August 17, 2026 Director’s Notes
Another fantastic rehearsal! 🎶 We spent today nailing down tempos and working on transitions, and things are really starting to come together.
Three Warm-Up Chorales for Band III
This is coming along nicely. Our first goal is to get comfortable with our individual parts before we really dive into the purpose of a chorale: expression.
We experimented with that just a bit at measure 30 today by pulling on the tempo. We’ll do much more with this in the future as the notes become more comfortable.
The Incredibles
We did quite a bit of work on The Incredibles again, and it is sounding really fantastic. All your hard work is shining through!
We talked about the technical aspects of the “falls” marked on your notes, such as the one at measure 7. The goal is for the held note to be the primary sound in the measure, with the fall happening only at the end.
For the whole note at measure 7, begin the fall sometime after beat 3, but make sure you are finished by the next downbeat. The exact notes you play aren't important—just move rapidly downward with your fingers. We don't all need to fall at exactly the same speed, either. In fact, the overall effect should be a wonderfully chaotic jumble of notes tumbling down the scale!
Blue Rock
We took Blue Rock at a brisk ♩ = 145. I like it at this tempo, which is faster than the indicated Rock Moderato. It still feels tight and doable, while keeping the piece from sounding too much like beginner band music.
We’ll keep it at ♩ = 145.
Fandango Festival
Technically, this piece seems to be in good shape. Now we're working on bringing it together stylistically.
Tempo was an issue today, so we'll keep it a bit slower going forward. Remember the character we're looking for: crisp, strong, and bold. Think purposeful but flamboyant matador! 💃
Wipe Out
Wipe Out sounds great!
Melody players need to be careful to keep the tempo moving when entering at measure 9 (and on the repeat), as well as measure 34 for those who enter there. Don't let the energy sag when the melody comes in.
Champion
We had been away from Champion for a while, so it was good to revisit it.
I think our biggest challenge right now is counting eight measures while celebrating during our block party! 🎉 It turns out it's surprisingly difficult to keep track of eight measures when you're busy doing something else!
America the Beautiful
A steady, brisk tempo remains our challenge here.
As much as we want to, this is not the piece for working on our expressive pushing and pulling of the tempo. Don't let the melody tempt you into slowing down or stretching phrases. Think straight march all the way through.
Try practicing this one with your metronome at home—it will keep you honest!
Alamo
We took Alamo at ♩ = 140 today, compared with our previous tempo of ♩ = 120, and it was a much better presentation.
This is a challenging piece, so—as I always say—do what you can at this tempo. Don't feel that you have to play every note if doing so causes you to lose the pulse or your place.
We’ll be keeping Alamo at ♩ = 140.
Dance of the Magyars
We had just enough time to squeeze in Dance of the Magyars at the end of rehearsal. More to come!
🎵 For Next Week
Please have these pieces ready:
Warm-up Chorale II
Raiders March
Fandango Festival
Alamo
Celebration for Winds
Wipe Out
Champion
Beginners Rock!
Blue Rock
Great work today, everyone. The progress we're making is really showing—see you next Monday! 🎶