Thanksgiving Break

I made it! A real break from work and school. I am going fishing tomorrow and that is great for sure. We will be staying around the house mostly during this break but we will make the rounds to see family too. Thanksgiving is a good break too. It is one of my favorites. Nobody expects you to get stuff for them and there is lots of football on TV and generally you can take it easy if you want too. I plan to work in the yard too. Lots of leaves need to be chopped up.

So here are a few things I am thankful for:

1. I am thankful I have a wife that lets me buy cool stuff like fast boats.

2. I am thankful that the band made state finals.

3. I am thankful to have neighbors that put enough stuff on their house for Christmas that I don't have to turn on any lights in my house until mid-January.

4. I am thankful that Henry rolls over on his back and lays there any time I go to pet him.

5. I am thankful that Ted bites me at a few times a week. It is really nice to be bit by your dog at any given moment.

6. I am thankful I still have hair on my head.

7. I am thankful that I didn't run over any of the students cars during marching band this year. (This has happened before.)

8. I am thankful that we don't live in Redbank anymore.

9. I am thankful that I was at home the day the AC unit decided to leak water through the ceiling.

10. I am thankful to have traveled the Appalachian Trail by myself this summer. (I wondered why Mark never showed up.)

But most of all I am just thankful to have some really great people around me. Great family and friends make everything worthwhile.

Test Time!

I gave Symphonic Winds a test today and I have to say I was impressed with the level of achievement that the students obtained. Their test was on Second Suite in F by Gustav Holst, Movement 1. This is a substantial composition and is a staple in band literature. It is not easy. Here are how playing test work in my band. The students play a section of the assigned composition or the assigned etude individually in the class setting. I know! How can I do this?

1. They might get nervous.

2. They have to play in front of everybody.

3.They can't play as well by themselves as they can play with the entire group.

4. If they don't play well, won't it be embarrassing?

Here are my answers:

1. They might be nervous in a performance setting too. Shouldn't they be able to deal with this?

2. It is a performing art. Music is meant to be played for an audience in front of people.

3. They play just as bad or well with the group as they do by themselves. You just can't hear them as individual as well. All the wrong notes and rhythms are still there!

4. YES! But it also equally and perhaps more so rewarding when they play it perfectly in front of their peers. That is way more exciting than a good grade.

Is is realistic to think that they can play a composition of this level for the Winter Concert? Well of course it is! High expectations yield high results. Way to go students. I get to my job now which is to help the audience in a performance and my favorite part...to make music out of a bunch of paper. I can't do that until the tone, note, and rhythms are correct.

Shocked!

I am shocked that there have been no comments about my UFO sighting. Come on now!

We Are Not Alone

This picture is unaltered and was taken on Lake Murray on November 15, 2009.

Gone Fishin'

"Whenever I find myself growing green about the mouth; whenever it is a damp drizzly November in my soul; and especially whenever it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from methodically knocking peoples hats off -- then, I account it high time to get to sea. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but know it, almost all men in their degree cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me."

Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Concert Season is Here!

Concert season is here. We have made the transition into the real learning part of the year. The Winter Concert preparations have begun. Here is what we have in our folders:

Concert and Symphonic Band
Silent Night arr. by Swearingen
Jingle Bells arr. Jay Dawson
O'come All Ye Faithful arr. Swearingen

Symphonic Winds
Emmanuel Variants by Robert Foster
Greensleeves arr. by Alfred Reed
Sleeper Wake arr. by Phillip Sparke
Second Suite in F by Gustav Holst

It is certainly not just about concert preparation though. I do a lot of teaching too. In concert band, we are concentrating on counting and producing good sounds. In Symphonic Band, we are adding new skills and ideas with compound meter being the main topic lately. In Symphonic Winds, we are working on refining all of our skills with tuning and articulation at the top of the list. We have 61 students registered for region band auditions. That is much improved over last years numbers.

Now I have one more class to teach and then...a band free weekend! (Sort of, I seem to think about it a lot even when there are not events.)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I like to do a marching season in review type post at this time every year so here it goes.

The Good

Hey, we won 2 grand championships and made state finals. We met out goal. We most likely would have won another grand championship too if not for the "weather". We have changed the attitude of what kind of shows we perform too. We have definitely modernized. There seems to be a lot of interest from the younger students in both the high school and middle school. We marched 20!!!! eighth grade students. They should be very well prepared for next year. We seem to have some stability in the program at the middle school and I have been going over there a lot. Our colorguard program has been totally revamped and it is well on its way to being a shining star in our total band program.

The Bad

We looked like 8th place at finals. By this I mean we have worn out uniforms and equipment. We were also the smallest group at finals. We must find a way to get more students involved and move more from the middle to the high school. We also need more exposure outside of South Carolina. The judges at state are national level judges and them at least having heard of Dutch Fork previously won't do anything except help. We must be more consistent in how things are done all the way from loading equipment to taking care of uniforms and instruments.

The Ugly

We are still suffering and will continue to suffer from the turn over of directors at the middle school. Time and consistency is, unfortunately, the only cure for this problem. We are also very much underfunded so getting new equipment will be difficult. We must find a way to fundraise more money not just for equipment but for things that will make the students feel special such as chartered buses. We need more to look at the band program as a serious and worthwhile activity. Not just something to do. We need more students to take private lessons. The only way we will advance from being what we are is if we can make gains as individuals.

We have never been closer to breaking out into to being a contender for a top finish in many areas but only through hard work, understanding, and cooperation will we be able to take things to the next level.

It was a great season though and I can certainly see the future is bright for our program. Doing well and winning only make me want to work harder!

An Honor

It was my great pleasure to stand on the field last night with so many great friends and students. I had to remind myself to take it all in and for once...I did. It was nothing less than the thing that movies are made of and books are written of, for me. I am honored to have been a part of it all. Thank you to all.

Final Thoughts before State

Just to keep things in perspective, you have already accomplished the following:

5 days of pre-camp for – 20 hours

10 days of band camp for – 100 hours

33 after school rehearsals for – 90.75 hours

7 Friday night football games for – 35 hours

5 Saturday competitions for – 50 hours

Total = 295.75 hours outside of school time

You have one more day left. Make the most of it. Today you will compete in highest division of competition the South Carolina Band Director’s Association has to offer. There is a reason 5A has a day all to itself. You are the best! I know of no other activity in high school that takes as much time and dedication as the band program. You have worked in 100 degrees weather, the rain, and now the cold. You have been pushed to your limits both physically and mentally. You have gained many new skills in both music and marching but also in responsibility and work ethic. Regardless of the outcome, you are winners and what you have accomplished will stay with you forever. Whether this is your first year of marching band or your last, you have changed the attitude of band at Dutch Fork and will have a lasting affect on your community.

“Garden Rhapsody”

“Garden Rhapsody” is a very special show. It was written for just you and is about you. No other band has ever performed it. The show is about growth but there is much more than just the external meaning of flowers growing. The show starts in small pods that open up into a large powerful statement. The show then progresses to a difficult, technical section that allowed you to gain new skills and pushed you to your limits. The “Rain” section shows off your beauty and control. The “Summer Storms” section allows you to express yourself in an aggressive manner ending with the true power you have gained over the season with your sound. The “Reprise” brings everything back together with a special ending that allows everybody to see what the entire journey was about. You too have grown as a band. We are no longer just a group of people that play instruments and spin flags. We are a family that understands each other and has gained that understanding though hard work and mutual respect. True growth has occurred in all of us this year. As you run your show for the its final time, don’t be afraid to feel proud and show your growth to the entire state. You deserve all the rewards you have received this year and many, many more await you in the future but don’t forget to savor the moment too. Truly you have grown into to a beautiful and powerful group of very special individuals. Together we have accomplished what others doubted. Today is your time to shine!

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worth cause; who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory not defeat."

Hard Work

"It does not seem to be true that work necessarily needs to be unpleasant. It may always have to be hard, or at least harder than doing nothing at all. But there is ample evidence that work can be enjoyable, and that indeed, it is often the most enjoyable part of life. " - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of the Optimal Experience

Perhaps most, this is what I hope the students will take with them from their experiences as related to marching band this year. They have worked hard and have seen and felt the rewards. We have only 2 more rehearsals for the season left and although I look forward to having more time to spend with my sweet Cindy and the Boyz I must say that I have enjoyed this season with the thing that I have enjoyed most being rehearsal. I just don't hear the complaints about being outside and working as I use to in the past. The students seem to truly enjoy it. That is a huge reward to me in itself. I encourage everybody to cherish the last few of this season in reference to not only what will occur on Saturday but also the last few moments of rehearsal and the final game of the year too. Enjoy each other and respect each other as this where the true accomplishments of the season have been obtained.

Election Day 2009

It sounds exciting doesn't it? We are out of school and don't get to rehearse in the day so I checked to see what I could vote on today. Guess what? NOTHING! I can vote on nothing in the fair town of Lexington. So I thought I would check to see what the people of Dutch Fork could vote upon. What did I find? Not much. I was confused but I think they can vote on beer and wine sales on Sunday but then I think that may only be the city of Irmo. I am not sure. I did figure out last night (it was night when we were practicing since the sun went down at about 5:30) why we are not rehearsing today. We have to keep things interesting because we were cooking with gas last night. Even the usual critical Mr. Apple said "This is good!" and it was. So rest up little children for your weekend and I do mean your weekend. Make it all about you. I will go to my meetings today and try to get something out of them. If you need me just call, I will have my cell phone on the highest setting. Oh did I say this...GET SOME REST! YOU'LL NEED IT!