6th and 7th Grade Band

RESOURCES

• Free iOS and Android app Metronome: Tempo Lite by Frozen Ape
• Free iOS and Android app Bandmate Chromatic Tuner
• All students will need a half inch or one inch 3 ring binder

ATTITUDE / PHILOSOPHY

• Mistakes are necessary for growth. That’s how you learn new things. Expect to make mistakes every time you play.
• This is muscle memory, not just memorization. Muscle memory comes from lots of repetition and daily practice.
• Some students will practice whether reminded to or not. Some will need some reminders and encouragement.

THINGS YOU CAN REMIND YOUR CHILD ABOUT: HOW TO PRACTICE

• Start with the warm-ups or Fundamentals that we used in class that day.
• Working on breathing from the bottom of the lungs. This can be done best in a lying down position.
• Only try to learn one new thing at a time, or only try to fix one problem at a time to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
• Break it down into small pieces. Work on just a few notes at a time, before you attempt to play the whole song.

THINGS YOU CAN REMIND YOUR CHILD ABOUT: STRATEGIES WHEN LEARNING A NEW SONG

• Before you play, say the letter names of the notes out loud while fingering the notes on your instrument.
• Before you play, clap and count the rhythms.
• Practice VERY SLOWLY! The best way to learn a song is to play it slowly enough that it is easy for you. Speed up later.

TROUBLESHOOTING: WRONG NOTES

• Use the smartphone / tablet app called Bandmate Chromatic Tuner (free) for apple, android, and kindle fire, so that you can see what note you are playing. Usually students simply are not sure if they are playing the correct note or not. This app shows them.
• Check the fingering for the note at the tops of pages in the book or in the packets we have handed out
• When you play a wrong note, stop and work on just that part. Go back and forth between that note and the one that came right before it. Do it 4 times in a row correctly before moving on.

ALLOW THEM TO MAKE MISTAKES

• Mistakes help them learn about themselves and their instruments.
• Be patient in these early months, the sounds will get better.
• Know when to help and when to let them hash it out on their own.

Dear band parents,

We are pleased to report the healthy progress and steady growth of our music program and more importantly of the students who are dedicated to quality music making.

In our music program we provide an opportunity for artistic expression that a student could not experience on their own. But our program goes beyond the development of basic skills and artistic talent. We are dedicated to developing the following values:

*   Individual responsibility

*   Group and individual respect

*   Personal trust

*   Genuine caring

*   Commitment to our musical family

The implementation, reinforcement and integration of these disciplines serve as the foundation for our program.

Our mission is to develop a musical community. Before we can attain harmony, balance and blend within the music, we must establish it with one another. To build and strengthen our musical performances, we have to build and strengthen our personal relationships within the group. We must create a safe atmosphere that encourages risk, growth, failure, persistence and a focus on excellence. In our musical family everyone counts. Our winning combination is:

Parental Support + Student Desire + Teacher Guidance =

CERTAIN SUCCESS

Success creates success. Success in music translates to success in life. Our students experience being a part of this successful musical community by:

*   CARING for other students who share a similar dream

*   RESPECTING self and fellow musicians

*   Demonstrating RESPONSIBILITY on and off the performance stage

*   Manifesting TRUST by being dependable and honest

*   Role modeling the standards of our musical FAMILY

We thank you for your support, and remind you that YOU are a key ingredient in our success recipe.

Dear band parents and students,

Welcome to the New Year! We are excited about the full slate of opportunities ahead of us and we are eager to convey good news about the value of music education for your child.

Often a single concert or presentation measures the success of a music program. While it is true that a performance demonstrates the students’ mastery of skills, it is only one aspect of our comprehensive music curriculum. Music classes in our program are designed to prepare students to be responsible citizens in tomorrow’s society. What is it about music learning that offers young musicians a head start?

*   Music develops interpersonal skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, negotiation and working with others; the basic personal attributes required for problem-solving in our modern day workplace.

*   Music stimulates the creative, curious, and imaginative mind Рthe mental building blocks for critical thinking and self-motivation.

*¬†¬† Since much of music is active learning, it links the creative thought process to reality. The following quote is an excerpt from The Value of the Arts, created by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities – 1993:

“Some skills taught only in the arts are as important to science as they are to art. Among these tools are playing, abstracting, building models and recognizing patterns. Non-verbal skills allow people to imagine and visualize new realities before they can be proven by logic or scientific experiment”.

When children are in the act of making decisions based on present moment choices, they replicate the same thought processes used in expressing music. This is a human quality that must be developed; it is the foundation for all problem-solving skills.

When we take a holistic view of music learning, we develop a new perspective and appreciation for music’s influence on children. Music is important in the life of children.