I wish all students would learn to manage their time better. Don't get me wrong, some of the students are very diligent about deadlines and the amount of individual time needed to properly prepare musical assignments for those deadlines, but others, not so much! We have our first eligibility date of the school year tomorrow. As you can imagine, the band room has been a very popular destination for students. I guess some students are creatures of habit, meaning they wait until the very last minute to make up that lesson or practice log. Now I know I should be happy that they have finally done the work, but when they try to cram in a make up lesson I do not get to devote quality instruction time to them! I hope in the future they plan their schedule a little better!

I am trying to get band students to visit the blog more often - to that end I am going to provide incentives for them for visiting the blog! If you are a student, include the following word in a comment after this post! The word to use is "melody."

It will be a busy week for us - Homecoming always is! Here's to great performances this week!

"My Bands"

Today was a great day for us. Both the Junior High Concert Band and the Madelia Concert Band have had two great rehearsals in a row. The JHCB has made great strides the past two days on "Regal Fanfare" and today we also watched a portion of an instructional DVD on proper breath technique which we tried and will continue to experiment with tomorrow. The work ethic has steadily increased this week for them!

MCB had that magical moment today while practicing music for coronation next Monday. They finished the processional and I stopped and said,"Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time this school year I finally felt like you were MY Madelia Concert Band - congratulations!" I felt like they were finally "with me," responding to tiny inflections I was using with my conducting pattern, and performing "above the notes" with extreme emotion. They continued this tonight with an outstanding pepband performance!

Homecoming Spirit?

At MHS we are busy preparing for arguably the most important week of the fall term: Homecoming. Music groups play a large role in the celebrations, from coronation, to pepfests, to parades and pepband performances. While this is a time for celebration, students must remember that these celebrations should enhance not dominate the learning environment. We are already feeling the effects of homecoming - the concentration level is starting to decline! I hope that students remember that next Monday is not only coronation but also the first eligibility period, so attention must be given to assignments and work ethic in all classes!

I made the decision today to not have Coronation Jazz play this year. Instead, the entire concert band will play. We had too many holes in the ensemble that have yet to be filled from last year, especially now that we are taking three people out of the ensemble to be part of the court! I hope the students understand my decision! This will make life much more manageable and less stressful!

"The Practice Revolution"

During the summer I started thinking about how Madelia band students learn. My thoughts kept going the same direction...towards "out of class" work or "practice." I want students to get the most benefit from the valuable time they put in. I stumbled upon the book "The Practice Revolution," by Philip Johnston and decided shortly thereafter to revamp our entire practice requirements and the way we do things!

Today all band students 7-12 watched a powerpoint on common practice flaws. As we went through the presentation the students marked which types of flaws they identified with. We will use the results during lessons and learn to use strategies that make their practicing beneficial.

"Demo Crew"

We had a lot to do today as the installation crew will arrive Monday to install the SMARTboard. I had started removing the corkboard earlier in the week (not nearly as easy or as clean as it sounds) and needed help today removing the blackboards. I put the call out this morning and my "demo crew" arrived at the beginning of MCC. These band and choir men used brute force to pull the gigantic sheets of slate off the wall, dodging flying springs and 40+year-old dust at the same time! They saved me a ton of time - thanks, guys!

Motivation

I love students who are self-driven and motivated to learn. This morning MCB drumline snares had a sectional that they called. This makes the third morning this week these guys have been rehearsing before school - way to go guys!

Studying the Classics

Today was a monumental day for MCB: our first day of sight-reading "concert band" music. It is so nice to not have a pepband performance this week which allows us to take a much-needed break from being "peppy" and create a normal rehearsal atmosphere and routine.

Our task today: discover two classic pieces of literature. MCB will be doing a new arrangement of "Academic Festival Overture" by Johannes Brahms, and "Folk Song Suite" by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Even with the freshman members of the band out for a retreat, the remaining musicians did an excellent job of sight-reading. Perhaps, they needed the break as much as the director did!

Terrific Tuesday

Madelia Bands had a great day today. It started with a 7:40 senior high drumline rehearsal called by the members. Our first ever - and they did an awesome job! We might rehearse again Thursday morning.

Junior High Concert Band made great strides on their music. We sightread Richard Saucedo's "Regal Fanfare" with hope of making it the first selection on the December concert. About 45% of the band members have completed their fall seating auditions. We also held our junior high drumline informational meeting at lunch. An excited bunch of potential members showed up.

MCB continued to hone new pepband music. We are continuing our method of listening to the "real" artists performing their works and then we jump in and rehearse. What a trip - we went from hard rock (Rock and Roll All Nite) to Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do." Today "Old Time Rock n' Roll" and "Paint it Black" got a second reading. Let me say this: "The Madelia Pepband is ROCKIN' so far!"

New Beginnings

Today was the first day of fall seating auditions. It is always a day of revelations for me as it is my first opportunity of the new school year to hear the students and see what, if any gains they have made over the summer. I am sure the majority of students would not agree! I hope they understand the necessity of the process and realize that there is nothing to be nervous about.

We also had our MCB drumline meeting today. What an enthusiastic bunch! We are going to rehearse tomorrow morning before school with the hope of being able to perform publicly for the fist time at Coronation on October 5th.

Today was also the first day of elementary band lessons. It was good to see the returning students and nice to meet the ones I haven't started yet. A bonus was that everyone remembered their instrument!

MCB had our first public performance last Friday at the football game. Although we had only had four opportunities to rehearse the band sounded great! Way to go!

New school year, new rehearsal space

Over the past few months the instrumental rehearsal space has received significant upgrades. I am truly thankful that the district installed Wenger acoustical panels on the walls and ceiling. This has had a dramatic impact on the decibel level in the room, which is literally less "music to my ears." The old cracked floor tile was also removed and replaced with new blue tiles, completing the transformation. Electrical work was done to the air-conditioning units to keep them running smoothly. To say the students were "wowed" when they walked in on Tuesday was an understatement. Also in the works is a technology upgrade. The lighting will be on the list for next summer.

I spent considerable time in August cleaning, sorting, discarding, and organizing the space and it is much more functional now. The students have done a great job maintaining the room this first week!

Welcome to Madelia Concert Bands!

Welcome to the blog home of Madelia Concert Bands! The Madelia School District is located in Madelia, Minnesota, approximately 25 miles west of Mankato, and 100 miles southwest of Minneapolis. I invite you to visit our district website at http://www.madelia.k12.mn.us/