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WAYLAND MIDDLE
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Last updated September 1, 2010
Welcome to the Wayland Middle School Bands Website!
Here you will find:
- Info about our bands and how we run things in the band
- Announcements for our band families
- Tips on being a better musician (for all musicians, not just MS students)
- Tidbits of musical information that may be interesting to you
- Assignments, forms and other details pertaining to our band
- Private teacher list (Wayland area) and Arts/Music camp list
- Pictures!
WMS Bands - Memorial Day, 2010 - proud!
Check out our PHOTO BOOK
Art is the transfer of emotions from one person to another. ~Tolstoy
Check this space frequently for timely announcements
Did you know we have a page specially for student music compositions? Check it out! Rachel H has a new one just posted today. What a great piece! "Skyward!"
FOLDERS ARE READY! And are in the crates in the middle school lobby. Pick up yours today and you can start practicing early. What??? You haven't played since June?? Well, this is your moment to get your chops back in shape! See below for links to sound files of our new music.
SYMPHONIC BAND - grades 7/8 - come help welcome the 6th graders! September 2 - grade 7/8 band members play for the 6th grade orientation. If you are in town, come join us! Help welcome the new 6th graders to Wayland Middle School! We (whoever is available) will play as they walk down the hall to the theater on orientation day. Arrive at 8:00. Pickup is about 9:15. Bring your lyre!!! Dress is casual school clothes. We will rehearse for a bit and then we play for the clap-in at about 8:45 or so. We will be all done and ready to go home at 9:15ish. You need last year's Memorial Day march (Semper Fi) and the short "Let's Go Band" break. (Click link to download the break; Semper Fi is available in the middle school lobby with the folders.) Let me know if you are coming, or if you find out at the last minute that you can come, it is OK to just show up!
I'm not going to say that summer is almost over... but school does start soon! My personal hope is that I can keep some of the summer relaxation as I begin the next school year. (yeah, suuure!) Well, I can dream. :-)
I'm excited about this year! I think both the concert band and symphonic band are going to be awesome!!!!!! I am looking forward to getting started.
The band manual is now posted, so parents you can get a head start on the beginning of the year paperwork. The band manual return sheet is due at the end of the month, but why not get it done now! Let's see how many can be turned in on the first day of school! (I have a crate in the band room -AKA,cafeteria stage- that says, "Stuff for Ms Muffitt". Anything for me may be dropped in there anytime..)
Check out the band calendar and put the concert dates in your family calendar.
Jazz Audition information is now posted, although the exact audition music will not be announced until the open rehearsal on September 14. Anyone interested in either jazz group (Stage Band or Jazz Band) should attend the open rehearsal to get a sense of what and how to practice for the audition. Follow the link for more info (and get a head start by starting to practice the scales -rudiments and roll from drums- now.)
The Official Band Calendar! "Oh my gosh!!! When is the spring concert??" or "This darn changing middle school schedule; when are rehearsals this week?" Check this calendar for all things band (and the letter days)! Let me know if there are errors or omissions.
Marching Band pictures! (Whoops! Now this link is fixed and takes you to a series of pictures from the parade!)
Private lessons for your child just got easier! The Wayland School Community Programs has created a private lesson program for our MS & HS students (vocal, strings, winds & percussion). All lessons are at the high school, starting in the fall. Follow the link for more info.
SOUND FILES to listen to and get the feel of the piece and to practice with (it is fun to play with the recording! Did you know that the pros ALWAYS play along with recordings when there is one available!):
CONCERT BAND (grade 6):
- Golden Eagle March - do you know what makes a march sound like a march? Listen to this demonstration recording of this march and see if you can identify some things that make it sound like a march. Also notice how wonderful it sounds when the band plays the dynamics (louds & softs). When you have some of the music learned, try playing it with the recording!
- Morpheus is one of my very favorite pieces. It is by Robert W. Smith and you will play a lot of his music over the years! This is a fun piece to play! See if you can make up pictures in your mind of what might be happening in the movie if this were movie music.
SYMPHONIC BAND (7/8):
- Fiddler - this is the WMS band in December 2008. It is a pretty strong performance, there are balance issues (places where you can't hear parts well enough or where the saxes are too loud on the off-beats) and a few other mistakes (dropping the tambourine...) but you can play along with it and get the sense of the piece. Watch dyanamics and be accurate with the counting and ... have fun! I hope to have an on-line learning introduction to Fiddler available soon. Watch for more info.
- The Firebird is a ballet by Igor Stravinsky (Russia, 1882-1971). It has really wonderful and interesting music! We are playing two themes from the Finale of the ballet. The link here is the demo recording of our version.
- Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa (You know a lot about him, right? What do you remember?!) I don't have a demo of our version and it is in a higher key that the original. But, you can listen to the original and see how it is supposed to sound. Notice how the dynamics really matter! Did you know this is our national march? I like this particular version; see what you think. Can you hear the harp???
Jonathan Patsenker and Rachel Hawley were honored last spring for their musical compositions by the UMASS Lowell Music Department and MENC (Music Educators’ National Conference). Approximately 50 young composers, Kindergarten through High School, sent in entries to the committee. Jonathan and Rachel were among the nine composers chosen to showcase their work at a special recital on May 1 at UMASS Lowell. Follow the link to listen to their compositions.
Bravo to the Jazz Band for their Gold Medal Rating at the MAJE Jr. Jazz Festival!!
WORKSHOPS: Workshops will begin in the end of September. Watch here for more info and a schedule
Pictures from the Jazz Band, Honors Chamber Orchestra and Select Chorus trip to the elementary schools are posted - Check it out! PHOTOBOOK. The December concert pictures are there, too.
The Jazz Band / Stage Band rehearsal schedule is posted.
PARENTS ... The BAND MANUAL is posted so you can always refer to it for info.
PERCUSSION EQUIPMENT ORDER FORM is now ready
PERCUSSIONISTS.... Do you imagine yourself really wailing on your instruments? Check out Vic Firth's education site: http://www.vicfirth.com/education/ for online lessons and demonstrations. There is a section on rudiments, http://www.vicfirth.com/education/rudiments.html to see and hear the rudiments performed and for instruction and help in learning to play them properly. There is also a game to help you learn the note names and where they are on the mallet keyboard http://www.vicfirth.com/education/keyboard/speednotegame.html. And, there are loads of technique lessons & demonstration videos for snare drum, mallet percussion, drumset, auxiliary instruments, timpani, etc. Check it out!
Sound, Tech and Recording Crew page
Be sure my email addresses are in your
address book so that your spam programs don't kick out my messages!
Home: muffitt@bandnotes.info; and during the daytime, School:
diane_muffitt@wayland.k12.ma.us
Continuing Announcements
Looking for a new instrument?? The School Band & Orchestra Magazine has created a website with information that might be useful to you when embarking upon the fairly difficult task of purchasing a new instrument. http://www.sbomagazine.com/howtobuy.html -- PLEASE beware of instruments that have a cheaper sticker price -- they look great, but there is a reason that they don't cost as much, and usually they develop major wear problems very quickly (we sometimes call them "Band Quitter Models"). Ask a private teacher or your band director about the brand you are considering. Don't just buy off the shelf! I would say never buy from a discount store, and I would be cautious about buying from a store that seems to deal primarily in guitars, keyboards, drumset, etc. I have found that even though they look like they have a band/orchestra instrument department, they often don't have people who really know the instruments and the instruments are often not good quality. Even some of the beginning drum kits that come from these stores are often not worth the money - I had a terrible time trying to adjust an elementary student's drum at the spring concert (I never did get it to sound right). When I asked, he said it came from a local store that really deals mostly with guitars. Follow link for more info on cheap instruments and why it is a waste of money to buy them. |
PRACTICE:
Student need to practice at home; just playing at school is not enough to even keep up, let alone progress! The best students practice a 30-60 a day. I think a minimum for making good progress is 20 minutes 6 days a week. BUT... we all get too busy sometimes and have to cut it short - that is a given. On really busy days I recommend the young musician play for 5 minutes and spend some time on a really tough spot. That way, even when too busy some work gets done and progress is made. If your child is keeping practice charts, new practice record sheets are available in the band room or printed from the website
Thinking about private lessons? It is a GREAT idea for all students! Advanced students, behind students and average students all benefit. Follow the link for a list of teachers in the area. In 99% of cases, middle school students should be working with an adult and not with one of the high school tutors. Talk to me if you are unsure...
If you know of other great teachers that should be on the list - let me know. By the time students are in middle school, they should be studying with an adult teacher who really knows how to teach and knows pitfalls to watch for and knows ways to help solve problems. Our high school tutor program is fantastic for motivating the young player, but in middle school, it is time to move to an adult. Email/call me if you have questions.
Looking to purchase some music? Good music stores are hard to find these days and I, personally,
really miss being able to walk into a store and browse for things..
There are a couple of really good on-line stores -- Sheet
Music Plus and JW
Pepper are two of them. If you access Sheet Music Plus
through this link, I get an 8% rebate from your purchase, which I
will be putting into our instrument fund* at
school. I haven't used Sheet Music Plus enough to personally know
that it is a good source, but it was recommended by MENC (our music
teachers national association), so I have trust in the site. JW
Pepper is where I purchase our band music.
*What is the instrument fund? I used this fund for many things: to purchase a percussion instrument or music that we need midyear after the budget money is gone, to purchase an instrument we need, but can't afford in the budget (our new drumset, a piccolo...), to purchase the year-end awards, to give a deserving student a scholarship for private lessons for the summer, to purchase supplies for the digital recording team's work, and to fund other things that come up. This year, I hope to purchase a trophy case for our awards and pictures; we used to have one, but it got literally covered up by wall board as the new theatre was being built!
Interesting Info or Links
GMajorMusicTheory.org is a great place to get free sheet music at a variety of levels for both piano and guitar! Check it out!!
Here is a link to a pretty cool flute podcast of flute duets from the Voxman duet book 1. He plays both parts together and just the flute 2 part so you can play along. (David Summer - summersong.net)
Cool! An online metronome and a bit about how to use a metronome in your practice. Go to: http://www.metronomeonline.com/
MusicTheory.net - this site helps you learn almost everything there is to know about
reading music! Need help learning to read the note names? Want to
learn more about advanced chords? Want to learn to compose with minor
scales? It's all here for you
WGBH has a wonderful webpage demonstrating five
instruments from Japan; you can click on their
pictures individually to hear the sound, or put more than one
together to create a larger composition. Try starting with one or two
and adding others after a few measures, then deleting some, etc. See
what you come up with! While looking at instruments and music from
other countries, check out our pages on "Music
From Where?" It includes Chinese music, traditional
Jewish music & Klezmer, Latin American Music and music from
India.
The Wayland Historical Society has a wonderful picture of a Wayland
Military Band from around the1890s. With the Society's
permission, I have posted this wonderful picture! Check it
out!
Looking for music supplies?? See our list of
local music stores.
Buying a new instrument?? Don't just buy
off the shelf! Get help from your child's private teacher or band
director; you don't want to end up with one of the "Band Quitter
Models" - see below for more info.
The
composer, Morton Subotnick, has created an interesting
website with some musical puzzles & beginning composing
games. He also has some GREAT composing software - one aimed
at ages 5 and up - MAKING MUSIC, and the other for older
kids (better for middle school) - MAKING MORE MUSIC. Both
treat composing music like finger-painting and make the
creative process fun and easy. I hope to have Making More
Music on my computer at school soon. http://www.creatingmusic.com/
NUCLEAR
WHALES SAXOPHONE ORCHESTRA is an interesting
group... on their website they say, "The entire "Family of
Saxophones" is featured - the tiny sopranino, the soprano,
alto, tenor, baritone, and bass and the rare and monstrous
6'8" contrabass (described by The Los Angeles Times as
"...an instrument with the stature of a power forward in the
NBA and a pitch that makes a foghorn sound effeminate.")
Together they create incredibly innovative music with a rich
ensemble sound covering an amazing range of over six
octaves." Click on the the contrabass sax below to go to
their website (how does anyone have enough air to fill that
thing????)
From
the Top. What an awesome radio program and
website for young musicians!! I just ran across the website
this summer & it has wonderful information for young
musicians - especially those who are serious about their
art. There are answers to questions you might have,
interviews with "pre-collegiate" musicians who have been on
the radio program (including Alex
Rabin, a former Wayland High School student & an amazing pianist!).
The radio
program, From the Top, is aired on WGBH Sundays at 6:00.
It is performances of pre-collegiate musicians from all over
the world and includes some interviews and information about
the person and music. Check it out!
Parents - there is also a lot of wonderful info for parents of musicians. You will find music terminology for nonmusical parents of musical kids. You will find questions to lots of other questions you might have like, what age is best for starting an instrument, practicing music vs. sports, supporting advanced musicians, waning interest, etc.
Finale
NotePad is a basic music
note writing program for both Macs & Windows
and is downloadable. It used to be free, but now it costs $10 or something very minimal (of course they are hoping
you will upgrade to one of their other more powerful products at some point.)
Coda Music puts out Finale which is the standard in music
writing programs - most professional musicians use it. They
also have another program called PrintMusic which is more flexible and powerful than NotePad. Then they
have the intermediate level, Allegro and the pro, Finale.
If you have been wanting to mess around with writing music
on your computer, I strongly recommend NotePad.
Download for Free at: http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad
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College / University Music Education students, click here... |
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Diane Muffitt: muffitt@bandnotes.info |