Dear South Band Parents:
We are up and running! Thank you for all you have done so far to get us off to a good start.
One quick logistical note. When arriving for band on Friday mornings, please enter the school through the Kindergarten lobby doors (the leftmost front door to the school). Thank you!
Just to make sure that you all know how things work. I am giving you a little bit of a description of what Friday mornings look like, and how things went this morning.
ADVANCED BAND: 7:30 – 8:10
There are five members of the band with one year of band under their belts. They meet at 7:30, and are continuing their progression as musicians. They are working out of Standard of Excellence, Book 2 (the blue book), and will be completing weekly assignments out of that. They have all been invited to be “mentors” in the Beginning Band, and were a tremendous help for me this morning. Mentors will be dismissed from beginning band in time to get to their classrooms by 7:45.
BEGINNING BAND: 8:10 – 8:50
At this time, there are nine members of the Beginning Band! We noted today that all six members of the band last year who were fifth graders have continued in the middle school bands, and all five members that were fourth graders are still playing here at South! This morning, we learned about how everything will work, about how to sit, about how to assemble and disassemble this instruments, and those with instruments were able to get a good first sound! fAs I told them: “This is the best sound this band has made so far, and it will only get better from here!” The routine will quickly become a very smoothly running machine!
PARENT PRESENCE IN BAND
Parents are always welcome to attend band class. I have always said (maybe joking, maybe not) that behavior and work quality is always better when parents are in the room, not just the kids, but mine too.
PUNCTUALITY AND RELIABILITY
A huge part of the success for individuals and for the group is that we are all there every week and on time. Thank you in advance for everything you do to this end. I am the father of a young musician and am all too aware of the challenges of this, but I assure you there is a great dividend when we all pull it off!
COMMUNICATIONS
Each week, at my first opportunity, you will receive and e-mail with a quick summary of that week’s class, and an assignment for next time. I would be grateful if you could help our musicians keep on top of this.
I also post all communications in a blog site, so that you can easily find them without digging through e-mail accounts. I encourage you to bookmark this site for easy access:
THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENTS:
Advanced Band: Book 2: Page 3 and 4. Please get comfortable with all exercises. Play with a beautiful sound!
Beginning Band: Book 1: Page 2-5. Please read, and try the first three notes. Be sure you practice in a good chair that lets you sit right up and breath correctly. Percussionist, practice standing up!
I know there are a handful of you who do not yet have an instrument, or do not have Book 1 of Standard of Excellence. Please e-mail me back if you need assistance with either of these! I also know that these things take time, and whatever happens this week, we will keep your kid in the loop, and get him/her caught up in no time!
TROMBONES????
If there is anyone in the beginning group who is possible interested in considering a switch before we get to into it, we have need for trombones across the district. There is a very large number of saxophones and clarinets, and an opportunity to make an important impact for anyone who might want to give trombone a try. It looks big, but actually weighs less than a saxophone, is less expensive, and is a lot of fun. A fourth grader may not be quite big enough to get all the way out to “seventh position”, but by the time one really needs it, that eventual growth spirt will likely have happened!
Again, thank you, and I very much look forward to a great year!
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