Beginning Orchestra Syllabus (Showbie: EEFJ8)
The MPI Beginning Orchestra is geared toward students who have had little to no experience at playing a stringed instrument. All students will be required to choose a violin, viola, cello, or bass to play for the year. In rare cases, students are allowed to switch in the middle of the year, but this is not encouraged since it tends to hold the class back. If a student would like to switch instruments, he/she may choose to repeat Beginning Orchestra the following year or take independent study Beginning Orchestra during the summer. Beginning Orchestra will focus on the following skills throughout the year:
I. Instrument Technique
a. Instrument playing position(s)/posture
b. Instrument care
c. Tuning/Matching pitch
d. Various types of bowings
II. Note Reading
a. Learning basic music terminology
b. Playing rhythms up to 16th note/rest values
c. Reading rhythms at various tempi
d. Knowing note names and fingerings in first and third positions
III. Concert Etiquette
a. How to act as an appreciative audience
b. How to perform in a concert
c. How to evaluate a concert
IV. One Octave scales in the following keys
a. Flat Scales: F and Bb
b. Sharp Scales: G, D, and A
c. C Major
V. Music from level .5 to at least 2 but maybe higher
Provided you accomplish all of the above you will be promoted to Intermediate Orchestra. In rare cases, if you manage to accomplish more than the above, you could be promoted to Advanced Orchestra but without prior musical experience AND private lessons, this will be nearly impossible to do.
Supplies
Students will need to purchase their own supplies for class however sheet music and all music books will be supplied by the school. Students are expected to have their books, supplies, and instrument daily!! The daily supplies for Beginning Orchestra are as follows…
General Supplies (To be purchased by students):
All students must have an instrument for class. If you have your own instrument, please bring it every time you have orchestra class. If you do not own an instrument, MPI has instruments for you to rent for $125 a year and $25 for the summer. Please pay your fees to the MPI School Store across from Bakken.
The instrument should consist of a case, the actual instrument, a bow, rosin, shoulder rest (violin/viola) or chair strap (cello/bass). All rented instruments should have these items however if you lose or break the items, you will be charged for it. Here are the cost breakdowns:
Rosin- $5
Shoulder Rest- $25
Chair Strap- $14
Bow- $100-$500
Instrument- $500-$2500
iPad Apps:
Orchestra Uniform
Students will need to purchase their own orchestra uniforms to be worn at concerts. For Beginning and Intermediate orchestra students, your uniform for concerts will be as follows...
Grading Breakdown
24% Weebly Online Portfolio:
Students are expected to document their participation in class through an online portfolio that they will keep using an app called Weebly. Within this portfolio, students will document and track the following
Students are expected to perform in all concerts they are assigned to play. The dates and information for these concerts will be posted in My Pueo. Please keep track of these dates. This is worth 35% of the student’s grade and acts as a final exam for the class. It would be impossible to pass orchestra without attending the concert. You must have a VERY good excuse for missing a concert such as a death in the family or hospitalization. In these cases, you will be allowed to do a makeup however if you do not have a legitimate excuse, you will receive a zero for this grade.
The makeup for the concert is as follows:
The student will play their part of the concert as a solo for their peers, Mr.Masaki, and one of the other band directors or performing arts faculty or administration. Your peers will give you 25% of the grade and the teachers will give you the other 75% of your grade.
Believe me when I tell you it is easier to just play the concert. In addition, part of concert participation includes being in the proper dress code and following proper etiquette. Be sure you are aware of what the concert attire is. Coming to the concert with improper attire will count as a missed concert! Your behavior at the concert is also important since you represent the orchestra program and MPI. Improper behavior at all events will result in lowered grades and additional penalties.
Included in this grade is a large, after school rehearsal that is held before the concert (usually on a Friday). Beginning orchestra students are expected to attend any and all after school rehearsals prior to the concert. There may be some rare cases when beginning students will also be asked to perform with the advanced and/or intermediate orchestras in which case they will expected to attend any and all after school rehearsals with the orchestra they are being asked to perform with.
20% Projects:
There will be a fair number of recorded projects that will need to be added to your portfolio. These projects will often be short video recordings that will need to be added to your online portfolio. Students will be given a list of projects that they need to complete by a given date and will have time in class to prepare and record these projects until the student is satisfied with their work.
10% Quizzes/Homework:
All of the homework in Beginning Orchestra is optional and will not be graded. The homework will help a student do well on their quizzes and the instructor will go over the homework if there are any questions. Quizzes in Beginning Orchestra will often be done in the Tenuto app which almost acts as a game that students can do to learn music notes. As students progress, during the year, they will be asked to learn a wider range of notes and identify which finger(s) correspond to those notes on their instrument.
11% Folder:
Your orchestra folder is worth 11% of your grade. Your folder should be a 1", black, three ring binder with sheet protectors in it. You will keep all of your sheet music in this folder. If you cannot get a folder like this, you may purchase one from Mr. Masaki for $3.
Numeric Grading Breakdown
A= 93-100
A-= 90-92
B+= 87-89
B= 83-86
B-=80-82
C+= 77-79
C= 73-76
C-= 70-72
D= 60-69
F=59 and below
To get an A+ in orchestra, you must go beyond what is expected of you in class. This could be a number of things. Ask Mr. Masaki if you have any questions.
I. Instrument Technique
a. Instrument playing position(s)/posture
b. Instrument care
c. Tuning/Matching pitch
d. Various types of bowings
II. Note Reading
a. Learning basic music terminology
b. Playing rhythms up to 16th note/rest values
c. Reading rhythms at various tempi
d. Knowing note names and fingerings in first and third positions
III. Concert Etiquette
a. How to act as an appreciative audience
b. How to perform in a concert
c. How to evaluate a concert
IV. One Octave scales in the following keys
a. Flat Scales: F and Bb
b. Sharp Scales: G, D, and A
c. C Major
V. Music from level .5 to at least 2 but maybe higher
Provided you accomplish all of the above you will be promoted to Intermediate Orchestra. In rare cases, if you manage to accomplish more than the above, you could be promoted to Advanced Orchestra but without prior musical experience AND private lessons, this will be nearly impossible to do.
Supplies
Students will need to purchase their own supplies for class however sheet music and all music books will be supplied by the school. Students are expected to have their books, supplies, and instrument daily!! The daily supplies for Beginning Orchestra are as follows…
General Supplies (To be purchased by students):
- Pencil
- 1" Black Folder with at least 10 sheet protectors (available for purchase from Mr. Masaki for $3)
- Essential Elements Method Books 1-3
All students must have an instrument for class. If you have your own instrument, please bring it every time you have orchestra class. If you do not own an instrument, MPI has instruments for you to rent for $125 a year and $25 for the summer. Please pay your fees to the MPI School Store across from Bakken.
The instrument should consist of a case, the actual instrument, a bow, rosin, shoulder rest (violin/viola) or chair strap (cello/bass). All rented instruments should have these items however if you lose or break the items, you will be charged for it. Here are the cost breakdowns:
Rosin- $5
Shoulder Rest- $25
Chair Strap- $14
Bow- $100-$500
Instrument- $500-$2500
iPad Apps:
- iStrobosoft (tuning app) $9.99
- Tenuto (quiz/drills) $3.99
- Avid Scorch (Sib. File Player) $1.99
- Weebly (Website Creator) FREE
- Acapella (Recording app) FREE
- Showbie (Document app) FREE
Orchestra Uniform
Students will need to purchase their own orchestra uniforms to be worn at concerts. For Beginning and Intermediate orchestra students, your uniform for concerts will be as follows...
- A white, collared shirt (it can be short or long sleeved) (A white sweater/jacket is NOT considered a shirt)
- Black, long, dress pants (jeans, jeggings, spandex, are NOT allowed)
- Black covered shoes
Grading Breakdown
24% Weebly Online Portfolio:
Students are expected to document their participation in class through an online portfolio that they will keep using an app called Weebly. Within this portfolio, students will document and track the following
- Ability to perform notes in tune (Intonation)
- Demonstrate rhythm counting (Performance)
- Track Tenuto progress (Theory)
- Record short musical examples (Performance)
- Evaluate Musical excepts (Evaluation)
Students are expected to perform in all concerts they are assigned to play. The dates and information for these concerts will be posted in My Pueo. Please keep track of these dates. This is worth 35% of the student’s grade and acts as a final exam for the class. It would be impossible to pass orchestra without attending the concert. You must have a VERY good excuse for missing a concert such as a death in the family or hospitalization. In these cases, you will be allowed to do a makeup however if you do not have a legitimate excuse, you will receive a zero for this grade.
The makeup for the concert is as follows:
The student will play their part of the concert as a solo for their peers, Mr.Masaki, and one of the other band directors or performing arts faculty or administration. Your peers will give you 25% of the grade and the teachers will give you the other 75% of your grade.
Believe me when I tell you it is easier to just play the concert. In addition, part of concert participation includes being in the proper dress code and following proper etiquette. Be sure you are aware of what the concert attire is. Coming to the concert with improper attire will count as a missed concert! Your behavior at the concert is also important since you represent the orchestra program and MPI. Improper behavior at all events will result in lowered grades and additional penalties.
Included in this grade is a large, after school rehearsal that is held before the concert (usually on a Friday). Beginning orchestra students are expected to attend any and all after school rehearsals prior to the concert. There may be some rare cases when beginning students will also be asked to perform with the advanced and/or intermediate orchestras in which case they will expected to attend any and all after school rehearsals with the orchestra they are being asked to perform with.
20% Projects:
There will be a fair number of recorded projects that will need to be added to your portfolio. These projects will often be short video recordings that will need to be added to your online portfolio. Students will be given a list of projects that they need to complete by a given date and will have time in class to prepare and record these projects until the student is satisfied with their work.
10% Quizzes/Homework:
All of the homework in Beginning Orchestra is optional and will not be graded. The homework will help a student do well on their quizzes and the instructor will go over the homework if there are any questions. Quizzes in Beginning Orchestra will often be done in the Tenuto app which almost acts as a game that students can do to learn music notes. As students progress, during the year, they will be asked to learn a wider range of notes and identify which finger(s) correspond to those notes on their instrument.
11% Folder:
Your orchestra folder is worth 11% of your grade. Your folder should be a 1", black, three ring binder with sheet protectors in it. You will keep all of your sheet music in this folder. If you cannot get a folder like this, you may purchase one from Mr. Masaki for $3.
Numeric Grading Breakdown
A= 93-100
A-= 90-92
B+= 87-89
B= 83-86
B-=80-82
C+= 77-79
C= 73-76
C-= 70-72
D= 60-69
F=59 and below
To get an A+ in orchestra, you must go beyond what is expected of you in class. This could be a number of things. Ask Mr. Masaki if you have any questions.