Hello Band parents! A HUGE congratulations to the SGS band on a fantastic concert this past week! I got glowing compliments from not only parents, little old ladies and gentlemen, but from Mr. Pittman and our superintendent, Mr. Oest who attended the program! I thought the band looked and sounded just GREAT and I am a super proud teacher! I am positive that the RGS band will peform similarly next week. I hope you are all as excited as I am!
For those of you who brought your children to the Band Buddies meeting a week ago, what did your bandling think? I have created a little survey to find out the children's thoughts. Click HERE for the survey and please encourage your child to take it. It will take only a few minutes. I think that next time I will have a set due date for forms to be back to me so that I can plan better for who exactly will be there. That way Mr. Stiles (the RB band director) and I can prepare the high schoolers better for exactly what they can be doing. We left it more open ended this time because there was concert music that could be worked on and then we wanted everyone to get to know each other.
How do you and the kids like their band t-shirts? I think they all look so great! A big THANK YOU to Mr. Miller from Sew Hot Threads for making them for us at such a low price!
Before break starts, I will be passing out some extra holiday music for the bandlings to practice over break, if they wish. At my house during the holidays, my parents always had me play Christmas songs. These little concerts really boosted my self-esteem and showed my that my parents like listening to me and thought that band was a good thing. Maybe your family gatherings this Winter break can be enhanced with a concert by your bandling. If you would like extra copies of the music for other family members (cousins, aunts, uncles,etc.) to be able to play along, I'd be happy to send those home too.
Have a wonderful winter break! And please remember to keep enouraging your child to stick with it! I'm a realist! I don't expect everyone to practice hard over break! But, a little nudging in the direction of the instrument and music once or twice during break would be greatly appreciated!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Band Buddies This Week!
Hello Band Parents! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and that your bandlings got in some extra practice performing for the extra family and friends that were around! The next three weeks are BUSY (all CAPS mind you!) This week is the first "Band Buddies" gathering on Thursday at Spring Grove School from 4:30-6:00. This is another totally optional meeting but instead of just a full band rehearsal, band members from the high school will be giving small group lessons to my band members. After 35 or so minutes of that, then we'll have a short full band rehearsal to cement things up for the concerts! If you'd like your child to participate on Thursday and you haven't sent in the form, simply send a note to me at school or email me and let me know who will be attending.
Next week brings the concert as SGS on Tuesday, December 7 at 7:00pm. Band members should report to the library at 6:30 to warm and tune up for the big night! Concert dress at SGS is black and white. If you'd like to make their outfits a little festive for the occasion, red or green as a top is fine too. Remember, we share the night with the choir and the 3rd grade musical.
The last week of school before Winter Break brings the concert at RGS on Thursday, December 16 at 7:00pm. Because it is shared with the 5th grade musical, all 5th graders will meet in their classrooms that night. Before the band members make their way to their classrooms, they should stop by the cafeteria to assemble their instruments. The play will be performed and then the band will perform their portion.
Band t-shirts will be in soon! Band members should wear their band t-shirts to school on the day of the concert. Much like football players and cheerleaders in high school will wear their gear on the day of the game, we want to build spirit within our group on the day of the concert.
I hope you are all doing well and I look forward to seeing everyone at the concerts! Please let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns.
Next week brings the concert as SGS on Tuesday, December 7 at 7:00pm. Band members should report to the library at 6:30 to warm and tune up for the big night! Concert dress at SGS is black and white. If you'd like to make their outfits a little festive for the occasion, red or green as a top is fine too. Remember, we share the night with the choir and the 3rd grade musical.
The last week of school before Winter Break brings the concert at RGS on Thursday, December 16 at 7:00pm. Because it is shared with the 5th grade musical, all 5th graders will meet in their classrooms that night. Before the band members make their way to their classrooms, they should stop by the cafeteria to assemble their instruments. The play will be performed and then the band will perform their portion.
Band t-shirts will be in soon! Band members should wear their band t-shirts to school on the day of the concert. Much like football players and cheerleaders in high school will wear their gear on the day of the game, we want to build spirit within our group on the day of the concert.
I hope you are all doing well and I look forward to seeing everyone at the concerts! Please let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Epidemics, Smart Music and You Tube
The bandlings sounded GREAT this week in their lessons! I can't believe how much progress we've been making! Good thing, too, because our concerts are coming up! Remember, Tuesday, December 7 at SGS and Thursday, December 16 at RGS.
Speaking of practicing, I'm going to be purchasing a really cool web-based program called Smart Music. Learn more about it by clicking HERE to go to the website. I've been thinking about purchasing it for a while now and a couple of weeks ago, when the RGS 5th grade was on a field trip, I went and observed another teacher in my husband's school district who uses it with his 5th graders. He had a Smart Board, which made it even cooler, but I can still use it with just my lap top with the 5th graders. The program has everything in our book in it and the students can play the music from their screen with a cursor, if they wish. There are multiple accompaniment styles to choose from for each song. So think of playing Jingle Bells with a ragtime feel, or a latin feel, or a march feel, etc. The coolest thing I saw was a group of clarinetists playing Jingle Bells, then when they were done, the program recorded and assessed their performance! They got a 98% and the kids were beaming! Another group got 67%, not bad considering there were about 6 students playing at the same time! On the screen after their performance were the notes they played correctly in green and the notes they played incorrectly in red! What an innovative way to practice! If the students like it in class, you may consider purchasing the student version, it is MUCH less expensive than the educator version.
Many of the students are very familiar with You Tube, so I created my own "channel" on the site. Click HERE for the link. If your child is allowed to, have them take a look at the videos I've posted. There are playlists for every instrument (almost done getting every instrument on there) and there are videos of the two longer pieces we're playing for the Winter Concert. Today, I showed some of the students a video in my "Clarinet Playlist" of a man making a clarinet out of a carrot! Of course, there are also videos of serious musicians, as well! Have fun watching these!
I have to address one thing, and I HATE to even bring it up. There have been a few people in the last few weeks that have quit band. This happens for many reasons, although I think it's pretty early to be throwing in the towel at this juncture. There is not anyone in either of the bands who are struggling so much that they should quit, or are beyond catching up. There aren't even that many people who are really behind at all. I STRONGLY encourage you to keep encouraging your children to stick with it. A parent recently voiced a concern that their child wasn't practicing much at home. I tried to explain that some weeks the students will need more practice than others and that as long as they can keep up in lessons and full band, I'm not worried. Just like anything, there will be hills and valleys. Band is such a great thing for your child to be involved in, not only now, but once they are in middle school and hopefully even high school! Encourage, encourage, encourage!
I hope you have a great week, and as always, let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns. Remember, T-shirt forms are due next week!
Speaking of practicing, I'm going to be purchasing a really cool web-based program called Smart Music. Learn more about it by clicking HERE to go to the website. I've been thinking about purchasing it for a while now and a couple of weeks ago, when the RGS 5th grade was on a field trip, I went and observed another teacher in my husband's school district who uses it with his 5th graders. He had a Smart Board, which made it even cooler, but I can still use it with just my lap top with the 5th graders. The program has everything in our book in it and the students can play the music from their screen with a cursor, if they wish. There are multiple accompaniment styles to choose from for each song. So think of playing Jingle Bells with a ragtime feel, or a latin feel, or a march feel, etc. The coolest thing I saw was a group of clarinetists playing Jingle Bells, then when they were done, the program recorded and assessed their performance! They got a 98% and the kids were beaming! Another group got 67%, not bad considering there were about 6 students playing at the same time! On the screen after their performance were the notes they played correctly in green and the notes they played incorrectly in red! What an innovative way to practice! If the students like it in class, you may consider purchasing the student version, it is MUCH less expensive than the educator version.
Many of the students are very familiar with You Tube, so I created my own "channel" on the site. Click HERE for the link. If your child is allowed to, have them take a look at the videos I've posted. There are playlists for every instrument (almost done getting every instrument on there) and there are videos of the two longer pieces we're playing for the Winter Concert. Today, I showed some of the students a video in my "Clarinet Playlist" of a man making a clarinet out of a carrot! Of course, there are also videos of serious musicians, as well! Have fun watching these!
I have to address one thing, and I HATE to even bring it up. There have been a few people in the last few weeks that have quit band. This happens for many reasons, although I think it's pretty early to be throwing in the towel at this juncture. There is not anyone in either of the bands who are struggling so much that they should quit, or are beyond catching up. There aren't even that many people who are really behind at all. I STRONGLY encourage you to keep encouraging your children to stick with it. A parent recently voiced a concern that their child wasn't practicing much at home. I tried to explain that some weeks the students will need more practice than others and that as long as they can keep up in lessons and full band, I'm not worried. Just like anything, there will be hills and valleys. Band is such a great thing for your child to be involved in, not only now, but once they are in middle school and hopefully even high school! Encourage, encourage, encourage!
I hope you have a great week, and as always, let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns. Remember, T-shirt forms are due next week!
Monday, November 8, 2010
T-Shirts, Band Buddies and the CSO
I hope everyone had a great 4 1/2 day weekend! I joked with the bandlings this week that I'm SURE they would be spending all of that free time practicing their instruments! I hope they spent at least SOME of the time doing that, though!
I enjoyed getting to speak with the couple of people who stopped by to see me during conferences last week! Before I left RGS on Thursday night, I put order forms in the RGS bandlings boxes in their classrooms. Be looking for them to come home today, I would assume. I'll hand the order forms out to the SGS students tomorrow. Otherwise, if you want to be totally on top of things, click here for a link to the form. The shirts look great and they are only $5!
On Friday, I met with the new band director at RBCHS, Mr. Stiles and we planned a great after-school program that we'd like to start doing once a month or every other month, called Band Buddies. It will be during the afternoon/evening at one of the two grade schools and it will be a pairing up of High School Band members with the 5th graders. We did it once, just to try it out, last year and both the 5th graders and the high schoolers LOVED it! In fact, a lot of the high schoolers have been asking to start it back up. That was always our intention, but we wanted to get the marching season out of the way. Be looking for a note to come home about that this week.
On Saturday, my husband and I went to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I'm embarrassed to admit how long it had been since we've been there! You would think that both of us being music teachers, we would go see and hear live music much more often. But, with jobs and little kids at home and the expense of tickets, etc. we don't go very often. But when we do, we are always so energized and inspired. I encourage you to seek out concerts to take your children to. I've posted all of the concerts for NSD2 and RBCHS on my website HERE. Definitely check out other local ensembles, like the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Crystal Lake Community Band, Chicago Brass Band, Lake Geneva Symphony and others for holiday concerts. Click HERE for a link to my website with the links to many more ensembles in Chicagoland. My husband I couldn't help but point out to each other that all of those professional orchestra members we were watching were once beginners themselves.
I'm looking forward to a great week! We're really starting to make progress with our concert music! Only 4 weeks until the SGS concert and 5 weeks until the RGS concert! Please remind your bandlings to come to school prepared with their instruments and music on band days! And if you haven't turned in the form for the Band Connection website, please do so this week! I would love to start posting and sharing at the end of the week! If you can't seem to find that form, click HERE for a new copy.
THANKS for all you do!
I enjoyed getting to speak with the couple of people who stopped by to see me during conferences last week! Before I left RGS on Thursday night, I put order forms in the RGS bandlings boxes in their classrooms. Be looking for them to come home today, I would assume. I'll hand the order forms out to the SGS students tomorrow. Otherwise, if you want to be totally on top of things, click here for a link to the form. The shirts look great and they are only $5!
On Friday, I met with the new band director at RBCHS, Mr. Stiles and we planned a great after-school program that we'd like to start doing once a month or every other month, called Band Buddies. It will be during the afternoon/evening at one of the two grade schools and it will be a pairing up of High School Band members with the 5th graders. We did it once, just to try it out, last year and both the 5th graders and the high schoolers LOVED it! In fact, a lot of the high schoolers have been asking to start it back up. That was always our intention, but we wanted to get the marching season out of the way. Be looking for a note to come home about that this week.
On Saturday, my husband and I went to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I'm embarrassed to admit how long it had been since we've been there! You would think that both of us being music teachers, we would go see and hear live music much more often. But, with jobs and little kids at home and the expense of tickets, etc. we don't go very often. But when we do, we are always so energized and inspired. I encourage you to seek out concerts to take your children to. I've posted all of the concerts for NSD2 and RBCHS on my website HERE. Definitely check out other local ensembles, like the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Crystal Lake Community Band, Chicago Brass Band, Lake Geneva Symphony and others for holiday concerts. Click HERE for a link to my website with the links to many more ensembles in Chicagoland. My husband I couldn't help but point out to each other that all of those professional orchestra members we were watching were once beginners themselves.
I'm looking forward to a great week! We're really starting to make progress with our concert music! Only 4 weeks until the SGS concert and 5 weeks until the RGS concert! Please remind your bandlings to come to school prepared with their instruments and music on band days! And if you haven't turned in the form for the Band Connection website, please do so this week! I would love to start posting and sharing at the end of the week! If you can't seem to find that form, click HERE for a new copy.
THANKS for all you do!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wicked Witch of the Far NW Suburbs...
The title of the post, unfortunately, refers to how I felt after each of my full-band rehearsals this week. I had to come down on the bands a teensy bit about behavior during full band rehearsals. I don't know if it was Halloween looming in the air? The change in the barometric readings? Actually, it's been adding up for the last couple of weeks and this week, finally came to a head.
I know, I know, there are 44 and 55 students in each of my groups and they ALL have noisemakers, it's not going to be like a library in rehearsal! I don't expect it to be. Every teacher has his or her own comfortable level of "background noise" if you will. With music and, more specifically instrumental music classes, there will be more than "traditional" classrooms. Here are my rules: If I'm NOT on the podium, students may talk, chit chat, but not play their instruments. If I AM on the podium, there should be no talking or playing unless we are discussing something together. Depending on the group, that first rule changes. If I can depend on members of the group to not blast their instruments, make silly noises on purpose, etc, then I will allow a little practicing inbetween songs. My groups this year aren't ready for that, at least not yet. I just wanted to give you a head's up in case you heard any mentionings sort of like, "Man, Mrs. Storer let us have it today," etc...
One exciting happening this week was that we are going to be getting Band t-shirts! One of the band parents this year has a great business and will be printing off t-shirts for us! I think it will be a great way to foster pride within our groups! Look for order forms to be going home, hopefully, next week!
One more very important thing to mention is concerning the PB works website I'm constructing called The Band Connection. Hopefully you all received the note I sent home with the bandlings this week about this. In review, I've make a website that will share pictures, videos and audio recordings with the members of that site. It is a password-protected, invitation-only type of deal. The pictures, etc. will not be on the internet for everyone to see. Only people invited by me (you parents, teachers and administration of NSD2) will be able to access it and everyone will need their own username and password. My hope is to include you as parents into what we do in the classroom and rehearsal room through the pictures and recordings, so you can really be an active participant in your child's progression this year. Here's a link to that note I sent home with a permission slip that should be turned in ASAP. I'd love to get it up and running in the next two weeks! Please send the permssion slip back on Monday, if you haven't already.
Have a great weekend!
I know, I know, there are 44 and 55 students in each of my groups and they ALL have noisemakers, it's not going to be like a library in rehearsal! I don't expect it to be. Every teacher has his or her own comfortable level of "background noise" if you will. With music and, more specifically instrumental music classes, there will be more than "traditional" classrooms. Here are my rules: If I'm NOT on the podium, students may talk, chit chat, but not play their instruments. If I AM on the podium, there should be no talking or playing unless we are discussing something together. Depending on the group, that first rule changes. If I can depend on members of the group to not blast their instruments, make silly noises on purpose, etc, then I will allow a little practicing inbetween songs. My groups this year aren't ready for that, at least not yet. I just wanted to give you a head's up in case you heard any mentionings sort of like, "Man, Mrs. Storer let us have it today," etc...
One exciting happening this week was that we are going to be getting Band t-shirts! One of the band parents this year has a great business and will be printing off t-shirts for us! I think it will be a great way to foster pride within our groups! Look for order forms to be going home, hopefully, next week!
One more very important thing to mention is concerning the PB works website I'm constructing called The Band Connection. Hopefully you all received the note I sent home with the bandlings this week about this. In review, I've make a website that will share pictures, videos and audio recordings with the members of that site. It is a password-protected, invitation-only type of deal. The pictures, etc. will not be on the internet for everyone to see. Only people invited by me (you parents, teachers and administration of NSD2) will be able to access it and everyone will need their own username and password. My hope is to include you as parents into what we do in the classroom and rehearsal room through the pictures and recordings, so you can really be an active participant in your child's progression this year. Here's a link to that note I sent home with a permission slip that should be turned in ASAP. I'd love to get it up and running in the next two weeks! Please send the permssion slip back on Monday, if you haven't already.
Have a great weekend!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Countdown to the First Band Concert!!
The past week was a good one! Most of the band has moved up in rank to "Private First Class," we had a really fun extra rehearsal last Tuesday (thanks to all of the great parents who came and watched!) and we've started to work on some of the music for our first concerts in December! Can you believe our first concerts are less than 2 months away? Be sure to have the concert dates marked on your calendars so there are no conflicts! December is SUCH a busy month! The SGS 3rd grade musical, 5th grade program and the first band concert is Tuesday, December 7 at 7pm in the gym. The RGS 5th grade musical and band concert is Thursday, December 16 at 7pm in the gym.
Has your bandling tried any of the music reading games I blogged about last week? Let me know how and if they liked them!
Here's the link to a blog I like to read regularly called, Music is Not for Insects. It's for band teachers, but this particular post is by a band parent who has three children in the area band programs, from elementary, middle and high school. He writes about how his children practice and should be of interest to you as a parent with a child in the band program
I'm really excited because I'm working with another parent to create band t-shirts! I think it will be a great way to foster unity and pride each of the groups within their schools! I'll be sending home order forms for the shirts in the next couple of weeks!
Have a great week! As always, feel free to comment (anyone out there? there? there???) or send me an email or voice message whenever you have a question or concern!
Has your bandling tried any of the music reading games I blogged about last week? Let me know how and if they liked them!
Here's the link to a blog I like to read regularly called, Music is Not for Insects. It's for band teachers, but this particular post is by a band parent who has three children in the area band programs, from elementary, middle and high school. He writes about how his children practice and should be of interest to you as a parent with a child in the band program
I'm really excited because I'm working with another parent to create band t-shirts! I think it will be a great way to foster unity and pride each of the groups within their schools! I'll be sending home order forms for the shirts in the next couple of weeks!
Have a great week! As always, feel free to comment (anyone out there? there? there???) or send me an email or voice message whenever you have a question or concern!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Does Your Child Know Their A, B, C's?
Like I stated in my last post, many of the band students are struggling with note-reading. Some of these same students can play their music just fine because when they look at the notes on the page, they know what fingering goes with the note they are looking at, but when asked what the name of that note is, they are lost. Some other students can tell me what the fingering for "D"
(or any other note name) is, but when I point to a note on the page, they are not sure of the name of it. It's important to know fingerings AND be able to read the notes.
Last week and this week I handed out something to help the kids make flash cards. One paper had 12 boxes with the notes in the staff. The other page looked exactly the same, but the note names were included. To make the flashcards, cut the twelve boxes out from each of the pages. On one side of an index card, glue the box with the notes AND note names, on the other side, glue the matching note that doesn't include the note name. IMPORTANT!!! Make sure each side of the index card matches! There were a couple of students that brought in the flash cards they made and one side had an E and the other side the note was NOT an E! This does not help them!
Let's face it, though, flash cards can be a little boring. I know! So here are some links to some note-reading games on the web...
Classics for Kids Overall, a great website!!! Look for the GAMES option on the toolbar
Music Racer This is a cool website, you can play games for note-reading specific for each instrument and you can play games where you see a fingering for each specific instrument and then choose what note it is. There are some notes that the students might not know yet, but still a cool game
The Music Interactive SUCH A GREAT WEBSITE!!!! This website has VERY cool music games, they all must be downloaded onto your computer and some cost money, but many are free. The best free games for note reading are "Krank and Lucy" and "Staff Wars." The boys, especially seem to like Staff Wars! Make sure when it asks you to Select Your Mission you choose the right clef. Trombones and Baritones read Bass Clef and everyone else reads Treble Clef.
There are more, of course. Do a Google Search for Note Reading Games for Beginning band you can find more. Be sure to let me know if you find any other games your children like. You can even leave a comment here to share it with other parents!
Have a great week! I look forward to seeing many of you next Tuesday at RGS for the extra rehearsal at 6:30pm!
(or any other note name) is, but when I point to a note on the page, they are not sure of the name of it. It's important to know fingerings AND be able to read the notes.
Last week and this week I handed out something to help the kids make flash cards. One paper had 12 boxes with the notes in the staff. The other page looked exactly the same, but the note names were included. To make the flashcards, cut the twelve boxes out from each of the pages. On one side of an index card, glue the box with the notes AND note names, on the other side, glue the matching note that doesn't include the note name. IMPORTANT!!! Make sure each side of the index card matches! There were a couple of students that brought in the flash cards they made and one side had an E and the other side the note was NOT an E! This does not help them!
Let's face it, though, flash cards can be a little boring. I know! So here are some links to some note-reading games on the web...
Classics for Kids Overall, a great website!!! Look for the GAMES option on the toolbar
Music Racer This is a cool website, you can play games for note-reading specific for each instrument and you can play games where you see a fingering for each specific instrument and then choose what note it is. There are some notes that the students might not know yet, but still a cool game
The Music Interactive SUCH A GREAT WEBSITE!!!! This website has VERY cool music games, they all must be downloaded onto your computer and some cost money, but many are free. The best free games for note reading are "Krank and Lucy" and "Staff Wars." The boys, especially seem to like Staff Wars! Make sure when it asks you to Select Your Mission you choose the right clef. Trombones and Baritones read Bass Clef and everyone else reads Treble Clef.
There are more, of course. Do a Google Search for Note Reading Games for Beginning band you can find more. Be sure to let me know if you find any other games your children like. You can even leave a comment here to share it with other parents!
Have a great week! I look forward to seeing many of you next Tuesday at RGS for the extra rehearsal at 6:30pm!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Mrs. Storer is slacking!
I didn't post anything last week, so I'll post twice this week!
Last week many of the band students at each grade school took a playing test. The clarinets, oboes, trumpets and most of the low brass prepared #23 in their book and while they played it for me by themselves, I audio recorded them. I sent a copy of this recording to the parent's email address so that you can hear their progress. I will do this at least once a quarter. If you did not receive a recording of your child performing the playing test this week, perhaps one of the following is a reason: 1) Your child did not take the test yet because their group is not at that spot in the book, 2)Your child did was not ready to take the test and I gave him/her one more week to prepare, or 3) I do not have your correct email address. If you believe you should have gotten an email with a recording, feel free to send me an emai, or leave me a message at school and we can get it cleared up.
Last week I sent home a note about an OPTIONAL full-band rehearsal that will take place on Tuesday, October 19 from 6:30-7:15pm at Richmond Grade School. Please note that this rehearsal is completely optional and members of both RGS and SGS are invited. Parents are invited to stick around and listen to rehearsal or you may drop off. I think it will be great fun to get my students together and let them make music together early. Otherwise they won't meet each other until the Spring Concert in May, or in Band Camp this summer or maybe not even until band next year in 6th grade. If everyone comes, there could be 100 students at rehearsal! No sweat if you can't make it on the 19th. I'm going to schedule one rehearsal like this each quarter. We will switch locations and times to make it more accessible for families.
Tomorrow I will blog about note-reading and how to make the flashcards I sent home with students last week and today. I will also include links to cool websites and games that promote note-reading. Many students are having a hard time reading and knowing the names of the notes on their music. I'm allowing some to write in the note letters, but I don't want that habit to become a crutch and to be used all year long. Being pro-active now will help in the long run. We only know 5 or 6 notes now. Helping your child with their note-reading now will be much easier than in a few months when the number of notes we know will have more than doubled.
As always, please leave comments here or send me an email or voice message if you have any thoughts, questions or concerns. BTW...It's National Hug-a-Musician day!! Hug your bandlings an extra time tonight!
Last week many of the band students at each grade school took a playing test. The clarinets, oboes, trumpets and most of the low brass prepared #23 in their book and while they played it for me by themselves, I audio recorded them. I sent a copy of this recording to the parent's email address so that you can hear their progress. I will do this at least once a quarter. If you did not receive a recording of your child performing the playing test this week, perhaps one of the following is a reason: 1) Your child did not take the test yet because their group is not at that spot in the book, 2)Your child did was not ready to take the test and I gave him/her one more week to prepare, or 3) I do not have your correct email address. If you believe you should have gotten an email with a recording, feel free to send me an emai, or leave me a message at school and we can get it cleared up.
Last week I sent home a note about an OPTIONAL full-band rehearsal that will take place on Tuesday, October 19 from 6:30-7:15pm at Richmond Grade School. Please note that this rehearsal is completely optional and members of both RGS and SGS are invited. Parents are invited to stick around and listen to rehearsal or you may drop off. I think it will be great fun to get my students together and let them make music together early. Otherwise they won't meet each other until the Spring Concert in May, or in Band Camp this summer or maybe not even until band next year in 6th grade. If everyone comes, there could be 100 students at rehearsal! No sweat if you can't make it on the 19th. I'm going to schedule one rehearsal like this each quarter. We will switch locations and times to make it more accessible for families.
Tomorrow I will blog about note-reading and how to make the flashcards I sent home with students last week and today. I will also include links to cool websites and games that promote note-reading. Many students are having a hard time reading and knowing the names of the notes on their music. I'm allowing some to write in the note letters, but I don't want that habit to become a crutch and to be used all year long. Being pro-active now will help in the long run. We only know 5 or 6 notes now. Helping your child with their note-reading now will be much easier than in a few months when the number of notes we know will have more than doubled.
As always, please leave comments here or send me an email or voice message if you have any thoughts, questions or concerns. BTW...It's National Hug-a-Musician day!! Hug your bandlings an extra time tonight!
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Band Connection
Things are finally settling in for us in the SGS and RGS band rooms. For the most part, the bandlings seem to know where and when to go and the routines seem more, well, routine (: Does this seem to be the case at home? I hope so. By the way, feel free to comment on these post with any questions or concerns. I believe you have to be a member of BLOGGER in order to do that. If you do become a member, add this blog to your favorites and then you'll be notified every time there is a new post!
While we're on the subject of staying connected and informed...A goal of mine for this school year is to be more inclusive to the parents of my students. By now, you've become a real fixture in your child's traditional education. You check assignment books, have continual communication with the classroom teacher, help with homework, etc...But I think many parents feel at a loss in their child's music education, specifically my class. My goal isn't to teach the parents how to play the instruments with their children (although, wouldn't that be so great!!!) But I want to eliminate the experience that most families have in that they really only think about or feel informed about the band experience at concert time.
Some of you tech-savvy parents and students have already happened upon the page on my wikispace titled, "Pictures and Recordings of my Students." There are no pictures or recordings of my students on this page for privacy reasons. My intention was to set up a community on Teacher Tube that was an invitation only and password required type of thing so that I can post video and audio recordings and pictures of my students. I've decided not to use the Teacher Tube format because it is not very user-friendly and it's SO slow! I've created another, private PBworks site. I'm still getting approval from the administration, but I am optimistic that I will be ready to get it going in the next week! (fingers crossed!) Look for a note to come home about this soon!
As always, let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns! Have a great week!
While we're on the subject of staying connected and informed...A goal of mine for this school year is to be more inclusive to the parents of my students. By now, you've become a real fixture in your child's traditional education. You check assignment books, have continual communication with the classroom teacher, help with homework, etc...But I think many parents feel at a loss in their child's music education, specifically my class. My goal isn't to teach the parents how to play the instruments with their children (although, wouldn't that be so great!!!) But I want to eliminate the experience that most families have in that they really only think about or feel informed about the band experience at concert time.
Some of you tech-savvy parents and students have already happened upon the page on my wikispace titled, "Pictures and Recordings of my Students." There are no pictures or recordings of my students on this page for privacy reasons. My intention was to set up a community on Teacher Tube that was an invitation only and password required type of thing so that I can post video and audio recordings and pictures of my students. I've decided not to use the Teacher Tube format because it is not very user-friendly and it's SO slow! I've created another, private PBworks site. I'm still getting approval from the administration, but I am optimistic that I will be ready to get it going in the next week! (fingers crossed!) Look for a note to come home about this soon!
As always, let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns! Have a great week!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
"Oh, you wanted me to fill that practice record out?"
I heard this a lot this week! However, about 2/3 of the band students DID remember to fill out and have their practice records signed for this weeks lesson, so GREAT JOB! At SGS, my stapler broke in the middle of the day and at RGS, I ran out of staples at one point, but most students have their practice records stapled inside the front cover of their lesson books. At the end of every lesson, the students write down the date and what they should be practicing for homework in their practice record. Then during the week, they should be recording the number of minutes they have practiced each day. I told the students to shoot for 80 minutes each week. That's 20 minutes, 4 days a week. Some kids did A LOT more than that! I was incredibly impressed!
Before the next lesson, the filled out practice record should be signed by an adult. If the practice record isn't filled out AND signed when the student comes in for the next lesson, they will receive a 0 in my gradebook for that week's practice record. Once it is signed, it is no longer counted as a 0.
I made some audio recordings of some of the lessons groups! You can find them on my webpage in the attachments section of the "Recordings" page, or just click here. When you click on the recording, you can either just play it or save it to your computer. I will be recording the students frequently throughout the year. If you save them all, at the end of the year you can burn a CD of your child's and groups progress throughout the year! It will most definitely be astonishing!
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns! Have a great week!
Before the next lesson, the filled out practice record should be signed by an adult. If the practice record isn't filled out AND signed when the student comes in for the next lesson, they will receive a 0 in my gradebook for that week's practice record. Once it is signed, it is no longer counted as a 0.
I made some audio recordings of some of the lessons groups! You can find them on my webpage in the attachments section of the "Recordings" page, or just click here. When you click on the recording, you can either just play it or save it to your computer. I will be recording the students frequently throughout the year. If you save them all, at the end of the year you can burn a CD of your child's and groups progress throughout the year! It will most definitely be astonishing!
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns! Have a great week!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
New Routines
Hopefully your family is getting used to the new sounds coming from your band member and their instruments! Everyone in band knows how to play the first three notes, found on page 6 of their books. Even though we haven't gotten to the actual songs in their books, these three notes are the notes that are used to play "Hot Cross Buns" and "Mary Had a Litttle Lamb." Challenge your child(ren) to try and figure these songs out by ear!
Some things that I noticed this week in lessons...
1) There were quite a few students that forgot their instruments and/or books. I was really surprised. This didn't leave me very hopeful for the future! I know it's new, but please help your band student(s) remember to bring their instruments on the correct day. They will also need their book with them and starting next week, a signed practice record.
2) Puffy cheeks...Every instrumentalist (except for flutes) should have a firm mouth while they are playing. Corners in, chins flat and no puffy cheeks. Flute players have a more relaxed mouth, but still should not have puffy cheeks. Observe your child(ren) while they are playing and watch for inflated faces! Encourage them to play in front of a mirror to check.
I'm still working on getting all of the videos onto my website. I run them through TeacherTube.com and the site was acting weird this weekend. It wasn't loading my videos. It's a very time consuming process, please bear with me. If your child's instrument videos ARE up, view them frequently to check notes, hand position, posture, etc.
Some things that I noticed this week in lessons...
1) There were quite a few students that forgot their instruments and/or books. I was really surprised. This didn't leave me very hopeful for the future! I know it's new, but please help your band student(s) remember to bring their instruments on the correct day. They will also need their book with them and starting next week, a signed practice record.
2) Puffy cheeks...Every instrumentalist (except for flutes) should have a firm mouth while they are playing. Corners in, chins flat and no puffy cheeks. Flute players have a more relaxed mouth, but still should not have puffy cheeks. Observe your child(ren) while they are playing and watch for inflated faces! Encourage them to play in front of a mirror to check.
I'm still working on getting all of the videos onto my website. I run them through TeacherTube.com and the site was acting weird this weekend. It wasn't loading my videos. It's a very time consuming process, please bear with me. If your child's instrument videos ARE up, view them frequently to check notes, hand position, posture, etc.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Mrs. Storer is CRAZY!
Today I had my clarinet lessons at RGS and because of the assembly, they were very rushed! The first lesson started late, which made the other late, etc. I felt like a chicken with my head cut off! Hopefully the clarinet players learned and remembered SOME of what I showed them today! I've made a couple of videos that show what I "taught" in the first lesson today (and one or two things I might not have gotten to because of time) You can access them from my website
Click on the "Above and Beyond" page and then you'll see the "Instrument ONLY!" pages. Find the instrument your child plays to watch a video or two. There's even a fun little quiz your child can take over the information that they saw in the video. I don't have videos for all of the instruments, but I will soon! Maybe even be the end of the weekend! Have a great weekend everyone!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Band is in Full Swing!
Band lessons have started this week at both schools! I have to say that I am VERY impressed with the talent I've seen so far! For example, flute lessons are usually very slow to start and we don't usually even learn any notes until the 2nd lesson, but all of my flutes learned how to play D this week and they could all do it! (Now let's see if they remember where to put their fingers!)
I hope that your children are having fun with their new instruments this week! It won't be long before the squeaks and squawks are real, recognizable songs! I really want to have a great line of communication with the parents and a forum for sharing what we are working on and how lessons are going. Please subscribe to the blog, add it to your bookmarking engine or simply check back weekly. And, as always, let me know whenever a question or concern comes up!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Band Sign-Up is Tonight at Spring Grove School!
This afternoon is the Band Sign-up for RGS and SGS. Parents can come anytime between 3:30-6:30 to meet me, rent an instrument or order any other supplies your child may need. Tomorrow morning I will be sending notes home with schedules for lessons which start next week. If you don't come to the sign-up and I don't receive an email, I won't put your child's name on the schedule. If you can not make it, please email me as soon as possible!
I'm very excited to meet everyone!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Band Camp is next week!
The NMS Summer Band Extravaganza will run Monday, July 26-Friday, July 30 in the NMS band room from 8:00am-12:00pm. It will be a LOT of fun! Mr. Nowickas and I have picked some great music and we're really looking forward to seeing a lot of our students next week! The camp experience will conclude on Friday night in the NMS band room with a concert to showcase all we learned during the week. It's going to be a great time!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Too Much!
I have a headache. I'm not sure if it's because of the cold that's been coming and going and coming and going, or if it's because there is just SO MUCH information that I've been immersing myself in that I'm drowning in it! I've found some very cool forums and tools and ideas, and it's very cool to see a lot of the same people being threaded together in the different wikis and networks I've been researching. But it seems that these people I'm reading about and listening to are SO involved that I feel like I don't know where to start. So many ideas are constantly swimming around in my head that I can't control or organize them all...
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Getting My Blog On
One of my goals for next school year is to set-up a platform that connects the students from both of my schools and informs their parents of what I do. Maybe if the students are more actively involved with me, the band program and their band friends during the week, they will feel more invested in the program and stick with it longer. Lofty goal, I think. But I'm going to try...
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