McClure Middle School

Orchestra Handbook

2015-2016

Clare Mansell, Director

Parents and students, please print, sign and return the signature page. This indicates you have read and understood all content contained within this handbook. The signature page is due by Friday, September 18, 2015

At McClure, we are focusing on moving our students from “meeting” standards to “exceeding” standards through the use of higher order thinking skills and rigor while we ensure that all students improve in math and reading.

First, some information about your director:

My name is Clare Mansell, and I am a 23 year veteran strings teacher, the first 17 of which were spent in Fulton County, Ga. This will be my 6th year at McClure. I was born and raised in Roswell, Ga. My main instrument is viola, I have a BM in music education, and an MM in viola performance. My secondary instrument is violin. I also have an EdS in administrative leadership from LMU. I have played professionally in many symphonies – here are a few: Chattanooga, Baton Rouge, Atlanta Ballet, Asheville, Greenville, Savannah, Charleston, Jackson, MS, Mississippi Opera, Atlanta Pops, and OrquestaSinfonica de Xalapa in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. I have a son who is a cellist who recently graduated from Cleveland Institute of Music with a Master’s in Cello Performance and a husband and four cats. I love playing and I love teaching! I also am the founder and director of the Upbeat! Strings Camp. I am happy to be at McClure!

Benefits of Playing in an Orchestra

Playing a stringed instrument not only allows students to develop a musical language

with which to express themselves, but also many other skills and intelligences that

influence their lives beyond the music:

1. Players develop habits of dedication and persistence that transfer to other

academic and emotional aspects of their lives, helping them envision and achieve

long term goals.

2. Players create relationships with other peers with whom they interact and

create music with on a daily basis, regardless of the daily emotional changes of

adolescence, helping them master the essential skill of cooperation necessary in

adult interactions.

3. Players learn responsibility for their part both for themselves and the orchestra,

including the ability to see mistakes as an opportunity to improve and grow on theroad to success.

There are many reasons to learn to play a stringed instrument; whatever your purpose, I

am glad I am here to help you on your path!

Outline of Material to be covered:

6th grade – Essential Elements 2000 Book 1 (

  • Instrument parts
  • Positions
  • Note reading
  • Time signatures
  • Rhythm counting and clapping
  • Realizing notes on instrument pizzicato and arco
  • Integration of the above
  • Singing of their melodic rhythm
  • Elements of successful practice
  • Discussion of keys
  • Scale practice
  • Slurs
  • Music theory as pertains to half and whole steps and scales
  • Piano keyboard
  • Composition of original rhythms
  • Shifting for bassists and cellists
  • Sheet music practice and performance

7th grade – Essential Elements 2000 Book 2

  • Various bowing techniques
  • Expansion of rhythmic patterns
  • Expansion of scales
  • Expansion of finger patterns
  • Extended scale practice – both major and minor
  • Shifting for bassists and cellists
  • Introduction of vibrato for all instruments
  • Music Theory – intervals, both generic and specific, harmonic and melodic
  • Sheet music practice and LGPE performance

8th grade – Essential Technique 2000 for Strings

  • Expanded bowing techniques
  • Expansion of scale knowledge and practice
  • Shifting for all instruments
  • Vibrato for all instruments
  • Recognition and performance of all intervals within an octave
  • Expansion of time signatures – particularly compound meter
  • Realization of stylistic properties of different musical periods and compositions
  • Composing and performing original melodies

Classroom Rules and Expectations

In order to create the most productive, meaningful rehearsal possible, there are certain

expectations members of the Orchestra must follow on a daily basis. Failure to adhere to

these expectations will result in consequences listed below and/or a revoking of

privileges.

1. Come prepared to class every day, violin and viola: having a violin or viola and bow IN GOOD WORKING ORDER, case, rosin,anEXTRA SET OF STRINGS, a 1” black orchestra notebook complete with 20 sheet protectors and assigned sheet music, an appropriate orchestra book (please read further for grade specific), and a pencil. Cello and bass players will use the school instrument while at school, and they must have a 1” black orchestra notebook complete with 20 sheet protectors and assigned sheet music, an appropriate orchestra book (please read further for grade specific), and a pencil.

2. Students will be seated and unpacked and ready to play within a reasonable time – undue chatting/visiting in the locker room is not permitted.

3. Violin and Viola students will need to have their instruments and music every day. If a (store) rented instrument needs service, please take it as soon as possible, and ask if the store will provide a loaner instrument in the interim – they should be able to do this. In the case the student is without an instrument that is being serviced, a handwritten parent note is required. Celli and bass students will

usethe school instrument that has been signed out to them at school, and a (store) rented instrument for home practice. In the case of basses, I will probably have an instrument available for your student to check out for the year. NOTE: CELLO STUDENTS – IF YOU CAN RENT AN INSTRUMENT WITH “PERFECTION PEGS” IT WILL BE MUCH EASIER FOR YOU (AND ME) TO TUNE! THERE SHOULD BE NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.

3. Once seated, students are expected to remain quiet during tuning (and rehearsal) and check on the board for warm-ups, and/or practice the day’s music.

4. Restroom and water breaks are not permitted during class.

Please utilize time between classes to use the facilities. If you must go during class, first check with me, and sign out and sign in on the sheet by the door.

5. Respect all other sections as I work with them – this means keeping yourself andyour instrument quiet. This is a perfect opportunity for silent practice, and especially to make your left hand fingers smarter or to do some shadow bowing.

6. Know your part – we're TEAM ORCHESTRA, and only as good as our weakest link.

7. Absolutely NO GUM in the orchestra room.

8. Follow all school rules while in orchestra.

Behavior Consequences

Upon choosing to not follow the rules defined above, the following consequences will

occur:

1st offence: Verbal reminder of expectation

2ndoffence: Behavior card mark

3rd offence: Behavior Card mark and Teacher Phone call to Parent

4th offence: Administrative referral

In some instances, such as property destruction, the director retains the authority to

proceed directly to administrative referral.

Orchestra Room Hours

The orchestra room will be open beginning at 8:05, daily. Here is the before-school schedule: Monday and Wednesday – Chamber Sound (an audition-only group), October– November ONLY: Tuesday – 6thviolin/viola student mentoring, Thursday – 6thcello/bass student mentoring.

Chamber Sound is an auditioned group. Once a student makes it into Chamber Sound, there is no need to audition again.

Lockers

Violin and viola students will be assigned a locker in which to keep their instrument

while it is at school. Memorizing the combination is the student's responsibility. I will give it to them and they will write in their agenda.

NO ONE ELSE should know the your locker combination. Students may drop his or her

instrument off before the first bell and may pick it up at the end of the day. Lockers are to

remain locked during the day. The director and school are not responsible for damaged

instruments due to unsecured lockers. Remember: Instruments left overnight indicates tome you are not practicing, and we all know practice is vital to your development as

musicians!

Folders and Music

Students need to have a black 1” notebook with 20 sheet protectors in which to keep their

copies of our sheet music. This is also a very handy place to keep a pencil! Please

keep up with your music. Caution: There will be no replacements for lost music.Students are expected to keep up with their music.

School Instruments

VIOLIN AND VIOLA

There is a very limited supply of violins and violas available for students' use. 6th graders will get 1st consideration.If you genuinely need to use a school instrument, please send me an email ASAPat – first come, first served. You must then complete and return an instrument use form, which I will give your child. Please keep in mind that if your student is using a school instrument and breaks it, you are responsible for the repair or cost of replacement of the instrument. Generally speaking, the majority of orchestra students will rent an instrument from a reputable music (“STRING”) store, which services their instruments in-house. This is a great way to go because your child will learn responsibility and take ownership by taking care of his/her “baby”, you will earn equity while renting your instrument which will go towards a purchase of a step-up instrument, minor repairs should be free, and most stores offer insurance coverage for a nominal fee – if the instrument is broken, you will be get another free of charge!

CELLO AND BASS

Celli and basses are available for use at school (they are not allowed on the school bus) after completion and return of a signed instrument use form. There are a few celli that are available for at-home practice, if renting one from a music store is not an option. If you rent one from a store, it is advisable to get one with PERFECTION PEGS. These instruments should be available at no extra cost. If you genuinely need to use a school instrument, please send me an email ASAP at – first come, first served.

For bass players - I will attempt to furnish a bass for all bassists to have one at home.

Please take care of these instruments! A well-cared for and maintained quality instrument will last hundreds of years – ever heard of a Stradivarius? Please make sure your son or daughter is taking care of their instrument. This is a GREAT way for them to learn about responsibility.

Concert Attendance

Orchestra concerts are the culmination of our collective hard work both in class and at

home. They are our chance to show everybody what we have accomplished in class. Additionally, this is concerts are CURRICULAR, vs. a baseball, soccer game, etc. which is EXTRA-CURRICULAR.

We will have several concerts throughout the year, with each concert counting as a

playing test grade of “100”. Concert Attendance is extremely important for every member of our group! If a studentcannot attend a concert, please give me written notice as soon as possible via an email prior to the concert date. The student will then be required to perform the selections for me during homeroom for a grade. This will take place a day or two after the concert. If a student is ill and absent that day, he/she is not expected to be at the concert. If this is the case, the student will be expected to come in during homeroom within 5 days after the concert to play sections of the music for grading purposes.

A list of concert dates is included in this handbook. There will be a couple or three after school rehearsals added during the year, and I will apprise you as soon as I know the dates. I have included all concert dates, as well as GMEA (GA Music Educators Association) functions. Certainly not all of these dates will pertain to your child. All GMEA functions are outside of school day.

Please write down the dates on your calendar so you do not miss any of your child’s performances! These can be some of the best memories (and pictures and videos) of your child’s school days.

Concert Dress - PLEASE, NO EXCEPTIONS

All Grades:

Orchestra polo shirt or royal blue polo shirt

Black dress slacks or black tea-length skirt

Cellists: Slacks or Ankle length onlyskirt

Black dress shoes (no sneakers) and black socks/hose

Students not dressed appropriately will not be allowed to participate in the performance and willbe required to come to the orchestra room during homeroom to test on the pieces the day following the concert.

After School Rehearsals

It may be necessary to have rehearsals outside of class to better prepare for concerts. This

allows each grade/ensemble/section to receive more specific instruction before their

performance. All extra rehearsals will be held after school in the Orchestra Room or onstage and last 60 or 90 minutes unless otherwise notified on the calendar. At

the last rehearsal foreach grade before each concert, we will run-through expectations and concert etiquettefor our performances.

If you cannot make these rehearsals, please let the directorknow beforehand. The rehearsal schedule will be listed online as soon as it is known.

Extra-Curricular Events

There will be several opportunities throughout the year for both class and individual

performances outside of the classroom. Our extra-curricular ensemble is:

McClure’s Chamber Sound Orchestra is for students seeking more challenging repertoire and additional performance possibilities outside of the school day.

We will be playing at various times in the community as well as on Orchestra Concerts. Chamber Sound will be by audition only. Chamber will rehearse Monday and Wednesday mornings from 8:00 to 8:50.

County, State and Regional Events

GMEA Solo and Ensemble is held in October, and provides students – the vast majority of whom study privately, to perform solos or small ensembles – duets, quartets, etc. for a judge and subsequent comments and ratings. I will be glad to provide sheet music selections for these ensembles and coaching on Friday mornings if students are interested in putting together groups. Additionally, these student ensembles may come in on Tuesday or Thursday at 8:05 to work with their group.

GMEA All-State Orchestrais an opportunity for students from all over the state to perform withother students who share a love of playing at their same level. All-State consists of threelevels: Middle School, 9-10 and 11-12, so students will be with their own peer group. The competition for All-State is tough, as you might imagine, and IHIGHLY RECOMMEND securing a private teacher for lessons startingearly in the 6th grade, if All-State might be something that would interest your child! It is a fantastic experience, as well as the preparation leading to it. I will supply a list of area private teachers for students who ask me for one. This is definitely an activity that would be added to a college application.

There are two auditions for All-State: A district audition held in Cobb and a state audition that is held in Atlanta. Those selected will rehearse and perform over the course of three days inSavannah, GA during the month of March. I will send a form home for students that are interested in auditioning.

Cobb County MS Honors Orchestrais a two-day event held in April during which studentsfrom Cobb County middle schools are able to audition to perform with students from areaschools.I believe EVERY student in 7th and 8th grade should audition for this group. This is a greatpeer and ability-building event cumulating in a performance on a Saturday afternoon in April.

Grading System

Letter / %
A / 90-100
B / 80-89
C / 74-79
D / 70-73
F / 0-69

Grading

Students must have necessary equipment on a daily basis. They cannot learn to play their instrument if it is sitting at home! I will be unable to furnish a school violin or viola for a student to use who has left their instrument at home. Students without instruments will be assigned written work at my discretion. Additionally, if there is a playing test on the day that the student forgot their instrument, they will be required to take the test on a friend’s not-so-familiar instrument. If a (store) rental instrument needs repair and is in the shop, please send me an email and I will furnish an instrument for school use only. Remember, students must have – on a daily basis - instrument and bow in good repair, orchestra music binder with sheet protectors and music, Essential Elements book, and shoulder rest (violin and violas only).

Tests

Playing tests will be assigned frequently (generally weekly on Thursday or Friday) throughout the year. They are designed todetermine individual mastery of skills and areas that need more focus while providing anopportunity for individual feedback to each student concerning his or her progress.

Playing tests will cover material from Essential Elements book and/or concert music.

As noted earlier, concert selections performed on the concert will count as atest grade of 100!

Playing tests will be performed in front of the class. It’s important to realize that, although we all strive for perfection, it is not easy to come by – we all will make mistakes! However, a well prepared student will make less of them!

Tests not performed will be recordedas a “0”. It is a student’s responsibility to let me know within 3 days of coming back to school after an absence that they need to make up their test - during homeroom - and clear up the “0”. Playing tests will count for 50% of the grade.

Written tests will be given throughout the year and cover topics such as note reading,

rhythms, vocabulary, music history, theory and composition. A basic knowledge of musictheory and history is vital to understanding anything we wish to learn involving music,regardless of instrument. There are many fun websites available to review these skills - are wonderful sites that will keep youoccupied for hours! See the “links” page on my blog for a more thorough listing.Written tests or assignments will count for 50% of the grade.

Think Tac Toes – Instead of Practice Logs

A monthly Think Tac Toe will be on my blog. Each student is expected to download each sheet and be responsible for each square by the end of the month. These take the place of practice sheets and the student may do it in any order they wish. It does not need to be returned to me. The weekly playing test material will come from these Think Tac Toes. Generally, playing tests on the Think Tac Toe material will be: cello, bass and viola on Thursday, and violins on Friday. Many times, the students not taking the playing test will simultaneously have a written test.