ACS Band Newsletter – 2/20

This Week

This week, we will only have one class (Friday, February 20th).

“Salt and Spray”

Students received a new song titled “Salt and Spray.” We are beginning at a tempo of approximately 90 bpm (beats per minute), though in class, we have needed to drop the tempo closer to 80 bpm to ensure accuracy of notes and rhythms.

This song is a lot like “Christmas Holiday March” in that I am asking students to put in a little more practice time at home to, in turn, play a more rewarding and exciting piece of music. Our instrumentation of 7 flutes, 3 clarinets, 10 trumpets, 4 trombones, and 2 percussionists has made selecting appropriate music challenging to say the least!

Last Friday, I expressed a desire (and, to be honest, a bit of frustration) for students to take this challenge seriously. We can have fun in class, but not at the expense of learning.

At Home Practice

I once had a teacher or internet “meme” express that budding musicians “should practice on every day that ends in the letter ‘y.'” Well, that would be 7 days a week! I am certainly not asking hours upon hours a day… this is more for musicians in college who are pursuing maybe a degree in instrumental performance.

I am asking for students to adopt a stronger habit of practice. I will take a portion of the blame here as I believe I have conveniently left out an important part of my curriculum: explicit instruction in HOW to practice. Ideally students should have a chair with no armrests (example pictured below) and a music stand to hold their music. The space should be well lit and allow students to feel comfortable.

The video below goes into “how” to practice. It’s a bit old, so you may some “older” technology pictured!

In a nutshell, for at-home practice, students should:

Clear their space of distractions
Rinse their mouth before playing AND do not consume anything but water until after they are finished practicing
Start with the fundamentals like breathing, long tones, etc. (i.e. in our class “Foundation Fundamentals” or “Framework Fundamentals”)
With a metronome (check the links section below for an online metronome), practice the assigned measures OR measures the student knows to be difficult slowly.
If a mistake is made, stop, go back, and play it slower.
Practice something fun! YouTube has wealth of resources to help students learn songs they find “fun” or “catchy.” Parental supervision is encouraged, of course. Amazon and Bellingham Wind Works also have physical music books that cover a wide variety of genres: pop music, movie music, jazz, classical, you name it!

I know I am “preaching to the band” here, but we have been dragging our feet a bit in class, and I believe the only thing that can really push us to the next level of musicianship is more consistent practice at home! 10-15 minutes a day is ideal; students should not be “cramming” an hour or so of practice the night before class. We are training our ears and muscles to play music, and proper practice stretched out over the course of a few days can and will make a world of difference.

Afterschool Practice Sessions

When I first started working at Assumption Catholic School, I held afterschool rehearsals twice a week to help students in smaller groups. Wow, did this help so much!!

I will send out a SignUp Genius next week to see who would be available and willing to receive extra help with their fundamentals, music theory, music for performance, etc.

Thank You / Links

If you made it this far, thank you! I love making music with the kids, as they are a very energetic group! Below, you will find a list of links including an online metronome, tuner, and several practice videos.

Salt and Spray – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzyL8Z9Le40&list=RDJzyL8Z9Le40&start_radio=1

Metronome – https://share.google/FLbha6AifSJpX7dpA

Tuner – https://share.google/0bt2ghcuq3T3jM4af

For Fun!

Theme from “Bluey”

Flute – https://youtu.be/6awzCOLi2bQ?si=sELekmMs25Cu2Iat

Clarinet – https://youtu.be/OhDi6QiG0Y0?si=KVzNQtPICQkBG9ze

Movie Studio Themes

Trumpet – https://youtu.be/KHWHQBbEz7E?si=KLG-RpwSY2aFdjq_

Never Gonna Give You Up (Yes, the “Rick Roll” Song)

Trombone – https://youtu.be/5k5cVZv3Enw?si=L9Cnc4x3nJCVht3R

OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars”