Blog Posts

Recorders in No Fees Schools

Denise Gagne

No Fees Schools:

How can you get kids their own recorder if your schoolHow can you get kids their own recorder if your school cannot charge compulsory fees?cannot charge compulsory fees?

In some states and provinces, schools are no longer allowed to charge a fee for students to participate in a curricular subject. If your school does not allow fees, but still offers students the option to order books from Scholastic, the music teacher should also be able to offer the recorder as an optional purchase for students. If students don’t purchase one, you’ll have to give them a “loaner” recorder, but the majority of students will still purchase one if given the opportunity.

Dear Parents:

Students at this school have the opportunity to purchase reading books from their classroom teachers through Scholastic book order forms. As the music teacher in this school, I’d like to give the students the option to purchase their own recorder, student book and practice CD. If you wish to purchase the optional package that is offered through the school please fill out the form and return it to school with a check for $10 payable to ___________ School.

This will be the students property, and the student will own it. The package consists of a good quality recorder, a student book and a CD to practice with at home. Students who do not purchase the package, will be loaned a recorder and booklet by the school to use in class.

Sincerely Yours

Music Teacher ________________
Students name: ______________
Phone: ____________
Homeroom teacher: _____________

When handing recorders out to students who have ordered them, label both the recorder and the case with the students name and grade. If one gets left behind in the music room, you’ll know who is missing a recorder.

Here are more Hot Tips for Teaching recorder, along with some newly posted YouTube videos for some of the tips.

Tip #6. clogged recorders
• Remove the head joint.
• Cover the tone hole with palm of hand and blow out.
•I t’s just like letting the spit out of the spit valve of a tromone or trumpet.

Tip #7. How to get kids practicing
• Try recorder karate using any songs in sequence from the recorder songs you teach. In the Recorder Resource Book 1, I use for
Belt #1 - Hot Cross Buns
Belt #2 - Skin and Bones
Belt #3 - Hush Littl Baby
Belt #4 - Ode to Joy or Camptown Races

I use whatever colored yarn that I have lots of: white, yellow, blue, black
• I've reduced to 4 belts instead of 7, so there is much less testing!
• make belts by winding yarn around a book, then snipping both ends. You can make hundreds of belts very quickly!

Tip #8. Improving Note Reading
• Teach note names at the beginning of the school year with floor staff games. Review notes with the hand staff often! Hand Staff Games:
1. point to a finger and have students call out the letter name
2. call out a letter name and whether it's a line or space and have students point. eg. A in a space, F on a line By scanning the classroom, you get a very quick assessment of how well stuents are remembering the names of the notes.
3. Have students play the note that you show on your hand staff.

• The Recorder Resource Kit includes 5 levels of Mad Minutes. Mad Minutes take me less than 5 minutes to do and mark, and really help students to develop instant recall of note names. Hand out the worksheet, pencil and hard cover book to each students walking into your class. Time them, and as each child finishes, they say "Done!" and put up their hand. You call out how many minutes and seconds it took them to complete. he students try to beat their best time! Mark them in-class having students chant each line of notes. They'll hear if they've made a mistake. T If you have piano players, give them a page of bass clef note names to complete instead of a mad minute. In the reproducible theory book, "Know Your Note Names" you'll find worksheets in both bass and treble clef.

Tip #9. How to improve students rhythm readingTip #9. How to improve students rhythm reading
• when starting recorder, play rhythm flashcards on single notes
• use rhythm dice to transition kids from using ta and titi, to learning that this note is called a quarter note and it’s one beat in 4/4 time
Try a Center Day: Use Music Center Kits 1-2, Rhythm Dice Games, Note Name Battleship, Mad Minutes as centers. Give your students 10 minutes at each center. Give a 2 minute and a 1 minute warning when they are to switch centers. Have them hand in their written work (included in Music Center Kits and Rhythm Dice) so they are accountable for the time spent at the center.
Tip #10. What to do with kids who are way ahead of the class OR kids who are way behind the class OR kids who are way behind
* Give kids who are way ahead the class, some class time to play jazz recorder, duets or ensembles.
* Give all kids Holiday songs in December.
* buy pop recorder collections and place in school library
* Sequence carefully: Recorder Resource uses: BAG ED C’D’ F C
* very do-able in 12 weeks!

Screen Shot 2023-06-07 at 10.59.38 AM