Being Prepared for Band Class:Each student is now expected to have rented, borrowed, or bought the instrument they intend to use for this year. Students MUST come prepared to class with their instrument, method book, and theory duotang to each class. Students only have two band classes a week, and we need to take advantage of the learning time we have together!What if an instrument is forgotten? Or music?Forgetting materials in a row:Forget once - borrow from the band room, no problem! We all make mistakes!Forget 2 times - borrow from the band room, but you will also get a warning! Forget 3 times - student won’t be able to participate with an instrument, and parents will receive an email! When do students need to have their materials at school? Monday = 5A + 5C + 6D Tuesday = 5B Wednesday = 5A + 5C + 6C + 6D Thursday = 5B + 6C Practicing Expectations:Students are expected to be practicing at home. Students are building muscles in their face, and just like any other muscle, they need to be exercised! As I’ve mentioned before, the more time and effort a student puts into their instrument, the better the band experience. Students should be doing 7-10 minutes at least 4 times a weekI have created and invited each student to a Google Classroom, where I have posted and will post past band class rehearsals. This is a great place for students to check what to practice! Please read this practice guide for a place to start: Instrument Set-Up Warmups Play long tones. Think about proper breathing, clear tone and evenness of pitch. Play notes in mid range, low range, high range and then mid and low ranges again. Practice tonguing. Strive for clear attacks and speed. Play your specific warm up exercises - Check Google Classroom Music Preparation Arrange your music in the order you want to practice it. Make sure you think about what needs the most work and/or is the hardest and put those pieces at the top of your pile! We all have tendencies to play what we already know and avoid the hardest stuff - fight against this!! Make sure you have your pencil handy. As you play, write helpful words, symbols, anything you want to remind you of the mistakes you might make. Circle parts you know need more work. Make special note of sections you have questions about so you remember to ask me in band class. When practicing difficult sections, slow the tempo down or practice the notes and rhythms separately. Break hard passages down into tiny (2-3 note) parts and practice them many times. Always listen to yourself, checking for wrong notes, rhythms, fingerings, slide positions, etc. When you hear a mistake, stop and mark the spot, practice it until the mistake is eliminated. Then play it a few more times to make sure it stays fixed!Don't ignore and avoid the problem spots or pieces!! Take some time to relax and play something just for fun. Sightreading Choose a selection not from your required work. Practice reading just the rhythm of it at 3 different tempos (slow, medium, fast). Tap your foot or use a metronome (or both) to set and maintain a steady beat. Using the same music, read it through at a comfortable tempo without stopping. Then look back through it, checking fingerings, notes, rhythms, etc. Then play it straight through again as perfectly as you can at the correct tempo. Listen to what you are playing. General Notes POSTURE POSTURE POSTURE!!!!!! Check your playing position!!! Always listen to what you are playing. Mark your music to fix mistakes. Strive for the best tone quality at all times. Always feel free to ask me for help. Clean and check your instrument daily. Spend time listening to music and thinking about what makes it good. Don't cheat yourself by saying "I don't have time to practice". Be prepared for band class ~ you'll have more fun. Be proud of yourself and your musical ability. Don't settle for mediocre playing.Remember to have fun. You will become a better musician and person by playing music. What if I only have 5 minutes and my little sibling is SLEEPING? Practice your fingerings or slide positions! This is so important to feeling confident when we start to play more complicated things.