Mr. Kemp’s
Early Orchestra Tips

Each string player received a book with a card
at the beginning to send away for a FREE CD & DVD.
Please have your parents fill out that card so
you can get the free disks in the mail.

Take the time to watch the video files
on the DVD. You need to put it into a computer
to watch the files.

The CD has accompaniment tracks for the songs
you practice in the book. It is fun to play along
with the CD after you have learned a couple
songs. Make sure you practice WITHOUT the CD first!

IMPORTANT - Once you reach the
notes in your book that do NOT
have letter names written,
you MUST NOT write the names of
the letters under the notes!!!

You learned how to read letters
in Kindergarten. Now we're
learning how to read music notes,
not letters! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Here are some practice tips:

1. For every song assigned in your book:

---First, sing the note names in rhythm
---Next, sing the note names in rhythm and finger the notes on your
instrument while you move your bow in the air. (do not play yet)
---Once you can do all of the above, try to play the song.
If you have difficulty, try breaking up the song 2 measures at a time.

3. If a song has a circle around the number in your book, that is your
assignment to practice. If the song also has a *star*, that means the
song is a "test" song for Mr. Kemp! Work a little extra on that song!
Once a song has a "check", it means you have mastered the song and
no longer need to practice it.

4. HAVE FUN!!! Don't forget that you took this instrument to have fun!
Most of the time you should be practicing songs you DON'T have mastered yet. Sometime, just go through your book and play through
some easy, FUN songs! Put on a show!!! :)

Practice, Practice, Practice!

A baseball player practices baseball.
A soccer player practices soccer.
A basketball player practices basketball.
A dancer practices dance..............................(you get the idea!)

I understand 4th graders are very busy people. They are baseball
players, soccer players, basketball, football, dance, Karate, and
much more. PLUS, they are students, they have friends, they have
families.

Are you also a Violin or Viola or Cello or Bass player???

If you are a Violin Player, you practice the Violin every day.
If you are not practicing every day, you are not really a Violin Player.
Of course the same goes for Viola, Cello, Bass, and all of the band
players, too.

STRIVE for practicing every day. (That means try very hard.)
If you miss once in a while, it's OK! Mr. Kemp knows you are
very busy people.