March 23, 2020
Dear HHS Band Students and Parents,
I hope that you and your family are well and are able to stay safe. I wanted to provide all of you with an update as to where we stand in all of our band classes. This email will cover details for all band classes. I know it’s long, but please read the whole thing. I’m hoping parents and students will read together so you can decide on the best way to stay busy at home for the next month!
Complete Your Concert Critique
Before we left for our unexpected quarantine every band student had been assigned a Concert Critique to do for our Clackamas Band Festival performance. As of this email less than 20% of you have actually completed this assignment. The original deadline was March 20 with the intent that you could use your critique as preparation for our Carnegie Hall performance. Now that the trip has been postponed (still working on rescheduling) I’ve extended the deadline on this assignment to Friday, March 27. Please make sure you complete the assignment by then. Everything you need, including recordings and judges’ comments, is linked in the Schoology assignment. Please verify that your critique is submitted by the deadline.
Updated Cancellations
Since my last email on March 16, I’ve received word that the Portland Rose Festival has been postponed. Therefore, the Starlight Parade on May 30 has been postponed. Organizers say they are attempting to reschedule the entire Rose Festival and all the events along with it, but they have not given any indication of when that may be. If I hear anything I’ll let you know right away. Other than the Starlight Parade and the events listed in my email on March 16, everything else remains on the schedule. Of course, that could change at a moment’s notice.
Priority #1 – Get In A Daily Practice Routine
One of the most unfortunate things about this quarantine is the fact that we have made so much progress this year! Every band has something they can be proud of, and none of it could have been accomplished without the hard work of each individual. Please don’t lose that momentum just because you don’t have me in front of you everyday. PARENTS AND STUDENTS: Take a look together at this practice guide I put together. Discuss a plan for how you are going to keep your musical chops up during this quarantine. Have a routine for when and where you practice. Approach each practice session with a plan or schedule. Focus on techniques and accomplishing tasks, not just playing through your music. Remember to utilize the daily warm-up book we use in class, as well as your Benefit Dinner and Spring Concert music (and the recordings at www.hockinsonmusic.com/listening). And don’t forget to always use a metronome and tuner! Feel free to add something else to your practice routine, too. Maybe a method book you have at home? A collection of solos? An instructional video you found online? Share those with me, too, so I can share them with others.
If you’d like me to listen to something you’re practicing please don’t hesitate to ask. Send me a video of part of your practice session and I’d be happy to watch and give you some feedback, either written or in a video back to you. I’d also encourage you to video conference with me via Zoom. Many private lessons instructors utilize Zoom for virtual lessons. I’m happy to video conference with individual students, or consider organizing a virtual sectional (include me or don’t include me) where you can all check in with each other and give your own feedback. If you’d like me to Zoom with you, just email me and we can figure out a time.
Parents, encourage your student to play for you. Even if you aren’t a music person it’s good for them to play in front of others. Give compliments, ask questions, or just sit back in amazement at what a talented student you have!
JAZZ BAND FOLKS: Don’t forget you have two classes of band and therefore should be practicing twice as much as someone not in Jazz Band.
Priority #2 – Create a SmartMusic Account
I’m asking every band student to create a SmartMusic account. At this point it is purely for enrichment and feedback, but should this school closure extend beyond April 24 it may become a way for me to deliver online instruction. I’d appreciate your help piloting this so we can find any issues right away.
SmartMusic is a web-based program for students and teachers. From a teacher perspective, I can listen to students play exercises they submit and provide immediate feedback. From a student perspective, you can get immediate feedback on your playing without waiting for me to open your file, listen, and provide feedback. You can also explore thousands of pieces of band literature (concert and jazz), method/lesson books, solos, and other exercises to play around with at home. Most of them provide a full band or piano accompaniment as well. You can record yourself, speed up/slow down sections, loop difficult parts, or even look up fingerings. In any of these exercises the program will also listen to you and give you feedback on right/wrong notes and rhythms! It’s really fun!
Please watch this video on how to create your SmartMusic account. Register using your students.hocksd.org email address, otherwise you won’t be linked to the Hockinson account and won’t have full access to the program. You’ll need to register for your band class using the codes below (Jazz Band folks register for your main band class AND Jazz Band):
Wind Ensemble: ZFFNQ-6F7WU
Symphonic Band: C4Z3E-L7RHU
Percussion Ensemble: HZ274-46AQU
Jazz Band: NNEZF-J4UVC
Once you’ve joined a class watch this video on how to use SmartMusic. I’ve created a sample “assignment” in each class for you to complete. This assignment is not graded, but it’s a good way to get used to and test out SmartMusic. Once you do that, explore some of the literature available in SmartMusic. Feel free to share cool songs, books, solos, or exercises you find in there.
For best results, use headphones when playing along with SmartMusic. I also recommend an external microphone if you have one, but in a pinch your iPad, Chromebook, or laptop external mic will work. I don’t recommend using phones with SmartMusic.
Priority #3 – Start Preparing for Auditions!
When we return from this quarantine we will be jumping into auditions for next year’s Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band! All current Wind and Jazz students will need to re-audition for the class next year. If you’re not currently in Wind of Jazz PLEASE audition! Please go to www.hockinsonmusic.com and click on the “Audition Materials” tab to view directions and sheet music for both auditions. Please let me know if you have any questions.
While we’re on the subject of next year, please make sure all of you have forecasted for a band class next year. If you are not sure, please email Mr. Kimber or Mr. Pace to take care of that ASAP. They build the master schedule based on yoru forecasting choices, so please don’t delay. If you don’t know whether to forecast for Wind Ensemble or Symphonic Band, forecast for the class you think you’ll most likely be in next year. We can always change it after auditions. Please forecast for Jazz Band if you intend on auditioning.
Priority #4 – Have Some Fun!
Please keep me entertained! Share fun videos or pictures of how you’re practicing or playing music at home. Have you heard of Acapella? It’s an app where you can create fun videos like this. Consider creating your own, or collaborate with other band members to create a video. Use your concert music, pep band music, or find something fun to play in SmartMusic. You can also search plenty of free websites for music, such as MuseScore. And don’t forget to share it with me!
I was talking with members of the Band Council last week and we agreed it might be fun to create a mass band video using You’ll Never Walk Alone. If you’re interested in trying this out follow the directions below:
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- Download your part from this file. Remember we need all parts covered, so maybe coordinate with your sectionmates to make sure you don’t all choose Clarinet 1, for example.
- Practice your part with this recording. Use headphones. The recording has a 4 beat countoff. Apologies for the recording quality, but hopefully you’ll sound better! It’s very important that your part line up EXACTLY with the recording, so take the time to practice the timing. Use a tuner to make sure you’re in tune, too.
- Once you’re ready to record your part, use a device with good video and audio recording capability. Try some different combinations of mic placement or setup to make sure you get the best sound possible. If you have an external USB mic I’d recommend it. Remember when you record to use headphones so your recording is only of you and not the accompaniment track. Some options for recording:
- Voice Recorder on your phone/tablet
- https://vocaroo.com/
- Soundcloud (free 30 day trial)
- Once you have the track, upload it here.
- If everyone who wants to do this can try and have it done by this Friday, March 27 that would be great. If it’s a success maybe we can try another song!
Priority #5 – Utilize Online Resources
There are TONS of online resources you can access from home to keep yourself engaged in music. Everything from webinars with world-class musicians leading free virtual lessons, to free sheet music, to how to properly clean your instrument. I’m keeping a list here of some of the cool things I find online for you to explore. If you find other cool things, email them to me and I’ll add them to the list.
Okay, I think that’s enough stuff to keep you busy for a while. I encourage all of you to reach out to me as often as is convenient to keep me informed on what you’re doing, to ask questions, to get some feedback on your playing, or just to say hi. I miss all of you a lot, and can’t wait for the time when we can get back together and continue making amazing music together.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and practice!
Corey McEnry
Director of Bands
Hockinson High School
16819 NE 159th St.
Brush Prairie, WA 98606
(360) 448-6450 x5594
corey.mcenry@hocksd.org