Hahn Intermediate
Davison Middle School
Orchestra Handbook
2013-2014
(Also available at
------cut off and return to Mr. Marttila------
The back side of this form includes a SmartMusic Account Creation Form. Please read carefully.
Your signature on this side lets me know that you received a copy of this orchestra handbook.
Parent Signature:______
Student Name(s)______
Smart Music…
SmartMusic is a computer program students will use in the orchestra practice rooms and may also be used at home if you choose to purchase a home copy.
How it Works...
Students will play songs they have prepared while the SmartMusic program accompanies them. At the end of the song SmartMusic will analyze your child's performance, determining how many notes and rhythms were correct, and they will have a chance to retry their performance to see if they can improve. Students can then send their best performance to Mr. Marttila for his evaluation (it will send both the SmartMusic assessment and a recording so Mr. Marttila can hear how well the student played).
Primarily, SmartMusic will be used to measure each students mastery of their music, but it will sometimes be used to give advanced students more opportunities to reach higher on their own and to help student who are struggling to have more opportunities to master their music.
SmartMusic Accounts vs. Subscriptions...
SmartMusic Accounts are free to create and are necessary to use SmartMusic. Every Student will need an individual account created in order to use the program and you may create the account at home via or you may fill out the form below to have your child make an account at school.
A SmartMusic Subscription allows a single computer to run the SmartMusic software and it is not free. The Davison Band & Orchestra Boosters have funded SmartMusic subscriptions that orchestra students may use for free using our practice room computers. Your child may also use the program on your home computer, however, you would need to purchase a $40 subscription at I encourage this option as a way for students to have more fun and get better feedback while practicing at home. Also, students with home subscriptions may turn in SmartMusic assignments from the comfort of their home instead of relying on school computers.
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SmartMusic Account Creation Form
By signing below you authorize Davison Community Schools, on behalf of your child listed below, to create a free SmartMusic Account with MakeMusic, Inc.
Parent/Guardian Signature & Date______
Your Child's Name______
Dear Students and Parents,
Welcome back to school. I hope you’ll take a moment to look through this orchestra handbookwith your child as I am certain you will find a great deal of valuable information inside including:
Contact Information – Keep this list handy in order to reach me, contact other teachers, or stringed instrument shops.
Calendar – Performances are required activities in orchestra. Please put these dates on your calendar right away to prevent avoidable conflicts.
Smart Music – How we will use computers to help students in class.
Rules & Procedures – All students are expected to follow some simple guidelines in order to create an environment in which each student can achieve their musical potential.
Advice for Success – Learning to play a stringed instrument well takes more than just showing up to class. These tips can help you to get the most out of orchestra.
I hope this handbook will clarify most questions you might have, however, I am very willing to discuss any part of the handbook and the orchestra class with parents and students. My phone number is 591-0940 and I can be reached by email at . I also encourage you to visit our orchestra web site, and our Davison Band and Orchestra Boosters web site,
Sincerely,
John Marttila, Hahn/DMS Orchestra Teacher
USEFUL CONTACT INFORMATION
John Marttila
Davison MS Room 108
Flint Institute of Music:
(810) 238-1350 ext.1
(private lessons for all instruments and weekly youth orchestras for all levels)
Sherri L. MarttilaDavison Violin/Viola Teacher, (248) 425-9267
Julie Jackson, Davison Violin/Viola Teacher, 955-1802
Meri Paunu-Dashner,
Davison Violin/Piano Teacher 793-4221
Mark Schwartz Violins (Flint):
766-1450
Marshall Music Co (East Lansing): (517) 337-9700
Psarianos Violins (Troy):
(800) 697-VIOL
Shar Music Co (Ann Arbor):
(800) 248-SHAR
Southwest Strings (Tuczon, AZ):
(800) 528-3430
Wilson Fine Violins (Birmingham):
(248) 258-1125
2013-2014 5th-8th Grade Orchestra Calendar
(Students should arrive at least 30 minutes before the published performance times.)
Thursday, Oct. 105th Grade StudentsFall “Informance”
7:00pm – Hahn Gymnasium
Tuesday, Nov.5DMS StudentsDMS Fall Concert
7:00pm–High School Auditorium
Saturday, Dec. 7DMS StudentsMSBOA Solo & Ensemble Fest
Times TBA – North Branch HS (This is an optional event)
Thursday, Jan. 165th6th Grade StudentsHahn Winter Concert
7:00pm – High School Auditorium
Tuesday, Feb. 11DMS Concert Orchestra Winter Concert
7:00pm – High School Auditorium
Thursday, Feb. 20DMS Symphony Orchestra Pre-Festival Concert
7:00pm – High School Auditorium
Fri, Feb 28 or Sat, Mar 1DMS StudentsMSBOA Band & Orchestra Fest
Time TBA – Davison High School
3rd-4th Week of AprilDMS Symphony Orchestra 4th Grade Concert
TBA (During School Day) – High School Auditorium
Saturday, May 17All 5th-12th Grade StudentsMUSICATHON Concert
Times TBA – High School Auditorium
Tuesday, June 3DMS StudentsSpring Solo & Ensemble Fest
Times TBA – Davison MS(This is an optional event)
Mr. Marttila should be notified of potential planned absences as soon as possible and at least two weeks prior to the performance in order for students to be excused (aside from serious emergencies).
Concert Attire (to be worn at concerts)…
Parents, Please contact Mr. Marttila if assistance or clarification is needed to help your child to follow the uniform guidelines for concerts. The general guideline to follow is just black on the bottom and white on the top…
Ladies: White dress shirt. Black dress pants or long black skirt (skirts above calf length are inappropriate for sitting on a stage). Black dress shoes (any socks should also be black).
Gentlemen: White dress shirt. Black dress pants. Black socks and black dress shoes.
INSTRUMENT STORAGE…
Cello and bass students may use school instruments stored in the orchestra room.
Hahn students will have an area designated by their classroom teacher where they may keep their instrument during the day.
DMS students will have assigned storage spaces in the orchestra room.
GETTING TO YOUR ORCHESTRA CLASS ON TIME…
Hahn orchestra students will be walked to their “specials classes” by their classroom teacher. At that time, orchestra students should line up at the U.S. flag outside of the Hahn office where Mr. Marttila will meet the class and walk them to the orchestra room.
DMS studentsshould be in the orchestra room by the time the tardy bell rings. When students enter the orchestra room their first priority should be to get their instruments and music ready for rehearsal.
AFTER YOU GET TO ORCHESTRA… / BEFORE LEAVING ORCHESTRA…Take out your instrument, rosin your bow, tune, and start warming up by playing.
Remember to bring a pencil & your music. / Reset seats & stands, Loosen your bow, wipe off the rosin, put everything away, and cello & bass players need to put endpins in.
MAINTENANCE OF THE ORCHESTRA ROOM…
Students may not bring food, beverages, or gum into the orchestra room.
Leave the room as you found it...neat, clean and everything in its place.
GENERAL CLASSROOM RULES…
Orchestra students will be expected to follow the Cardinal Code by being:
Courteous
Attent i ve
Respectful
Dependable a n d
Supportive
Practicing…
It is essential for every student to practice on a regular basis in order to successfully demonstrate playing skills. Making a firm schedule can include where and when to practice along with homework time. Many of the most successful people in life reached great heights through organization and keeping a schedule is the foundation of an organized life.
How Long?
Like homework in other subjects, every student is different. Some will learn the music with minimal practicing while others may need to spend more time on it. Here are some guidelines to follow...
As a guideline, DMS students should practice about 30 minutes at a time at least 4 days out of the week and Hahn students should practice about 20 minutes at a time at least 4 days out of the week. Keep in mind that the first weeks of 5th grade orchestra will involve practicing instrument positions & bow holds and will take less time.
Please remember, these are just guidelines for practice. The REAL minimum time is however long it takes to master the skills! (Necessary practice timemight be longer than the above times for some students or at certain times of the year)
What should be practiced?
Here’s a typical outline for successful practicing and it is also outlined in the structure of our weekly Practice Journals(information about these are on the following pages) .
- Start with scales and any warm-up exercises or etudes
- Practice specific skills or techniques we are working on in class.
- Play easy review songs while focusing on posture, position, intonation and making the best sounds possible.
- Work on new & current songs
- Isolate problem spots (just a short problem section, not the whole piece)
- Practice slowly & only speed up after you can play slow perfectly
- Double check bow direction, fingerings and correct intonation.
- Repeat, repeat, repeat!!! Now that you’ve taken the time to learn something well, repeat it several times so that it sticks and will remain easy the next time you practice. You don’t really know a passage of music until it starts to feel easy to play consistently & correctly.
- Put isolated spots in context and play them with the surrounding parts.
- Pick something to play just for the fun of it (usually a favorite review song).
Practice Makes Permanent!! Practicing poorly providesa studentwith bad habits that are hard to break and can limit the heights a student might reach. Practicing properly helpsa student reach the peak of his or her musical potentialwhile having more fun!
Practice Journals (a copy of this is on the next page for your use)…
Orchestra Practice Journals differ from traditional practice records in a few ways and here are some details to help you understand how these will work (and hopefully help students practice effectively):
1.Students will fill out what they are practicing. There are five rows and students should fill in what they are practicing for each practice category (it’s a lot like a balanced diet!) I will explain to students how the songs/exercises we are playing in class should fit into the journals
2.Students willmark each day a category is practiced. I encourage kids to be creative, draw an emoticon, use star stickers, or even write the number of minutes if that’s what they really want (but it’s not necessary).
3.Practice Journals areworth 20 points per week, although up to 25 points may be earned. The extra 5 points may be used as “extra credit” to use towards weeks when you might have little or no time to practice (i.e., a family trip to Florida or a week with several extra curricular activities).
4.A Maximum of 5 points per category (row) are possible each week, 1 point for each day practiced, up to five. This is intended to encourage a diversity of categories when students practice. While it is not necessary to practice every category every day, it is best to try to practice each category at least 4 days during the week.
5.Time is relative andsome students pick up skills faster than others, so time practiced will not factor into the grading. Students should give a good faith effort to improve in the categories they practice. Also, some categories may take 1-2 minutes while other categories may require 10-15 minutes. Ultimately, it’s like math homework, the goal is not the time spent on homework; it is reaching a point of understanding and ability that matters.
6.These will be entered as Formative Assessments. Our Practice Journals are meant to teach students how to practice, to build lasting practicing habits, and to prepare for summative playing assessments. These journals should also serve as an effective diagnostic tool to see where each student is progressing or possibly stalling (but mostly progressing).
SOME ADVICE FOR SUCCESS IN ORCHESTRA…
Make a Schedule – Learning to play an instrument takes practice and the best way to succeed at practicing is with a regular schedule that includes practice time. Stick to your schedule and you’ll do great!
Find a Practice Place – Having a comfortable and quiet place to practice without distractions is essential for getting the most out of practice time.
Practice Smart – Practice is only worth while when you practice playing correctly and concentrate on improving. Careless practice can make students worse by practicing things the wrong way.
Practice Fun – Learning new music and skills is challenging. Avoid practice burnout by playing some of your favorite fun music during practice. Ask Mr. Marttila for help if you don’t have any favorite songs to play.
Challenge Yourself – If the music comes easily to you, that’s great! Use your practice time to learn something challenging. Mr. Marttila may be able help you find extra material to play and another great way to get a challenge that fits you is by taking private lessons.
Maintain Your Instrument – There are few things more discouraging to a young musician than an instrument that doesn’t work properly. Be sure to send instruments in for repair right away if something is wrong. Also, be sure to keep a clean rag or cloth in the instrument case so that the rosin can be wiped off the top and strings after practicing.
Perform for Others – It’s selfish to keep music to yourself . Share your music with family members and friends. Performances are fun for the audience and they challenge us to play our best.
Listen to Music – Go to concerts, musical events, buy recordings of symphonic or string instrument recordings (or get them from the library). Listening to music goes a long way towards developing good musicianship. See Mr. Marttila for recommended recordings.
Parents: Participate in the Davison Band & Orchestra Boosters – All parents of Davison Orchestra and Band students are members of our booster group. Taking an active role in it can help make your child’s orchestra experience richer in the years to come. The Boosters meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, Sept-May, in the Davison High School Band & Orchestra Room. See the web site for more details:
EXTRA CURRICULAR PLAYING IDEAS…
Lessons – All students are encouraged to take private lessons. Private lessons help by providing individual attention towards a student’s specific needs on his/her instrument in far greater detail than is possible during regular rehearsals. Private lesson students learn a wide array of solo literature for their instrument that augments the orchestral literature they learn in orchestra class. Contact information for private teachers is available on the contacts page of this handbook and on the web at
Flint Institute of Music – FIM has three orchestras to meet the needs of each age level. FIM orchestra students rehearse weekly with other students from the Flint area who want an extra musical challenge. FIM also offers private lessons.
Summer Camps – There are many summer camps dedicated to music for elementary, middle and high school students. Interlochen Arts Camp is an 8 or 4 week music camp for all age levels. Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp is a 2 week music camp for all age levels. The Michigan Chapter of the American String Teachers Association holds 3 day camps for the elementary level and a 1 week camp for the middle school level.
All of these camps provide excellent instruction at reasonable rates and scholarships are usually available based both on need and merit. Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, in particular, will send representatives during the school year to hear scholarship auditions and award scholarships based on ability that were worth as much as 1/3 of the camp tuition this past year.
The Davison Band and Orchestra Boosters also offer scholarships to Davison students who wish to attend a music camp. The amount of these scholarships is based on the funds available, the tuition of the camp, the amount of other scholarships, and they are restricted to students who have participated in fundraising events (raising a minimum amount) or have made a donation to D.B.O.B. equal to or greater than the minimum fundraising amount.
Applications and information for camps and scholarships are available at