WHY HAVE A CAMP?

• enhance student learning
• increase income
• generate enthusiasm and camaraderie
• offer ensemble experiences
• provide remedial or accelerated teaching
• make use of school vacation times
• recruit new students

GETTING ORGANIZED:

• Determine location of camp. Teaching studio, park, church building are all possibilities
• Determine length and hours of camp. In summer, one week of 2-4-hours per day is typical. At least one teacher organizes a camp in December to replace lessons because the camp keeps lesson attendance, interest, and income high while shrinking teaching hours during all the holiday activities
• Plan the number of staff, campers and facilities/equipment needed. Sometimes a teacher will organize a camp by joining with one or two other nearby teachers, a community recreation program, or a local teachers' group. Most camps require advance registration and payment in order to allow careful planning and budgeting.
• Plan a theme and activity schedule. The camp plan below has a music history theme. It is very flexible with regard to time schedules, participating ages, and resources.

IDEAS FOR RESOURCES

 (Note: Materials below are available in our online store at Music Educators’ Marketplace Store by following the links.   Materials are referenced by number in the camp schedule below.  Many other materials can also be used)

1)   ‘My Own Music History’ Materials  http://www.musicedmarket.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MEM&Product_Code=MH000

2)   ‘Story of Music’ CD Set http://www.musicedmarket.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MEM&Product_Code=BTSM-CD&Category_Code=MH

3)   ‘Musical Periods Jigsaw Puzzle’ http://www.musicedmarket.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MEM&Product_Code=KK002&Category_Code=MH

4)   Meet the Musicians Series VHS or DVD by Dennis Kobray (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Joplin, Gershwin) http://www.musicedmarket.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MEM&Product_Code=DKDSET&Category_Code=M

5)   The Music Box Story Book by Suzanne Guy http://www.musicedmarket.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MEM&Product_Code=SG002&Category_Code=MH

6)   Music History Bingo Game http://www.musicedmarket.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MEM&Product_Code=BR100&Category_Code=CG

7)   Composer Coloring Books  Choose from Bach Family, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Gershwin, Grieg, Handel, Fanny/Felix Mendelssohn, Mozart, Prokofiev,  Robert/Clara Schumann, Tchaikovsky http://www.musicedmarket.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MEM&Product_Code=LK001&Category_Code=MH

MUSIC IN TIME – SUMMARY OF A CAMP PLAN:

DAY 1: INTRODUCTION-A Peek at the Past

DAY 2: BAROQUE PERIOD-Golden Oldies

DAY 3: CLASSICAL PERIOD-Classical is Classy

DAY 4: ROMANTIC PERIOD-Heartfelt Expression

Day 5: TWENTIETH CENTURY-Wrap-up & Recital

Of course each day's subject could be extended into a week, a month, a semester, or a year for more in-depth or follow-up study. Obviously the ages and interests of the campers will determine which ideas for activities will be most effective at your camp. In addition to the ideas below, the internet has great potential, for both campers and teachers.

IDEAS FOR ACTIVITIES

DAY 1=INTRODUCTION/KICK-OFF – A Peek at the Past

• Show My Own Music History Video ( #1) Take a field trip
• Construct the "Milestones of Music History" Chart (#1)  Relate musical periods to events in American History
• Learn about the color code for periods
• Select a personal "Composer of the Week" to emphasize and study. Have students color pages from composer coloring books (#7)
• Listen to "Beginnings of Music" (#2)  from STORY OF MUSIC CD Set)
• cassette tape (30 min) by Brad Thompson
• Discuss contents and then put together "Musical Periods Jigsaw Puzzle"

DAY 2= BAROQUE PERIOD-Golden Oldies (Color of the day: gold)

• Complete the Baroque Detail Chart  (#1)
• Listen to "The Baroque Period" CD (#2) by Brad Thompson
• Have a lesson on Baroque ornamentation: recognizing, reading, improvising it. [Resource recommended by Peg Holzgrafe: How to Add Melodic Ornamentation by Eugenia Earle (Lee Roberts Press]
• Perform Baroque pieces. Try a real harpsichord or use the setting on an electronic keyboard.
• Learn Baroque dances [Resource recommended by Linda Rohmund of Solana Beach CA: A Dance Pageant by Donald Waxman, Galaxie Press]
• Work on biography of chosen composer
• Have a lesson on inventions /fugues. [Recommended resource: Bach,  Meet the Musicians Series.  

DAY 3 CLASSICAL PERIOD-Classical is Classy (Color of the day: blue)

• Complete Classical Detail Chart (#1)
• Listen to "The Classic Period" CD (#2)
• Have a lesson on Sonata Allegro Form
• Work on biography of chosen composer
• Learn Alberti bass accompaniment pattern; improvise with a melody such as "Mary Had a Little Lamb" or "Twinkle, Twinkle."
• Perform pieces by Classical composers
• Learn about/listen to chamber music (a good time for guest appearances)
• View "Amadeus" (older students only!) or "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" or Meet the Musicians: Beethoven DVD (#4)  for a sense of the clothing, music, society of the time
• Read aloud The Music Box; The story of Cristofori (#5), by Suzanne Guy. (best for younger children up to age 9)

DAY 4: ROMANTIC PERIOD-Heartfelt Expression (Color of the day: red)

• Complete Romantic Detail Chart (#1)
• Listen to "The Romantic Period" CD (#2)  by Brad Thompson
• Study pedaling
• Study rubato style
• Study some nationalistic composers
• Work on biography of chosen composer
• Create an artwork inspired by listening to a character piece or Romantic work.

DAY 5: 20TH CENTURY\WRAP-UP\RECITAL (Color of the day: Anything goes)

• Complete 20th Century Detail Chart (#1)
• Listen to "The Twentieth Century” CD (#2) by Brad Thompson
• Work on biography of chosen composer
• Learn about whole tone or pentatonic scales
• Improvise pieces using 20th Century devices (whole tone, pentatonic, 12-bar blues, etc.)
• Study serialism
• Study syncopation
• Introduce Ragtime, Jazz, Rock, etc.
• Introduce 12-bar blues chord progression
• Play "Name That Period" by guessing the period of teacher-played piano pieces (T. plays pieces with examples of fugue, ornamentation, sonatina, Alberti bass, rubato, dissonance, syncopation, etc.)
• Have a recital or performance class organized by musical periods
• Have students report on their composers
• Present a skit based on a composition, a composer, or a concept learned during the week.

SOME SLANTS ON CAMPS

A 15-minute search of a teacher’s studio will probably yield a forgotten wealth of resource materials, such as recordings, music books, reference books, and bulletin board materials. Use them!

Outside resources might include libraries, museums, hobbyists, local university personnel and facilities, church musicians, piano technicians, former students, other teachers, and parents.

Julia Frailey kicked off her camp with a trip to the Nelson Art Gallery in Kansas City for a guided tour of the Baroque art displayed there. They followed that with the local teachers' group Baroque Festival, and then started creating their own MY OWN MUSIC HISTORY notebooks.

Peg Holzgrafe's campers in Quincy, IL had demonstrations of handbells, harpsichord, church organ, and a hammered dulcimer. They also had a day at the movies, at which the "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" video was a huge hit. (Popcorn anyone?) An alternative would be one of the Meet the Composers DVD’s by Dennis Kobray.  (52 minutes, 2 parts)

A local theater or costume shop might provide some authentic period costumes. A doll clothing seamstress might enjoy creating a "Baroque Barbie" or a "Classical Ken."

Lachelle Chamberlain of Culver City CA has an ambitious Fine Arts Summer Day Camp, incorporating art, drama, dance, music theory, history and composition. She offers two 4-week sessions, 10 AM to 4 PM daily at $440 each for up to 30 students. Her staff includes two enthusiastic high school students of art and music theater, a part-time dance teacher, and herself. In addition she invites guests and her mother, Deon Price, a well-known musician and piano teacher, to help with costumes, presentations, dance steps, etc. for the last day show.

Campers bring their own lunches and snacks, supplemented by occasional treats from LaChelle or generous parents. Daily activities include drawing, stories and legends, music listening, composer study, field trips, and preparing the show.

Mary Sue Harris of Lincoln NE ran a "Piano Principles Plus Pizazz" Camp at the University of Nebraska with 24 campers, age 9-15 years. The 9AM to 3 PM one-week camp cost $170, including their MY OWN MUSIC HISTORY notebooks. Three teachers and five helpers staffed mornings devoted to lessons, ensemble practice, technique, sight-reading, and, just before lunch, music history. Lunchtime involved a sack lunch and enrichment from musician or artist guests. Afternoons were for theory, improvisation, and composition.

 (Share your own camp ideas for this page by sending the information to kk@musicedmarket.com )