Concert time is here!

Has it really been almost a month since I've written a post??? Things got crazy busy here very quickly. Congratulations to all of the 5th grade band members from both schools! The concerts this week were outstanding and I'm just so incredibly proud of both groups! This was the first year in a while that I was not nervous about how the concerts were going to go, because the groups were so prepared!

I will hand out the January/February schedule when I'm at school on Tuesday, December 20. I start the day at SGS and then come to RGS for the afternoon. I will not be at either school on Wednesday, December 21. If your child will not be at school on the 20th, I will sure to post the schedule on my website, so you can access it before we all start back up in January. Just a head's up: the first day back to school for students in 2012 is a Wednesday (January 4). I will be at RGS on this day for the whole day and will see all of the band students for lessons and full band that day. The next day, Thursday, January 5, I will be at SGS for the morning and I will see all of the band students for lessons that morning. I know it will be a different day than usual, but I don't want to miss another whole week of my SGSers. I will be emailing reminders once we get closer.

I've just recently gotten access to a projector at each school and we've been able to project the Smartmusic program on the board and play along with it! It is SO cool! The students get a kick out of seeing the green cursor moving along the music, showing them where they should be playing. And after we play a song, green and red notes pop up to show them if they made any mistakes. There is even a percentage "grade" they are given to show them how well they did! They like to try and beat their last grade! How much fun would your bandling have if they could use this program at home?? If you're still looking for things to get your children for the holidays, a subscription to Smartmusic would be GREAT!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday break! Be sure to request that your bandling plays some holiday music at your family gatherings! They love to show off their talents!

Amanda Storer

678-6726

astorer@nsd2.com

It's almost the most wonderful time of the year!

Can you belive that it will be Thanksgiving in one week??!!!?? I knew that once Halloween was over, time would FLY and it sure has. We're all beginning to feel the crunch of just 4 weeks until our first concert! Because we only have school Monday and Tuesday next week, and not Wednesday, I will be cramming ALL of my students from BOTH schools into small group lessons on TUESDAY, November 22. I will start the day at RGS with an optional before-school full band rehearsal at 8am and then once they check in with their teachers, three small group lessons. Then I'll head to SGS and spend the rest of the day teaching lessons and end the day with full band at the normal time.

The songs that we will be playing for the concert are:

Concert Warm-Up No. 1 (2.23 in book)

The Syncopated Row Boat (2.25 inbook)

Crown Of Majesty (2.26 in book)

On Carribean Shores (2.30 in book)

Rock the House (2.31 in book)

A Winter Medley, made up of Good King Wenceslas (1.27), The Dreydl Song (2.11) and Jingle Bells (2.10)

 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

Amanda Storer

678-6726

astorer@nsd2.com

Concert Countdown: 5 weeks!!

I hope you all had a nice long weekend with your children last week! Some students really upped their practicing during their 4.5 days off! But quite a few of my students did not have practice records filled out or signed. It's the beginning of the second quarter now. It's not a good idea to be starting with two zeros for practice records. Filling it out and getting it signed is an easy way to get a good grade in "Preparation" (assuming they actually did practice, though!)

Now that it's the second quarter, I've upped the ante with incentives for practicing 80 minutes or more each week and for coming to their lessons prepared. I've given each of the band students have a chart to keep with their practice records and books. At every lesson, if they come with all of their materials (instrument, book, music, signed practice record) they will get signed off on their chart. After 6 sign-offs, they will get ribbon for the Bronze Attendance Award. After 12 is the Silver Attendance Award and after 20 is the Gold. Similarly, there is a chart for when they practice 80 minutes or more in a week and there are bronze, silver and gold ribbons for the Practice award as well. Hopefully this will encourage the band students to be practicing harder and always be prepared.

With our first concerts only 5 weeks away (12-13-11 for SGS and 12-15-11 for RGS! Are they on your calendar yet??), I'm starting to count how many full band rehearsals we have left. At SGS, we have 4. At RGS we only have 3!!! It's the week of Thanksgiving that puts the RGSers at a disadvantage. I'm not sure if you noticed on the schedule that I WILL BE AT RGS ON TUESDAY MORNING, November 22 for a few lessons so that I don't miss those kids all together. I want to have a full band rehearsal BEFORE school that morning. It is totally optional and your child will not be penalized or marked down for not attending. But for those students who can make it, there will be an extra full band rehearsal for RGS students ONLY at RGS on Tuesday, November 22 at 8:00am.

Please encourage your child to continue practicing! They have to start building the muscles and endurance to get through a whole concert! Full Band rehearsals and lessons have been like sprinting the 50 yard dash: short spurts of activity. The concert is a marathon! If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to email or call. Have a great weekend!

 

 

Amanda Storer

678-6726

astorer@nsd2.com

www.mrsstorersbands.weebly.com

 

 

 

Concert Countdown: 7 weeks!!

We've officially begun counting down until our very first concert! 7 weeks until Tuesday, Dec. 13 for SGS and Thursday, Dec. 15 for RGS! Our concert will consist of mostly pages 16 and 17 in the band books and the students know that if the are well prepared with their homework for band that they should start looking at the concert music. I know 7 weeks sounds like a lot, but it really isn't when you only have band one time a week and when you throw in crazy schedules like for Parent-Teacher conferences and Thanksgiving. I sent home schedules for November/December with the band students this week. I will post the schedules on my website next week. I left the file on my C drive at school and can't access it to post it until then.
If you have some time, you should look around on my You Tube channel. I have my own "channel" that has playlists of videos of different instruments, full bands, small groups and other interesting things. I know that every household has different rules and that some of the 5th graders might not be allowed to surf around You Tube. I haven't really been promoting my You Tube channel to the students. I will leave that up to you, as the parents, to show them the channel and then take a look and listen together, if you so wish. I will be taking some time next week to add many more videos, so check back next week too!
It's coming to the point for many students where they have to start practicing a little more in order to be prepared for lessons. It's not quite as easy as it was in the beginning and we are learning new notes more frequently. Please encourage your child to practice 20-30 minutes for 3-5 days a week. Unfortunately, some students have already thrown around the dreaded "Q" word...shhhh.....quit.....It's only been 8 weeks and we're more than half-way to our concert! I don't think that anyone should be considering that right now. They haven't even experienced a tiny bit of what band is really like. Please encourage your child to stick with it and not take the easy way out. When one person considers this, it's like a horrible domino effect on the whole group. Besides, it's way too early to be thinking about that, anyway! Many of the students (and me too!) are getting really excited for the concert in December. It will be here before you know it!
Have a great week! Feel free to stop by my office during Parent/Teacher conferences next week. I'll be at RGS on Wednesday 4-8, and Thursday 12:30-3:45 and at SGS on Thursday from 4-8. My office is in the cafeteria at both schools. I'd love to discuss your child's progress with you!

Amanda Storer

678-6726

astorer@nsd2.com

www.mrsstorersbands.weebly.com

Countdown to the First Concert: 2 months!!!

The band students are moving along quite nicely! I know that 2 months seems like a long time from now (and it kind of is) but when you only see your students once a week, that means I only have like 8 lessons with my band students before our first big concert!! And factor in a sick day or two between them and me and my children and that means there might even be less!

If you don't already, be sure to mark you family calendar's with our Winter Concert so that there are no conflicts. The Winter Concert at SGS is Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 7pm. It is the same night as the 3rd grade musical and all of the 5th graders also sing at this concert. At RGS, the 5th grade musical and band concert is Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 7pm. More information about what to wear will be sent home closer to the date.

Now that we are learning more notes (most students know how to play and read 5 notes!) some students are having a hard time reading the notes. If your child struggles with reading in general, it may transfer to note reading as well. Or even if your child does not struggle in class with reading, they may struggle with note reading. I've instructed a few students to write the letter names in their music before they practice. Some students might need this for most of the year, but most do not. I don't mind if they write the notes in if they really need to, but I don't want it to become a crutch where they are not reading the notes at all, but just the letters. Because there is more to notation than just pitch (ie. note duration and length, articulation, etc.) they can't just be looking at letters above or below the notes. I am always trying to reassess and see what each child needs and when they may be able to stop writing in the names, we'll figure it out. Note reading games and flashcards are a big help! Look at my blogpost from a couple of weeks ago for links to cool music reading games!

I know of one family that has purchased a subscription to Smart Music and has started using at home! That is so cool! I hear that next week I should be getting a Mimeo that turns my white board into a smart board!! Then I will be able to project the music from Smart music on the white board and we can start really seeing what the program can do. I can't wait to update you next week about how it went!

I hope you have a fantastic week! As always, please feel free to call or email if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Amanda Storer, Band Director

Richmond Grade School and Spring Grove School

www.mrsstorersbands.weebly.com

astorer@nsd2.com

(815) 678-6726

Week 4 of Band Lessons!

Happy 4th week of band lessons! This week was an exciting one for a lot of the band kids. Many of the students were able to try move up to the next rank in "The Principal's Own Band." Everyone in the two bands has moved to the rank of "Private" at their second lesson because they can assemble/disassemble their instruments, sit and play with good posture and hand position and make a good sound. In order to move up in rank to "Private First Class," they must play line 1.17 for me by themselves. I recorded each student who could play it proficiently and I sent that recording to their parents through email so that you can keep track of their achievement. The flutes have not gotten that far in the book yet (this is typical, the flute is slower to start), but they will be there next week or the week after! If you did not receive an email with a recording, I may have asked your child to work on the song over this week again as it may not have been ready. No worries, everyone has their own way of progressing. If you didn't get a recording emailed to you and your child says that they did make one, let me know.

The SGSers had their first full band rehearsal this week! I was going to start full band next week, but I was asked to judge trumpet auditions for the IMEA festival try-outs in Orland Park on Tuesday afternoon and evening, so I will be gone next Tuesday afternoon. EVERYONE AT SGS WILL HAVE A LESSON NEXT TUESDAY MORNING, so please remind your child to bring their instrument. Even though I will be leaving early for the day, I will be there all morning and I rearranged the schedule so that everyone will have a lesson in the morning. The students can check the schedule outside in the 5th grade mobile hallway on Tuesday morning to see what time they will have to see me.

RGS: Your first full band is next Wednesday, October 12!! The most important thing to remember is that CLARINETS! You will have to start bringing your instruments and music on Wednesdays AND Thursdays. I picked clarinets as the people who would have to bring their instruments two times a week because they are small.

Please encourage your child to play for you! They are so proud of themselves and it 's a great way to validate their practicing. When you ask your child about their lessons, what they are learning and if they can demonstrate for you, you are showing them that you think band is important and that you are proud of their accomplishments. This will go a long way in boosting their confidence! Thanks for all of your support! As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns about anything! Have a great week!

Amanda Storer, Band Director

Richmond Grade School and Spring Grove School

(815) 678-6726

www.mrsstorersbands.weebly.com

Band Week 3: Still going strong!

Happy RB Homecoming! I'm sure many of you will have older children participating this weekend. Be sure to cheer extra loud for the RB Marching Rockets! They are doing a FANTASTIC job this year and have made huge strides in the last few years!

This week was another good one for the beginning bandlings! Note reading is going very well and we are progressing nicely. I use a program in my lessons called SMART MUSIC and the students have really enjoyed using it! My simplest explanation of what it's like is imagine Guitar Hero for band! Like the CD's, this program has background music that we play along with. It makes a recording each time we use it and I can save it as an mp3 file. I can then even email it to you! We'll be using more and doing recordings that I'll email more in the coming weeks. I have a teacher's subscription to the service (it's a web-based program), but there are students subscriptions you could purchase if you feel like your child would really like using it. Click HERE for more information.

There are still a handful or more of students who need to purchase a book. The book is called "Measures of Success" and your child would need Book 1 for whatever instrument they are playing. If you call Quinlan & Fabish (847-253-5592) they can deliver it to the school next week when my rep comes for her weekly visit. Let me know if you have any questions.

One more thing! Since we've all started note reading this week, I've customized some games to help the kids practice. These games actually go over the first 5 notes. This is two more notes than most of the students have learned, but the extra two are going to be learned at next weeks lesson anyways, so it will give the students a little jumpstart.

Click HERE for Flutes and Percussion

Click HERE for Clarinets and Trumpets

Click HERE for Trombones and Baritones

There's also a really cool website with other games called The Music Interactive. All of these games, however must be downloaded onto your computer. There are some that cost money, but other really cool games that are free! I really like Staff Wars and Krank and Lucy. There are others, though, that let the kids make recordings and loop and do some electronic composing. So cool!!!

That's all from me. Have a great week and as always, please let me know if you need anything!

Mrs. Storer

678-6726

astorer@nsd2.com

www.mrsstorersbands.weebly.com

Band Lessons: Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of band lessons! I have to say, I was VERY impressed with how well the band students were prepared for their lessons this week! I sure hope we can continue this! Most of the students (everyone except for the flutes, because the flute is a MUCH harder instrument at the beginning) are practicing pages 5 & 6 in their books this week. We've begun to work on reading music. At this point in the book, there is a CD that goes along with the music and the students can play along with it. I think it's a great way to practice. It seems to be more fun than just playing by yourself AND it's a great way to make sure they are playing with a steady beat.

Good job with practice records this week! Many of my students had their practice records filled out and signed by a parent when they came to their lesson this week. Practice records are looked at and recorded in my grade book at the beginning of each lesson. Unsigned weeks are not recorded until they get signed, so if you child didn't have one this week, please make sure you sign the one from the week of 9-13, or 14 or 15 (depending on what day your child had their first lesson) AND the one from this week (9-20, 21 or 22)

I have a You Tube page where I've created playlists for each instrument. You can access that page HERE. If your child is not allowed to surf on You Tube (totally understandable) it would be great if you watched these videos together. It's so great for the bandlings to watch excellent musicians to become inspired and to get to know what good tone sounds like on their instruments.

Lastly, I handed out a sheet about the incentive program I do with the bandlings called, "The Principal's Own Band." HERE is a link to the same information on my website. Almost all of the band members have already moved up the rank of PRIVATE!

Have a great week! Please let me know if you ever have any questions, comments or concerns.

 

Mrs. Storer

678-6726

astorer@nsd2.com

www.mrsstorersbands.weebly.com

Welcome to BAND!

Hello Band Parents! Welcome to my blog where I try and keep you updated on what we are doing in our band lessons. This week was a fun one! Everyone has their instruments (almost everyone, if your child doesn't and you need my help with anything, let me know) Most students have their books as well. If your child doesn't have their book yet, it is called Measures of Success and we are using Book 1. This is the first year we're using this book. I'm really excited about it! All of the composers who have contributed are my favorites and the layout is really great. The book is split into 4 section, each are called "Opus" 1 or 2, etc. At the end of each "Opus" there is a review of all of the concepts and a few longer, more challenging, but fun songs that encapsulate what they learned in that unit.

Almost all of the instrumentalists (except for the percussion) are working on page 4 in their books this week. You'll notice that there is no "music" on this page. This week I want the students to really focus on getting a great tone (sound) and learning the fingerings of the first three notes. Next week we'll start on pages 5 and 6 and note reading.

I'm sure your children will tell you that the first lesson FLEW BY! In case they are having troubles remembering everything we went over, there are videos of me playing and demonstrating most of the concepts we learned this week on my website. Feel free to watch them together and play along! Click HERE to find the page with the videos on them.

If you ever have any questions, comments or concerns, please email or call (815-678-6726. I'd be happy to answer questions, or help figure out something that's troubling you about the schedule, lessons, etc. The kids were SO incredibly excited when they came and left me this week! I look forward to seeing them next week. Please make sure their practice records are filled out and signed before they leave the house on their lesson day next week. I told the kids they should aim for 80 minutes throughout the week. That's only practicing for 20 minutes 4 times a week. Hopefully that is doable.

Have a great week!

The MADNESS has begun!

I chose this picture because this encapsulates how I felt at the end of my work week! It's not just your children, don't worry! I always feel this way at this time of year. There is so much paperwork going out and coming in, my To-Do list is incredibly long and we never seem to have enough to time to get it all done. Not to mention I was blessed with both of my children in May, so there is always a birthday party that I'm throwing right in the middle of all this!
I'm SURE you can relate! You're parents, after all and I know we ALL feel this way now.

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed with how many children told me that they weren't sure if they'd be joining band next year. I try not to take it personally, but it's hard. We've all had such a blast this year and a lot of the children I talked to didn't have any really good reasons! I think many of the bandlings are just a little apprehensive about changing schools, schedules and classes. I know they feel overwhelmed and there are so many uncertainties. But the biggest relief to them is that band can be a CONSTANT! A BUFFER! It is a place where they KNOW they will have a lot of friends, they will KNOW what will be going on, they will KNOW they will have a place! With so many UNknowns coming up, wouldn't it be good to have all of the consistency band has to offer??

Please take some time to talk with your child about band next year. I tried to impart to them how I didn't really like to practice that much, but how I always liked BEING in band. I wanted to quit plenty of times. My dad would never let me because he knew what a great place it was for me.

I can't wait for the concert on Thursday, May 19 at 7pm at Nippersink Middle School! The band is going to blow you away! Have a great weekend! It's going to be a beautiful Mother's Day this year!

Traveling in the Fast Lane!

Seems like ever since we got back from Spring Break, we've been on the fast track to our BIG concert on May 19! We're very busily preparing our 4 full-length feature pieces and 1 more full-length Family Band piece. Those band members who have family members that play instruments will want them to join in on the last song of our concert for something we call "Family Band." It's where family members will join in with the 5th and 6th graders! More information will be coming home about this soon. Please make sure that you have this concert marked on the calendar. Although there have been some optional performances lately, this concert is not optional. We need everyone there. The next few weeks, the bandlings will be coming home with quite a few papers. Here's a list of papers to be looking for within the next three weeks: 6th grade Band registration form: I'd love to see all the kids stick with band next year! It's such a great way to transition to a new school. With so many new and uncertain things in their middle school schedule, band is a place where they're sure to feel some familiarity and lots of friends! Band Camp flier and registration: The NMS band director (Mr. Nowickas) and I run a concert band camp for 6th-8th grade band members for one week in July (date still TBA) It runs Monday-Friday from 8am-Noon with a concert to showcase all that was worked on during the week on Friday evening. It's a great way for the 5th graders to meet some of the other incoming 5th graders and get to know Mr. Nowickas and the band room at NMS. I really hope you consider signing your bandling up for this great summer activity. Summer Private Lessons registration: All of the music staff in the district offer private lessons to those who are interested during the summer. Family Band participation: The last song that we play for our big concert on Thursday, May 19 will performed by a family band. This means that all family members that play a band instrument will be invited to join in! Turn this form in by the due date so that I can get music to those band members that would like to participate. Permission Slip for Bus Ride to NMS: On the day of the big concert (May 19...have you memorized that yet?) All of the 5th grade bandlings will take a bus after lunch and travel to NMS to have a combined rehearsal. The concert will not feature two 5th grade bands, but one hugmongus 5th grade band! We'll need to rehearse together once to get used to how it sounds. It's such an exciting time for us! I can't wait! If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to let me know.

This week in Band

This started off on a great NOTE when about 25 band members met at Richmond-Burton High School for our 2nd Band Buddies meeting. The buddies met for about 30 minutes for small group lessons and then we all came together to run through our concert pieces. I received positive feedback from both elementary AND high school students as to how the afternoon went. Mr. Stiles (RB band director) and I would like to plan one more meeting for late April. Specific information TBA soon.

This week I also handed out permission slips for a performance opportunity at a nursing home in Lake Geneva on Saturday, April 9 at 10am. The slips are due next week so that I can hand out music for the performance next week and be able to hear the students play once before Spring Break. If you haven't been able to find the permission slip in your bandling's back pack, click HERE for an electronic copy.

This weekend I'm going with the NMS 7th/8th grade band to a Middle School Band contest at Mchenry Middle School. They perform at 9:30 am and many other area middle school bands will be performing all morning and afternoon. There is probably a small charge to get in the see the bands, but if you're free and want to see and hear some great music performed by middle schoolers, you should come. Mchenry Middle School is across the street from the Mchenry Drive-In theater on Chapel Hill Rd.

Have a great week! RGS parents please remind your children to wear their band t-shirts on Wednesday for our in-school concert!

DATE CORRECTION!

I'm sorry everyone! But the dates for the inschool concerts are NOT in April...

The correct dates are as follows:

RGS: Wednesday, MARCH 16, 2011 at 2:45pm

SGS: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 2:45

Sorry for the confusion!

We're Going Out On The Road!

I've set up a date for those bandlings who are interested, to play at Geneva Lake Manor Senior Housing Facility in Lake Geneva on Saturday, April 9 at 10:00am. I'll send home a permission slip with more details next week. The students have been anxiously asking about this ever since I mentioned it and I can't wait for them to be able to perform for the residents! Please mark the date on your calendar if your child would like to participate.

Next week the 5th graders will be taking ISAT tests in the morning. We will still have lessons and full band. We can't afford to lose any rehearsal time because we have concerts coming up! The RGS band will perform for the 3rd-5th graders on Wednesday, April 16 at 2:45. The SGS band will perform for the 3rd-5th graders on Tuesday, April 22 at 2:45. We will perform two full band pieces and each section of instruments will play separately so that the audience can hear what each instrument sounds like. This is a great recruitment tool. We're really trying to get the 4th graders excited about band for next year. Although I know it isn't possible for everyone, parents are more than welcome to attend the afternoon concerts. Everyone should wear their band t-shirts.

Don't forget that our next Band Buddies meeting is on Monday from 4:30-5:45 at Richmond-Burton High School. Permission slips have already been turned in and hopefully reminder notes went home in today's back-pack. I know a lot of the 5th graders are excited to meet up with the high schoolers again!

I hope you have a great weekend! Encourage your children to practice!

What's Happening in the Beginning Band World

I know that all you parents of clarinet players will appreciate this picture! In case you weren't sure what has been happening...the clarinets have begun working on their high registers! I was pleased to find that some students who haven't been practicing much have upped the ante in the last week or so, but only because they are relishing in how much it seems to annoy their parents and siblings! I know, a little twisted, right? I'm very pleased with the clarinet players progress as a whole. They are moving along quite nicely.

I've been having a problem with my Google Site lately. I haven't been able to edit the homework page in a while. Every time I try, the page freezes. So, I'll post the homework to the blog each week. Speaking of homework, since I was sick and not in school on Tuesday, the SGS bandlings should continue with the same homework they would have played for me this week and maybe add some extra work on the full band music. I will be expecting to record TWO practice records next week since I wasn't there this week. I will be looking at the week of February 15 and they should add February 22 and continue logging minutes for this week.

This week at RGS during the low brass lesson we were able to visit with another beginning band lesson at a school in Texas using Skype. In case you don't know, Skype is a video-conferencing service that is free. We "called" my friend's band room using my computer and then when he answered on his computer, we were able to see and hear him and his band members! We performed for each other and asked questions about how each school does band. It was really cool and I hope to do that all the students at some point this year.

We have another Band Buddies meeting on Monday, March 7. This time we'll meet at Richmond Burton Community High School. Last time I didn't mind if students simply showed up or didn't turn in a form. This time I'd really like to know how many beginning band students will be coming so that we can plan a little better. Please fill out the permission slip and turn it in by next Tuesday, March 1. I just sent an email with the permission slip attached in case you haven't seen the slip in the back-pack.


Have a great week!

Mike Huckabee: Art and music education

LOVE this!!!!

Creatures in the Attic - Brain Balmages - FJH Starter Series

Here's a recording of a really cool piece we're starting to work on called Creatures in the Attic, by Brian Balmages. Have your bandling play along! Remember, the dots on the notes are called stacattos and they mean that those notes should be played short.

Getting out of Dodge!

After the AWESOME full band rehearsal I had with RGS on Wednesday afternoon, I came home and got my husband and myself ready to travel to Peoria for the Illinois Music Educator's Association All-State Conference from Thursday-Saturday. My husband also teaches 5th grade band, although he travels to FIVE schools! We SO look forward to this conference each year because we get to be in one place with loads and loads of OUR people. Don't get me wrong, I have fantastic collegeagues at each of my schools, but within our little NSD2 bubble, there are 4 other music teachers. Here at this conference we are surrounded by people who teach what WE teach and can talk to us about the cool things they do and how they do them. So far, I've gone to 6 sessions ranging in topics from creating my own Professional Learning Network for my own professional development (like I said, only 4 other people at home to bounce things off of), using the cool new program I recently purchased called Smart Music, and incorporating Special Learners into the band program. I've been able to shop in the convention center for music, teaching supplies, etc. I'm having a ball learning new ideas and getting re-energized to teach your children. I can't wait to try out some of the new things I'm learning!

Last week I posted a video of one of the new pieces we're going to perform. A few students told me that they watched it because their parents shared it with them. THANK YOU!!! One parent said that her daughter was practicing the song with the recording. That is WONDERFUL! Encourage your children to do the same! I'm constantly trying to find ways to excite the students about practicing. It's definitely more fun to play with a recording than by themselves.

Have a great weekend and Practice, Practice, Practice!

[Video] Super Mario Bros. Medley - PAF Clarinet Trio (Starts 1:08)

[Video] Super Mario Bros. Medley - PAF Clarinet Trio (Starts 1:08)

[Video] Jason (age 7) Jazz Flute player - The Girl from Ipanema

[Video] Jason (age 7) Jazz Flute player - The Girl from Ipanema

Back In the Saddle Again...

This is our third week back from Winter break and we're almost starting to get back in the groove of things. Last week I was gone from SGS because the stomach flu invaded my household and this week was weird at RGS because half the 5th grade was gone on Wednesday for the Challenger field trip which they always look forward to! Since I only had half the band for full band on Wednesday, we went to the computer lab and played music games with the smart board! It was SO fun!! Here's a link to the website I found a ton of really cool music games. I told the students that if they play ANY of the games on this website during the week, they can add up to 15 minutes total to their practice record for the week. There are a lot of cool games on there and you don't have to download them or sign up for anything.

Like I said, it's the third week back and we're only starting to get back in the saddle completely...that's the biggest challenge of my once a week schedule. It really gets sticky when I'm sick one week, then your child is sick the next week, or there's ISTEEP testing, or Scantron, etc....Did you know that I post the homework from each week's lesson in the 5th grade hallway AND on the internet each week? My student should never have the excuse that they couldn't practice because they didn't know what the homework was. Here's the link to the homework page of my website. If ypur child misses their lesson during the week, please direct them to this website to find out what the homework was. If, for some reason, I have forgotten to post it, have them check the 5th grade hallway or call a friend.

Have a great weekend!

Heavy Metal

This is one of the pieces that we'll be starting to work on next week! It has an awesome low brass part that keeps the band groovin'! I predict it will be the band's favorite piece for the Spring Concert!

Happy New Year!

This week back to school and back to band went pretty well! I was extremely proud of my SGSers! There were only a couple of people who forgot to bring their instruments on Tuesday and NOT ONCE did I hear, "I thought it was Monday, or Tuesday (at RGS)" There were quite a few RGSers who forgot instruments (I won't name any names!)

During lessons this week, we talked about the game plan for the rest of the year and how we have 3 concerts left. A lot of the students were surprised that we have that many concerts left this year! The next concert is in March (date TBA) and will be during the school day at each school. This concert's purpose is to show the 4th graders what the instruments sound like by themselves and to give us a chance to perform one or two of the full band pieces we will have been working on since January. Then in May, there is Fine Arts night which is totally optional for band members. Those who would like to can perform solos, duets, or in other small ensembles. Then, on Thursday, May 19 we will have our BIG concert at NMS where I combine both of the elementary schools and we perform a concert alongside the 6th grade band. It is a big deal and a lot of fun! Make sure to mark your calendars if you already haven't.

There was kind of devastating blow of quite a few students quitting band this week at RGS. A lot of the band members questioned me about it. I asked them who was involved in a sport (quite a few raised their hands) and if they would even consider telling their coaches that they wanted to quit mid-season. They all seemed to "get it" after that comparison. I know we're back to our routine and some people have a harder time than others getting back into the swing of things. Please encourage your child to stick with band! We've already come so far in just a few months. This is honestly one of the most talented groups of kids I've taught in a while. I told the students that I haven't been able to put two full-length band pieces on the Winter concert in probably 5 years! And that was back when I was full-time and the band members had TWO full bands and lessons each week as opposed to one of each! I'm so proud of these kids and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds!

Have a great weekend and remind your children to practice because almost everyone has a playing test next week!