Teaching Tips

The Right From The Start© books are an essential part of my curriculum, but only the beginning.

The entire yearly curriculum falls into three overlapping units, each lasting approximately four months, and each culminating in a performance for students, parents and school staff. Instruction is correlated to the Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools.

Right from the Start

This unit is taught primarily by rote.

The Right From The Start© method books include basic skills and beginning repertoire. The goal is to give the children a good start, enable them to make rapid progress, and allow them to experience success quickly. The students will:

• Demonstrate proper care of the instrument
• Hold the instrument and bow correctly (for string students) and demonstrate a correct, tension-free playing position and embouchure (for wind students)
• Produce an acceptable, clear tone
• Know note names and fingerings
• Use a rudimentary symbol system to develop the ability to visually track and understand the correlation between sound and symbol
• Learn a small repertoire of familiar songs by rote
• Develop listening skills and musical awareness
• Understand the necessity for daily home practice

Rote to Reading

This unit is designed to make the transition from rote playing to music reading. By using a variety of materials such as a method book, (Essential Elements for strings/Accent on Achievement for winds), supplementary reading exercises, solo and ensemble pieces, and beginning orchestra music, the students will develop reading skills and be introduced to theoretical musical concepts of rhythm, meter, melody, harmony and musical expression.

The goal is to add theoretical musical knowledge and develop music reading skills while refining and expanding playing skills. The students will:

• Understand the correlation between pitch, melodic direction and its visual representation on the staff
• Know, understand and correctly use musical terminology (staff, treble clef, measure, key signature, time signature, note and rest values, repeat signs)
• Play pieces already learned by rote while reading from the staff
• Learn new repertoire by reading, rather than rote
• Continue to develop accuracy, intonation and tone quality while playing
• Develop an awareness of expressive elements (dynamics, tempo, musical style, articulation)
• Continue to develop listening skills

Repertoire and Musicianship

This unit is designed to develop musicianship and ensemble skills, practice reading skills, and allow the children to experience the joys and rewards of performing. Using solo, ensemble and orchestral music, the students will:

• Develop tone quality, intonation, accuracy and expressiveness Increase range and expand technique on their instrument
• Work on articulation and phrasing
• Develop musical literacy
• Develop knowledge of music theory and the elements of music
• Develop musicianship, artistic expression and awareness of musical style
• Learn a varied repertoire of music for performance
• Make connections between musical knowledge and other curricular areas