Staying Well

I hope you are all staying well.  These are new and uncharted territories we are all exploring.  It feels a little like Star Trek.  May we all boldly go where no one has ever gone before.

I continue to be impressed with the creativity of the music teachers trying to navigate online learning.  I also follow other community bands and find a little comfort in the fact that they are all in the same boat as we are.  As we move forward I will continue to share ideas and plans with you.  If I find some interesting lesson plans that I think you might like I will share them along.  Please feel free to reach out to me if there is something I can do to help you practice and continue to grow as a musician.

Below is a quote I took from the director of the Southern Winds Concert Band.  It is a nice musical recipe for all of us.

Before this is over with, we will all have a story to tell.

Everyone needs to be personally responsible for doing what needs to be done – like we do in the Southern Winds Concert Band:

TONE – make yourself pleasant to be around
BALANCE & BLEND – balance your physical needs with your spiritual needs, at this time everyone’s goals need blend together for the common good.
INTONATION – listen and adjust, be in tune with what is happening
PRECISION – watch and adjust, do things (like go to the store) at the correct time, be very precise with your personal hygiene.
PHRASING – realize that life is a series of ups and downs – breathe.

We will get through this. HOWEVER, the title of the march we last rehearsed is most appropriate – AMERCIANS WE. There is no way that We Americans will be defeated by this thing.

Stay well.  Check in on each other.  Let me know if there is anything you need.

Ken

No rehearsal. So now what?

Hi All,

  I hope you are all well and safely going about as much business as you can.  I keep returning to this post from Travis Cross - Director of Bands at UCLA:

I will be posting different ideas as we go along.  My thoughts to share with you today is all of your hard work this fall.  I have, for some reason, had time to post our fall concert on YouTube.  Take a moment to listen to the playlist and just enjoy how great you all sound.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJlgbo109nMJHs5FNWKz1mETvJrSKQoh

Keep practicing.  I will be posting more ideas later.

Ken