Dear all - First of all - I am posting this query to both Orchestra-list and Finale-list - so my apologies to those of you on both lists!
As part of my new job in the fall, I will be teaching two high-school music elective courses, each one semester long. The first is called "Electronic Music," and the second is called "History of Jazz." The "Electronic Music" class should actually be called "Using Your Computer to Make Your Own Music." The way it is set up now, the students use Sibelius, Mastertracks Pro Sequencer (I think that's what the program is called - I've never used it before), and Musica Practica to write and record their own music on I-Mac computers (of course, I'm used to Finale on a PC). It is recommended that all students who take the course have at least a basic musical background, but some will be stronger than others. Have any of you ever taught a course like this, and if so, could you recommend some resources, texts, ideas of things I should MAKE SURE I cover (as opposed to things I can skip), etc., to help me to put it together? The "History of Jazz" course should be a little easier. It's based on the Ken Burns video series, and uses the video a lot throughout the curriculum (which has already established). I am interested in other sources of information, however, as I know boring it is to have an instructor slavishly follow an established curriculum without any personal insights and other outside information. I also know how easy it is for high school students to ask questions for which one is unprepared. Once again, this course is open to non-musicians, so I will have that to contend with, as well. I plan to bring in some jazzers from around the area to talk to the students and demonstrate some standard practices. [As a French horn player, I just gazed wistfully through the windows at the jazzers as us "squidheads" (the name they gave us classically-oriented musicians) practiced our etudes - though I did toy briefly with the bass before deciding that becoming good, or even unembarassing, would require more time than I could afford to give up.] Finally - I am all ears (or eyes, I suppose!) for suggestions of pieces for high school string orchestra. There are two groups, one more advanced (and smaller) than the other, and I would like to combine the orchestras for at least a few pieces on each concert, as well as possibly do a some pieces with wind/brass players on one concert (the band director is very open to this idea, and has even changed his schedule to make it easier to do). Please feel free to inundate me with suggestions (please respond to my home e-mail address, below). Thanks! Jamin Hoffman Soon-to-be Orchestra Director at Nicolet High School E-mail (home): [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
