Band and Piano

What a wonderful term of music we have had! Our new musicians have had a very successful start to the band program, many of them have gone above and beyond with practise, and the quality of their tone is evident due to this. Please do not lose all of the progress that has been made over the holidays.  Here are a few ideas for what you can practise:

Brass: buzzing in your mouth pieces, trying to change the pitch as you buzz.

Everyone:

1. Long notes - pick a note, take a strong breath and see how long you can sustain the note without stopping for a breath.
2. Tonguing -  pick a note, take a strong breath, blow the note and use your tongue to start and stop the note as many times as you can before you run out of air. 
3. Read your music. Without playing, read the names of the notes. Don’t forget the rests!
4. Look in the mirror while you play. Make sure you have no puffer cheeks. Make sure you have good posture.  Remember, your instrument comes up to you; keep that chin up!
5. Play your pieces.

First week back, our new band students will get to play as a band for the first time. So exciting!

Seniors: We should all be proficient in Blue Adventure ready to play together next term.  We will be starting a new band piece first week back to play as our ensemble.

Congratulations to Kaitlyn, Molly, Rose, Agnes and Lois for their participation in the Festival of Bands with the conservatorium of music.  They have a wonderful day of learning at the con and performed well in Victory Memorial Park last Sunday.  What a wonderful experience. I am so proud of them all for their efforts with practise and playing with children they have not met before.