The Week in Review

This has been a tough week. The first full week of school usually is. We are off tonight but everybody should live it up because we will be going every week now for 10 in a row starting next Friday. I think most of the students are starting to get the fact that we will succeed or fail...individually. The problem is that we will succeed or fail individually while we are all together. Meaning, how much we achieve individually will make all the difference when we are all together at competitions or football games. The worst part of my job is when I have to go back to the band at a competition and things did not go well for us. You see regardless of how I am at rehearsal or whenever I really do love my students. I hate to see them fail or even just not get all they want. When we are at competition and things don't go well, they all look at one person...ME! I just got goosebumps thinking about it. I promise! I always talk to my students after every performance but the sad looks and the tears make me crumble. So I promised myself along time ago that even if everybody thought I was the meanest thing they ever saw, I would know I had given it everything I had to put my band in a position to do well. This year is no different. I will push them further than they think they can go and I will push everybody that way. I expect nothing less than I am willing to give myself though. If I could, I would do it all for them. If I thought that if by me learning every bodies spot on the field would work, be assured I would be on the field right now. If I thought I had to do that on every field in which we will compete upon would mean success, I would be there now. If I thought that if I could play every part perfectly would make the difference I would do it. (I really can do that though in my head). But that is not the way things work. My career rest in the hands or maybe more precisely, the hearts, of young adults age 14-18. Think about it. How many people can say that?

I hope everybody has a great Labor Day weekend. Rest up! I will be fishing.

P.S. The pictures are just too cute to pass up. They're my Boyz!

Shut Up and Teach

That is my advise to myself. I think I have spent far too much time teaching effort lately so I just started to teach music. I love to teach so that is what I have been doing. Yesterday I taught the Symphonic Band some counting methods. Then today I taught concert band the same with some tone production stuff too. In Symphonic Winds, we played chorales a talked about playing musically. No it wasn't work on the marching band show so I guess it won't help that. Think again. Band is band is band. It doesn't matter if you are marching or sitting down it all boils down to music and music is what we are about.

Desire?

The desire to succeed must be accompanied by the desire to work hard. If those two things are in junction together nothing is impossible.

Rainy Week Ahead

It looks like a pretty wet week. This is one time I am glad we rehearse on asphalt. We don't have to worry about the lines washing away and it dries really quickly with no puddles. We will get done outside what we can and it will give us a chance to work on stuff for the games.

A Busy Week Ahead

We have plenty to do this week. We are not going to add any sets of drill but we have much work to do to clean what we already have out there. We also need to work on stands music and this may be more of challenge than originally thought. We just don't sightread very well. Fortunately if there is one things I have figured out as a band director, it is sightreading. This will be a major focus for us during the winter months but that won't help things now. We also need to get ready for the pre-games show of the fight song and national anthem. We will be working on these things in class.

I do have some disappointments to deal with. Many students left their instruments in the band room this weekend and as much as I hear about wanting to be more successful again that success must begin individually. There is not much more I can do to stress that except to start sitting people out for performances when they aren't prepared and leaving your instrument in the band room over the weekend is no way to prepare.

There are many, many obstacles at Dutch Fork but perhaps the most formidable one is to instill the mind set that our success must begin at home individually.

I did my homework this morning. I rearranged the Alma mater. I couldn't find a clean copy with all the parts so I just made a new one.

A Happy Time

Today I had direct contact with over 110 students and I loved every minute. The day was busy but the time seemed to fly by. The best part was after school though. It was raining and some of the students waited in the band room and we talked. We didn't really talk about band, we just talked. It felt like I had been at Dutch Fork for years. It made me happy and I felt at home. More to follow but now I will enjoy just being at home.

Best First Day of School...EVER!

Today was great day. The students were all nice and easy to work with but the best part of the day was after school rehearsal. Usually the first after school rehearsal is pretty bad but that was not case today. Everybody came ready to work and it paid off. We cleaned about 10 or so pages of the "Dark" section of the show. It was obvious that many of the students had practiced their music and they were able to do the things I asked them too. The rain even missed us.

And now a guest blogger...

BY CINDY BRADY

Every once in awhile Mr. Brady lets me post an entry in regards to what I think about band. Being totally non-musical I can't really tell you about the technical things but...because I've been around the band world for so long, I can tell when a band looks and sounds good...or great...or phenomenal! Tonight I want to discuss two issues......

First the performance last night. All I can say is WOW. The choice of music was great, the drill is wonderful, and the marching was way ahead of where it should be this time of the year....I mean it is only the week after band camp!!! However, the thing that struck me most was the performance of the music. The playing was great....and in some places it was better than great. The students were blowing it out. But it wasn't just blowing hot air....the students were performing. The music had feeling and depth and the common observer - like me - could already "feel" what the music was all about. I know Mr. Brady keeps telling his students to follow his instructions and they will go far. I believe this too....and I bet if you ask the majority of his former students they would say the same thing. Now....I've heard that the morning rehearsal yesterday left a little to be desired and I did try to explain to Mr. Brady that the past weekend was the last weekend before school starts and that there had been a 3.5 day break since band camp. And regardless of what the determined band director thinks....you will have your "off" days. But....I felt a great sense of pride last night when I watched the band perform. I can tell how hard the students, staff, and director have been working and how much they have all accomplished in such a short amount of time. I feel very honored to be part of this family......

Now...the second issue I want to discuss is the fact that Mr. Brady can sometimes come across as "unapproachable". As his spouse, I can tell you that this is only because he can become somewhat overly focused. I had someone tell me last night that they were worried he wasn't having a good time or that he wasn't happy at Dutch Fork. I want the whole band world to know that this is the furthest thing from what he's feeling than you could ever imagine. He is so incredibly happy. And he thinks his students are amazing! You see...Mr. Brady wears his heart on his sleeve. Mr. Brady gets into a "zone". Mr. Brady is a perfectionist. These things could come across as faults to some, but its part of who he is. And its part of why he is such a good musician and a great band director. If you feel like you cannot approach him, just tell him that, and I feel certain he will snap back into that moment and give you his attention. Please know that he loves being part of this program and knowing all of the people involved with it.

Finally....my opinion...I think there are going to be a lot of surprised faces the first time folks around town see the Dutch Fork band. I don't think it will be long until we can all say...PHENOMENAL!!!!

Just because...

I don't want anybody to think that I am not happy with my students because I am. I just know the potential that lurks deep down inside. I know, if we all work together, a state championship will only be the beginning of what we will achieve together. I will continue to push the students though. You can count on that.

Lessons yet to learn

We had a rehearsal and the parent/friends show yesterday. I have to say that I was surprise that the students were not prepared for rehearsal yesterday. It was pretty obvious that most of them had not spent much if any time on the end of the show as I had told them too. The deal is that if the students do the things I ask them to do and they do not get what they want out of band, it is my fault but if they don't do the things I ask them to do then they have nobody to blame but themselves. I think it is a pretty good deal. Any way the end of the show was not acceptable at rehearsal and guess what? It was not at the parent show either. Things did not just fix themselves. The lesson to be learned is that if the preparation is done, things will go your way about 90% of the time and if they preparation is not done...well things will not go your way. I do think the show went alright. I also think that the performance level of the band was better last Thursday. I have not gotten much feedback about the show so I am not really sure what others thought about it.

With proper preparation and attention to detail most of the nervousness and anxiety can be taken out of complex tasks. Anything less is just chance. I don't like leaving things that are important to me to chance.

The band has made a commitment to being competitive this year. Remember though everybody must do what they should individually to be successful as a group.

Be Careful...

Be careful what you ask for, you might get it. Way back about 3 1/2 weeks ago, the student leaders and myself started to work on some goals for the year. You can look back to see them. The problem is that I will do what it takes to accomplish these goals. Every student also confirmed that they would do "what it takes". Well that was not the case today. It was pretty obvious that not much individual work took place over the weekend. The music was actually worse today than it was last Thursday. There is absolutely no secrets to being successful in a group. You must first be successful on your own. I use that question I have asked many times throughout my career. "How many of you think you play better with the entire band than you do by yourself?" Most of the time I get a lot of hands in the air. My response? "You are fooling yourself. You still miss just as many notes and rhythms as you do by yourself. You just can't hear them as well." The fact is that if the Dutch Fork band is accomplish its #1 goal of improving musical standards it must start with each individual. Until then it is just talk. The Dutch Fork band has more potential than probably any band in the entire state but then potential is not a judged caption on any scoring sheet.

Our First Performance

Our first performance of the year is only about 24 hours away. It will be special one in that it will be the first display of our work together. I hope everybody likes it but I also hope everybody knows it is just beginning. We have a long way to go but tomorrow should be fun.

For any of the students readying this, you better get to work on the last part of the show. That is our weakest part. The go out and do our best is the goal. Anything less will feel hollow but I got a feeling that won't be the case. Dutch Fork has risen to every challenge I have thrown to them so far I don't expect anything less tomorrow night.

Practice tomorrow is 8 a.m. - 12 noon. Report time and warm-up is 5:00 p.m. and show time is about 5:30 p.m.

The Weekend...What is left of it anyway.

This has been a great weekend. It has been relatively band free which is nice sometimes. I worked in the yard most of the day yesterday and even bought a new lawnmower. It is pretty nice and red. The other one was holding on until it finally went into the light. It had been on its last leg for a while but it stopped and I thought it was out of gas but that was not the case. I put some more gas in it and it started for a moment and then started clanking really loud and then fire came out of the muffler and it stopped for good. But any way I have a great new lawnmower...a push mower. I love to cut grass and I only do it with a push mower. Today I am watching the race and relaxing a bit. Tomorrow we have meetings all day. I would rather rehearse myself. I thought about going fishing this morning but was just too tired so I stayed home. I think Cindy and the Boyz were happy though. There is a huge fishing tournament on lake today. There is a one million dollar prize! Somebody asked me once what I would want to be if I couldn't be a band director. That is an easy one. I would be a professional fisherman. Don't laugh. I have often said I was a better fisherman than a band director. I just like band directing too much to quit.

Band Camp 2008 is Complete

Band camp is over. It has been a great one but it was time for it to end. Friday morning everybody was a bit wore out. I think everybody lost a little bit of weight and we certainly are in better shape than when we started. It is a great start to what promises to be a great season but there are few things that must happen for us to achieve our goals. They are as follows:

Here is what the students need to do:

1. Every student must be able to play the entire show by memory and rhythmically accurately with a metronome. There can be no compromise on this.

2. Every student must be devoted to the "Brady" way of breathing. The brass has made great strides this week but it isn't where needs to be yet. Our sound must continue to develop and become more refined but this won't just happen without consistent work.

3. Every student must get organized to be able to balance their school work with their band work.

4. Every student must be committed to practicing and perfecting their marching technique.

Here are some things the staff (my responsibilities) need to do:

1. Find a couple of students willing to fill the holes we have. We didn't lose very many at all but somethings are unavoidable.

2. Rewrite a few places in the music that have bad voicings and a few percussion parts that don't really fit with the drill.

3. Find a way to get every student marching with correct basic technique.

Here is what the parents need to do:

Keep encouraging and supportting! That is the most important thing anybody can do.

I hope everybody has enjoyed band camp. It is certainly the thing that high school memories are made of. We have only begun our journey. Let's all do what we need to make it the best one ever.

Almost Over...

Yes, there is only one more day of band camp. This has been a great one. I kind of feel bad that it is almost over. I won't miss the really long(because I miss Cindy) or really hot days but we always got stuff accomplished and I will miss that. I have honestly had fun. I am serious! My staff has been great and, with the exception of one less than great evening rehearsal, the students have really worked hard. We have 75 pages of drill on the field with music. And I don't just mean with band camp music. They know where they are going and we have even cleaned some of the drill and everybody is playing. This is pretty remarkable at this point with the difficult drill we are executing. We will accomplish our band camp goal of setting 79 pages of drill and really being able to march and play it. Today we ran everything we knew all the way with good music with no stops and we did it twice at the end of rehearsal! I believe we can do just about anything if keep this up. So yes I will miss our time together at band camp because now all kinds of other things will be going on. The students will have other school work and I will too. So yes band camp is hot and long but I have to say this was my favorite one ever. I really feel at home at Dutch Fork High School and hope to have many, many more band camps there.

Now the really hard work begins. We will have to finish setting the drill for the show but will probably wait for until the second week of school to set it but we should all be marching and playing better at that point so it really won't be all the difficult. We have until November 1 to get every thing as perfect as we can. We will go other places along the way but our real prize will be obtained on November 1. I am certainly not promising a state championship or even a finals performance but I can promise if everybody keep working like we have been, everybody will be very happy on November 1.

Another Good One

We had another good rehearsal this morning and continue to improve. If things continue to go this way, we will have a very good Fall as far as competition goes. Probably the most important things we are doing though is having fun. It is work but it is worthwhile work.

A Cold Day in...

Band camp? Yes, we did get outside this afternoon and it was quite cool but we sure did use it to our advantage. We are progressing at a good clip now. The students are getting better at rehearsing with a purpose too. We don't just go outside and see what happens. We have a plan and we make it work. Our sound continues to improve and soon we will begin to work more on a refining that sound. Only 2 more days of camp so we definitely have more work to do. The weather should be great tomorrow so we will be back to work. It is nice to be home to get some rest tonight.

Rain

We are inside this morning due to rain but hopefully will get outside this afternoon to enjoy the cool weather.

Better Morning

Today the band came to work. We didn't add many pages but are up to set number 61. What we did today was learn about is something a lot more important than notes on a page or some dots on a football field. We learned about what each of us is capable of accomplishing. We actually cleaned drill and really have a handle on the sets we have but I learned that Dutch Fork can be a contender. The way the students rehearsed this morning was great. There was not talking and everybody was focused. This afternoon instead of staying inside we went back outside and made even more gains. Tonight it is raining and we are inside but by the act of going outside in the warmer afternoon, we are still ahead of the game. I am not sure where any other bands are in their show at this point and I am really not concerned about them. We seemed to get over a "bump in the road" this morning. Things like that are what it takes to be successful. Good enough is not good enough and never will be for us. I can only imagine what would happen if we rehearsed like that every day. The results would be surprising for all except for us.

Perhaps my favorite saying is one that I have used for years. A hero of mine said it and it make perfect sense to me.

"Never trade what you want at the moment for what you want most. "

The easiest thing to do is just what you have been doing. Comfort is for pillows and nice places to stay. Most people need to be made a bit uncomfortable to really make gains.

Rough Day

Things did not correct themselves tonight. If one thing is certain, it is this statement. If you do the same things over and over, you will get the same results.

The band has so much potential to really do something incredible this year. I don't think enough people really believe that though. It is just so easy to blame things on other stuff. One thing is for sure though. If we don't change what we did today, we won't have to worry about what to fix during our finals performance.

Our show is difficult and cleaning it will not be a reality if we can't get it set. I will try again tomorrow and hopefully everybody will be ready to work together.

Good Enough is not Good Enough

Our playing seemed to level off in our indoor music rehearsal today. I don't know if it is just Monday or what but we must combat the urge to quit working on our music. Only when every student can play their show by memory with 100% accuracy, will we have a chance to achieve our goals. The things we do now must be important now. To wait and just put off the music will result in disappoint later. Hopefully the evening rehearsal will get us back on track.

Wanted: One woodwind player

We need one woodwind player to fill a spot. This is the only spot we have so if you know of somebody willing to work hard and have fun with us, please send them our way. We would also consider a brass player but a woodwind is preferred. We can fill this spot after school starts but if they want to come out now, we will take them. Nobody has quit or anything like that, we have had the spot since the beginning of camp but need to fill it.

A Good Start to Week 2

We got off to slow but cool start this morning but are on track now. We are up to page 50 of the drill which mean we are more than half way finished with the show. This afternoon we will work to memorize the music so that tonight we can put things together.

Week 1 In Review

We started out on Monday not really knowing each other but things are coming together. I am not really sure how everybody else feels about how things are going but I am happy with what we have accomplished. We have entire first part of the show on the field. 41 pages with music. The drill is really neat but difficult. We are playing much better everyday. I expect to hear improvement after the weekend too. When our marching and playing technique catches up to our knowledge things will really begin to happen.

If anybody has any suggestions to improve things, just let me know. I am proud to tell people I am the band director at Dutch Fork High School. I want everybody to be happy with that fact too. So just let me know if there are things to improve upon.

Have a great weekend and rest up because you can be assured that I will be ready to go come Monday.

Day 4: Session 2

We are where we want to be going into the end of week one of band camp. We have the entire first part of the show on the field and we are playing better every day. We spent the afternoon inside working on music. Most of our efforts were on spent on the "Dark" portion of the show. It is my favorite. Lots of emotion. Tomorrow will be spent cleaning part 1. We will not add any drill tomorrow.

I am pretty tired. When I got home I had to cut up a tree that fell in the yard during last nights storm. Oh well, no rest for the weary. It was actually kind of fun. I have always said I might not be the most talented or smartest person in the world but nobody will out work me!

This week at band camp has been a pleasure!

Morning Report

We did it! We have the "Light" section of the show on the field. 41 pages of drill in 4 days. Tomorrow we will work to play and march it. This is right where we should be to be competitive and it's just fun too.

End of Day Report

We are playing much better. We stayed inside this afternoon as the actual temperature was 101 degrees, but we still made strives toward our goals. There was not point in endangering anybodies health for a few extra pages of drill. The music is getting better quickly and I think the students are having fun. I am having a great time. It was great the past two days to be at camp so much and get so much accomplished but it is also great to be home with my family tonight too. We will reach our goal of having "Light" on the field with music by Friday if we just keep working together. I also love it that so many people come by to watch and listen to us. I just saw the weather report for next week and it look promising. Get some rest and I look forward to having more fun tomorrow.

Wednesday Morning Session

We added 6 pages of drill this morning and worked on fundamental marching skills too. It was really hot for the last hour and we may stay inside this afternoon. We need the work musically so that is not really a problem. Our goal is to have the the "Light" section of the show on the field by Friday. The weather is suppose to break. Let's all hope so. The students are great and continue to show dedication. We should have Part 1 memorized by the end of the day.

Night 2 Report

We have 26 pages of drill on the field with music. This is quite an accomplishment. I am very pleased and I think the students are as well. We can't let up now though. Much work is left but things are coming together. Tomorrow will be an important day as we don't have as much time but want to get as much done. I have to say I am very proud of my students.

Music Rehearsal

Music rehearsal went well today. The brass are making strides with their tone. The true results of all the warm ups will not be evident for at least another week. Now back to the field for another hot one.

Progress Continues

Progress continues but so does the heat. There is not much relief in sight for us as far as the heat goes but we are getting things accomplished. This morning was a slow start for us as we are still having some difficulty with the warm-up. We probably spent about 45 minutes working on it but that is time well spent. We are up to page 19 in the drill but still need to add 6 more to reach our daily goal. Indoor music rehearsal is next.

Day 1: Great!

13 pages of drill with music on the first day of camp with a new director in 100 degrees. That is phenomenal! We will try to top it tomorrow and I think we will. It was the most fun I have had at band camp in a long, long time.

Now the Real Test

The students are on dinner break now. We will reconvene at 6:30 p.m. The idea behind this is that we miss the hottest part of the day by working inside then but I think the weather has other ideas. It is pretty hot outside and probably will be at 6:30 but this is when we see how really important it all is. I have a feeling we will do just fine.

Somethings we need to fix are pretty obvious. We need to get all of our brass up the same level as our woodwinds. This shouldn't be too difficult, and the brass is already rising to the occasion.

It's Here: Band Camp 2008

We are 106 students strong right now. We are not the largest in 5A but we are far from the smallest either. We have room for more but I am more than happy with our turn out. It is hot but everybody seems to be working together. We already have 6 pages of drill on the field and with that kind of pace in the heat we should be able to get even more this evening. Next come our indoor music rehearsals. This is where we can really gain some ground. Check back often as I will be give updates as much as possible.

I Am Impressed!

I am very impressed with everything that has occurred over the past week. We are well on track to achieve our goals. I would have to say the we have raised the standards and the students have risen to meet them. I am very excited to think about where we will be in a few more weeks. My students have been smart, responsive, and most importantly...nice. They are very impressive people. I have to commend them. I have heard a few things like "Mr. Brady hasn't yelled at us yet." My response "Why would I?" The students have done everything they have been asked to do. Our rookies are great too. They are catching on very quickly. I am very happy to have Mr. Sharpe with us too. He really knows what he is doing. Mr. Henke has been great too and it is really nice to get to know him better.

The percussion has been working the hardest this week. They have been having 10 hour days all week and they should be commended as well. I love the cymbal line. They make us unique and I am glad to have them. Their staff is amazing.

The future is bright for the Dutch Fork Band program but only together will we meet out goals. I have a feeling we may all achieve more than we ever thought was possible.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Rest up because on Monday we really get to work.