GROUP BAND!

Today marks the 2nd full playing day of 5th grade band.  I have 46 wonderful young ladies and gentlemen.  The group is a great mix of our 5th graders and they are off to a great start.

We have been in school for a full month now and lessons have been going on for the last 3 weeks consistently.  It takes a while to get that crazy lesson schedule memorized.

Some of the students were able to take summer lessons with either myself or the high school band director in June.  We have all varieties in the summer, meaning, some students just play the 4 days of the month they have their lessons, then don't touch it again until school starts and some students are 1/2 way through the book due to their own determination.

That determination gets put to work, however, and those students become leaders for new players.

At the beginning of the school year, the first week is simply figuring out who is playing what and if we have enough school instruments to make that possible.

There is no way to start group band at the beginning so we start off with group sections playing together.  This still might be a group of 10 kids for some instruments, but there are usually 1 or 2 that have had those summer lessons that can make sure their reed isn't on upside down or they have their trombone slide on the wrong side.

After Monday's group rehearsal I decided they needed to be recorded.  It was a great day and today was equally good.  I love, however, to show this video to them at the end of the year and let them hear the growth they've made.  For now we're stuck playing songs from their lesson book, but by the spring concert we are playing sheet music and playing "real" music.  

Yes, 5th grade band can be a bit painful at times, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I love seeing that look on their face when they finally get that note to sound perfect or when they figure out the correct fingering.  I love giving those high students the chance to help their neighbor player which allows their natural leadership to shine.

Here is the video from today.  I apologize for the shakiness of it.  I was trying to direct and record at the same time.