This is Justin Dickson, band director at Hawley Middle School. Every week I will send out a message like this to communicate what is happening this week in band class, upcoming events, and other announcements.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET YOUR INSTRUMENT TOMORROW
Welcome back! Please make sure your child remembers to bring their instrument to school tomorrow. And please encourage them to practice for half an hour today so they are not too "out of shape" tomorrow.
IN THE BAND ROOM THIS WEEK
6th Grade will pick up where we left off in Chapter 5. We will learn two new songs this week, "This Old Man" and "Cafeteria Food Blues." Our final playing test of the quarter will be "This Old Man." Students may make up any incomplete tests before the end of the quarter. Please encourage them to practice and study every night at home to prepare for these tests, cramming the night before does not work with learning to play a musical instrument. Refer to the "How To Practice Smarter" document and video I made for help: http://justindickson.com/justindickson/band/documents.htm
I also made an instructional video to help your child study "This Old Man": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsnH0pZbGv4
7th Grade is getting into Chapter 13-14, in which we will work on learning new high notes. Percussion will learn new 16th note rhythm patterns. This is where things get "hard" in 7th grade band, if students do not practice at home, because they do not develop the physical endurance to play these high notes. Please encourage your child to get in 20-30 minutes of practice every night. There is plenty of material to practice in Chapters 12, 13, and 14. Like lifting weights, they need "reps". They literally need to build physical strength, and the only way to do that is to play A LOT, over and over. Again, this is where things get "hard" in band, and it is where I lose students who do not practice because they can't keep up physically. I don't want that to happen. Please encourage your child to put in the time. Getting stronger, getting better, is fun. Go have fun.
7th grade final playing test of the quarter will be #14.06, which is an exercise of these new high notes.
8th Grade has a concert coming up in March. But before we start working on our new concert music (I have some really cool stuff planned!), we need to take two weeks to focus on fundamentals. This is a conclusion we came to as a class after listening to our concert recording. We particularly need to work on intonation, which means all of us playing in tune with each other. We also need to work on scales, and playing our high notes with good tone.
In the past few weeks, I witnessed a few of our students realize the need for more practice at home. I was working with one student who said something to me like, "In 6th grade I practiced almost every day, in 7th grade I practiced some, and in 8th grade I just stopped practicing. And I think that's my problem. But since I started practicing every day last week, I have gotten a lot better." And he did -- his tone, endurance, and technical ability just exploded, and he went from failing band to having an A and being the strongest player in his section.
It is my hope that, in our final semester together, more students get there. Music is more fun and rewarding when you are good at it. You get good at it, like any other subject in school, by studying. Start with a small goal: three days a week for 30 minutes (that means 30 minutes of sound coming out of your instrument, not time spent finding things on the laptop or reading or getting distracted).
Don't know what to practice? Start with the Fundamentals pages on my website, or the songs in Chapter 15-16 of the Method, or the songs on my Fun Songs page. I can also provide additional material from etude books, per your request.
To wit, a cartoon I saw online:
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OLD BUT STILL RELEVANT INFO
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PLEASE SIGN UP FOR TEXT ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you have not already done so, please sign up to receive text message announcements from me via the Remind app. You do not have to download the app. Just sent a text message to phone number 81010 , and the text message should say...
... @HawleyBa17 for sixth grade
... @HawleyBa16 for seventh grade
... @HawleyBa15 for eighth grade
TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE LEARNING EASIER
By now, most of you know that I designed a free mobile app for my students called Bandmate Chromatic Tuner (www.bandmatetuner.com). I highly recommend that you download it, or that your child downloads it on their phone / tablet if they have one, because it makes it so much easier for kids to learn their notes while they are practicing at home.
Students are allowed to use it in band class, too. In fact, I highly encourage it. If you would like your child to use it in class, I recommend you purchase the Peterson PitchGrabber pickup: https://www.amazon.com/Peterson-PitchGrabber-Mobile-Tuner/dp/B014L9CCHO/
This is like a microphone that will only "hear" your instrument, so you can use the Bandmate app in class while other people are playing their instruments beside you.
The Bandmate Tuner app is a big deal because it gives personal feedback to students while they learn. It lets students see what note they are playing, so that they can check for themselves if they are playing the right note or not. It has made it so much easier for my students to learn, and people all around the world have discovered it and are using it in their own music programs. In fact I expect it will hit 1 million downloads by October.
FLUTES, CLARINETS, AND SAXOPHONES NEED A SWAB
If your child plays a woodwind instrument (flute, clarinet, or saxophone), they need a swab so they can clean out their instrument every day before putting it back in the case. You can order one from Hills Music Shop if you do not have one.
If woodwinds are stored in the case without swabbing, moisture causes the pads under the keys to wrinkle and be ruined. This costs $100-200 to fix, depending on the extent of the damage. A swab costs $5. Please make sure your child has a swab.
Our band program has a Facebook page. You can "like" it here: www.facebook.com/HawleyBandRoom
CONCERT CALENDAR
October 26, 6:30, 8th grade only, at Hawley
December 12, 7:00, 6th grade only, at Hawley
December 15, 7:00, 7th and 8th grade, at SGHS audition
March 8, 7:00, 8th grade only, at SGHS auditorium
May 17, 7:00, 6th grade only, at SGHS auditorium
May 18, 7:00, 7th and 8th grade, at SGHS auditorium