This week in band - April 2, 2017

Dear Band Parents,

Here is the plan for this week in band at Hawley Middle School.

T-shirt and Sweatshirt Order due Tuesday

----------------------------------------------------

     We will do one more order of our band t-shirts and sweatshirts.  Some of our 8th graders may need to order a shirt to wear at Carowinds.  Anyone is welcome to add to the order.  I have order forms in the band room, and they can also be printed from my website www.Justindickson.com/band/documents.htm

8th Grade Carowinds $95 due Tuesday

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     Students going to the Carowinds Festival of Music need to turn in their $95 by April 4.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School".

Jazz Band events!

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     There are a few events in May at which our Jazz Band has asked to perform:  

     Thursday, May 18 is the spring Athletic Awards night at Hawley.  The jazz band has traditionally played for about 20 minutes before the awards start, as people are coming in.  Jazz band members can go home after we play, you do not have to stay for the awards if you are not involved in spring athletics.  

     Saturday, May 20, there is a community fun day (looks like a small fair type of thing) at Creedmoor United Methodist Church.  This is going to be a big event, and we have been asked to be a part of it.  I should have more details later this week.

5th Grader "Instrument Tryout Nights"

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     If you or your friends have a 5th grader coming to Hawley next year, mark either April 27 or May 2 on the calendar.  This is when we will host our "instrument tryout nights", in which 5th graders can try out all the instruments to see which one "fits" them the best.  They do not have to come to both nights, just come to one or the other.

In the Band Room

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     6th Grade:  Because it is a short week (early release on Friday), we are going to punt our "To A New Beginning" playing test to after spring break.  We need to play as much as possible this week.  This weekend, I wrote a new song for this band, and we are going to give it a shot on Monday.  It's been stuck in my head all weekend, which usually means it's a keeper.

     7th Grade:  I ordered a new piece of music for this band, and I am hoping that it will come in the mail this week.  We have plenty to do in the meantime.  Last week we learned the ending of "Cake", but we need lots of reps so we remember it.  I am genuinely impressed that this band has been able to handle this very complicated piece.  We will have playing tests on these pieces after spring break.

     8th Grade:  Because it is a short week (early release on Friday), we are going to punt our "Gates of Orion" playing test to after spring break.  We need to play as much as possible this week.  We will rehearse the four pieces we have, focusing particularly on the percussion section (please practice at home!!!).  I also want to hand out one more piece by James Swearingen so that each of our bands are doing 2 of his compositions for the big concert.

     Jazz Band:  Over the past week, I wrote out 5 new solos for "These Foolish Things," so we will revisit that piece and add in the solos.  We will also rehearse our entire book, which is up to about 6 songs.

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     Old Stuff

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Sign Up To Receive Class Announcements By Text Message

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

On your cell phone, send a text message to the phone number   81010

Send the message   @HawleyBa16    to sign up for 6th grade messages

..............................  @HawleyBa15    to sign up for 7th grade messages

............................... @HawleyBa14    to sign up for 8th grade messages

Band Facebook page

-------------------------

     If you are an active Facebook user, please go here and "like" / "follow" our band page: www.Facebook.com/HawleyBandRoom

Download This App, Please

---------------------------------

     Students should download the free app  Bandmate Chromatic Tuner  on their Apple or Android phone, tablet, iPod, etc.  This is an app I designed.  We will use it regularly in class, and students should use it regularly at home while they practice to check if they are playing the correct notes.

Calendar

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Tuesday, April 4:  8th grade only, $95 for the Carowinds Festival of Music is due.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School."

Thursday, May 11:  6th, 7th, and 8th grade band Concert.  Location is the South Granville High School auditorium.  Students arrive at 6:30, concert starts at 7:00.

Saturday, May 13:  Carowinds Festival of Music, 8th grade only.  Students meet in the band room at 8:00am, will return around 10:30pm.

This Week In Band 03/26/2017

Dear Band Parents,

Here is the plan for this week in band at Hawley Middle School.

T-shirt and Sweatshirt Order due next week

----------------------------------------------------

     We will do one more order of our band t-shirts and sweatshirts.  Some of our 8th graders may need to order a shirt to wear at Carowinds.  Anyone is welcome to add to the order.  I have order forms in the band room, and they can also be printed from my website www.Justindickson.com/band/documents.htm

8th Grade Carowinds $95 due next week

--------------------------------------------------

     Students going to the Carowinds Festival of Music need to turn in their $95 by April 4.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School.

In the Band Room

----------------------

     6th Grade:  This week we will finish learning "To A New Beginning" by James Swearingen.  Expect a playing test on this next week.  At the rate we are going, we will be able to add a fourth piece for our concert, which is awesome!

     6th grade woodwinds class:  Last quarter this class had over 70 instances of students not having their instrument to play in class, either because they forgot it at home or they broke their only clarinet / saxophone reed.  Parents, please help me with this.  Please also make sure your child has at least one extra clarinet / saxophone reed, so that they can still participate if they break one.

     7th Grade:  We need to spend this week cleaning up the three pieces that we have learned.  I have a fourth piece in mind, but we need to be a little more together on our first three before we will be ready to add it.  Please encourage your child to practice 2 hours each week at home -- the more they study and come to class prepared, the more we can spend time learning new things.

     8th Grade:  On Friday, we went "top to bottom" with all five pieces we are learning for our final concert.  It wasn't pretty, but we made it to the end.  This week we will clean up these pieces, making sure everyone can play their part.  Expect a playing test on "Gates of Orion" next week.

     Jazz Band:  We will focus on "Moanin" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," especially learning the solos for these pieces.  I have a blues piece I want to hand out too, if we have time.

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     Old Stuff

=============

Sign Up To Receive Class Announcements By Text Message

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

On your cell phone, send a text message to the phone number   81010

Send the message   @HawleyBa16    to sign up for 6th grade messages

..............................  @HawleyBa15    to sign up for 7th grade messages

............................... @HawleyBa14    to sign up for 8th grade messages

Band Facebook page

-------------------------

     If you are an active Facebook user, please go here and "like" / "follow" our band page: www.Facebook.com/HawleyBandRoom

Download This App, Please

---------------------------------

     Students should download the free app  Bandmate Chromatic Tuner  on their Apple or Android phone, tablet, iPod, etc.  This is an app I designed.  We will use it regularly in class, and students should use it regularly at home while they practice to check if they are playing the correct notes.

Calendar

-----------

Tuesday, April 4:  8th grade only, $95 for the Carowinds Festival of Music is due.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School."

Thursday, May 11:  6th, 7th, and 8th grade band Concert.  Location is the South Granville High School auditorium.  Students arrive at 6:30, concert starts at 7:00.

Saturday, May 13:  Carowinds Festival of Music, 8th grade only.  Students meet in the band room at 8:00am, will return around 10:30pm.

This Week In Band at Hawley - 03/19/2017

Dear Band Parents,

Here is the plan for this week in band at Hawley Middle School.

T-shirt and Sweatshirt Order

----------------------------------

     We will do one more order of our band t-shirts and sweatshirts.  Some of our 8th graders may need to order a shirt to wear at Carowinds.  Anyone is welcome to add to the order.  I have order forms in the band room, and they can also be printed from my website www.Justindickson.com/band/documents.htm

8th Grade Carowinds $95 due next month

--------------------------------------------------

     Students going to the Carowinds Festival of Music need to turn in their $95 by April 4.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School.

In the Band Room

----------------------

     6th Grade:  This week we will have our playing test on "Antagonist", and then start working on a third piece of concert music.    The "Antagonist" test depends on which instrument you play, like this:

Trumpet, Horn - measures 9-16

Trombone, Baritone - measures 49-58

Flute, Clarinet, Sax - measures 17-24

Percussion - measures 1-8

     7th Grade:  This week we will have a playing test on "Baywood Overture."  We will also keep working on our concert music.  I have a fourth piece picked out that I am really excited about, but I want to make sure our first three pieces are in a pretty good place before we add another one.

     8th Grade:  This week we will continue working on the new music that I handed out last week.  We will spend most of our time on "Gates of Orion."  

     Jazz Band:  We tried out several new songs last week, and this week we will focus on two new ones from that group: "Moanin" and a new arrangement of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" I am about halfway through writing.

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     Old Stuff

=============

Sign Up To Receive Class Announcements By Text Message

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

On your cell phone, send a text message to the phone number   81010

Send the message   @HawleyBa16    to sign up for 6th grade messages

..............................  @HawleyBa15    to sign up for 7th grade messages

............................... @HawleyBa14    to sign up for 8th grade messages

Band Facebook page

-------------------------

     If you are an active Facebook user, please go here and "like" / "follow" our band page: www.Facebook.com/HawleyBandRoom

Download This App, Please

---------------------------------

     Students should download the free app  Bandmate Chromatic Tuner  on their Apple or Android phone, tablet, iPod, etc.  This is an app I designed.  We will use it regularly in class, and students should use it regularly at home while they practice to check if they are playing the correct notes.

Calendar

-----------

Tuesday, April 4:  8th grade only, $95 for the Carowinds Festival of Music is due.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School."

Thursday, May 11:  6th, 7th, and 8th grade band Concert.  Location is the South Granville High School auditorium.  Students arrive at 6:30, concert starts at 7:00.

Saturday, May 13:  Carowinds Festival of Music, 8th grade only.  Students meet in the band room at 8:00am, will return around 10:30pm.

This Week In Band - 03/12/2017

Dear Band Parents,

Here is the plan for this week in band at Hawley Middle School.

Wonderful concert

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     Congratulations to our 8th grade band for their powerful performance on Friday night.  Our concert band played the most challenging, nuanced music I have ever tried to do with an 8th grade band, and I thought they executed wit energy and musical maturity.  Our jazz band, especially our soloists, blew everyone away.  I am proud of how hard our 8th graders worked to get here, and I am proud of the final product we put on the stage Friday night.  

     A recording of the concert can be found on my website, if you would like to share it with friends and family who were not able to attend:  http://justindickson.com/band/recordings.htm

     Please visit our band Facebook page and leave your comments if you were able to attend the concert:  www.facebook.com/hawleybandroom

     If anyone got some good photos of us on stage, please email them to me at DicksonJ@gcs.k12.nc.us 

T-shirt and Sweatshirt Order

----------------------------------

     We will do one more order of our band t-shirts and sweatshirts.  Some of our 8th graders may need to order a shirt to wear at Carowinds.  Anyone is welcome to add to the order.  I will give out order forms this week in class, and they can also be printed from my website www.Justindickson.com/band/documents.htm

8th Grade Carowinds $95 due next month

--------------------------------------------------

     Students going to the Carowinds Festival of Music need to turn in their $95 by April 4.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School.

In the Band Room

----------------------

     6th Grade:  We have already started working through a second piece of concert music, "Heroes And Glory".  This week, we will continue working on that, as well as "Antagonist."  We will have a playing test on this material next week.

     7th Grade:  This week we will work through our two pieces written by James Swearingen, "Baywood Overture" and "Hope Everlasting."  H.E. is the most challenging piece we will do in this concert, and students should make the time to practice it at home.  I do not need to be there to tell them if they are playing the right notes or not... there's an app for that!  Use Bandmate, and also listen to the recording of the song online to hear how it goes: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Yth2T0ndc

     8th Grade:  No rest for the weary.  On Monday I will distribute the two pieces of music we will perform at the Carowinds Festival of Music.  We will also listen to the recording of our concert, evaluate it, and develop a plan for how to best prepare for the festival.

     Jazz Band:  I have a few different songs I want to try this week, and we will see which of them we want to learn.  I would like to build up a "book" of at least 30 minutes of music, so that we can look at performing at a coffee shop or something like that, like we did last year.

=============

     Old Stuff

=============

Sign Up To Receive Class Announcements By Text Message

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

On your cell phone, send a text message to the phone number   81010

Send the message   @HawleyBa16    to sign up for 6th grade messages

..............................  @HawleyBa15    to sign up for 7th grade messages

............................... @HawleyBa14    to sign up for 8th grade messages

Band Facebook page

-------------------------

     If you are an active Facebook user, please go here and "like" / "follow" our band page: www.Facebook.com/HawleyBandRoom

Download This App, Please

---------------------------------

     Students should download the free app  Bandmate Chromatic Tuner  on their Apple or Android phone, tablet, iPod, etc.  This is an app I designed.  We will use it regularly in class, and students should use it regularly at home while they practice to check if they are playing the correct notes.

Calendar

-----------

Tuesday, April 4:  8th grade only, $95 for the Carowinds Festival of Music is due.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School."

Thursday, May 11:  6th, 7th, and 8th grade band Concert.  Location is the South Granville High School auditorium.  Students arrive at 6:30, concert starts at 7:00.

Saturday, May 13:  Carowinds Festival of Music, 8th grade only.  Students meet in the band room at 8:00am, will return around 10:30pm.

This Week In Band - 3/05/17

Dear Band Parents,

Here is the plan for this week in band at Hawley Middle School.

8th Grade Concert - This Friday, March 10

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     Don't forget, our concert is this Friday, March 10.  Students should arrive at 6:45 to get seated and tune, and we will start playing promptly at 7:00.  This concert will feature only our 8th grade band and the SGHS concert band.  It will be held at SGHS, students wear formal black & white.

     6th and 7th graders are invited to attend, of course, but it is not required.

8th Grade Carowinds $95 due next month

--------------------------------------------------

     Students going to the Carowinds Festival of Music need to turn in their $95 before spring break.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School.

In the Band Room

----------------------

     6th Grade:  Last week, we started working our first piece of concert music, "Antagonist" by Larry Clark, and we will continue working on it this week.  The kids seem to really like it, and I'm glad.  We will have a playing test on it eventually, but of course we are not ready for that yet.

     7th Grade:  This week we will work through our two pieces written by James Swearingen, "Baywood Overture" and "Hope Everlasting."  H.E. is the most challenging piece we will do in this concert, and students should make the time to practice it at home.  I do not need to be there to tell them if they are playing the right notes or not... there's an app for that!  Use Bandmate, and also listen to the recording of the song online to hear how it goes: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Yth2T0ndc

     8th Grade:  Our concert is Friday.  We will spend every day this week preparing for the concert.

     Jazz Band:  The jazz band will play at the concert on Friday.  This weekend, I wrote another song that we will learn this week and play at the concert.  Students who have solos in the concert should be practicing those every day at home.

=============

     Old Stuff

=============

Sign Up To Receive Class Announcements By Text Message

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

On your cell phone, send a text message to the phone number   81010

Send the message   @HawleyBa16    to sign up for 6th grade messages

..............................  @HawleyBa15    to sign up for 7th grade messages

............................... @HawleyBa14    to sign up for 8th grade messages

Band Facebook page

-------------------------

     If you are an active Facebook user, please go here and "like" / "follow" our band page: www.Facebook.com/HawleyBandRoom

Download This App, Please

---------------------------------

     Students should download the free app  Bandmate Chromatic Tuner  on their Apple or Android phone, tablet, iPod, etc.  This is an app I designed.  We will use it regularly in class, and students should use it regularly at home while they practice to check if they are playing the correct notes.

Calendar

-----------

Friday, March 10:  8th grade band Concert.  Location is the South Granville High School auditorium.  Students arrive at 6:45, concert starts at 7:00.

Tuesday, April 4:  8th grade only, $95 for the Carowinds Festival of Music is due.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School."

Thursday, May 11:  6th, 7th, and 8th grade band Concert.  Location is the South Granville High School auditorium.  Students arrive at 6:30, concert starts at 7:00.

Saturday, May 13:  Carowinds Festival of Music, 8th grade only.  Students meet in the band room at 8:00am, will return around 10:30pm.

This Week In Band - 2/26/2017

Dear Band Parents,

Here is the plan for this week in band at Hawley Middle School.

8th Grade Concert - March 10

------------------------------------

     Don't forget, our next concert is Friday, March 10.  Students should arrive at 6:45 to get seated and tune, and we will start playing promptly at 7:00.  This concert will feature only our 8th grade band and the SGHS concert band.  It will be held at SGHS, students wear formal black & white.

     6th and 7th graders are invited to attend, of course, but it is not required.

A word about cell phones and laptops

---------------------------------------------

     Parents, we use smartphones and laptops in band.  However, lately we have had some students abusing the privilege.  I can't blame them, I probably would have done the same thing when I was their age.  But texting is not part of band rehearsal.  Neither are online games or Youtube or ESPN.com.  Students are welcome to use their phones for Bandmate, and we use the laptops for JustinDickson.com/Band.  That's it.  Please take a moment to remind your child about your expectations for the appropriate use of technology in school.

     Like I say to the kids in class, "I am a really good teacher, but I can't teach you if you are not paying attention."

In the Band Room

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     6th Grade:  This week we will finish up Chapter 8.  We will review the songs we learned last week, and get into 8.09 which is an exercise in polyphony.  This will prepare us for our concert music.  I also plan to hand out our first piece of concert music this week.

     7th Grade:  Our 7th graders have done an excellent job with our first concert piece, "Baywood Overture", and I want to hand out a second piece of music this week.  I have a few in mind, so we may take a few days to try a few different pieces to see which one fits best.  I am leaning towards "Korean Folk Song Medley" arranged by James Ployhar, which is a classic in the band repertoire and is on the state Grade II list.  

     8th Grade:  Our concert is two weeks away, so we will spend the next ten days perfecting our 3 pieces as much as we can.  We have some very challenging music and I am really looking forward to performing it on March 10 for you!

     Jazz Band:  This week we will probably not get into any new songs.  We need to take the time to clean up the songs we have and get them ready to perform.  I want the jazz band to play on the March 10 concert.

=============

     Old Stuff

=============

Sign Up To Receive Class Announcements By Text Message

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

On your cell phone, send a text message to the phone number   81010

Send the message   @HawleyBa16    to sign up for 6th grade messages

..............................  @HawleyBa15    to sign up for 7th grade messages

............................... @HawleyBa14    to sign up for 8th grade messages

Band Facebook page

-------------------------

     If you are an active Facebook user, please go here and "like" / "follow" our band page: www.Facebook.com/HawleyBandRoom

Download This App, Please

---------------------------------

     Students should download the free app  Bandmate Chromatic Tuner  on their Apple or Android phone, tablet, iPod, etc.  This is an app I designed.  We will use it regularly in class, and students should use it regularly at home while they practice to check if they are playing the correct notes.

Calendar

-----------

Friday, March 10:  8th grade band Concert.  Location is the South Granville High School auditorium.  Students arrive at 6:45, concert starts at 7:00.

Tuesday, April 4:  8th grade only, $95 for the Carowinds Festival of Music is due.  Checks payable to "Hawley Middle School."

Thursday, May 11:  6th, 7th, and 8th grade band Concert.  Location is the South Granville High School auditorium.  Students arrive at 6:30, concert starts at 7:00.

Saturday, May 13:  Carowinds Festival of Music, 8th grade only.  Students meet in the band room at 8:00am, will return around 10:30pm.