Spring Concert Music handed out next week!

All of our new literature for our Spring Concert has arrived and is ready to be handed out to the band students at their second large group rehearsal this coming week!  I am excited to begin working on the music and I'm sure that the students will enjoy the variety of musical styles that they will be introduced to in the music.  The selections were chosen to reinforce all of the different musical concepts that the band students have been working on so far this year.  Along with learning new notes and new rhythms, this quarter, we will also be focusing more on interpretation in our music - dynamics, articulations, etc! 

Don't forget to ask your child about their new sheet music this coming week!
Until next week......
Mr. Hubers

Back to normal?

Hopefully, we are finished with snow days, late starts and early outs!  It has been difficult the past few weeks to maintain a regular rehearsal and lesson schedule.  Please remind your child to continue to practice even if their lesson has been missed that week due to weather related issues!  The band students can always review previous material that they have learned if they are uncertain about the new pages in their lesson book.  They can also play through the selections that we have worked on in our 'First Performance' book.  They could even review old sheet music selections that they have - just keep them playing!!  This will allow them to continue building their lip muscles and to reinforce fingerings and rhythms.

Until next week....
Mr. Hubers

Conference Time Again!

It is time for conferences again!  The elementary conferences are Monday, Feb. 7, 2011.   My conference schedule is as follows:

Brandon Elementary:  1:30-3:30

Robert Bennis Elementary:  3:30-5:30

Fred Assam Elementary:  6:30-9:00

Please feel free to stop by at any of the campuses to visit with me regarding your child's progress in 5th grade band.  If you are not able to visit with me, please feel free to email me at school (Del.Hubers@k12.sd.us) with any concerns that you may have!  I look forward to seeing you again! 

Just a reminder to help your child maintain a regular practice schedule at home!  Until next week....

Mr. Hubers

Interesting Research Quote

I came across this interesting bit of research this past week that I wanted to pass along to you.  This is quoting B. Friedman and his research entitled 'An Evaluation of the Achievement in Reading and Arithmetic of Pupils in Elementary School Instrumental Music Classes'.  He goes on to say that "Music students always outperform non-music students on achievement tests in reading and math.  Because of their study of music, their skills are better in reading, anticipating, memory, listening, forecasting, recall and concentration." 

Being involved in instrumental music has so many rewards, besides the intellectual developments that it fosters.  Band students really do have to function as a team in order to really do well on their music.  This sense of cooperation and committment to a group is of great importance in building their self-esteem.  Band students are always involved in the music-making and learning process, whereas a student can give up on a test, forget to hand in an assigment or let his/her mind drift during a lecture, band students are always actively involved and taking ownership in their learning!  The benefits of being involved in making music may not always be seen immediately, but they can certainly last a lifetime!!

Until next week....
Mr. Hubers

Back to Work!

     The 5th grade band students are back to work after our brief hiatus for the holiday break!  We have already learned 5 more notes since the beginning of January and are also playing in different key signatures and have begun to read 16th note rhythm patterns with great accuracy! 
     As we continue through the third quarter, we will focus on mastering as many new concepts as we can from our band method book as well as work through numerous band arrangements found in our 'First Performance' book.  They will also be receiving some sheet music examples which will correlate with some of the concepts that we are covering in our books.   We began reading through the 'Star Wars Theme' this week as it uses many of the new high notes that we learned on page 22 in our 'Standard of Excellence' book.  We have really enjoyed playing this piece this week and the band students are doing really well on it already.
     It can be very challenging to keep the students practicing during the months of January and February, but please continue to encourage their practice routine at home so we can continue progressing on our instruments!
     Until next week.....
Mr. Hubers

Music Students Are Scoring!!

According to The College Board (1997):  Music students are outperforming non-music students on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).  College-bound seniors with coursework or experience in music performance scored 52 points higher in the verbal portion and 37 points higher on the math portion of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. 

These are some pretty impressive figures from the College Board!  What better way to give your child a jump-start on their academic careers than by being involved in music!  Keep encouraging their practice at home, especially now during the 'January Slump' as I like to refer to it.  The months of January and February can be taxing as we try to keep the momentum going that we had as we were preparing for our Holiday Concert - but don't give up, it will be well worth it!!  Until next week.....
Mr. Hubers

Back Into the Swing of Things....

Our holiday break seems like a distant memory and it is now time to get back into the swing of things in the band room!  Our main goal this 3rd quarter is to master as many of the concepts presented in the rest of the 'Standard of Excellence' book as we are able.  Progress reports will go home today (Friday) with all of the band students.  Many students still received a '3 - needs to work on this'  rating in regard to tone production.  Tone production is a major component of instrumental music and is something that is worked on constantly throughout one's playing career - so keep up the good work and strive to get better every time you take out your instrument!  Make sure that you are setting your sights high in regard to your goals this semester and let's make as much progress as we can working together the rest of the school year.  Until next week......
Mr. Hubers