Category Archives: Teaching Orchestra/Strings

Glasses and pen sitting on top of sheet music

Sight Reading Central

Make sight reading simple! Pender’s has tons of resources for practicing sight reading skills. These products will help your students grow their sight reading abilities and feel confident prior to competition!

Previous UIL Sight Reading Pieces

Texas UIL Band Sight Reading
Texas UIL Choral Sight Reading
Texas UIL / PML Orchestra Sight Reading

Other Great Sight Reading Resources

Band

Something to Read by Jerry West
Something to Read – Level 1 by Jerry West
Something Else to Read by Jerry West
Progressive Sight Reading Tunes by Roger Winslow

Choir

SMART (Sight Singing Made Accessible, Readable, Teachable) Series by Denise Eaton
SMART (Sight Singing Made Accessible, Readable, Teachable) Modulations by Denise Eaton

Orchestra

Progressive Sight Reading Tunes (Unison Edition) by Roger Winslow
Progressive Sight Reading Tunes (Harmonized Edition) by Roger Winslow
Sight Reading Book for String Orchestra by Jerry West

TMEA Convention

FEBRUARY 12-15, 2020 IN SAN ANTONIO

TMEA is almost here! TMEA is the largest event of its kind in the nation, and Pender’s is thrilled to have multiple booths at the convention. We’ll be bringing a wide variety of sheet music and materials for you to browse. You don’t want to miss it!

When: February 12-15, 2020
Where: Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
900 E Market St
San Antonio, TX 78205
Learn More and Register:
https://www.tmea.org/conventions/2020


Pre-Order Your Music

Looking for something specific? Save time by placing your order in advance! You can pre-order your music by building a wishlist on the Pender’s site or emailing your list to order@penders.com. Let us know that you would like to pick up your items at the TMEA convention, and we’ll have everything ready for you when you arrive! To ensure that your request is completely filled in time for the event, we suggest sending us your purchase order early.


Pender’s Shop & Save School Loyalty Program

Stretch your school budget with our new loyalty program! Every time you make music purchases for your school at Pender’s, you will gain loyalty points up to 15% of the cost* of the purchase!

Schools with $500 minimum total paid purchases by April 30th, 2020 will receive a coupon up to 15% of the cumulative music purchases from July 1st, 2019 to April 30th, 2020!**

All school accounts will be automatically enrolled. The program kicks off July 1st, so start shopping to save today!

*Does not include registrations, shipping, or previously discounted items (i.e. All-State Music Packs, Choral Workshops, etc.)

**Customer account must be in good standing to use credit coupon. Coupon may be applied toward in-stock items only. No special orders accepted for payment with coupon. 1 point = $1 in additional free music for your school. The points have no actual cash value, and must be used to select additional music for the school. Coupon is the property of the school and may not be transferred to another party. Loyalty Program year ends June 30th and may not automatically be renewed. 


Oklahoma Bandmasters Association

Oklahoma Bandmasters Summer Convention 2018

The Oklahoma Bandmasters Summer Convention 2018 is just around the corner! Join us July 24 and 25 at the Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center in Tulsa, OK. We’re bringing a wide selection of new music for marching band, concert band, and jazz ensemble, plus a variety of band texts, CD’s, and DVD’s — whatever you need, you’ll find it at the Pender’s booth! And as a special treat this year, Randall Standridge will be our special guest on Wednesday, July 25 from 11:00-11:45 A.M. Come out to say hello and find great new music for your band!

Exhibit Dates & Times:
Tuesday, July 24, 2018 from 1:00-5:00 PM
Wednesday, July 25, 2018 from 9:00am-12:00 PM and 1:00-5:00 PM

Location:
Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center
Tulsa, OK

Meet and Greet with Randall Standridge:
The Pender’s Booth
Wednesday, July 25, 2018 from 11:00-11:45 AM

Southwest Music 2018 Summer Exhibition

July 26–28 in San Antonio, TX

Pender’s will be at the Southwest Music Summer Exhibition in San Antonio again this year with our extensive selection of band, choir, and orchestra materials available for purchase. We’re excited to have Jerry West as a guest in our booth this year as an added bonus!

Teachers and directors: remember your purchase orders if you have them; if you don’t have one at this time, don’t worry! Pender’s will still work to get you the music you need and can send you a bill to pay when you have your PO ready. Our aim is always to provide you with the best possible service and ensure you have everything you need for a great start to a new school year.

The event will be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. See you in San Antonio!

Keepin’ it Real: Music [Education] in the Social and Digital Age

Companies large and small go in and out of business all the time, much like the ebb and flow of the tides each day. There is no sector of business immune to it, and sometimes there seems no rhyme or reason for it either. The business of sheet music is no different. Sheet music stores and sheet music publishers rise and fall, rise and fall, akin to a lilting melody in a song.

Some make it and some don’t. Take Carl Fischer sheet music, a tried-and-true music publisher that is celebrating 140 years of service this year to 1,400 sheet music retailers worldwide, Pender’s Music Co. being one of them. Consider this: when the founder of Carl Fischer first opened up for business, he didn’t sell sheet music at all. Carl Fischer, the business, was a musical instrument repair shop, and there is really little in common when comparing band instrument repair with the writing, designing, printing, publishing and distributing of a piece of sheet music.

But what about Southern Music Company, a business that was both a sheet music retailer and a music publisher, too? In February of this year, after 75 years of retailing and publishing, the San Antonio mainstay for music educators, performers and students everywhere closed its doors for good. Of course, it must be noted here that Lauren Keiser Music Publishing eventually took over the publishing division in June, but still, it’s the sign of the times —  rise and fall, rise and fall.

Like Carl Fischer, Pender’s Music Co. is also celebrating an anniversary, albeit only 45 years and counting. And somewhat similar to them, our primary focus in the beginning wasn’t sheet music either. Think soda fountain, art supplies, school supplies and more (a little bit of music), sold right on campus to college students. But even more similar? The acceptance of change, and the willingness to adapt to it, with a little bit of risk-taking for good measure.

That’s what small business is best at. That’s what a family-owned business is best at: the germ of the idea, the drive to make it happen, the willingness to cut your losses when necessary, the stick-to-it-ive-ness to ride the rise and fall, the dare to dream big all over again.

And what does all of this have to do with music education, social media, and the digital age? Quite a lot. Over the past few days, we’ve seen the viral video of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” as arranged and performed by the 3Penny Chorus and Orchestra. The 3Penny Chorus and Orchestra is a volunteer pickup ensemble conducted by Arianne Abela, a choral music conductor and educator who graduated from Yale’s School of Music Masters Program in choral conducting in 2010. And Colin Britt, who arranged the music for the group, was one of her classmates. He is now on the faculty at the Hartt School of Music.

We’ve also seen Korean singer’s Psy “Gangnum Style” as performed by the Ohio University Marching Band. These classically trained musicians, educators and students have put their own spin on popular music of today and shared it via social media to millions of people. Brilliant! It’s certainly a positive spotlight on choir, orchestra, and marching band.

As music educators, music makers, and the companies that supply needed goods and services to them move forward, it will be important for everyone to try and adapt to the changes of how media and information is transmitted nowadays. Embracing technology and its power of connecting people to people and products and services to people will be vital to staying strong both in education and in business. Sheet music, just as recorded music and published books before it, is rapidly transforming itself into a more digital-friendly medium — point of purchase digital downloads, online score and part perusal, streaming sample audio, etc. But let’s not forget that the content — that piece of sheet music with the lilting melody — remains the same, and the value of it is truly immeasurable.

Browse the new Carl Fischer Concert Band titles for 2012: listen to recordings, view full scores, shop online!

Tuesday’s Tidbits: UIL Orchestra (PML)

While we realize that everyone is not as invested in the Texas UIL Prescribed Music List (PML) as we are, since two of our stores are in Texas, it still merits mention that this year there were many new titles added to the list(s), including music for full orchestra and string orchestra.

And while your particular situation may not require that you perform music from the list, that doesn’t mean that the list, in and of itself, is not indeed still a good resource when you’re simply looking for festival or competition music for other uses. That’s why we highlight it here and on our website, as well as across some of our other media channels (Slideshare, Flickr, Facebook, etc).

Just think about it….some great folks in Texas have done a lot of the work for you: reviewing, listening, and critiquing music, looking for only the best of the best in all levels for orchestra and strings. There are other states around the country that simply adopt the Texas UIL/PML list as their own, and call it day. Now, some people might call that robbery, and some people might just call it knowing when to take advantage of a good thing…..we’ll let you decide that for yourself. In the meantime, view the slideshow, download the pdf, and take a look at some great music for full orchestra and string orchestra.

Texas UIL Orchestra Sheet Music (PML): New Additions for  2011

The full orchestra/string orchestra sheet music titles that were recently added to the Texas UIL Prescribed Music List (PML) [2011].

 

And here is a link to the pdf brochure, which is on our website (also interactive):

 

Tipster: Teaching Young String Groups

We came accross this article on the web, and thought it would be a good one to pass along, especially since school will be starting up again in just a few weeks. It’s by Jacquelyn Dillon-Krass from Wichita State University.

Tips for Teaching Young String Groups to Play “In Tune”

by Jacquelyn Dillon-Krass

Music students learn more than music – they learn of life and self-worth. You are a valuable person in the lives of your students. “Don’t under-estimate the importance of your work or the responsibility that your job demands; enjoy it.”

Without a doubt, the most important and most difficult task facing the string teacher is teaching students to play “in tune.” Orchestral educators need to understand that (1) Good pitch never just happens; it is very carefully taught; (2) Poor pitch never gets better on its own; in fact, it usually gets worse; and (3) Concern for playing with good pitch is a never-ending quest, that has to be stressed daily with every group.

A beginner group, playing even the simplest music, should be expected to play with good pitch (first fingers in correct place, whole steps and half-steps obvious, etc.). “All purpose” second fingers (neither high enough nor low enough), so often heard, are simply unacceptable. In other words, there is absolutely no excuse for groups at any level to play out of tune.

If students are trained to be concerned about pitch from the very beginning, and then never allowed to play out of tune in rehearsals, they will play in tune under pressure at concerts. My beliefs and ideas on teaching young students to play in tune follow:

Follow the link below for the tips and the rest of the article from Conn-Selmer‘s Keynotes Magazine…

via Keynotes Magazine – Now Viewing Classroom Technique : Strings : Tips for Teaching Young String Groups to Play “In Tune” by Jacquelyn Dillon.