HOMESCHOOL BAND
"The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." Johann Sebastian Bach
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Hi all! Another great rehearsal!
One note - instrument care. We are starting to feel comfortable with our instruments and today a number were dropped, banged or otherwise made to make sounds teachers don't really want to hear. Each instrument is very delicate, not to mention costly. Your parents and the folks you may have rented from, will be proud to hear you have learned to play and take care of your instruments. When you are carrying or holding your instrument always be super careful. I know, I know, accidents do happen but lets work hard so they don't :)!! On to our homework. The concert is just 5 weeks away so it's time to up our game. That means challenging yourself to practice just a little longer each day. Make a game of it, set a timer, keep a chart, prove to yourself that you are amazing (I think you are)! Senior Band It was nice to hear the progression today. I know it's not easy to learn these more difficult songs but I think you'll find it rewarding. Keep working on the concert pieces as well as challenging your self with the scales and exercises in our green books. We stopped on page 9 at the Pentatonic scales. It might be a good idea to work on page 10 and come with any questions for next week. Intermediate Band Hunting Song practice practice practice. We didn't get back to Joyeux Noel but that's a good one too. Blue book to the bottom of page 13. Work on lasting just a little longer before you take a breath. Set a goal of 4 bars or 5 or more. Beginner Band Hey!! we made it to Jingle bells! Wow. There was a lot to take in on today's lesson. Some of you have books that separate the lines of harmony others have the "divisi" written together. When there are 2 notes joined with one stem you choose which to play. If you choose the top, always read the top. If you choose the bottom, always stay on the bottom. It's a bit tricky while your eyes get used to it but you will. The top line is the melody you would sing, the bottom is a harmony line so it's a bit harder. BASES, you have a different part from everyone else. Listen to it on KJOS you might be able to pick it out. I'll sit with you next week with my bass clarinet so you can hear the part. Meanwhile, if you have someone in the house that can play it with you on the piano or another c instrument ask them to help you out. Have a fantastic week!!
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It's been a week since our last lesson and I just realized I didn't post anything last week. I hope you've been practicing a little each day and are beginning to feel like you are making progress. So now how do you challenge yourself to do better?
At this point all of you are able to produce some kind of sound on your instrument. Wind players need to develop your wind or breath. One of the best ways to strengthen your ability to play long phrases (part of music just like it is part of a sentence) is to play Long Tones. Set yourself some kind of timer - a clock with a second hand, a digital timer on a phone or iPod or computer. Pick a note and play it, make it pretty and don't let it go lower or higher (flat or sharp). Time yourself. How long can you hold a good sound? Ok, sit up straighter, take a good breath and fill up your lungs right down to your stomach. Try it again. Were you able to play the note longer? Do that every day 2 or 3 times and set a goal for how long you would like to be able to hold it. Even 1 second more means you are getting stronger. Senior and Intermediate band. Work on Chromatic scales- you'll find more chromatic work at the back of your books Senior Band Concert pieces ( listen to the videos!!) Green book up to page 8 Trumpets work on scales Flutes work on long tones Percussion work on rolls Intermediate band Blue book up to page 10 Hunter Song Beginner Band Go back to the beginning and practice every line in your book up to where we stopped (Good King Wenceslas) Listen to KJOS to help you remember how each note should sound. It's a good idea to think or even sing the note before you play it, especially if you play trumpet, trombone or euphonium. Practice a little more than you would tomorrow to make up for no lessons. Keep up the good work everyone!!! Each week you challenge us with excellent questions. This week one of the Beginner band students asked, "will I eventually learn to remember the fingerings just by practicing?" The short answer is yes. Think back to when you were learning to read or add for the first time. You read many words with the vowel a until it became automatic to pronounce it correctly, the same applied to math, you did similar problems over and over until it became second nature. Your music books do the same, you repeat each note over in different combinations several times before learning a new one. This is, in fact, the definition of practice. Repetition will make it stick in your brain creating what we call muscle memory.
I suggest you practice each new piece, or line, a minimum of 5 times before moving to the next. Pause to fix errors and you will advance. Another thing Mr. Squire and I discussed is just how much practice time is needed each day. Ideally you should be practicing 30 minutes but sometimes that just isn't possible. It is, however, vital that you practice EVERY day. If that means 10 minutes; you will improve more than by not practicing at all. Remember that your instrument uses muscle and brain power that you can't exercise any other way. Challenge yourself to run through a scale or two and a piece every day. Senior Band 3 concert pieces concentrate on the Polish Carol Green book up to page 6 Intermediate Band Hunting Song Trumpets line A Flute Oboe and Violin line B Tuba, Bass Clarinet and Tenor Sax line C Use a highlighter to mark your line Blue book up to page 10 and be sure and practice #41 Chromatic capers. start slowly and see how fast you can get without any mistakes Beginner Band Up to Lightly Row Practice Long tones (holding a note as long as possible while keeping the sound nice) Practice all your pages until you can always remember the fingerings for the notes |
Angela Squire
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