General Information
February is almost over! This semester is flying by. Thank you for continuing to bring your students to class on time this week! This week we officially got to start turning in practice logs and receiving new ones. Students turned them in on Monday and Tuesday and got to collect a prize based on their minutes. I hope this continues to be a fun way to motivate them to practice. I had a ton of fun putting it together so I hope the students enjoy it. Everything adds up in the end and I believe they will really start to hear improvements in themselves as this goes along. I also plan to have a prize at the end of the year for the students with the most at the end of the semester. Since I do not submit grades, I thought this method to be the best way to help encourage practice at home. I also ask that parents initial or sign the paper before the students bring them to me just to verify what they wrote down is accurate.
So far I do not have a lot of dates at the bottom for everyone to be aware of. On paper, this semester seems to be easier schedule wise with performances, but things may pop up as we go along so I appreciate your continuous flexibility as things are possibly added. Just like last semester, if students are interested in taking private lessons please feel free to reach out. I am more than willing to help you connect with some of the amazing private instructors here in the area.
Student Recordings: To submit a video or audio recording to me, students should ask to use a parent’s device such as a phone, iPad, computer etc. to record the asked for music. This can then be sent in an email to Miss Beumer.
Announcement: NEW A BAND PERFORMANCE ADDED ON 3/9!!!!!
Advanced Band
Practice logs will be tracked from Tuesday-Tuesday. I gave them out next Tuesday and would like it back filled out and signed by the following Tuesday. There is no set minimum expectation, I just want to encourage them to practice.
This week we worked on scales, hymns, and performance music. Zig Zag is coming along quite well already and I am looking forward to hearing them perform it in a couple weeks. We did a full run of the piece this week with no stops and they did an excellent job following along and adjusting as needed. We also worked on Pirates of the Caribbean. This will be one of possibly 3 pieces they play in May and I am very excited to work on it. We have looked at Medallion Calls, He’s a Pirate, and briefly touched on One Last Shot. I also finally found an amazing arrangement of Down to the River to Pray that will be ordered so we can play it in May. The students listened to it on Tuesday and were very excited. We have been actively playing on page 15 in the books if students wish to continue working on the concepts from class at home. Scales are coming along quite nicely in class. Bb, Eb, F, and Ab major scales are still open to turn in and C Major is almost there. Students can submit a video by email of the full scale through the thirds to be added to the leaderboard.
Beginning Band
Practice logs will be tracked from Monday-Monday. I gave them out next Monday and would like them back the following Monday. There is no set minimum expectation, I just want to encourage them to practice.
This week was all about trying to catch up from all our missed days. Grandparents day is coming up quick and we have been working really hard to learn our piece March Across the Seas. This piece needs to be the main priority when practicing at home. Working on it in two measure chunks is the best way to help them break it down and learn it correctly. I am also planning on writing out the other parts for A band so they can play with them as we have a couple people who cannot make the performance. This will simply help give them numbers and a base line to their melody. Long tones also will continue to be a great way to build up their playing muscles when practicing. This is seen in exercise no. 42. This will really help out brass players specifically. They can also practice just sustaining their buzz on a mouthpiece to help maintain their sound. Keep encouraging them to clean out their instruments after a practice session. This helps keep their instruments in the best working order.
Upcoming Events
03/9-A BAND ONLY- PERFORMING AT CHURCH AT 9:20AM
03/14- A AND B BAND- GRANDPARENTS DAY PROGRAM
05/15- A AND B BAND- FINE ARTS NIGHT AT 6:30 PM