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All dates are tentative until cleared with administration.    Please double check all dates as the date draws near.  I will do my best to keep these as accurate as possible.

First Days...

First day with instruments will be Thursday, September 8, 2011.

All students will need their book: Technic Today Book 2  - available at Port Huron Music Center, see links

Music we are working on:   Etudes until November when we will begin work on our Christmas concert.  We are thinking about a Halloween concert if the students are ready and show an interest.

Playing Tests- Playing Tests  are completed for this school year. I will still be after school on Mondays and Thursdays if students would like individual help with their music.

The first playing test was Etude #1 followed by Etude #10 and then Etude #16;  then the scales from memory. All Makeup work MUST have been completed by November 1, 2011.

Memorized Scales, are the final playing test for the year, and will determine final seats.  

The scale tests MUST have been done in class.

Please remember all scales must also be written from memory on manuscript paper.  

7th grade students WILL see these scales again next year. We play then daily during warm ups. Please play them daily at home to be sure of accuracy and to work for more speed.

There is a new protocol for playing tests last year and this year.  It worked quite well and we will be continuing the process with a few changes. The students will be encouraged to do their tests at home and bring in an uncut, unedited, video recording.  Please be sure the video is playable on a PC computer and verify that by placing it in another computer other than the one you made the CD or DVD in. The medium must be a CD or DVD in any format that most PC computers are capable of playing.  Students that are able to accomplish this at home are free to record as many times as they wish. If students make a mistake, I encourage them to redo it as many times as they need to.  I need a parent to certify that the recording is the student that it states on the cover of the recording and that the recording had NOT been edited each redo must be in its entirety.  The students will be required to bring in the parent certified recording by a specific date (announced in class). Students without the ability to record at home will record their performance in class on video tape as in the past. Monday and Thursday after school recording in the band room are allowed prior to the turn in date for students without the technical ability to record at home.  The advantage of coming after school is we can accommodate the students to have more than one try at the performance test. This option is NOT available after the announced date except as a makeup. For example, if the turn in date for recordings is Monday, students cannot stay after school on Monday to record their performance; they will be required to play for their grade in class on Monday.  However, they are welcome to come after school on Monday for added instruction or help and after their test is graded, they can come in any Monday or Thursday to make up a playing test for a higher grade. If a child is suspended from school during a week of performance testing, parents or another student may bring in the video recording within that week so as not to hold up the seating scores of the full band. Please contact me by email immediately if video recording cannot be an option for a suspended student.

Please see the calendar online for playing test schedules.  All 7th and 8th grade students will be tested on their ability to perform the lessons we learn in class. Students will be expected to perform on video tape, CD, or DVD at home or at school.  The videotaped assessments, I will evaluate after school and on weekends, scores may take 1-2 weeks for results to be posted.

I am also available after school to assist any student that feels they might need extra help on Mondays and Thursdays.

Students are encouraged to redo playing tests on etudes for a higher grade. The only restrictions on retakes; it must be made up before the last week of the first nine week marking period.

The students must have an average test grade of at least 70% for the extra credit to count. I am confident every member of our bands can perform at that level with a minimum of effort. Please see the paragraph on extra credit for the opportunities available.

Concert Performances

All performances are mandatory. Each is worth 100 points. Our band is a team and we need the full team to play. We rehearse together for balance and tonality and to achieve a solid polished performance. Every child is equally important and to miss the sounds of one or more, will hamper the final outcome of the performance for every child in the band.

Concerts are comparable to a final exam in an academic classroom. They learn the notes, fingerings, nuances, and phrases. They learn the melodic fragments and progressions.  They learn to balance the melodies with the harmonies.  The emotions and feelings the music is able to bring to our thoughts allow us to experience the music.  We use musical structure, style and even form to make sense of the musical ideas the composers were trying to help us to portray. They have learned and understand how to evoke an appropriate response in an audience through their, at times minute and subtle articulations and/or dynamics, as well as phrasing. In short, they learn to make music.

Music is much more than just playing the notes and knowing their own parts. Every child is a star and every child is important!

Unavoidable absences do happen, and if there is prior knowledge, I do expect the students to make up the lost points. However, in case of illness or tragic family situations there will be no penalty, and extra credit will only be required if time permits.  Reward trips are a reward to compensate the young musician for work well done.  Absences at a performance may jeopardize the status of a student's "member in good standing" that is required for traveling with Fort Gratiot Bands. All decisions are final and up to the discretion of the director of the band in question. Please give the director as much advance notice in writing as possible, when unavoidable absences must take place. However, keep in mind, a student that misses a performance for any reason other than personal illness or tragic family situations, will NOT receive an “A” in band that marking period.

Christmas Dec 13, 2011 and Spring Concerts  May 31, 2012

Generally, we perform at McMorran Auditorium. There will be rehearsals during the morning and the students will return that evening for their performance. Our concerts are approximately one hour long and the students are expected to stay for the duration.

Expectations and Opportunities

I will expect all students to come to class prepared. All full band performances are mandatory. We typically perform 2  times during the school year.

Grading

All students in band class are graded by their ability to come to class prepared and pay attention, as well as their ability to perform on their instrument the lesson assigned. I believe every child will learn at their own pace, given the right instruction. Therefore, I will be available to help those not performing at the expected rate, after school. Every child is expected to practice 30 minutes daily, five days a week.  

Beginning with the 2nd Marking period, each child is asked on Monday if they have completed the required practicing the prior week.   This is an honor system.  If a child is not improving, and they are practicing daily, it is time for some one on one after school on Mondays or Thursdays.  Please feel free to have your child stay for some added instruction.  The required practice is 30 minutes each day there is school.  This MUST be five different days, if there are 5 days of school. Increments of 10 minutes may count as a day, and then make up the rest of the required minutes on a different day.  If a child is home ill, they are excused from that day's practice. If there are only 2 days of school that week,  they are only required to practice 2 days.  I also know there are rare situations that interfere with daily home practice and for that reason, we have one week of forgiveness for every 3 weeks of completed practice. Learning to be a musician requires regular consistence practice at home. This is how students learn to develop their beautiful sound and to know they are playing it right.  In a full classroom of students it is not always possible for them to hear themselves.

Golden Chair Award-Beginning with the 2nd Marking Period (November 7)

This award is given to a student in each class, each week.  The student with the most minutes of practice, shown on a practice record, turned in on Monday, dated, and signed by a parent to verify those minutes, will be awarded our “Golden Chair Award.”  Records will be kept and a special recognition for these students will be made at the Spring Concert in May. 

The 200 Club-Beginning with the 2nd Marking Period (November 7)

The 200 club is no longer available for 7th & 8th grade students. This has now become only a 6th grade opportunity.

Demerits

Extra credit points: All concert attendance and performance dates must be during the same 9 week marking period that extra credit is expected.  Please send in a written note signed by a parent, stating the date and activity you attended or performed in. Write your name and class hour on the extra credit and place it in the extra credit box in the front of the band room before the end of the marking period.  I usually announce in class, the cutoff date for extra credit turn in, usually it is the Tuesday before the end of the Marking Period.

 Extra Credit

Extra-credit is available for students that forget their materials, those with playing test scores over 70%, or anyone that may have missed a performance or lost points.

What Do I Need?

This will depend on the instrument your child will be playing. Each instrument has its own set of requirements. I encourage every child to have access to a music stand for home practice and following is a list of  required as well as optional, however very valuable materials.
Required:
Reed players:
Cork Grease, swabs, and a reed saver big enough for 4 reeds
Clarinets  -four- #3 Mitchell  Laurie reeds
Saxes -four-  #2 1/2 - #3 Van Doran reeds
Oboe -two- Jones red M soft –med hard reed or other high quality brand
Brass Players:
Valve oil and slide grease
Trombones- water bottle and slide cream
Mouth pieces:
Trumpets 7C; Baritone and Trombones 12C
Percussionists:
Mallets and 2B snare sticks,  metronome (not optional)
Optional:  

      1.      Chromatic tuner
2.      Begin to collect a music library of fun music as well as appropriate solos
3.      Private lessons  
4. Metronome for instrumentalists (percussionists, this is mandatory)

                             For Any Questions, Comments, or General Communication:
I am always available after school for anything you might need. However, voice mail sometimes takes a backseat. I have almost 300 students this year and I do get overwhelmed at times with phone calls. Please feel free to come in anytime; I have an open door policy. I love parents in the classroom and you're welcome to see firsthand how we do things. Hand written notes are an effective way of communication, however the best way to contact me would be email.
carmstrong@port-huron.k12.mi.us, carmstr835@sbcglobal.net                                     

                                                                   Band Music
1.       All music passed out in class is the responsibility of the student to keep their music in their music folder.
2.       All music must be kept in excellent condition; erasable pencil marks are appropriate and encouraged.
3.       If a student is absent, it is part of their responsibilities to have another student in class collect their music. If a student is missing music there is a charge of $1.00 per page and incase of a book, the replacement cost of the book (most books cost about $6.00, however most likely it is out of print and losing it is devastating to the program.)
4.       Lost music is located near the door in the cubbies; please check before you ask for a new copy.