Class Description
There are three levels of band. Those are Beginner Band (6th grade), Intermediate (7th grade) and Advanced Band (8th grade). Students MUST begin band in 6th grade. The 6th grade Beginner Band class is for students interested in learning to play an instrument as well as read music and learn many other topics in music. Due to lack of inventory, students are required to purchase an instrument, unless placed on Tuba or Baritone. In those cases, students will need to purchase the required methods book, which is Essential Elements 2000 and a mouthpiece. All other students in addition to the instrument will need the same methods book that corresponds with their instrument. Students placed on either clarinet or saxophone will need reeds. These can either be purchased from Musical Depot (located in Florence, SC on South Cashua Street) or from Ms. Greene, for a slightly cheaper cost. The brand I use is Rico Royal. Beginners need a reed with thickness/size of 2 or 2 ½ .
7th grade Intermediate Band is for continuing band students who started in 6th grade and now have 1 year of experience under their belt. They use a different methods book, which is Foundations for Superior Performance.
8th grade Advanced Band is for continuing band students who also started in 6th grade but now have two years of experience in playing and reading music. They also use Foundations for Superior Performance.
The homework for this class typically consists of:
Whenever there are more detailed/specific directions for students on what or how to practice, it will always be listed below.
Currently, students should:
STUDY MUSIC TERMS!! (all classes)
6th grade: Practice 1st 5 notes, once they have all been covered in class.
7th and 8th grade: Practice repertoire "Westwind Overture" and "On A Hymnsong of Phillip Bliss"
Listed below is the suggested Practice Routine
Remember PRACTICING WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW IS NOT EFFECTIVE!!! Work on weak areas. If you don’t have any, (which I highly doubt) help someone else. Warm-Up Long Tones – holding out some of your easy and difficult notes for as long as you possibly can. Feel free to take breaks in between to catch your breath, but this should be done for 3-5 mins. If you have one in your possession or an app, it is also very good practice to do this with a TUNER and try to keep the note in tune the entire time, or for as long as you can. This is beneficial because you are able to tune and warm-up simultaneously. Scales After your long tones and tuning, run over your scales. Start with the ones you know best, first. Then pick one that you do not know at all, or do not know well, to work on. Play it so slow, that you are able to focus on, and literally look at each note as you play it. Then, gradually pick up speed, but remember, ONLY PLAY IT, AS FAST AS YOU ARE ABLE TO, WITHOUT MAKING MISTAKES!! So if this is still “turtle speed”, THAT’S OK!! Just keep working on it! Repertoire Practice/Drill DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FLY THROUGH AN ENTIRE PIECE OF MUSIC!!! Instead, pick a spot in your music that is giving you trouble. It maybe an 8-10 measure section, or just 3-4 measures. Every little bit helps and it also help when EVERYONE knows their music. First, make sure you can identify all of the notes by name. Then, make sure you know their fingerings without having to stop and “think about it” or look at a fingering chart. If you are able to do both of these things, focus on rhythms. Before being overwhelmed by what appears to be difficult, think back to past pieces we have played and think, “have I ever seen this rhythm before?” Many times, you have; you just may not realize it. Attempt to clap through the rhythms. Then “Tizzle” them. This helps to get the tonguing pattern down. Tizzle a second time, while fingering the notes. Do this twice. Then try to play the section. If you are totally lost in how a rhythm should be counted, as a student for help first. I say this because, it is both beneficial for you and the student to work together. They have the opportunity to act as a teacher and you have someone, on your level, working with you, who may be able to explain it in a way that you can understand, better than I can. If this is still no help to you, or you are for whatever reason, unable to contact anyone to help you, then ask me the VERY NEXT day. Do NOT wait until days or a few weeks before our performance, as a LOT of you have done in the past. Lastly, a practice session that lasts less than 20 minutes is probably not very beneficial, so if you are going to do it, do it the right way. Also, remember what I told you about watching your favorite show and practicing during commercial breaks. IT DOES WORK!! allows for breaks and knocks out a LOT of time!! (especially for hour-long shows)
Music Terms
a poco
a little; gradually
leggiero
lightly
a tempo
in time; generally implies a return to the original rate of speed
lento
very slow
accelerando
gradually faster
maestoso
majestically
adagietto
slow, but not as slow as adagio
marcato
marked; with emphasis
adagio
marcia
march style
agitato
agitated; rapid
marziale
martial
al fine
to the finish
meno
Less
alla
in the style of
mezzo
medium; half
allargando
gradually slower and broader
moderato
moderately
allegretto
light and moderately quick, but not as fast as allegro
molto
very
allegro
rapid; lively
morendo
dying away
andante
moderately slow, but moving
mosso
motion; movement
andantino
generally a little quicker than andante
moto
animato
animated; spirited
non troppo
not too much
appassionato
intensely; passionately; with deep feeling
opus
a musical work or composition
arioso
in a vocal style
ottava
an octave
assai
pesante
heavily; with emphasis
ben
well
pianissimo
very softly
brilliante
brilliantly
piano
softly
calando
gradually slower and softer
piu
more
cantabile
in a singing style
poco
a little
chromatic
by semi-tones
poco a poco
little by little
coda
the final added measures of a musical composition
prestissimo
very fast; more so than presto
con
with
presto
very fast
con amore
with tenderness
primo
first
con anima
with animation; spirit
rallentando
gradually slower
con brio
with spirit; brilliantly
religioso
in solemn style
con forza
with force
ritardando
con fuoco
with fire, energy
ritenuto
a steady pace, but slower than the preceding tempo
con grazia
with grace
rubato
temporary irregularity of time, lengthening some notes at the expense of others
con spirito
with spirit; brilliance
scherzando
in light, playful style
crescendo
gradually louder
scherzo
playfully, usually in rapid tempo with rhythmic and dynamic contrasts
da capo
from the beginning
segno
the sign
dal segno
from the sign
sempre
always; continually
decrescendo
gradually softer
senza
without
diminuendo
sforzando
forced; with emphasis
dolce
sweetly
simile
the same
energico
energetically
smorzando
etude
a study
soli
more than one performer in unison
fermata
a hold or pause
solo
a composition or passage for one performer
forte
loud
sordino
mute
fortissimo
very loud
sostenuto
sustained
forzando
forcefully accented
staccato
separated, detached style
furioso
furiously
stringendo
giocoso
joyfully
subito
suddenly
grandioso
grand or noble style
tacet
silent
grave
very slow or solemn
tempo
time; speed
grazioso
gracefully
tempo di valse
waltz time
l’istesso
tenuto
sustain full value
larghetto
slow, but not as slow as largo
valse
waltz
larghissimo
very slow, more so than largo
veloce
largo
vivace
vivacious; lively
legato
smooth and connected
vivo
lively; brisk