Monday, December 5, 2005
The PMC Quick Note is a
weekly service provided to all area directors. It is part of our mission
to support the lives of band directors across the
Have Fun At
Your First Concert! by
Eric Matzat
Many of you are getting ready for that very first concert with your 6th grade beginning band. Here are several tips you might want to try:
Tip #1: Preach to the Choir. Speak to the parents as they wait
for the concert to begin. If
you have the luxury of having more than one director working with your beginning
band, have one director warm up the group in the band room while the other
director has a “parent meeting” in the gym or auditorium before the
concert. Most directors require the
students to show up a half-hour before the concert, so use that time with your
captive audience. Go over upcoming
events, describe what you are doing in class, instruct the parents how to
encourage their children at home, and even tell them what to look forward to in
junior high. Don’t miss this
opportunity to “set the hook” and build that parent
support.
Tip #2: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words.
A week or so before the concert,
take a bunch of digital photos of your kids in rehearsal. Dump the photos into a looping
PowerPoint to create a slide show for the parents. Every ten slides or so, insert a
“news flash” about the spring concert date, practice card reminders, or other
pertinent information. Set up a big
screen next to the band and start the slide show an hour before the
concert. You can even choose to let
it run throughout your program.
There is nothing more exciting for a parent than to watch that screen
waiting for a picture of their child to pop up. It keeps the parents interested
throughout the concert and makes the kids feel important. I usually show the slide show to the
band students the next day following the concert.
Tip #3: Give Some Solos. The repertoire list for the first
concert is always very limited, so I had fun with some solos. Pick a line out of the method book that
has a soli or solo part. A week before the concert, ask the group
“who would like to do a solo?” Put
each name on a slip of paper and put them in a container. Each rehearsal, practice drawing a
soloist’s name out of the hat and play the line featuring that student. Repeat this many times with different
soloists. At the concert, explain
that you will be playing the line of music six or eight times….each with a
different soloist chosen at random on the spot. Make a big production out of pulling the
name out of the hat, having the randomly selected soloist stand up, then play
the line of music. Repeat this as
many times as you like. The
audience doesn’t care that it is the same line of music….they are just excited
to see who gets drawn out of the hat next.
This has become a big tradition at our concerts and it is always talked
about for months to come.
Have fun and good luck at your first
beginning band concert!
Free Sheet Music
This site contains links to printable staff paper for almost
any need. You can choose from the
following options: basic 9 staffs on a page, basic 12 staffs on a page, measured
staff paper, grand staff paper, grand staff with vocal, staff paper with treble
clef, staff paper with bass clef, bass & treble clef, wide rule staff paper,
student rule staff paper, guitar tablature, guitar fret board, bass tablature,
bass fret board, and the ever-popular tin whistle tab.
Southwest Baptist
University Music Department
Last
week, we printed a list of area college music department websites. We neglected to include the music
department at
Contact Your
Can we assist you with anything? Please contact your local Palen Music Center school road representative for all of your music education needs.
Moberly (660) 263-0109 Joe Brown
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