Feeling slightly less nervous about the concert was we get closer. One of my main concerns was programming for it; I'm following the previous director's footsteps and doing some whole band pieces, each section will do a song, each school will do one, and there will be solos/duets, too. Now that I'm getting the students' requests for what they'd like to do for solos I can more definitively make up the program over break. So far I have 11 students who are doing their compositions on the concert, and quite a few more doing solos/duets. One group even wants to make their own composition for a trio.
In the meantime, rehearsal today will just be woodwinds. Part of this is so that I can focus on them and nitpick things in a smaller group setting. Part is so that it won't be as distracting having a some of the chatty kids there. Another is just for my sanity. After break will be just brass and percussion for these same reasons, then two full rehearsals before our dress rehearsal, then the concert! Ahhh! I'm nervous but also excited; the kids have been working hard and they're going to be great.
Above all, vacation is coming. :). Not that things have been too strenuous here, but it'll be nice to have a week to veg.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Getting There
So the issues with the winter concert have been worked out, and I'm in the process of working out the adjustments for the spring concert. Disaster avoided.
In the meantime, lessons have been going well and rehearsals are getting better and better. We're still working on maintaining focus and less talking from the students during the rehearsals, but each time we make it longer into the rehearsal before they start going crazy, so I'll take that as a good sign. I'm doing my best to keep the pacing up and asking them lots of questions/vs. lecturing, and playing much more instead of me talking talking talking.
Some of the kids have blown my mind in lessons, too: a couple of them actually seem to want to learn more scales. I have a group of saxophones who can play their G major scale one octave and their D major two octaves, and they asked if we're going to learn more, too. After I teach the kids their first scale (no matter what instrument they're playing), I teach them the theory behind it and it seems to be helping and making it more interesting for them rather than "we're going to learn another scale, here it is...". I teach them about whole steps/half steps, enharmonics, and the whole/half pattern that makes a major scale sound like a major scale. I show them their first scale they learned on the board with the pattern underneath written out (WWHWWWH), then I write out just the letters for their next scale with the pattern (no accidentals). I then have them go through each pair of notes validating whether it is truly a whole or half step, and if not what do we need to do to change it? (I initially make it clear that we can only have one of each letter name in a scale, and cannot skip letters, so if this is the case what note do we need to change?).
I've also had kids who are playing their instruments outside of school for fun like in parks, for neighbors, and for caroling, which has been really great to hear about :). The concert's starting to come together more convincingly now that I have more definitively figured out what we're playing as a group, who will be playing what for sections/schools, and I have a rather large amount of students who actually want to do solos/duets. I have convinced many of the students to play their compositions on the concert!
In the meantime, lessons have been going well and rehearsals are getting better and better. We're still working on maintaining focus and less talking from the students during the rehearsals, but each time we make it longer into the rehearsal before they start going crazy, so I'll take that as a good sign. I'm doing my best to keep the pacing up and asking them lots of questions/vs. lecturing, and playing much more instead of me talking talking talking.
Some of the kids have blown my mind in lessons, too: a couple of them actually seem to want to learn more scales. I have a group of saxophones who can play their G major scale one octave and their D major two octaves, and they asked if we're going to learn more, too. After I teach the kids their first scale (no matter what instrument they're playing), I teach them the theory behind it and it seems to be helping and making it more interesting for them rather than "we're going to learn another scale, here it is...". I teach them about whole steps/half steps, enharmonics, and the whole/half pattern that makes a major scale sound like a major scale. I show them their first scale they learned on the board with the pattern underneath written out (WWHWWWH), then I write out just the letters for their next scale with the pattern (no accidentals). I then have them go through each pair of notes validating whether it is truly a whole or half step, and if not what do we need to do to change it? (I initially make it clear that we can only have one of each letter name in a scale, and cannot skip letters, so if this is the case what note do we need to change?).
I've also had kids who are playing their instruments outside of school for fun like in parks, for neighbors, and for caroling, which has been really great to hear about :). The concert's starting to come together more convincingly now that I have more definitively figured out what we're playing as a group, who will be playing what for sections/schools, and I have a rather large amount of students who actually want to do solos/duets. I have convinced many of the students to play their compositions on the concert!
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