I received a great set of questions from one of our orchestra members. I am going to post the Q & R because it might help many of you.
1. how does an online orchestra class work? how does one learn orchestra.. without an orchestra? Excellent question, and one that I have asked for the past few months. There have been hours and hours of webinars I attended to get the answers to these questions. But the answer seems to be making the best of the situation until we can resume full ensemble rehearsals. But there are SO many topics to work on that will expand the scope of what performers learn in a traditional orchestra setting. I will discuss some of these ideas in class next week. But this will also give us an opportunity for each individual to receive help that can strengthen their ability. Usually, we are so focused on preparing for a concert or LGPE that individuals that could use extra help may not receive it, but we will have the time to build a solid foundation for everyone. I was surprised to hear Itzhak Perlman in an interview say that he still works on intonation. It helped me to not be as hard on myself with my own practice. The online orchestra class will be different, and mistakes will happen, but that is ok...we will come out better and have a product that will be better than imagined once we can resume face to face meetings. (and) what do you expect from us this year? The main thing I expect for all students is to develop a true sense of musicianship. Although we will examine each person's technique, this will only be to improve the musicality of each person, which will then produce a better full ensemble sound. 2. How much is the required method book? where do we go to purchase it? This will be the required book: https://www.jwpepper.com/Habits-of-a-Successful-Middle-Level-String-Musician/10844326.item#/, but I do not want people to purchase the books yet. Once I can assess each person's level, we might skip to the next level book. Also, I am hoping the district might be able to purchase the books for our class. 3. Are there any playing techniques we should definitely already know? I hope each person has a solid grasp of basic bowings, but we will still examine each technique because I want to try getting each person to play without tension. I would also like to focus on vibrato this year and at least begin to incorporate this into our daily regime. Right now it is a little hard to assess the level of each person, but I plan to hear everyone for a better idea. I also want to see each person play/learn all of the scales (3 octaves, with exceptions for bass) and be comfortable with shifting and string crossings. 4. If we don’t own some of the materials listed above, would they be provided to us? Before I can answer this with a 100% guarantee, I have to wait for more information from the district. I am hoping everything lines up so that we can provide materials, but I only like to give a "yes" when I know without a shadow of a doubt that everything will line up.
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