During the 2014-2015 season, we are offering the following classes:

First Hour Classes

Use these guidelines from our chapter to help determine what class level fits your needs the best. If you have any questions, please contact the instructors. If you're new, you can contact them through our informational email, rochesterars@gmail.com 

BEGINNERS

Frank Amato

Do you know someone who might enjoy learning how to play the recorder? We strive to work with beginners in a stress-free environment that can be very rewarding to someone embarking on this new musical adventure. Learn a few fundamental notes and you’ll be playing simple melodies relatively soon. Knowing how to read music is not required, since for those persons who do not read music, we can help them start from step one. You also help our Chapter towards building our membership. Bring a friend!

INTERMEDIATE

DeeDee Heyer

Our goal in this class is to become more comfortable with our recorders and gain more enjoyment from playing. By working on technical exercises we will become more familiar with higher notes and improve fingering fluency, tone production and rhythmic confidence. Playing 3- and 4-part ensemble music will help us learn to listen to ourselves and adjust to others as we make music together. The class also provides an opportunity to learn the second recorder fingering and/or develop skill on a recorder of a different size.

HIGH INTERMEDIATE

Stan Gross

Improve your recorder technique and boost your satisfaction while enjoying multi-part musical treasures from medieval times to the present day. Class entrants should already be comfortable playing music of modest technical and rhythmical difficulty on S, A and T recorders. Bass recorder players are needed and opportunities will also be provided to learn this instrument. (You must be able to play the bass recorder to be admitted to the advanced class.) Participants will also practice reading "up" and "down" an octave and playing both F and C instruments from bass clef. Outside practice will be necessary and is expected.

Technical items will include alternative fingerings, breathing, good tone production and tuning, articulation, tonguing & double-tonguing. Rhythmical matters will include dotted notes, tied notes and rests, hemiolas, syncopations, swing, asymmetrical meters and "learning to ignore the bar lines". Musical topics of phrasing, interpretation, scoring ("What recorder do I play on this part?") ensemble and performance etiquette will be addressed. A smattering of music theory will cover scales and modes, temperaments, intervals and elements of sound (harmonic series, beats and difference tones).

ADVANCED

David Tilley

Requirements: For this class playing SATB instruments at an advanced level is required. Switching instruments from one piece to the next is expected, as well the ability to sight read, double tongue, play alto up and use alternate fingerings.

We will utilize multi-part music to develop ensemble skills with emphasis on complex articulations, phrasing, and rhythms.

Second Hour Classes

KLEZMIRTH and more

Paul Breese-Garelick

Fun with Klezmer & Folk Music. Based on traditions from Eastern Europe. Music of the people – think gypsy dances or a Jewish Wedding. Music ranges from slow ballads in modal keys to bouncy tunes with a swinging feel. Bring your soul and learn to swing eighth notes. The main book is SAT with bass doubling tenor part, nothing too difficult.

MODERN RECORDER MUSIC

Neil Seely

Many musical pieces have been arranged for recorder that are interesting to play. We will select challenging pieces that require finesse to bring life to the music and excitement to the player. SATB required.

PLAYFORD PlAY-ALONG / DANCE-ALONG

Jessica Brennan

Let's exercise our fingers and our feet by playing and dancing Playford-style! Our goal will be to dance as well as we play (or thereabout...) to get the full experience of the music—cravats and high-buttoned boots not required! For SATBF (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, Feet)