On Monday, November 10th, the ACS Band performed at the Veterans Day Prayer Service and Assembly. They did a wonderful job!! You can watch a video of the performance below!
Pep Band – Girls’ Basketball Home Games
The following dates are the remaining home games for our ACS Girls’ Basketball Team!
- Monday, November 17th at 4 pm (Nooksack Valley MS v. ACS)
- Wednesday, November 19th at 4 pm (Lynden MS v. ACS)
- Tuesday, November 25th at 4 pm (Lummi Nation v. ACS)
If you are interested in playing for our Pep Band, please signup via the SignUp Genius link below! The more people signup, the more fun and enjoyable your Pep Band experience will be!! We will need at least 5 band members to create a Pep Band on stage.
SignUp Genius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084AAAAA2DA6FAC43-60110847-pepband
Accidentals, Slurs, and Christmas Program
Wednesday, 10/29, we began work on an exercise in “Framework Fundamentals” (practice video linked below). We are working on the skill of slurring from one note to second note — what this means is, students articulate (use their tongue) to define the start of the first note and then change their fingers for the second note without articulation.
Students received a collection of Christmas tunes for our “Band Caroling” that takes place in the foyer prior to the Christmas Program (Thursday, 12/18). We have been rehearsing Silent Night and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. We will also begin work on Hark The Herald Angels Sing. I will be uploading some practice tracks for these songs in the next few days! They can be found here: Christmas Practice Tracks
Below is a video that talks about “accidentals.” They are far from being an accident! They are actually intentional markings in music used to alter a note (usually by a half step).
Intro to Key Signatures
Students may find the below lesson and video helpful in understanding key signatures:
https://www.musictheory.net/lessons/24
Seesaw – Homework Assignments
Please take a look and follow the directions listed on the handout given in class. Mrs. Creech will start uploading assignments to Seesaw soon.
Reminder: There is no penalty for late work, but in order to keep students accountable, I will stick with this system of changing M’s to zeroes every 2 weeks or so!
Practice Tracks
Ideally, students should practice at least 5-10 minutes a night to maintain the skills we go over in class. Repetition and thoughtful practice are the keys to success in life and in band! Students should practice with a metronome, and brass players could greatly benefit from a tuner to ensure they are playing the accurate notes (each fingering/slide position has different, achievable notes).
Students can access a free, online tuner and metronome here: Metronome/Tuner
If you have questions about anything mentioned in our newsletter, please reach out to Mrs. Creech at ccreech@assumption.school .
Thank you and stay musical!!
