Dear Year 4 Parents

As part of the music program in Year 4 this year we are going to begin a Unit of Inquiry that explores the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are required of a successful performer. Students will be learning the recorder for this unit and we will be using resources which will include “Recorder Karate”. This takes the children through various levels or “belts” which provide a form of incentive for the children to work and gain success at their own pace. As the children achieve each level they will receive a “belt” which will be a colored ribbon to tie onto the bottom of their recorder.

We are asking all children to purchase their own recorder and put their name on it. Students will be taking their recorders and music home to enable them to discover the value of practice! We will be encouraging them to practice little and often. Five or ten minutes of thoughtful practice every other day will be enough. Music lessons are on the following days and so students will need their recorders as follows:

4BM- Days D,E,I,J
4RW- Days C,E,H,J
4HP- Days A,C,F,H
4CS- Days A,D,F,I
4NB- Days A,E,F,J

Recorders can be purchased from a number of stores in Bangkok, such as Lucky Music, the Yamaha store on Floor 9 in Emporium Towers, Petersons (just past Sukhumvit soi 26 (near Emporium) and other music stores in the large shopping centres. The brands that I would recommend are “Yamaha” or “Aulos”. Please ensure that the size is a descant or soprano recorder. You should expect to pay around 200-300 baht.

We will be starting the Recorder unit from Monday April 22 (after Songkran holiday) and so students should have their recorder ready to start then. If there are any problems please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Mark Bourgeois mbourgeois@nist.ac.th
Tony Abbey tabbey@nist.ac.th