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