July 27 Director’s Notes
Another great rehearsal! It continues to be exciting to hear how much the band is growing from week to week. Thank you all for your hard work, your positive attitudes, and your willingness to keep stretching yourselves. You’re making wonderful progress!
🎼 Warm-Up Chorale #1
We began the morning with Warm-Up Chorale #1, which focuses on intonation—listening carefully and matching pitch with those around you. Developing this skill will make every piece we play sound richer and more unified.
🇭🇺 Dance of the Magyars
What a fantastic accomplishment! We started at ♩ = 130 and gradually worked our way up to ♩ = 150. Great job hanging on as the tempo increased!
While it’s certainly more exciting at the faster speed, it also requires a bit more concentration. I think 150 is a great tempo for us right now, so we’ll stay there for the next couple of rehearsals while we continue building confidence.
Reminder: Watch for the tricky repeat just before Letter C—it goes back to measure 45.
🎉 Champion
A big thank you to Diane C. for bringing the noisemakers! They really added to the fun of our neighborhood block party section.
Just one reminder: while we’re having fun, keep counting! 😄 It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and miss an entrance. I’ll do my best to give a clear cue the next time we play this.
🎵 Celebration for Winds
We spent a few minutes refreshing this one, and it’s coming back nicely. It’s always good to revisit music we’ve set aside for a bit.
🇺🇸 America the Beautiful
We made one permanent change to our performance version:
➡️ Repeat at the end of measure 26 and return to measure 11.
If you haven’t already, please mark that change in your music.
🏄 Wipe Out
We began at ♩ = 130 and finished at ♩ = 145. Nice work! This feels like a comfortable performance tempo for us, so we’ll stay at 145 for now and continue polishing the details.
☠️ Pirates of the Caribbean
This piece definitely benefited from a review. After a couple of run-throughs it sounded just as strong as ever.
As you practice, remember that the dynamics are what really bring this piece to life.
🦸 The Incredibles
This piece continues to improve every single week. Your rhythm reading is becoming much more confident, and it’s really starting to come together. Keep up the great work!
🎸 Beginners Rock!
We wrapped up rehearsal with Beginners Rock!
For clarity:
The repeated section at Rehearsal Mark 13 will be played three times.
First time: Everyone plays.
Second and third times: Anyone with “2nd Time Only” marked in their part should remain silent.
Please make sure your music reflects that so we’re all on the same page.
📅 Next Week’s Rehearsal Order
🎼 Chorale #3
🇭🇺 Dance of the Magyars
🌊 Go With the Flow
🦸 The Incredibles
💃 Fandango Festival
🏄 Wipe Out
🎵 Celebration for Winds
⭐ Alamo
✨ Shining Moments
Thank you all for another fun morning of making music together. Every rehearsal, I hear more confidence, stronger rhythms, better listening, and growing musicianship. Keep practicing a little each day, enjoy the journey, and I’ll see you next Monday!
Have a wonderful week! 🎶😊