Who's Ms. McMahan?
Prior to coming to Hayfield ES, Ms. McMahan was the Orchestra Director at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Virginia for 4 years. Before teaching at West Potomac Ms. McMahan was the orchestra and band director at H.B. Woodlawn Secondary School for five years in Arlington, VA. While teaching in Arlington, she conducted the Arlington Youth Symphony for two years. She has also directed childrenís, youth and adult handbell choirs throughout the Metropolitan DC region. Ms. McMahan plays as a freelance oboist in the Washington D.C. area. She received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in 1991 and a Master's Degree in performance from the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1993.
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 Hayfield Elementary Strings
The Hayfield Elementary Strings program consists of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. The program is designed to develop fundamental musicianship in string orchestra instruments (violin, viola, cello and double bass.) The level of skill varies greatly, with some players beginning this year and others in their 3rd year of study.
Class instruction focuses on posture, position, tone quality, rhythms and bowing techniques as well as music reading, vocabulary, aural skills, musicianship and performance.
The four major instruments in the string family, the violin, the viola, the cello and the double bass, are built the same way. The instruments are made of many pieces of wood, which are glued - never nailed - together. The body of the instrument is hollow, thus becoming a resonating box for the sound. Four strings (sometimes five on the double-bass) made of animal gut, silk, nylon, palm fiber or steel are wrapped around pegs at one end of the instrument and attached to a tailpiece at the other. They are stretched tightly across a bridge to produce their assigned pitches.
Practice Makes Perfect??? - Not Always!
Every good musician knows that regular practice is a must, but did you know that careless practice could actually make you worse? Before you tell your parent or your teacher that you have decided not to practice, think about the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and HOW of practice that will help you play better and enjoy music more.
Who?
YOU! Good practice involves your mind, your body, your emotions, and the music. Your parent or teacher may be able to force you to spend time playing the notes, but only YOU can focus your mind and your feeling on the sounds you are producing, so that the music you play is beautiful and expressive.
What?
Practice that progresses toward perfection will include:
- Warm-ups
- Review of scales, etudes, or pieces you have already learned
- Your new assignment
- Something you really love playing, or just for fun (maybe even make up a piece on your own!
When?
Dr. Suzuki said, "Only on the days that you eat!" The best plan is to make practice a part of your daily routine. If you know you will practice at a certain time every day, it will happen with very few exceptions.
How?
This is a VERY important question! Many students practice by playing straight through a piece or other assignment (often as quickly as possible) as if they were at a recital, then go on to the next thing, no matter what happened. Money won't buy better playing, but well spent practice time will. Here are some hints for getting the most for your practice "dollar."
- Set goals to try to accomplish in each practice session
- Be sure you know what the passage should sound like
- Work on the most challenging spots first
- Break the music down into small sections
(How do you eat an elephant? - One bite at a time!)
- Repeat the passage many times AFTER you get it right
- Before you end each practice session, play the entire piece, and enjoy!
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