![]() Once completed, students can trade their card in for a different one. Each student gets a different card, and they follow the directions, playing the melody as given and then transposing it to the two other keys starting on the given pitch. These are color-coded by clef, which makes for easy sorting. Next, I bring out the laminated transposition cards. The opening to "Frere Jacques" is the melody we work through together. We talk through a worksheet together (I usually don't take the time to have students write out all the transpositions on the worksheet, though at least they have the sheet if they'd like a reference or to fill it out on their own later), and we use the solfege Velcro scales as a visual to move from one key to another. At the end of the year, we make connections between the three keys by transposing melodies from one key to another. Students play scales, write compositions, and perform pieces in each of those keys throughout the school year. Here are the openings for the different violin parts for comparison.ĭuring sixth grade orchestra, students study the keys of D, G, and C Major. And then the advanced parts come from Bizet's original, just transposed to D Major.The different voices would be regular parts (vln/vla/cello basically in unison), challenge parts (vln/vla/cello basically in unison), bass part. The "B" section is the same between the regular and challenge parts. I also included "challenge" intermediate parts which include more finger work, more eighth notes, and a slightly wider range to sound more like the original melody. The elementary (second-year) parts have the same simplified rhythms but an expanded range-mostly notes from the D Major scale plus the bass part gets some 2nd finger notes and a fun chromatic passage. ![]() The beginning students get a simplified unison version with limited range-mostly D string notes plus a section with hopping 2nd finger notes (B on the G string and C# on the A string) and open G.I did transpose it to D Major from its original A Major to make it friendlier for the beginners, and I shortened the movement to a simple ABA form. My solution this year has been to arrange sections of "Les Toreadors" from Carmen by Georges Bizet in a multi-level format. This grand finale piece has to be playable for first-year string players but still interesting to high school musicians. Each grade level orchestra is featured for a piece or two, and then everyone plays a combined piece as the grand finale. My district has an annual String Fest, where all the orchestra students in the district get together for a day of rehearsing and listening with a big concert that evening in the field house. Intermediate melody (first 4 lines only), which I used when introducing the piece:Īgain, I like to use clip art instead of labeling parts "beginning" and "intermediate," so you'll see matching images within the beginning and intermediate parts and scores. A few kids partnered up and tried the dance together, while everyone else was content to just try the steps themselves.Īudio (WAV files) to preview or for students to play along with to practice: Students also learned how to dance a waltz-"forward-side-together, back-side-together" starting on left foot for the leader or "back-side-together, forward-side-together" starting on right foot for the follower. Many students had heard it before and were excited to be learning this piece in orchestra. I introduced this piece to my sixth graders by listening to a recording of this famous Strauss waltz. While the intermediate arrangement can stand alone, the beginning orchestra arrangement needs the addition of the intermediate arrangement to fill it out (and to provide a melody for the B section). The A section is a simplified melody with notes on the D and A strings, and the B section is mostly open strings. I've also written parts for a beginning orchestra. All intermediate parts (except basses) include slurs. Violas and cellos have to play C# on the G string, while violins go up to F# on the E string. Harmony parts are either "boom" or "chick-chick," intentionally simple so we can spend more time working on the melody parts in small groups. I've included two sections plus a DC al Fine to end up with an ABA form for "Blue Danube Waltz." The intermediate parts give the melody to violas and cellos in the A section and to violins in the B section, while the basses get a more traditional bass part. Here's another arrangement I've written for this year's String Fest.
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