Dear band parents,
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.
8th GRADE CONCERT THIS THURSDAY
Our 8th grade band will perform a concert at the South Granville High School auditorium next Thursday, March 8, at 7:00pm. The SGHS concert band and our jazz band will also perform. It's going to be great, please invite your friends and family!
Students wear their formal black & white concert attire, and should be seated by 6:45.
5th GRADER RECRUITING
If you know any 5th grade students who might be interested in playing in the band at Hawley next year, please invite them to our Band Parent Meeting / Instrument Selection Night on March 12 and 16. Here is a paper about it that they can show to their parents:http://www.justindickson.com/band/stuff/band-invitation.pdf
IN THE BAND ROOM THIS WEEK
6th grade will start working on our concert music this week. Our goal is to prepare four songs for our concert in May. We generally learn one at a time and gradually add more when we are ready. Students will be tested to make sure they are learning their part throughout the rest of the semester, so please make sure they are practicing at home.
7th grade will continue working on "We Know The Way" and "Handclap" this week. We can basically get through both of these pieces now, but we need to just spend some time reviewing and cleaning it up before we try to add a third piece. I expect we will add a third piece next week. We will have a playing test on "We Know The Way" this week, so please make sure your child is practicing their part and is prepared.
8th grade will be preparing for our March 8 concert. Students should be practicing this music at home, making sure they know their part. Remember that recordings of all of our concert pieces are available online, and students can listen to these recordings to help them practice. Just Google the title and composer, e.g. "Scenes from an ocean voyage Brian Balmages".
Jazz Band will keep working on "Summertime", "Mercy Mercy Mercy", and "The Preacher" this week so that we can play them at the concert on Thursday. Students who want to play solos at the concert will want to spend some extra time practicing at home this week so they feel confident Thursday night.
===========================
OLD BUT STILL RELEVANT INFO
===========================
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...
... @HawleyBa18 for fifth grade, next year's sixth grade
... @HawleyBa17 for sixth grade
... @HawleyBa16 for seventh grade
... @HawleyBa15 for eighth grade
8th GRADE PERFORMANCE AT THE CAROWINDS FESTIVAL OF MUSIC!
8th grade band only. In case anyone needs it again, here is the paper with all of the information about the Carowinds Festival of Music event: http://www.justindickson.com/band/stuff/carowinds-letter.pdf
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.
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.
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.
FACEBOOK
Our band program has a Facebook page. You can "like" it here: www.facebook.com/HawleyBandRoom
9th GRADE BAND REGISTRATION
Yes, it's already time for our 8th graders to start thinking about their 9th grade class registration! Mr. Maston and I put together a document to help you understand which band classes are available to you at SGHS next year. Just go to the "SGHS" page on my website (click here), and click on "Information about 9th grade band registration".
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