis Academy Students and Families. This week in class we will be focusing on "run-throughs" of our upcoming December 2nd concert @ 7pm. At the beginning of every class, students are given 5 minutes to"warm-up" and begin our "run-through" with a discussion about concert ediquette.

Concert ediquette is equally as important as being able to play music. They go "hand-in-hand" with eachother. A group that looks professional and mature, will set the tome fow how well they perform in front of their peers.

• Guitar One is working on: Au Claire De La Lune, and Chanuka Song. In addition to their concert music, we have moved ahead, and begun working on new notes and chords. We are learning to play Blues Progressions in different keys.

• Guitar Two is working on In The Hall Of The Mountain King, and Canon in D. As a group, we have come up with an interesting FORM that incorporates all of the players to contribute as an ensemble. In addition, I have given them "new" music to work on. We are working on Taking Care Of Business and La Grange. Both songs encourage students to improvise and to have fun while learning their instrument.

• Advanced Percussion is working very hard on mastering their first ensemble piece, "Mambo Schmambo." I want them to experience what it takes to work hard on a piece of music, and that their teacher will not settle for "average." My enthusiam is paying off, and I get very excited when we play through the piece! In addition, we are sight-reading new music, and working towards "accompanying" FUSION at the December Concert. It should be fun!

• FUSION is working this week on preparing for their first performance at Fine Arts Night this Wednesday evening. Our "first" gig is to support the Fine Arts Department by playing music in between scene changes, as well as when parents, students, faculty, family, and friends are being seated. This "gig" is very challenging for us in that we have to be focused and ready to stop playing at any given moment. The evening is dedicated to the Fine Arts Students, and we are complimenting the evening by providing musical interludes to make the evening seamless! In addition to preparing for Wednesday night, we have been building our repertoire of songs. I'm inpressed with FUSION very much. THis is a new class, and I'm excited with the progress they have made so far this year!

Week of November 2, 2009

We are off to another busy week in Music Class!

Here is a short list of what each of my classes will be covering all week:

Guitar One: Play Test on Friday. We will cover "natural" note reading, and will be tested on songs. New chords will be introduced, as we continue to build our chord vocabulary. We will continue to work on our concert music. We have started working on the "Chanuka Song."

Guitar Two: We are "collectively" working on "In The Hall of The Mountain King." The students and I are incorporating a "surfer-style" genre to this classical piece. We have been working on the FORM, and will continue to "master" this exciting, and eery song! We are also working on Canon in D, and the students are working on the performance aspects of this piece and musicality. We are incorporating "Lead" players, and giving this piece a "new" sound.

Advanced Percussion students have been working hard on their concert music. In addition, we have been taking time out during every class to work on fundamentals. I have seen great advancements in the student's abilities to play our concert music with more accuracy and musicianship after they have warmed up! They should be praciticing at home!!! I have given them music to work on at home.

Fusion continues to improve every week. They are becoming "in tune" with how to work as a group. Their balance as a group has come a long way since the beginning of the year. We continue to try new material, and are now focusing on Performing Arts Night. We have been asked to play songs in between acts. We are working on "cutoffs" so that we can provide Ms. Kendrick with great musical interludes between scenes!