Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Recorder Karate

This is post is for 4th and 5th grade students!

We have begun our recorder unit and I will start testing students progress with playing tests after Spring Break!  


I am so excited to announce that the students have the opportunity to participate in the Recorder Karate program to help motivate them to practice and become better musicians.  Here is how it works:
  • Students will be assigned a song to learn.  I will teach the song and then give the students time to practice during class.  Students are also allowed to take recorders home to practice if they wish, but must make sure to bring the recorders back for class time.
  • On the day of the test, each student will play the song for me on their own.  If they receive ALL points possible for that song (using the recorder rubric) they will receive a "belt" (yarn piece) that corresponds with the difficulty of the song. The belt will be tied on their recorder.  If they don't receive a perfect score they can choose to try again at another time or they can accept their grade.
  • Students must play all the songs that are assigned for their grade, but do not have to participate in the Recorder Karate Program.  
Here is the rubric that I use to score the songs:



Here are the first few songs and belt colors:


White Belt (Au Clair De La Lune)

Yellow Belt (Gently Sleep)


Orange Belt (Merrily We Roll Along)

Have a wonderful break and happy practicing!!

4th and 5th Grade Recorder Practice

Click on the Quaver image below and it will take you to  B and A Recorder Olympics to practice.  Have fun! Play along with the A and B Blue...