Author: MRS. CAITLIN CREECH

ACS Band Newsletter – 10/31

**Upcoming Performance – 11.10.2025 Veterans Day Prayer Service & Assembly**

On Monday, November 10th, the ACS Band will have their first public performance (aside from the few who played for Holy Hoops)! We will be performing the song “America” for the Veterans Day Prayer Service & Assembly.

This is a required performance, and I have already created the “Major Grade” assignment in FACTS.

If students are unable to play in the group performance (i.e. they forgot their instrument or are absent), they will play “America” for a makeup grade at a different time. It’s a lot easier for students to get full credit if they participate in the performance!

I know students do not typically bring their instruments on Monday, but they will need to bring their instruments as well as their band binders (with their music) on the morning of Monday, November 10th. I will send out email reminders the weekend before to both the student and parent email group!

Students may find the below instrumental recording helpful in their practice of “America.“

Pep Band – Girls’ Basketball Home Games

The following dates are home games for our ACS Girls’ Basketball Team!

  1. Monday, November 10th at 4 pm (Horizon MS v. ACS)
  2. Wednesday, November 12th at 4 pm (Franklin Academy v. ACS)
  3. Monday, November 17th at 4 pm (Nooksack Valley MS v. ACS)
  4. Wednesday, November 19th at 4 pm (Lynden MS v. ACS)
  5. 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!!

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. This skill will be needed in our preparation of “Silent Night” for the Christmas Program.

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 only started work on “Silent Night” so far, but I encourage students to take a look at some of the others before we get to them in class!

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). We will watch this video in class this afternoon (10/31)

Seesaw – Homework Assignments

Seesaw Information was sent home today (10/31)! Please take a look and follow the directions listed on the handout. Mrs. Creech will start uploading assignments to Seesaw next week.

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

Flute Practice Tracks

Clarinet Practice Tracks

Trumpet Practice Tracks

Trombone Practice Tracks

Percussion Practice Tracks

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!!

Weekly Newsletter – 10/12/25

Good evening, ACS Band families!

Our past few classes have been dedicated to preparing our Pep Band Set List as well as a Patriotic tune, “America,” for our Veterans Day Prayer Service. I have been unable to find time to create a practice track for this tune, but will be doing so, soon!

Students may find the below instrumental recording helpful in their practice of “America.”

Below are several video links to help students in their practice of some of our newer pep tunes!

16a – “Shave and a Haircut”

16c “Funeral March” by Chopin

16f – Theme from Beethoven’s 5th Symphony

We’re only playing the opening theme, which is the first 5 or 6 seconds of this recording!

These and other practice videos may be found here: Warm-Up Play Along Tracks

Homework Assignments

Due to concerns from several middle school homeroom teachers, the middle school team has decided to no longer use Microsoft Teams as a platform for students to submit assignments. I will disable our Teams channel sometime tomorrow.

In place of Teams, we will be using “Seesaw;” it will take some time before we assignments will be posted here. More information forthcoming!

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 & Pep Band

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

We have been working on a few songs in class, including “Hot Cross Buns,” “We Will Rock You,” “Seven Nation Army,” and “The Hey! Song.” More practice tracks will be uploaded to the following links tomorrow and Tuesday!

Flute Practice Tracks

Clarinet Practice Tracks

Trumpet Practice Tracks

Trombone Practice Tracks

Percussion Practice Tracks – **Coming Soon**

Pep Band!

Below is the Pep Band Set List that we will be using for our Pep Band performances!

ACS-Pep-Band-Set-List

We have been asked to perform during Holy Hoops: I understand many students will be participating in Holy Hoops itself, so I will be sending out a brief email to students to see who would be available!

My goal is for the band to become a fixture to the school community and give students an experience they can remember once they leave Assumption for high school. I pray our Pep Band can be the start of bigger and better things for our ACS Eagle Band!

If you have questions about Pep Band or anything mentioned in our newsletter, please reach out to Mrs. Creech at ccreech@assumption.school .

Thank you and stay musical!!

ACS Band Newsletter – 9/25/25

Good evening, ACS Band families!

From today on, I will be posting our weekly newsletter to the band website. I will include a link in our email group for easy access!

Our 1st year band students have been working towards mastering their first 5 notes! They have been tasked with applying these first 5 notes to their “Foundation Warm-Ups Set #1.” The video below is a “play-along” practice video to assist students.

Exercises in the below warm-up are targeted to help students, with their first 5 notes:

  • Create consistent sounds on each note
  • Articulate (use their tongue) to create different rhythms
  • Move their fingers/slides in a coordinated manner between notes
  • Establish patterns (step-wise and skips) between different notes

This and other practice videos may be found here: Warm-Up Play Along Tracks

2nd and 3rd year students have been working on their “Pep Tunes” as well as their one-octave chromatic scale found in their “Framework Fundamentals” exercise. This exercise starts at time stamp 3:29.

This and other practice videos may be found here: Warm-Up Play Along Tracks

Homework Assignments

It has been 2 weeks since I assigned our first music theory worksheets through Teams; with this, I have changed “M’s” (“Missing”) to zeroes (0s) so students may see where their grade stands. “E’s (“Exempt”) do not affect students’ grades, so no action is needed.

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!

**If students would like hard copies of their homework, please have them email Mrs. Creech at ccreech@assumption. I will be printing off students’ missing assignments to distribute tomorrow (9/26). **

**If students would like help accessing Teams, please have them speak with their Homeroom teacher, as I will not have an adequate amount of time in class to do so.**

Practice & Pep Band

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

We have been working on a few songs in class, including “Hot Cross Buns,” “We Will Rock You,” “Seven Nation Army,” and “The Hey! Song.” We will add “Mary Had a Little Lamb” to this list tomorrow! I have uploaded practice tracks students can use at home if they choose! I have them sorted by instrument:

Flute Practice Tracks

Clarinet Practice Tracks

Trumpet Practice Tracks

Trombone Practice Tracks

Percussion Practice Tracks – **Coming Soon**

Pep Band – Starting October 2025!!

Only a few students have expressed interest in performing in our new ACS Pep Band! We can certainly make a pep band with a small group, but we could definitely use more students! I do not have concrete details yet because I do not have athletic schedules.

I will say that the coaches and staff are excited to hear our band students add more “pep” to an already exciting home game experience! Any and all students can sign up for Pep Band, even if they just started learning to play! There is a place for everyone!

My goal is for the band to become a fixture to the school community and give students an experience they can remember once they leave Assumption for high school. I pray our Pep Band can be the start of bigger and better things for our ACS Eagle Band!

If you have questions about Pep Band or anything mentioned in our newsletter, please reach out to Mrs. Creech at ccreech@assumption.school .

Thank you and stay musical!!

Warm-Up Play Along Tracks

Find your warm-up exercise in your band binder, and click on the video to play along! Some of the warm-ups have different “play along” tracks, so have fun with it!!

Foundation Warm-Ups #1 (Drone + Metronome)

Foundation Warm-Ups #1 (Lofi Play Along)

Foundation Warm-Ups #1 (Cinematic Play Along)

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Parts of the Instruments and How to Assemble the Instruments

Video Links included for each instrument!

Click on the video links (sorted by instrument) to see how to correctly open your instrument case, name the parts of your instrument, and assemble your band instrument!

Flute: Opening the Case and Naming the Parts of the Flute w/ Dr. Selfridge

Putting the Flute Together w/ Dr. Selfridge

How to Hold the Flute w/ Ms. Jane Cavanagh of “The Flute Academy”

Clarinet: Opening the Case and Naming the Parts of the Clarinet w/ Dr. Selfridge

Putting the Clarinet Mouthpiece and Barrel Together w/ Dr. Selfridge

How to Assemble the Full Clarinet

Trumpet: Opening the Trumpet Case & Naming the Trumpet Parts (2 videos) w/ Mr. Walton

How to Hold the Trumpet w/ Mr. Holt

Trombone: How to Assemble, Disassemble, and Hold a Trombone w/ Mr. Glynn from “BasicBand”

Welcome to the ACS Eagle Band!

Dear ACS Eagle Band Students/Parents/Guardians,

Thank you for your decision to be a part of The Assumption Catholic School Band Program. You are beginning a part of your life that is rewarding for both the student and family. 

For all band students, at any level the band program has always been a source of growth, fulfillment, and fun. Students of the band program make new friends, have unique and exciting experiences, and may have opportunities to travel. The family has an opportunity to become involved in their child’s education like never before. Studies show a strong correlation between student participation in music and academic success because of music’s contribution to cognitive development. That is why we always like to say to all of our students: “BE IN BAND!!” 

Our goal is that the experience of all our band students will outweigh any investments you make. We encourage our students and families to consider the contributions the band program makes for the community and what it can do for everyone in the program. Please contact me if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions!

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Caitlin Creech

Email: ccreech@assumption.school

ACS-Band-Handbook-2024-2025.docxDownload

New to Band – “What instrument should I play??”

Welcome to the ACS Eagle Band! I’m sure you are wondering how to get started, especially, what instrument to choose as you begin your journey in the Eagle Band. This post is geared to help navigate your questions!

A Quick Note: For the purpose of ongoing posts, I would like to refer to our two groups as the ACS Beginning Band (new members- information in red) and the ACS Concert Band (returning members -information in blue).

Let’s start off with the instruments of the band: flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, saxophone, French horn, trumpet, trombone, baritone, tuba, and percussion.

In the ACS Eagle Band, we focus on the 4 main wind instruments. They are called “wind” instruments because they require our breath to play them. The other instruments (i.e. oboe, tuba, etc.) can be played in high school where resources are far more vast!

ACS Eagle Band Instruments:

  1. Flute
  2. Clarinet
  3. Trumpet
  4. Trombone

Each of the 4 above instruments are unique in their own way, so let’s dive right in!

The Flute

The flute is a member of the “woodwind family,” though it is typically made of a metal, like silver. It produces a delicate, smooth sound. Flute players produce sound by blowing air across the tone hole, much like you would blowing across the top of a soda or water bottle.

The Clarinet

The clarinet is another member of the “woodwind family!” While it is often made of wood, some reliable beginner models are made of resin. Clarinet players produce sound by blowing air across a reed (made of cane) that is secured against the mouthpiece.

The Trumpet

The trumpet is a member of the “brass family.” It has three valves that, with the help of a mouthpiece placed against vibrating lips, produces different sounds!

The Trombone

The trombone is another member of the “brass family.” Rather than valves or keys, the trombone has a slide that is brought in or out to produce different notes. Like the trumpet, the trombone uses a mouthpiece placed against vibrating lips to produce a sound.

When able, check out these videos! If you like what you see and hear, that’s a start!

For students interested in percussion, please pick one of the four “wind” instruments as a second choice! Parents, please contact Mrs. Creech to set-up an appointment to interview for the percussion section.

Remember, band is a full-year commitment. Choosing an instrument means you are dedicated to at-home practice and maintaining care and maintenance. It can be overwhelming at the start, but the juice is worth the squeeze!

Be on the lookout for more tidbits next week!

Musically,

Mrs. Creech

Email: ccreech@assumption.school

Instrument Care – Links

Instrument Care

Our band book goes over some basics of instrument care, but I find it is much easier to visualize and follow a process when it is explained through video. Below are some helpful videos I found for each instrument:

Flute

Clarinet

Trumpet

Trombone

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