Week 1: September 17, 2019

Hello Bytown Beginners!

Well done on your first night of rehearsal! We covered a lot, but don’t worry! Music takes time and practice and there are always good days and bad days, so don’t beat yourself up over playing. The first 6 weeks are a steep learning curve, so please email me if you are having any issues.

What we did:

  • Band Skills:
    • Conductor 4- pattern: Down is always the start of a new measure (beat 1). If you get lost look for beat 1!
    • How do you know when to come in? The conductor will breathe, I usually give a 3,4
    • Practice coming in together based on the conductor
  • Playing Skills:
    • Lines 1-4
    • Practice in short chunks to let your muscle memory begin to develop and give your face/hands a break! (15min increments)
      • Maybe practice twice in a day until you are tired and then stop
  • Other
    • Concert is December 15 (a Sunday)
    • Email me if you are missing music, so I can have it ready when you come in (I don’t always have extra copies lying around)
    • Smartmusic is a online tool you can use for immediate feedback
    • Theory pages available on my site (Please email me so I can steer you to ones that would be helpful to your individual needs):

What we will do next week:

  • Lines 1-14 in Essential Elements
  • Begin looking at Abide with me (Don’t stress about this one!)

Clinic Rooms:

  • 110: flute
  • Music room practice rooms: oboe
  • 112: clarinet 
  • 114: trumpet
  • 115: trombone 
  • 143: french horn
  • library: saxophone
  • staff: electric bass
  • Music room: percussion
Listening Links: