Christmas is approaching!

It's hard to believe -- especially considering we still have Halloween and Thanksgiving -- but you should be hearing the sounds of Christmas at your home already!

Beginning band is currently working on Jingle Bells, Good King Wenceslas, Dreydl, Dreydl, and Holiday Sampler along with the first 12 pages from the book. If you're not hearing Christmas, encourage your students to practice!

Advanced band is also working on some Christmas songs. Theirs are Deck the Halls, Up On the Housetop, and Holiday Fantasy. Clarinets are also working on their upper register. If they keep working hard, they should be pretty confident on those higher notes in a couple of weeks. I'm also planning on introducing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony to the advanced band this week. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to give it to beginning band or not, but we'll see just how far they progress over the next few weeks.

Thank you for all you do to help this program succeed! Don't forget to pay tuition if you haven't yet. It's $200 for the year or $100 per semester.

Thanks! Mrs. Worthen

And we're split!

I finished the first day with Beginning Band today and I'm excited to have Advanced students come in tomorrow morning. Here's hoping they believed me and practiced book 2! I plan on hitting hard tomorrow so we can get some wonderful music in by Christmas.

Don't forget that you can print off practice charts from here on the website! And students need to show them to me the beginning of every week.

Thanks for everything you do!

Mrs. Worthen

Brass Week

We made it through Brass Week. I'm so excited we picked up a trombone player and four trumpets. We're starting to have the makings of a great band.

Today we are combining all players for the first time. It'll be great to see just how we line up instrumentation-wise.

We're also on the last week of the weird schedule. Please remember to bring your students to class according to the following schedule:

Monday -- combined band

Tuesday -- no AM band class -- 5:30-7:30 Band Camp at Jordan Ridge (don't forget to pay your $20 at the registration desk)

Wednesday -- no AM band class -- 5:30-7:30 Band Camp at Jordan Ridge

Thursday -- combined band

Friday -- Percussion Day

Next week we'll split off into Beginning and Advanced bands (Mon/Wed Beginning, Tues/Thurs Advanced, Fri Percussion).

Don't forget to turn in practice charts for the week!

Thanks!

Mrs. Worthen

Woodwind Week Recap

We've finished our first week of band! Last week was Woodwind Week where I met with all the flutes, clarinets, and saxes. We had a great first week and covered through page 9 in class. I hope all the students are practicing, practicing, practicing this week. I want everyone up to page 10 by next Monday.

We also had our first percussion class last Friday. It was a great day. Everyone started working on drum rolls. Be sure they're getting a good bounce on each hand individually, then combine the hands in a circular motion to get a good drum roll. On bells, percussion students should also be up to page 10.

We are currently on our Brass Week. So far, I have nothing but trumpets. If anyone knows anyone else interested in joining the band and playing trombone, send them my way! Today, we made it through page 7, but I'm hoping everyone gets to page 10 by the end of the week.

Don't forget to turn in practice charts!

Next week, we'll combine classes on Monday and Thursday mornings. Band Camp is Tuesday and Wednesday nights next week. Be sure to bring your beginning students to the camp! It is so incredibly beneficial for them!

Thanks! And remember, if you have any questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment on the blog.

Mrs. Worthen -- band