NACB

As guest conductor for the NACB this week, I was able to hold my 1st rehearsal in my new band room, and conduct the concert!

• In regular rehearsals, we don't play the national anthems, so I didn't either, but I got a little nervous thinking about it and should have practiced it. However it went off almost flawlessly. The band wanted to slow down more than I did towards the end, so I followed them a little more than I should have.
• Fairest of the Fair went quite well, though I had to relax - they didn't go my tempo. I think it was the percussion & trumpets that slowed us down.
• Sabre Dance sounded great but the trumpets missed the repeat at the beginning. I was holding up a finger so they'd wait, but they weren't watching. Given another opportunity I'd hold that hand up higher.
• Best Broadway Marches was overall very good, but a train wreck in the middle. The tempo was supposed to be suddenly quick again and trumpets enter, but they totally missed it. I tried to start there quickly, and they still didnt' play! The THIRD time, they got it. I was real happy with the slower section, as the low instruments followed me quite well.
• The Beatles Forever was smooth.
• Trumpets, Ole! Great tune, and the group got the tempo changes very well. Big help from George the tubist.
• Burnished Brass was easily played right through.
• Hello, Dolly was trouble. The middle section got kind of screwed up with the sound effects and missed entrances. It was still fun though.
• Shenandoah is such a nice tune. The baritone player wasn't quite loud enough, but my 1st clarinets kept their level down just right.
• Dry Bones is awesome. I almost skipped it, but the clarinet players really wanted it (probably since they get to stand up!)
• We didn't play the last two songs, due to lightning. I was really ready for Men of Ohio, too!

NEBDI 2011

Jeff King - Getting Your Students to Practice

• Mr. King believes that the best way to get students to practice is to set clear objectives with a definite timeline for those objectives
  
  • Instrument checks (reeds, cleanliness, functionability, name tag, pencil, other supplies)
    
  • Notebook check
  • Parent sign-off (Students & parents BOTH must be made aware of the objectives & deadlines)
  • scales/rudiments
  • solo
  • concert pieces
  • these objective are laid out in 6-week syllabus, basically
    
• Rhythmic Values page has easy to difficult rhythms (pg37)
  
• "How to Practice" informative sheet for parents (pg39)
• The Duncanville Band has a very cool little logo - could NCUHS get one??
• The "Weekly Rehearsal Planner" (from "Setting Rehearsal Priorities" booklet, pg26) could be very useful, with minor adjustments, and could be used as lesson plans for Band.
• FOUNDATIONS FOR SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE
  
  • The fingering chart is extended, which is great for HS
  • "Concert F around the Band" (pass around F, or 5ths, etc)
    
  • Articulation exercises - tenuto, "lifted", staccatto
  • Long tones - LOTS of long tones
    
    • brasses should do some with only mouthpieces
    • mix up the exercises
  • Warm-ups are great instrument-specific exercises
  • Scales & tuning exercises, too
    

Robert Duke - Beautiful

Rik Pfenninger - New Concepts in Linear Improvisation

• www.rpimprov.com
• You only need FOUR SCALES to improvise
• The Jazz Theory Book
• Band in a Box
• REAL BOOK, Vol.6

Kevin Sedatole, MI State
Conducting Using the Laban Technique & Choosing Quality Literature

• Based on work of Rudolph Laban
  

GRADUATION

I had the honor of playing snare drum with Chandler on Pomp and Circumstance at graduation. The band waited for a signal to play a preliminary piece, but there was never a signal. We missed that, but Pomp was really played well. Percussion had to be careful to stay out of the line of sight for the women who started the seniors marching down the aisles. And of course, on the way out the band played twice as fast.

CONCERT!

I'm so proud of my students tonight! The jazz band had two great soloists who used the blues scale, the beginners came SO FAR, and the advanced band played some really advanced stuff! I can pinpoint three mistakes bu them: percussion came in two beats late (even though I pointed right at them), a flutist played a dotted quarter & eighth like a half note & quarter note (thus adding a beat), and a saxophonist had HUGE trouble with a nasty F# (creating some wicked dissonance where there really was no dissonance!). They got some dynamics in Court Festival, the trumpets were glorious in Imperium, Antagonist was fast and powerful, and Can-Can was so together! The flute quartet was so good, too. The Beginning Band was well-behaved and played all their stuff well.

High School showcase

Our principal took me aside today and told me that he wants to change the format of our awards assembly, making it shorter and having a guest speaker. This means my music awards won't fit in very well. After brainstorming for a while we came up with the idea of featuring some high school kids with the jazz band- what great fun that will be!

MONAMI set lists

Had a GREAT rehearsal last night, trying to get through all the pieces before our first gig. Only had a few breakdowns.

SET 1
Here For The Party - I need to listen to the guitar solo.
Heartache Tonight
Heartbreaker - broke down on the guitar/bass unison part
Runnin Down a Dream - felt like we went a little too slow.
Before He Cheats - Need to check the bridge; I think I'm missing a chord.
Need You Now
China Grove
Sunshine of Your Love
Hot Blooded - The words! I missed some words!
Long Train Runnin
Jet Airliner - Tough for me to play and sing backup on the chorus.
Gimme 3 Steps - This went REALLY well!
Glitter In the Air

SET 2
Who Knew
Sweet Emotion - have to listen to the "extended" version
Don’t Misunderstand Me
Carry On Wayward Son - almost got it!
Kerosene
White Room
Don’t Stop Believin’
Dream On - should play a few times to jog my memory
Relentless
You Give Love a Bad Name - timing! The 1st chorus is 10-1/2 measures long!
Layla
Workin For Weekend
Alright Now
Crossroads - AWESOME!

SET 3 - We didn't get to this set last night....
Goodbye to You
Sober
That Smell - we did play this song to end the night- very good.
Rhiannon
Everybody Wants U
Chicken Fried - haven't played this yet, but it doesn't sound too difficult
Right Here Waiting
Down On the Corner - same as Chicken Fried
Black Velvet
Swingin’ - what song is this?
After Midnight

MONAMI!

MONAMI is the name of the band I'm now practicing with, and will soon be performing with!

GIGS!

Gigs are coming up with Monami (a rock group), Kingdom Dixie (dixieland), and the only gig I've had every year for the past 10 or so, at an elementary school playing some classic tunes with 75 to 100 5th & 6th graders. And the playlist for the elementary school gig has been set:

1. Love Potion #9
2. Just a Song Before I Go
3. In My Life
4. Down on the Corner
5. Circle Game
6. I Want to Hold Your Hand
7. I Feel the Earth Move
8. Moon Shadow
9. Teach Your Children

It's a lot of fun playing with them. They do a bunch of solos, and often will add or leave our beats, making it extra challenging!