Where Wiley Band musicians, families, and friends share their musical musings
Greetings, Wiley Band friends! Recently, our Beginning Band students have started working on making small group recordings with their friends in band. Here are the first recordings by two of our small groups: Green Night and Kyle’s Angels. Check back here over the next few weeks; we’ll add many more great recordings!
Green Night performs Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Kyle’s Angels perform Old Blue.
Greetings, Wiley Band families, and Happy 2010!
Band rehearsals for the spring semester begin on January 19th, but in the meantime, there are several great musical & creative opportunities for Wiley Band students and parents. Here’s a rundown on some great January events:
For students in both bands, January is the time to practice for two exciting events coming up at the end of January. The Advanced Band students are the headlining act on January 23rd at 3pm at Loco Lu’s Coffeeshop. At this coffeeshop gig, individual Advanced Band students, as well as small groups, will have the opportunity to perform musical selections of their choice!
The Beginning Band students have a cool project going on as well–the Small Ensemble Recording Project. The beginners have chosen their own repertoire to learn over the winter break, and they will have the chance to record their work in class toward the end of January. Be sure to visit this blog often; soon it’ll be full of excellent beginning band recordings!
This next announcement is for all who enjoy percussion. Ms. Thompson’s husband, Andrew Munger has just completed his first drumset method book, Building Grooves–and you’re invited to come and celebrate! On Thursday, January 14th from 6-8pm, join Andrew for a solo percussion concert and clinic at 2112 Percussion (1003 East Whitaker Mill Road in Raleigh). Come enjoy great music, door prizes, and a chance to meet several of Raleigh’s finest percussionists. (We also have a cake that looks just like the book; truly a must-see…and a must-eat!)
And finally, an event just for Wiley Band Moms: The Women Embracing Creativity 8-week course! This course teaches you simple ways to uncover and embrace your true creative talents–even if you don’t think you have a creative bone in your body! Every Tuesday evening at 7pm, from January 12th – March 2nd, we’ll explore our imaginations in a fun, safe circle of women at Summerglen Music. Please join us!
That’s it for now. I wish everyone the best as we begin a brand new year! :)
Greetings, Wiley Band Families!
Want to get a more in-depth look at what your child is working on in band? Drop by the Beginner Page and the Advanced Page on the Wiley Band website! These pages show each band’s current projects, past projects, and how you can help your child enjoy a successful and fun band experience. :)
Greetings, Wiley Band friends!
Our band students have been doing some great work this fall, and soon it’ll be time for us to share our progress with you at our Winter Concert. Our concert will be on Thursday, December 17th at 7pm–make sure to save the date, because we’d love to see you there!
If you enjoyed our Fall Concert back in October, our Winter Concert will be an even bigger treat. The Beginning Band is now reading music, and the Advanced Band has been working on some exciting and challenging music from around the globe. Also, we’re sharing the bill with the lovely and talented Wiley Chorus and Dance students. This will be an evening to remember!
In our next post, we’ll explore each band’s work more in depth, and share some ways you can help your band kid succeed this month!
All band kids and parents should hear this wonderful recording! Here, composer and music educator Jack Stamp shows us exactly why music education enriches the lives of our children. Enjoy!
Greetings, Wiley Band friends!
Our fall concert this past week was absolutely top-notch, and the raving reviews have been pouring in ever since. Here’s a sampling of what our audience members thought about our playing last Tuesday night:
It all totally surpassed my expections. It is truly inspiring to hear all those little budding musicians and to see how engaged they are.
I think the kids were very proud of their accomplishment in such a short time, and the parents were very impressed!
What a great concert. The kids are doing such a great job!
We LOVED the concert last night!
Thank you very much for last night’s concert. I am so proud of the children, and all that they’ve accomplished in just a few short months.
In short, the Wiley Band ROCKS! Join me for our next post, where we talk about what to do now after the show.
Greetings, Wiley Band Families,
I hope everyone is doing well! Here are all the details about our Fall Concert next week. Our students have been hard at work preparing for this concert, and are excited about showing you their musical skills!
When: Tuesday, October 20th at 7pm (Please plan to arrive by 6:40.)
Where: Wiley Media Center
What students should wear: White top, black pants or skirt, and black shoes. (Please see http://www.wileyelementaryband.com/handbook.html#concerts for more details.)
What students should bring: Instrument, music, and a bottle of water if they like. We will have our normal rehearsal on concert day, so your children are welcome to leave their instruments and music in the media center after rehearsal is over.
If you have any questions about the concert, please feel free to contact me. Thank you so much for all the support you have given your children during these first few weeks of band. We look forward to treating you to an exciting evening of music!
Greetings! The biggest news coming out of the Wiley band room this week is the Advanced Band’s practice project. After learning that their current practice habits were keeping them from making as much musical progress as they wanted, the Advanced Band decided to do something different.
Instead of viewing practice as an optional activity, the Advanced Band has pledged to take practice more seriously. With the help of Ms. Thompson, the band parents, and weekly practice charts, the Advanced Band hopes to have 100% of its members practicing every day for at least 15 minutes. The big goal in everyone’s mind is to finish the red book by December. With regular practice from all students, WE CAN DO IT!
The Practice Expectations Are:
1. Practice 15 or more minutes at a time.
2. Practice 5 or more days per week.
3. Practice the material that is assigned in class, and when that’s done, go further into the red book.
How Parents Can Help
1. Help your child find a convenient time and a quiet place to practice. Establishing a specific time and place to practice helps turn practice from “something extra to fit in” into a normal part of your child’s routine.
2. Remind your child to practice. When it’s practice time, it’s perfectly OK to tell your child to go and practice. Practice isn’t just “playing around”; it’s work, and many kids need a little motivation to get started.
3. Check and sign your child’s practice chart every Monday evening. (Practice charts will be checked on Tuesday). Very simply, practice charts help children stay accountable for their band-related responsibilities. When practice minutes are written down, kids can truly see how they’re doing musically, and this is a great motivator to bring those minutes up!
What Band Kids Can Do
1. Remember that practice is homework. As a member of our band, you’re responsible for playing your part to the best of your ability. Your director and bandmates are counting on you to work on your music and make it sound great.
2. Find a place and time to practice. With your parents’ help, find a place and time to practice and stick to it. Think of practice as something you do every day, like brushing your teeth.
3. Practice what’s assigned in class. We’ve all seen what happens when band kids don’t practice something because they think they know how to play it. The results are usually not so great! Even if you think you can pull off a song without practice, challenge yourself to practice it anyway. And don’t stop with correct notes–count the rhythm, add dynamics, change your tempo, or try different articulations. Every creative practice strategy you use will make you a better musician!
Greetings, WileyBanders!
Every so often, I’ll pop on here and give an update about how our band is doing: what we’re learning, how rehearsals are turning out, and so on. Here is our first State of the Band Address, which will cover our band’s progress from Band Camp to our first regular rehearsal!
State of the Beginners:
The beginners here at Wiley are off to a STRONG start! In just one short week, they’ve gone from knowing absolutely nothing about their instruments to understanding a number of concepts: posture, hand position, fingering, embouchure (mouth position), how to use their lungs, fulcrums, rebounds…and even more advanced stuff like tonguing and slurring.
In keeping with Wiley’s international focus, the beginners are learning new songs in a way similar to kids in African and South American cultures–by ear! Both in class and at home, students are challenged to use their ears to learn simple songs like “Hot Cross Buns” and “Mary Had A Little Lamb”. The goal here is to give each student “good ears” that can discern the relationships between different pitches–and the kids’ ears are developing nicely!
How to help beginners succeed: Encourage daily practice, and ask your child to play all of his/her notes for you often. Also, if your child gets stumped on one of the notes in a song, encourage them not to worry. We’ll work on all of our songs in class!
State of the Advanced Band:
The Advanced Band is in the process of getting used to a new director, new band friends, and new expectations. Learning to work with a different band director can be a difficult process for many students, but our Advanced Band is adapting well. Our main goals for the next few weeks will be to learn how to rehearse efficiently, and to polish up our posture and playing technique.
Besides getting acquainted with a new kind of band, the Advanced Band is in the midst of the Red Book Challenge. To hone our playing skills, we’re going through the red Standard of Excellence book with a fine-toothed comb–striving for good breathing habits, correct hand position, flawless articulation, and other stuff that sounds GOOD! The students have made a goal to be able to play the entire red book with good habits by December 10th.
How to help an Advanced Band kid: Encourage daily practice, and stress the importance of being prepared for rehearsal. Students succeed when they have their books, instruments, reeds, neck straps, etc. at each rehearsal! Also, ask your child about his/her posture often.
State of the Volunteers:
At our parent meeting, many awesome parents signed up to volunteer at Wiley Band rehearsals! Since our band is so new, our volunteers have many things to learn as well: how to set chairs up, the perfect way to push bookshelves out of the way, and other exciting skills. ;0) To help our volunteers, I’ve added helpful handouts to our volunteer page:
How to Set Up for Beginning Band
How to Set Up and Tear Down for Advanced Band
These documents (along with diagrams for each band) will also be in the Wiley Band binder shortly. Three cheers for our dedicated volunteers!
Thanks to all Wiley Band families for making our first week of band a success!
Greetings, Wiley Band Families,
Band Camp begins on Monday, August 17th–a little over a week from today! Here are 5 things you should do this week to prepare your child for band.
1. Communicate! – If you haven’t done so already, email Ms. Thompson with your child’s instrument choice. This will help her plan for the upcoming year!
2. Get an instrument. – All students must have their instruments, band books, and supplies by Monday, August 17th. Students without instruments cannot learn to play!
3. Double-check the Band Camp schedule. Remember, our first three days of Band Camp are sectionals for beginner students only. Find out when your child’s sectionals will meet on the Band Camp page.
4. Figure out transportation for the week of Band Camp and beyond. – How is your kiddo going to get to and from Band Camp and regular rehearsals? Make a plan now to avoid stress down the road.
5. Volunteer! – We still have open spots on our Volunteer Calendar. Please sign up to support your child’s band!
