From Plank Road Publishing

by Barb Philipak

A Highly Motivational Method For Young Players

If you are looking for a classroom-tested, carefully planned recorder method, look no further. Or if you already have a favorite method and would like to add special magic and amazing motivation for your students, this unique kit is the answer. It has everything you will need to get started with young recorder players, including music, certificates, and other reproducible materials.

At the heart of this method is a positive reward system in which students receive colored "karate belts" (not included) to hang from their recorders for each progressively more difficult tune. Stories from the hundreds of teachers who have tried this method rave about the success it has created with all types of students in a variety of settings.

Of course, motivating students with simple rewards is not a new idea. But in this method, Barb Philipak has gone well beyond the basic concept to produce a Teacher's Handbook that walks the reader through the entire teaching process in a logical, easy-to-understand narrative. She then goes on to provide an array of teaching tools designed to make beginning recorder study a joy for teachers and students alike. And since the method comes with the rights to reproduce, your students won't have to buy books of their own - they build their own as they go. Included in this kit:

A detailed description of how Recorder Karate works, complete with instructions for teaching the basics of playing the recorder, working in groups, and testing the concepts which have been taught.

Dozens of helpful tips for handling the day-to-day problems of work in the classroom, including instrument care, noise control, and dealing with students with special challenges.

Reproducible settings of nine familiar songs, arranged progressively for the nine levels, each with new concepts and notes to study. (The repertoire builds gradually from two G A B songs through the black belt song with D E F# G A B C D.)VOther handy reproducibles including a fingering chart and worksheets on the history of the recorder, how to hold it, how to play it, and how to care for it. Also included are certificates, a sample letter for parents, and plenty of recorder and "karate" clip art.

Aside from the basics of playing needed for the students, it also includes a more in-depth tutorial for teachers on "How To Play The Recorder."

A Performance/Accompaniment CD featuring simple recordings of all songs to assist in classroom work and with public performances. As a bonus, it also features more elaborately orchestrated treatments of some tunes for special performances.

So add new life to your beginning recorder classes with Recorder Karate, a wonderful new stand-alone method or a great supplement to any current method you are using. (By the way, as cute as this little illustration is, the method does not involve robes, kicking, or breaking lumber.)

For Your Convenience... Recorder Karate Student Books!

Even though this great method comes with reproducible versions of all student pages, sometimes the constraints of time and photocopying make it simpler to buy individual books for each student as opposed to spending hours copying them. Each 16-page student book includes all of the music as well as a fingering chart. Please note that the legal right to use these books only comes with the purchase of the full kit.