General Information
Week 5 of band classes is now complete! This week 4th and 5th grade started to play simple exercises out of their red books on their full instruments. A band continues to work hard on their two pieces for Veterans Day as well as on Crazy Train. As our groups continue to progress, keep encouraging them to practice at home. This is the best way for them to improve their skills outside of class time.
Announcement: n/a
Advanced Band
Last week we had our first pep rally and the band did a terrific job! We played three songs throughout the pep rally and the band did an excellent job listening and following me through all the crowd noise. This week we spent a good portion of class on Crazy Train. We are working on learning it in sections. The beginning and ending are sounding pretty good so far so now we need to focus on the middle sections. This is something I’d like them to look at at home so they are not just playing the couple sections they know so far. Crazy Train has a lot of spots where the band does not play right on the beat so it provides a good challenge in counting. We also have done full runs of Armed Forces and it is sounding really good! We’ll continue to work on style and dynamics, but other than that, it is ready for our performance. American Declaration is also coming along quite well. There are small sections near transition points in the piece we will continue to work on next week. For my new students in this group, reviewing exercises towards the middle or end of their red books will be good help to prepare them for the music in advanced band.
4/5 Grade Band
This week we put together what we have learned about note reading and assembling our instruments and played the first few exercises out of their red books. The students are doing a great job adapting to making sound on their full instruments as it requires more air than before. Percussion students are also working hard on learning their sticking technique and hand independence. As we are now working in the book, I noticed only a couple students have it. So far enough of them are able to share and I can make copies of the necessary pages for now, but it will make it easier to practice at home if they have the book. The book is the Tradition of Excellence book 1. The cover is red and will have a picture of their instrument on the front cover. If you order it online, be careful that is not the Standard of Excellence book or the wrong instrument. If you want to purchase it from a store, Ernie Williamson across the street knows exactly what you’ll need if you say the school you are from.
Some students still do not have an instrument for class. They are listed below. If you send me an email, I can send you a list of stores to look at or links to websites with affordable priced instruments to buy. Most music stores will have you rent to own. Please let me know any way I can help you with this!
5th grade- Owen (sticks or trumpet?) Nahom (needs sticks), Gabby (needs sticks)
Upcoming Events
11/11- VETERANS DAY ASSEMBLY AT 8:30AM- A BAND ONLY
DECEMBER 5-7TH- BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT- A BAND ONLY
DECEMBER 7TH AT 8AM-PRELUDE FOR CHURCH SERVICE- A BAND ONLY
DECEMBER 7TH AT 10:30 AM-PRELUDE FOR CHURCH SERVICE- 4/5 GRADE BAND ONLY
DECEMBER 17TH AT 4PM- PRELUDE FOR CHURCH- A BAND ONLY
DECEMBER 19TH AT 9AM- SCHOOL SING-A-LONG- BOTH GROUPS
DECEMEBER TBD- CROWN CENTER PERFORMANCE- BOTH GROUPS