Episodes

  • 2-11 Reflections
    Jun 17 2024

    It's summer break! As we start the summer, we take an opportunity look back at the year, and share out some of our successes as well as some areas of growth as we look toward the future.

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    58 mins
  • 2-10 Singing With Strings
    Jun 12 2024
    On this episode, we discuss how singing can be used in the skill development of string musicians, and more specifically the use of solfege in application while shifting. Tiffany shares some classroom audio from her 2021 ASTA presentation "Solfege Singing for Sight Reading with Strings." Link to the presentation video here.
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    49 mins
  • 2-9 Sight Reading
    Apr 22 2024

    We share out amidst our Spring Break as we get ready for our final weeks before festival, then discuss how we approach the skill of sight reading in the string class in general, and more specifically how we go about the festival sight reading process.

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    59 mins
  • 2-8 Festival Prep Progress Report
    Mar 19 2024

    On this episode, we spend some time talking about the progress of our classes as they head toward the end of the third quarter and into festival season.

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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • 2-7 Crossover with The Growing Band Director
    Mar 8 2024

    We're back after a long winter hiatus! On this episode, we talk with Kyle Smith of The Growing Band Director Podcast on what you need to know before entering the string classroom, as well as some of the differences between teaching strings vs. band. Subscribe to The Growing Band Director Podcast here.

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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • 2-6 Seating
    Jan 18 2024

    On this episode, we debrief after our winter concerts, then dive into the topic of seating. We share our philosophy on the goal of seating, how we handle the social and emotional components of seating, and how we practically do seating in our groups throughout the year.

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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • 2-5 "Baffled By Beginning Bass" with Isabel McPherson
    Dec 19 2023

    On this episode, we talk with our guest and local Bay Area music educator Isabel McPherson about setting up string bass players to develop healthy and successful habits. Isabel is the Director of Orchestras at Redwood Middle School in the Saratoga USD.

    We discuss all things bass, including many topics they addressed at a 2022 CMEA Bay Section Conference session, “Baffled By Beginning Bass.” The slides from the session can be found here.

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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • 2-4 Uniform Ensemble Sound
    Nov 12 2023

    On this episode, we discuss how we work to create a true ensemble sound. We talk about the aspects of uniformity in sound, what kind of fundamental material to use to build awareness, and strategies to find a model and create a matched sound in the ensemble.

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    42 mins