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SUPPORTING PROGRESS

 
PARENT MEETINGS
 
RE CAP: This week's meetings helped review some of the ways to support your child's learning. It was a pleasure to meet with all parents who made themselves available .Your thoughts are always welcome, and your help is encouraged in any way you feel you can help!
 
IF YOU MISSED YOUR MEETING:
Pick up the handout and BE SURE read it carefully.

NOTICE about LESSON CHANGE REQUESTS BY PARENTS:
 
Please note that from now until the end of June, NO CHANGES will be made to private lessons schedule. Since other parents and students must be affected to do so, it is both impossible and unfair to make any changes until next fall.
Rest assured that the very best effort was made in September to meet your needs as you stated them. Many hours were spent putting together a lesson schedule based on these requirements.
 
ALSO do not ask for alterations to the Private lesson ABSENCE POLICY . Please keep this document handy and use it to understand what is required, in order to continue to receive private lessons.
 
No further comments / requests on either of the two topics above are to be handled by Claudia this year.
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FYI We are now about to advertise for a new Admin Assistant for next fall. If you or someone you know has the qualifications, and lives nearby, please let then know we will be posting an application in the near future. We will want to provide some training through Claudia this spring.
Claudia has done an amazing job- she will be very hard to replace. BUT she will be returning to her previous work next fall
and hopes to continue with us as a supportive parent!
 
HOMEWORK THIS WEEK
 
Beginners:
 
BRING PRACTICE CHART TO CLASS: 4 to 5 x 20 min practice sessions
 
1.LONG BOWS-straight bows on open strings 
2.0-1 String cycle with beautiful sound and in-tune first finger
3.Scale of D
4.TWINKLE- long bows
5. Mississippi hot dog on each note of Twinkle- start at MIDDLE of bow
6. Run Pony : LONG short short, LONG short short, once  each Twinkle note
7. Mississippi, Mississippi : short short short short, short short short short on   EACH note (eight bow strokes on each note of Twinkle)  HOW?
Start at MIDDLE of bow, use elbow motion start DOWN BOW(to the right)
 
8. New Song starting next class
 
Intermediates:
 
 1. BRING PRACTICE CHART TO CLASS:  5 x 20 - 30 min practice sessions
 
2. Theory quiz- will be reviewed next class
3. Each student will be given a Suzuki Song book on loan for private lessons-within the next couple of weeks. You are to practice your song very thoroughly for each lesson- you have two weeks to perfect your assignment. Also ask your teacher to help you with one or two SHORT parts of your class work
4.AFS Review all sections between #167 and 171.
5. Work on 2 lines of  Pomp and Circumstance every day.
6. NEXT WEEK- a beautiful new piece of music!
 
 
Advanced:
 
Practice Guides to be carefully filled in and brought to class

1. VIBRATO: practice exercise only. To prevent developing bad habits later, please do not use it in music until approved.
 

2. Girl from Ipanema- new challenging section: 
                                 melody at D-cello/viola
                                 for violin1: melody at G.
                                 for violin 2:tune at G for 8 bars-Ab and Ab and G#
                                 Bass:  sharps and flats at C and D
                                Careful work on precise rhythm changes 5 after D
 
3. Fiddle Dance learn well: 6 bars before 3 one bar and
                                           7 bars after 3-one bar perfectly in tune
                                           Review all of the piece.
 
4, Macpherson: Review all up to bar 29-learn YOUR melody part well,
                                                          so it  sounds beea  --  uu  --  tiful!
 
5.Review :Beethoven and Pomp
 
                                          We are making progress!
NEW MUSIC COMING SOON!!
 



WHAT WE KNOW FOR SURE

WHAT WE KNOW FOR SURE!

Music is a force for good in your child-it enhances thinking skills, trains discipline, offers opportunities to collaborate with others regardless of social/economic, cultural or religious background.
It is a purposeful, satisfying and educational use of spare time.
Performing well brings a natural high, the well-earned exhilaration 
which comes with achievement-

and it lasts for life.
 
LET"S TALK!   PARENT MEETINGS THIS TUESDAY -
AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH CLASS.
Please bring your questions and comments.
 
ROSE/ROSEBUD ORCHESTRA
"When you wish upon a Star" FEB.14- 8pm Rose Theatre
It is great to see that several parents have made arrangements to attend this concert with their children. It will be an important chance for them to see a live concert with the youth orchestra- and lovely music. It's part of the MATT music education to see live performances on their instruments!
If you haven't done so yet, please contact Claudia this week and make arrangements for your tickets.
COSTS are much less than half of the regular prices!
(ADULT $20. and $10 total for up to 4 children inclusive)
Your relatives and friends can attend as well by contacting the box office-MATT friends can use "code50" when purchasing tix and get %50 off!
Box office tel. #:905-874-3612
 
Just FYI :ANOTHER FABULOUS OPPORTUNITY for you all :
"BOWFIRE" next Thursday Ja
n 29 at the Rose-
a whole different take on violin playing- I'll see you there!
See the Rose Theatre Website for more info!
 
 
Beginner Homework
Each day work on the following things-and mark on your chart:
 
Always check RH and LH position before you start each task
1.LONG BOWS-straight bows on open strings 
2.0-1 String cycle with beautiful sound and in-tune first finger
3.Scale of D
4.TWINKLE- long bows
5. Mississippi hotdog on each note of Twinkle- start at MIDDLE of bow
---------------------------
Intermediate Homework
Each day work on the following things-and mark on your chart:
    1. Review D scale- perfect tuning-long straight bows
    2. Review G scale - make a beautiful sound-use wrist to PULL  up and down
    3. AFS- Reading music well is the goal :
                            sharps or naturals are now very important.
Look at the beginning of the exercises and remember : F#? C# ? move fingers close or farther (for cello/bass different fingers are used) depending on these .
    4. REVIEW # 132-bowing is important- long,short,short
    5.165- will be a concert piece in June.
    6. #167 violins now read notes on the E string
    7. ALL students continue on to #171
 
ADVANCED STUDENTS
Each day work on the following things-and mark on your chart:
1. VIBRATO: practice exercise only. To save UNLEARNING bad habits later, please do not use it in music until approved.

2. Girl from Ipanema- challenging section:C to D. Work out your fingerings, sharps and flats, etc with your teacher.
3. Fiddle Dance learn well: 4 bars before 2 to 4 after 2
                                           Review the rest of the piece
4, Macpherson: review all up to bar 29-learn it well.
5.Review :Beethoven and Pomp
 
REMEMBER YOUR LESSONS are there to help you play well.
 Prepare questions about difficulties to ask teachers, while you practice.
Make all your music sound beautiful with long smooth bows!

VALENTINE CONCERT -Rose Theatre!

PARENTS  NOTES :
 
"When you wish upon a Star" Concert  Rose Orchestra with Rosebuds,
Feb 14 at 8pm at the ROSE THEATRE
features great Disney tunes and other favorites  your whole family will enjoy.
 
Why not make this your Valentine gift to them!
You can get our MATT low rates through Claudia- $20/adult and $10 total for up to 4 children. Sign up Tuesday- to be paid by Tues Jan. 27th.
 
 
Please refrain from using cell phones during your child's class- we are so glad to have you there watching and learning with them!
This will help you guide their home practice.

PRIVATE LESSONS
Our teachers are reporting that some of our students, who receive our free private lessons, are not practicing. Some are also missing too many classes. Since we pay teachers for these lessons, our money would be better spent on beginners who do the required work. We will be discontinuing these  lessons unless there is considerable improvement.
Please ensure your children are doing the required practice- at least 5 times per week most weeks. This will ensure continuation of their lessons.
 
HOMEWORK

Advanced
1.Bring Practice guides to class..
2. VIBRATO PRACTICE
3. SCALES: 2 octave D and G, with shifts and vibrato
2. Mya, Balaaj and Zoe - start to learn notes of trio music Contredanse. Rehearsal times to be scheduled -possibly during Intermediate class to start
3. Fiddle Dance : PERFECT section 13 to 14. Review and learn other hard parts.
4.. MacPherson's Lament: PERFECT all parts up to 36 Work on melody parts.
5. Ipanema: PERFECT bars 1 to 24. Find good fingerings(with teacher help for  bars 25 to 40


Intermediate
 
1.Bring Practice charts to class.
2.Scales of D and G- long bows and perfect tuning.
3. AFS :NEW Learn both A and B parts of#165. Count carefully.
4. Review AFS #161 and 153 for correct tuning of F natural and C natural.
 
 
Beginner
 
1. Bring Practice charts to class
2.. 0-1 string cycle with LONG bows and excellent bow grip
3.. Scale of D- listen for perfect tuning of each note
4. TWINKLE- Review and learn all lines correctly .
5. Rhythms Mississippi hot dog and run pony on Twinkle and in D scale

January Calendar



     Alternate Tuesdays Alternate Wednesdays                      Alternate Thursdays
5:00 Zoe Cecilia Group 1 Group 2       Rukundo Loren
5:30 Wahaaj 4:30 Chistian Ben 5:30 Graeme 4:30 Leila
6:00 Riley 5:00 Mya Kalpi 6:00 Thea 5:00 Sofia
6:30 Sydnie 5:30 Annalise Mirianna 6:30 Bishan 5:30 Leah
6:00 Alli
Marilyn and Elizabeth 6:30 Hanna


















Hi everybody, hope you all had a great time during your holidays, I'm sorry I was not here last week, I was only able to receive your emails and text messages until this past Friday, so I apologized for unanswered calls and messages. I'm attaching the calendar for this month here rather than printing them out so you can have access to the info at all times. I will also be sending it by email at beginning of month. It helps with cost and also helps me to get everybody to review our blog regularly ( very sneaky of me, I know : ),  Please let me know if you still need printout and I will try to bring it in for you asap. See you later,

Claudia

A NEW YEAR BEGINS

 
All of us at MATT wish all of our students and families
 a wonderful AND MUSICALLY REWARDING, 2015!
 
CHANGING THINGS UP A BIT
We may be re-organizing the classes slightly to accommodate the students' progress and balance our instrumentation. Our  "MATT SCHOOL" is like a kaleidoscope- the colors constantly change and we are constantly adjusting our thinking, ideas and goals to meet the need.
 
Please remember ,whether or not you are affected, the end result is to help EACH student achieve at the best possible level!
 
 
NEW THIS TERM- for all parents who are able to attend class with your child, thank you for being there, listening ,watching and learning with you children. When you go home to follow up during the week, this will be extremely helpful, especially for Beginners.
 
We respectfully ask that cell phones be off during class and that you sit near your child to watch and help them. This will ensure that your time at class will be as helpful as possible to your child.
 
 
HOMEWORK THIS WEEK
 
Beginners
 
1. Review position carefully.
(a) Left Hand: Make sure LH 1st finger is sitting right above the tape and remains there always. We are using fingers at all times now.
(b) Right hand : Make sure all fingers are rounded and firmly placed on the frog of the bow. All students need 1st 3 fingers securely around the bow.
 
2. Open-1 string cycle Right arm is lifted over the string and weight dropped onto hand for good solid sound.
 
3.Review and perfect  D Scale: D E F# G A B C# D and back
 
4. Review and perfect TWINKLE:
                         TWINKLE, TWINKLE
         line 1    //: D    D    A    A    /B    B    A____/
What fingers?(all - d0    d0  a0  a0   /a1  a1    0 ____/)

        line 2          G    G   F#   F# /E    E    D_____ :// repeat (FINE)
         (violin /viola   d3  d3  d2   d2 / d1   d1   d0)
                    (cello   d4  d4  d 3  d3/  d1   d1   d0)
        line 3      //: A   A   G  G    / F# F# D ____ ://PLAY TWICE                                                                                              THEN                    
      (violin /viola  a0  a0  d3 d3   / d2 d2 d1 d0) back to beginning
                 (cello  a0  a0  d4  d4  / d3 d3 d1 d0) back to beginning
 
 Intermediate
 
1. SCALES: play slowly with long smooth bows and listen for perfect tuning
                    (a) D MAJOR-start on G string
                    (b) G MAJOR- low c for all G A B C(low) D E F# (high)G
violin/cello, start on G string BASS start on G string -2
 
 
2. Review: AFS : #132 Long, Long, Ago
Think carefully about Bow distribution: Remember :LONG short, short, SLOW
                    FOR CAREFUL STUDY and TESTING in PAIRS!
 
3. AFS:NEW this week: #153-
there are no sharps: watch the low f's on the D string all the way through.
 
That means: on D string:
       cellos and basses, f is 2, violins /violas- f is LOW 2, touching 1
 
4. NEW: AFS : 155 to 161
 
4. Pomp and Circumstance- review and learn well.
 
 
Advanced
 
                            PLEASE Return all Christmas music and folders .
                         MAKE SURE you bring all your music to every class
 
1. Use Practice Guide, record practice and bring Chart to every class 
2 .NEW: VIBRATO -to present a full and mature string sound
Practise your exercise daily for a couple of minutes- ready to use by Feb 10th!
3. Two Octave Scales: G Major  : cello and bass start on G string
shifts: Bass repeat first octave . Cello start up from G string- 0134, D 0134,
A string  0 1 3 4, then shift up (thumb at body of instrument),  1, 3 4 and back down the reverse way. Listen for correct notes and tuning.
               
2. Review each twice a week and pick small parts to improve and perfect :
(a) Fiddle Dance
(b) Pomp and Circumstance
(c) MacPerson's Lament
(d) Beethoven Minuet
 
 3. Continue: Girl from Ipanema - up to the end of section B (bar 24)
Be sure to ask you teacher to write in good fingerings, especially for your melody bars.

 
 
    NEW YEAR"S RESOLUTION: 
 SET UP A GOOD DAILY PRACTICE ROUTINE for 2015
and stick with it!
You'll SEE and HEAR the results!