Unison Exercises - Building Blocks
Introducing "Building Blocks" - a most-welcome and long-needed series featuring workshop and class notes from experienced handbell educators sharing their expertise, experience, and insight to help make your rehearsals more productive and your ringers more confident. Each Building Block edition will give you tools and ideas to more effectively and knowledgeably lead your own ringers in explorations covering a wide range of topics. The kick-off edition, Unison Exercises – Intro and Level 1, introduces the concepts and theory behind Unison Exercises (UE) and how to create and use them in a rehearsal and classroom setting, teaching note-reading & new skills. An extensive explanation of hows and whys is accompanied by seven reproducible practice sheets for your ringers, plus a blank template for you to create your own. The author, Kath Wissinger, with 18 years in the classroom and 30+ years directing and composing, is a popular and effective teacher, sharing her precisely sequenced pedagogical approach on many topics in local, area, national, and even international events. She considers the use of Unison Exercises to be practically an art form and continues to hone her craft in almost every class she presents. In this publication, Kath invites you into her class sessions, sharing her wealth of background, theory, practical experience, and useful examples supporting the value of unison exercises. This particular edition also covers a wide range of Level 1 skills. Look for future editions covering Level 2 and 3 skills, weaving, 4iH, Mixed Meter, Syncopation, Composing, and more. All Building Blocks folios (printed on high-quality smooth, sturdy paper) are reproducible and are also available as digital downloads.
Unison Exercises – Level 1 (RE3BB01R) dovetails nicely with "Square One" – a teaching method for Level 1 note reading and ringing that utilizes Unison Exercises as one of its main teaching tools (RE3013R).
Part of the Class ring Series from ringTrue, which offers carefully crafted pieces that combine solid pedagogy for the classroom and performance-worthy music for concerts: Win-Win!! Additional Level 1 and 1+ supplemental pieces include: Ionian Columns, Salamander Tales/Gecko Antics, Dorian Epic, Covenant, Failing Light, Hornpipe and Dance, Ode to Joy, Written on a Postcard, Lemon Chimes, Providence, Ghost and Shadow and Bronze Fanfare. Find all current Class ring pieces at www.handbellworld.com using the Music Selection Assistant page, scrolling to the bottom for “series.”