On Thursday May 9th I watched 5th grade drum lessons at Memorial School. Mr. Sokol had the drummers work on sixteenth notes, which are counted as "1 e + a." They did really good with the sixteenth notes.
After the drummers were the 5th grade saxophone players. They worked on syncopation. Syncopation is an interruption of the regular flow of rhythm. It was hard for them at first but they eventually got the hand of it.
Then section 2 of the 6th grade band had their rehearsal. They worked a lot on "The Star Spangled Banner." There were a lot of parts to this song that Mr. Sokol had them work on, as far as correcting notes and playing the right rhythm. They worked on this song for the whole class but sounded better at the end.
During C block the 7th grade band had their rehearsal. Mr. Sokol had them work on the song "Jurassic Park." Mr. Sokol had them work on it for quite a bit. He wanted to make sure everyone was playing the correct notes. He also worked with the bass drummer to make sure he played what was written on his music and to make sure he played the tempo Mr. Sokol wanted him to play. After a little bit of work on that song they sounded much better.
After lunch Mr. Sokol and I went over to Memorial School for a 4th grade flute lesson, but because they had MCAS that day, no one showed up, so Mr. Sokol and I went back to the high school.
During E block the 8th grade band had their rehearsal. It was the last block of the day. During the first five minutes I sharpened pencils for Mr. Sokol so that he could give them to the kids to use to mark spots in songs where they're not sure what note to play, what ending to go to, etc.
At the end of the day I helped Mr. Sokol set up the room for jazz band later that night. Most of the stuff was in the room anyway from the day before since Mr. Sokol had the high school jazz band rehearse Wednesday night as well as Thursday. All I had to do was to bring the cymbals and hi-hat over to the drum set and set them up.
Before the jazz band rehearsal I set up the stage for the Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra who had a rehearsal that night. It didn't take long so I was able to go to jazz band right at 7:00. During the jazz band rehearsal we worked on the song "Oye Como Va" by Santana, the song "Bad Attitude" and "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. It was definitely one of our better rehearsals because almost the whole band was there.
After rehearsal I helped Mr. Sokol put everything away. I put the drum set away in the percussion room minus the cymbals and hi-hat since they stay in the band room. We put the keyboards and amplifiers away. We then put the room back together. We put the chairs and music stands back to the usual setup. It was good that we kept the room in the jazz band setup after Wednesday's rehearsal because that would have been too much work to set it up on Wednesday, rearrange the room Wednesday night, set it up again Thursday for jazz band and then rearrange it again Thursday night, so we saved a lot of time and work by leaving it set up until Thursday night. All in all it was very busy day that day but I like busy days because it's easier to blog about them and have enough words in them.
Showing posts with label Dylan C. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dylan C. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Day 14 was a fairly busy day for me, but not too bad. It started off by watching section 1 of the 6th grade band rehearse for the upcoming middle school concert on Thursday May 16th. Mr. Sokol worked with the two bass drummers on the ending to the song "Imperium." He showed them how to play the notes. Then he let them play it a few times by themselves and they did really good. After a few minutes of rehearsing Mr. Sokol let them watch a movie since it was Teacher Appreciation Day. I believe they watched the Lion King, but I didn't watch it because I went to the library to work on my SCORE paper.
Along with working on my research paper, I also did a blog. I'm doing really good at keeping up with my blogs. I pretty much worked on my paper the rest of the day since Mr. Sokol really didn't have any classes that day. So in the end I was really productive. Just this day I typed up 3 full pages plus a little bit of the 4th page.
At the end of the day I helped Mr. Sokol set up the room for jazz band. Even though this day was a Wednesday, and he usually has jazz band on Thursdays, he decided to have jazz band on both Wednesday and Thursday for the high school jazz band and just Thursday for the middle school jazz band.
Later that night I went to jazz band rehearsal. We are getting ready for the jazz concert on Thursday May 23rd. It's cool because Mr. Sokol came up with an idea that he buys everyone in both jazz bands Boston Strong T-shirts to wear at the concert in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings. He's also going to set up a donation box where people can give money to the "1 Fund" to help the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings. I thought that was a very cool idea.
Along with working on my research paper, I also did a blog. I'm doing really good at keeping up with my blogs. I pretty much worked on my paper the rest of the day since Mr. Sokol really didn't have any classes that day. So in the end I was really productive. Just this day I typed up 3 full pages plus a little bit of the 4th page.
At the end of the day I helped Mr. Sokol set up the room for jazz band. Even though this day was a Wednesday, and he usually has jazz band on Thursdays, he decided to have jazz band on both Wednesday and Thursday for the high school jazz band and just Thursday for the middle school jazz band.
Later that night I went to jazz band rehearsal. We are getting ready for the jazz concert on Thursday May 23rd. It's cool because Mr. Sokol came up with an idea that he buys everyone in both jazz bands Boston Strong T-shirts to wear at the concert in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings. He's also going to set up a donation box where people can give money to the "1 Fund" to help the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings. I thought that was a very cool idea.
Day 13: 5-7-13
My 13th day of SCORE started out watching 4th grade saxophone lessons. These 4th graders are really smart and great musicians. I've noticed throughout my internship that all the 4th graders, no matter what instrument they play, are really good for such a young age. They know what they have to do every time and they know what notes to play.
I then watched the 7th grade band rehearsal. They worked on a couple of songs during this rehearsal and they did really well.
Then during E block, the lunch block on this day, I watched the 8th grade band rehearsal. Everyone is playing really well. They have been playing better every day ever since they came back from DC just two weeks ago.
We then went back to Memorial School to watch 4th grade trumpet lessons. These guys did really good this day.
After a few hours break I went to night band to play bass drum on the graduation song "Pomp and Circumstance." I didn't have to go but since there are no underclassmen drummers in night band (they're all in day band), I went anyway just to provide a steady beat for the other people playing the song. Mr. Sokol did a lot of work, as he does every year, on the three different endings of the song. The first ending goes back to a part of the song known as "Part B," the third ending goes all the way back to "Part A," and then the second ending ends the song. The band, of course, only plays the second ending once and Mr. Sokol has them play it when all the graduates and faculty members are seated. He uses the first and third endings to keep the song going while the graduates and faculty are walking to their seats. It's a long song and for the people that don't play the drums, sometimes they'll be tired of playing for so long that Mr. Sokol allows them to take a break for a few seconds as long as someone else in their section who is playing the same instrument can keep playing.
I then watched the 7th grade band rehearsal. They worked on a couple of songs during this rehearsal and they did really well.
Then during E block, the lunch block on this day, I watched the 8th grade band rehearsal. Everyone is playing really well. They have been playing better every day ever since they came back from DC just two weeks ago.
We then went back to Memorial School to watch 4th grade trumpet lessons. These guys did really good this day.
After a few hours break I went to night band to play bass drum on the graduation song "Pomp and Circumstance." I didn't have to go but since there are no underclassmen drummers in night band (they're all in day band), I went anyway just to provide a steady beat for the other people playing the song. Mr. Sokol did a lot of work, as he does every year, on the three different endings of the song. The first ending goes back to a part of the song known as "Part B," the third ending goes all the way back to "Part A," and then the second ending ends the song. The band, of course, only plays the second ending once and Mr. Sokol has them play it when all the graduates and faculty members are seated. He uses the first and third endings to keep the song going while the graduates and faculty are walking to their seats. It's a long song and for the people that don't play the drums, sometimes they'll be tired of playing for so long that Mr. Sokol allows them to take a break for a few seconds as long as someone else in their section who is playing the same instrument can keep playing.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Day 12: 5-6-13
The 12th day of SCORE for me, on Monday May 6th was one of the best days for me. First of all, I didn't have to come in until 8:25, so I got to sleep in. I was so excited to hear that because I hate getting up at 6:00 like I did whenever I went to school. The first thing I did was watch the 4th grade drummers' drum lessons. I even got to teach them a drumming technique called flams. The kids did really good playing them. Flams are easier to demonstrate than to explain but I'll try my best. A flam is made up of a quarter note and one little note before the quarter note. To play a left-handed flam, you play the little note with your left hand and the quarter note with your right. And you would do the opposite in order to do a right-handed flam: your right hand plays the little note and your left hand plays the quarter note. The little note is softer, in loudness, than the quarter note, so if you play it right, you barely hear the little note at all. I'll definitely explain it better in the presentation and I'll have a picture of a flam, too.
After the drummers I watched the 4th grade clarinet lessons. Everyone did really good. Mr. Sokol had them work on dotted quarter notes, which are equal to 1.5 beats. The kids did a really good job with them.
We came back to the high school during E block and during that block I broke down the auditorium stage which was set up over the weekend for the Cape Ann symphony orchestra. I put all the chairs and music stands away and put the carts off to the side out of the way. It only took a few minutes to do that so after I was done there, I watched the end of the Pink Floyd concert with the 8th grade general music class. It was a great concert. At the end of the concert Pink Floyd performed a song called "One of These Days." It's an instrumental song, which means there are no vocals but just the instruments. It's a great song and during their performance of the song, they had two robotic boars (or pigs I'm not sure), pop out of two openings above the stage on either side of the stage. It was really neat, but creepy too. It was a great end to the concert.
Then during C block I watched the "Carl Perkins and Friends" concert with the 7th grade general music class. There were so many different musicians there. There was Eric Clapton, George Harris and Ringo Starr of the Beatles, and many others. They played rockabilly, old country and blues music.
After lunch I watched the high school day band practice graduation music. They played the song "Pomp and Circumstance," which is a song you would hear at all graduations. Everyone did a good job.
The last thing I did was watch section 1 of the 6th grade band practice for the middle school concert coming up on Thursday May 16th. They sounded really good and worked real hard on the songs they played.
After the drummers I watched the 4th grade clarinet lessons. Everyone did really good. Mr. Sokol had them work on dotted quarter notes, which are equal to 1.5 beats. The kids did a really good job with them.
We came back to the high school during E block and during that block I broke down the auditorium stage which was set up over the weekend for the Cape Ann symphony orchestra. I put all the chairs and music stands away and put the carts off to the side out of the way. It only took a few minutes to do that so after I was done there, I watched the end of the Pink Floyd concert with the 8th grade general music class. It was a great concert. At the end of the concert Pink Floyd performed a song called "One of These Days." It's an instrumental song, which means there are no vocals but just the instruments. It's a great song and during their performance of the song, they had two robotic boars (or pigs I'm not sure), pop out of two openings above the stage on either side of the stage. It was really neat, but creepy too. It was a great end to the concert.
Then during C block I watched the "Carl Perkins and Friends" concert with the 7th grade general music class. There were so many different musicians there. There was Eric Clapton, George Harris and Ringo Starr of the Beatles, and many others. They played rockabilly, old country and blues music.
After lunch I watched the high school day band practice graduation music. They played the song "Pomp and Circumstance," which is a song you would hear at all graduations. Everyone did a good job.
The last thing I did was watch section 1 of the 6th grade band practice for the middle school concert coming up on Thursday May 16th. They sounded really good and worked real hard on the songs they played.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Day 11
Day 11 was a Friday and it started off with the 8th grade band rehearsal. They played the song "Bluesville," which will be the last song the middle school band plays in the concert. This was their second rehearsal since coming back from Washington, DC and they sounded really good.
Then Mr. Sokol and I went over to Memorial School to remind 4th graders about lessons for the following week. After the elementary school concert on Tuesday April 30th, Mr. Sokol decided to give the kids a break after working so hard to prepare for the concert.
Then I watched the 7th grade band rehearsal. They also played "Bluesville." They definitely sound ready for the middle school concert on Thursday May 16th. The 8th grade seems ready, too.
After lunch, which I had at Dunkin Donuts, I watched the second section of the 6th grade band rehearse. Both sections 1 and 2 need some work before the concert, especially the drummers, but they're working hard and getting better every day. Mr. Sokol played bass drum and I played snare drum on the song "March Triumphant" to show the drummers how to play their parts. They learned from that how to play their parts and they sounded better when they played it after we showed them.
With the middle school concert now just 6 days away, everyone needs to work hard and play their best to be 110% ready to go next Thursday. After hearing all the middle school bands rehearse every day since I started SCORE, I have the confidence that they're ready for the concert. Without a doubt in my mind they are ready to go and it shows every rehearsal all the middle school bands have.
Then Mr. Sokol and I went over to Memorial School to remind 4th graders about lessons for the following week. After the elementary school concert on Tuesday April 30th, Mr. Sokol decided to give the kids a break after working so hard to prepare for the concert.
Then I watched the 7th grade band rehearsal. They also played "Bluesville." They definitely sound ready for the middle school concert on Thursday May 16th. The 8th grade seems ready, too.
After lunch, which I had at Dunkin Donuts, I watched the second section of the 6th grade band rehearse. Both sections 1 and 2 need some work before the concert, especially the drummers, but they're working hard and getting better every day. Mr. Sokol played bass drum and I played snare drum on the song "March Triumphant" to show the drummers how to play their parts. They learned from that how to play their parts and they sounded better when they played it after we showed them.
With the middle school concert now just 6 days away, everyone needs to work hard and play their best to be 110% ready to go next Thursday. After hearing all the middle school bands rehearse every day since I started SCORE, I have the confidence that they're ready for the concert. Without a doubt in my mind they are ready to go and it shows every rehearsal all the middle school bands have.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Day 10
Day 10 of SCORE started off with me helping Mr. Sokol finishing off the lists for who was going to the Essex and Manchester Memorial Day parades. In total, 32 kids are going to Essex and the remaining 47 are going to Manchester, including myself. Less kids are going to Essex than to Manchester because the Essex parade is smaller than Manchester's.
I then helped Mr. Sokol bring in the drum set from the percussion room and some keyboards and amps from the storage room to prepare for jazz band rehearsal later that night. We put everything in the corner of the room so that everything was out of the way.
Then I watched the high school day band rehearse. They were getting ready for the Memorial Day ceremony in school on the 24th and the parades the following Monday. I played snare drum during the marching set while another kid played bass drum. Another drummer was playing the crash cymbals.
After day band the first section of the 6th grade band had their rehearsal. Everyone sounded really good and they're really learning the music well. The middle school concert is Thursday May 16th so everybody's getting ready for that.
Mr. Sokol and I then set up the band room for jazz band. We moved some chairs around and arranged some chairs into a little band formation in the back of the room, with the drum set and keyboards right behind the chairs.
Later that night I came down to watch the middle school jazz band practice. There are no middle school trumpet players in the band so two high school trumpet players play with them. They play songs like "Born to be Wild," and the James Bond theme song, which is pretty cool. After them the high school jazz band rehearsal started. We played the songs "Hard Day's Night," "Bad Attitude," and "Oye Como Va." We also play the Stevie Wonder song "Superstition" but we didn't play it last night.
I then helped Mr. Sokol bring in the drum set from the percussion room and some keyboards and amps from the storage room to prepare for jazz band rehearsal later that night. We put everything in the corner of the room so that everything was out of the way.
Then I watched the high school day band rehearse. They were getting ready for the Memorial Day ceremony in school on the 24th and the parades the following Monday. I played snare drum during the marching set while another kid played bass drum. Another drummer was playing the crash cymbals.
After day band the first section of the 6th grade band had their rehearsal. Everyone sounded really good and they're really learning the music well. The middle school concert is Thursday May 16th so everybody's getting ready for that.
Mr. Sokol and I then set up the band room for jazz band. We moved some chairs around and arranged some chairs into a little band formation in the back of the room, with the drum set and keyboards right behind the chairs.
Later that night I came down to watch the middle school jazz band practice. There are no middle school trumpet players in the band so two high school trumpet players play with them. They play songs like "Born to be Wild," and the James Bond theme song, which is pretty cool. After them the high school jazz band rehearsal started. We played the songs "Hard Day's Night," "Bad Attitude," and "Oye Como Va." We also play the Stevie Wonder song "Superstition" but we didn't play it last night.
Day 9
Day 9 was this past Wednesday on May 1st. It was a half day so not much happened. First off I watched the 8th grade band rehearse for the first time since they went to Washington DC. For being away for a long time they sounded like they play every day. Mr. Sokol even gave them an A+ for the day because they were so good and played so well. I was impressed too.
We then went to Memorial School to congratulate the 4th and 5th grade band members for doing a good job on Tuesday night's concert.
Since the half day followed a Day 4 schedule, the 7th grade band came in for rehearsal again. I'm going to sound like a broken record when I say that they sounded really good.
For the rest of the day, I helped Mr. Sokol make lists for who was going to the Essex and Manchester Memorial Day Parades. He sent more kids to Manchester because it's a longer parade than Essex. He sent 32 kids to Essex and the remaining 47 to Manchester. I, along with my friends Alex Shepard and Chris Wright, am going to the Manchester parade. Even though it is long, I like doing the Manchester parade better than the Essex one because I know the town of Manchester more and I know more people there. It's cool because last year I helped Mr. Sokol by putting some drums in my Ford Explorer, and I'll do the same thing this year.
Because the elementary school concert was on a Tuesday, the day I normally go to night band, Mr. Sokol moved it to Wednesday. So after helping Mr. Sokol with the parade lists, I had a lot of time to relax and then I went to night band. Not a busy day but we got a lot of stuff done.
We then went to Memorial School to congratulate the 4th and 5th grade band members for doing a good job on Tuesday night's concert.
Since the half day followed a Day 4 schedule, the 7th grade band came in for rehearsal again. I'm going to sound like a broken record when I say that they sounded really good.
For the rest of the day, I helped Mr. Sokol make lists for who was going to the Essex and Manchester Memorial Day Parades. He sent more kids to Manchester because it's a longer parade than Essex. He sent 32 kids to Essex and the remaining 47 to Manchester. I, along with my friends Alex Shepard and Chris Wright, am going to the Manchester parade. Even though it is long, I like doing the Manchester parade better than the Essex one because I know the town of Manchester more and I know more people there. It's cool because last year I helped Mr. Sokol by putting some drums in my Ford Explorer, and I'll do the same thing this year.
Because the elementary school concert was on a Tuesday, the day I normally go to night band, Mr. Sokol moved it to Wednesday. So after helping Mr. Sokol with the parade lists, I had a lot of time to relax and then I went to night band. Not a busy day but we got a lot of stuff done.
Day 8
Day 8 of SCORE was a very busy day for me and Mr. Sokol. It started with us setting up the high school auditorium stage for the elementary school dress rehearsal which took place around 7:30 that morning. The elementary chorus had a dress rehearsal too, so we set up the risers for them after the band practiced. Once the band was done we put all the music stands and chairs away and set up the risers for the chorus. Once they were done we broke down the risers and put them off to the side as well as the piano. Everyone sounded ready to go for the concert which took place later that night.
After the dress rehearsal I watched section two of the 6th grade band rehearse, but before that happened there was a surprise lockdown drill, which lasted about 10-20 minutes. Everybody did really well and they were really quiet throughout the whole thing. After the lockdown the rehearsal finally started. Of course, because of the lockdown, they didn't have much time to rehearse.
Right after their rehearsal the 7th grade band came in. Out of all the middle school bands, this one is one of my favorites to watch. These kids are really talented and they'll really be great in the high school band. The drummers are really good too. There are 6 drummers in the 7th grade band, but there are a total of 25 drummers in the whole middle school band! I never even knew that was possible! It's amazing how many people enjoy playing the drums and, in my opinion, it's one of the easiest instruments to play in the band. For one thing, you don't need to worry about bringing the drums home to practice and then bring them back to school again because you should already have some drums at home and the drums are already here at school.
After lunch, Mr. Sokol and I went over to the Memorial School to watch the 4th grade beginners' band's dress rehearsal for their concert, which was also on Tuesday April 30th. They sounded really good and I could tell they were ready for the concert. For 4th graders, they're really good at playing together with Mr.Sokol's predetermined beat and with each other.
I had a few hours break after that before coming to the school later that night for the elementary school concert. The first group to go was the chorus. I didn't really listen to them but from what I heard they sounded great. After the chorus came the 4th grade beginners' band from Manchester. I sat on the side of the stage watching and listening to them play and they were unbelievable. They sounded great. After them came the Essex 4th grade beginners' band but neither Mr. Sokol nor I listened to them because we were with the 5th grade band getting them ready to go on after the 4th grade Essex band. Finally the 5th grade district band, comprised of 5th graders from Essex and Manchester, performed. Again, I sat on the side of the stage to listen to them and they were incredible. The whole concert was a huge success. All the groups did a fantastic job. It was a pretty long concert, too. It started around 7:00 and ended around 8:30 I believe. I was tired after that, but it was a great concert.
After the dress rehearsal I watched section two of the 6th grade band rehearse, but before that happened there was a surprise lockdown drill, which lasted about 10-20 minutes. Everybody did really well and they were really quiet throughout the whole thing. After the lockdown the rehearsal finally started. Of course, because of the lockdown, they didn't have much time to rehearse.
Right after their rehearsal the 7th grade band came in. Out of all the middle school bands, this one is one of my favorites to watch. These kids are really talented and they'll really be great in the high school band. The drummers are really good too. There are 6 drummers in the 7th grade band, but there are a total of 25 drummers in the whole middle school band! I never even knew that was possible! It's amazing how many people enjoy playing the drums and, in my opinion, it's one of the easiest instruments to play in the band. For one thing, you don't need to worry about bringing the drums home to practice and then bring them back to school again because you should already have some drums at home and the drums are already here at school.
After lunch, Mr. Sokol and I went over to the Memorial School to watch the 4th grade beginners' band's dress rehearsal for their concert, which was also on Tuesday April 30th. They sounded really good and I could tell they were ready for the concert. For 4th graders, they're really good at playing together with Mr.Sokol's predetermined beat and with each other.
I had a few hours break after that before coming to the school later that night for the elementary school concert. The first group to go was the chorus. I didn't really listen to them but from what I heard they sounded great. After the chorus came the 4th grade beginners' band from Manchester. I sat on the side of the stage watching and listening to them play and they were unbelievable. They sounded great. After them came the Essex 4th grade beginners' band but neither Mr. Sokol nor I listened to them because we were with the 5th grade band getting them ready to go on after the 4th grade Essex band. Finally the 5th grade district band, comprised of 5th graders from Essex and Manchester, performed. Again, I sat on the side of the stage to listen to them and they were incredible. The whole concert was a huge success. All the groups did a fantastic job. It was a pretty long concert, too. It started around 7:00 and ended around 8:30 I believe. I was tired after that, but it was a great concert.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Day 7
Day 7 started on Monday April 29th, and it started out with the first section of the 6th grade band rehearsing first thing in the morning. Everyone, like always, sounded really good. Some kids need work on certain parts of songs but besides that everyone is playing well and playing together.
After that I helped Mr. Sokol bring risers, cymbals, hi-hats, snare drums and bass drums on the auditorium stage to have everything ready for the elementary school concert which would take place the next day, Tuesday April 30th. The risers are used for the chorus so everyone can see them. Each step on the risers is higher than the next, making sure that the row in front isn't blocking the row behind it.
After that I watched the movie "That Thing You Do" again with the 7th grade general music class. This is a really great movie. It has really good music in it.
The last thing I did, since this wasn't a busy day at all, was watch a Pink Floyd concert on DVD with the 8th grade general music class. I'm not a huge fan of their music, but I like some of their songs. I'm starting to like them more as I listen to them more; I hear some of their songs on the radio a lot. My favorite song by them I have to say is "Comfortably Numb." It's a great song with great guitars, including a fantastic solo at the end of the song. One of the songs I heard in the DVD concert was "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," but I don't know the names of the other songs that I heard.
This day was definitely one of my least busiest days I've had so far; it almost seems like it was a half day, but it wasn't.
After that I helped Mr. Sokol bring risers, cymbals, hi-hats, snare drums and bass drums on the auditorium stage to have everything ready for the elementary school concert which would take place the next day, Tuesday April 30th. The risers are used for the chorus so everyone can see them. Each step on the risers is higher than the next, making sure that the row in front isn't blocking the row behind it.
After that I watched the movie "That Thing You Do" again with the 7th grade general music class. This is a really great movie. It has really good music in it.
The last thing I did, since this wasn't a busy day at all, was watch a Pink Floyd concert on DVD with the 8th grade general music class. I'm not a huge fan of their music, but I like some of their songs. I'm starting to like them more as I listen to them more; I hear some of their songs on the radio a lot. My favorite song by them I have to say is "Comfortably Numb." It's a great song with great guitars, including a fantastic solo at the end of the song. One of the songs I heard in the DVD concert was "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," but I don't know the names of the other songs that I heard.
This day was definitely one of my least busiest days I've had so far; it almost seems like it was a half day, but it wasn't.
Day 6
Day 6, which was on Friday April 26th, started out at the Memorial School watching the 4th grade beginners band practicing for their concert, which occurred on Tuesday April 30th. For 4th grade they sound really good. I was impressed with everyone, including the drummers. Everyone worked so hard and played together, which is what Mr. Sokol works on with them a lot. After their rehearsal Mr. Sokol and I broke down the stage by putting away the chairs and music stands. We also put some of the drums, like the bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat and cymbals off to the side of the stage.
Along with the rest of the school, I went outside to the football field around 9:00 for a school picture to show support for the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings. Pretty much everyone was wearing a Boston-related shirt and/or a Boston hat. I wore my Bruins hat and I believe my Ellsbury shirt but I can't remember, haha.
After that, the 7th grade band came in for their rehearsal. Just like always, these guys sounded really good. They really know the music well. The 7th grade band has some really talented musicians, including some really talented drummers.
After lunch, we went back to Memorial School to watch some 4th grade alto-saxophone and trumpet players have their lesson with Mr. Sokol. These kids are really good. I can't remember how the beginners band sounded when I was in 4th grade, but these guys sound really good.
We came back to the high school just in time for a practice lockdown, which the school did as a drill due to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings back in December. The lockdown went a little into the high school day band rehearsal but we still had time to practice. I again played snare drum during the marching set while another kid played bass drum.
This day was definitely not a busy day; not much happened. There's days like this all the time. The good thing about me working with Mr. Sokol is that I really help him out by rearranging the chairs when kids move them around, that way Mr. Sokol can get done what he needs to get done faster. He really appreciates my help.
Along with the rest of the school, I went outside to the football field around 9:00 for a school picture to show support for the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings. Pretty much everyone was wearing a Boston-related shirt and/or a Boston hat. I wore my Bruins hat and I believe my Ellsbury shirt but I can't remember, haha.
After that, the 7th grade band came in for their rehearsal. Just like always, these guys sounded really good. They really know the music well. The 7th grade band has some really talented musicians, including some really talented drummers.
After lunch, we went back to Memorial School to watch some 4th grade alto-saxophone and trumpet players have their lesson with Mr. Sokol. These kids are really good. I can't remember how the beginners band sounded when I was in 4th grade, but these guys sound really good.
We came back to the high school just in time for a practice lockdown, which the school did as a drill due to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings back in December. The lockdown went a little into the high school day band rehearsal but we still had time to practice. I again played snare drum during the marching set while another kid played bass drum.
This day was definitely not a busy day; not much happened. There's days like this all the time. The good thing about me working with Mr. Sokol is that I really help him out by rearranging the chairs when kids move them around, that way Mr. Sokol can get done what he needs to get done faster. He really appreciates my help.
Day 5
Day 5 of SCORE started out at the Memorial School to watch Mr. Sokol give lessons to some 4th grade drummers. I even gave them some tips on how to hold the drumsticks and that when you play you mainly use your wrist. It felt really good to help them out, being a drummer myself, helping those kids out with their technique. Towards the end of their lesson, Mr. Sokol and I showed them the "Street Beat No. 10" marching cadence. I played the snare drum while Mr. Sokol played the bass drum. The kids really enjoyed hearing it and I enjoyed showing it to them. After their lessons some clarinet players came in for their lessons. It was fun to watch them play the clarinet.
We then went back to the high school and watched the movie "That Thing You Do" with Tom Hanks during the C block general music class. It's a really good movie about a group of guys who form a band called the Wonders and play at small venues like a restaurant or at a school dance. The band even recorded their own album at one point in the movie.
After lunch I played bass drum on the song "Navy Hymn" for the high school day band and then played snare drum on the marching set to get ready for the Memorial Day assembly on May 24th and for the Memorial Day Parade on May 27th. I always enjoy playing at the parade. My freshman and sophomore years I played in the Essex parade, and my junior year I played in Manchester and I'll be doing the same thing this year. The Manchester parade is a lot longer than the Essex one, but I enjoy it more than Essex.
Then section 1 of the 6th grade band came in for their rehearsal. They're getting ready, along with the 7th and 8th grade bands, for their Spring Concert on May 16th, two weeks from today. They sounded really good on this day. They're really learning the music well and are doing great playing together. At the end of their rehearsal, Mr. Sokol and I also showed them the marching cadence, again I played snare drum and Mr. Sokol played bass drum. They really enjoyed hearing us play it. They know they're going to play it in three years anyway so it's good that they hear it now, especially the drummers.
At the end of the day we set up the band room to get ready for jazz band rehearsal later that night. We moved some chairs and music stands around to make room for the drum set and keyboards. Then we arranged some chairs and stands in front of the instrument lockers where the band would sit.
It turned out to be another busy day but it was again really fun. Every day I do this I enjoy it more and more. The only thing I don't like about it though is having to get up at 6:00 in the morning again but that's really the only bad thing about my experience so far working with Mr. Sokol. Aside from boating and being on the water, like I originally wanted to do with the Gloucester Harbor Master, music is another passion of mine, so I figured if I can't work with the Harbor Master, then I'll work with Mr. Sokol. I'm really enjoying my internship with Mr. Sokol. I've been learning lots of different things about music.
We then went back to the high school and watched the movie "That Thing You Do" with Tom Hanks during the C block general music class. It's a really good movie about a group of guys who form a band called the Wonders and play at small venues like a restaurant or at a school dance. The band even recorded their own album at one point in the movie.
After lunch I played bass drum on the song "Navy Hymn" for the high school day band and then played snare drum on the marching set to get ready for the Memorial Day assembly on May 24th and for the Memorial Day Parade on May 27th. I always enjoy playing at the parade. My freshman and sophomore years I played in the Essex parade, and my junior year I played in Manchester and I'll be doing the same thing this year. The Manchester parade is a lot longer than the Essex one, but I enjoy it more than Essex.
Then section 1 of the 6th grade band came in for their rehearsal. They're getting ready, along with the 7th and 8th grade bands, for their Spring Concert on May 16th, two weeks from today. They sounded really good on this day. They're really learning the music well and are doing great playing together. At the end of their rehearsal, Mr. Sokol and I also showed them the marching cadence, again I played snare drum and Mr. Sokol played bass drum. They really enjoyed hearing us play it. They know they're going to play it in three years anyway so it's good that they hear it now, especially the drummers.
At the end of the day we set up the band room to get ready for jazz band rehearsal later that night. We moved some chairs and music stands around to make room for the drum set and keyboards. Then we arranged some chairs and stands in front of the instrument lockers where the band would sit.
It turned out to be another busy day but it was again really fun. Every day I do this I enjoy it more and more. The only thing I don't like about it though is having to get up at 6:00 in the morning again but that's really the only bad thing about my experience so far working with Mr. Sokol. Aside from boating and being on the water, like I originally wanted to do with the Gloucester Harbor Master, music is another passion of mine, so I figured if I can't work with the Harbor Master, then I'll work with Mr. Sokol. I'm really enjoying my internship with Mr. Sokol. I've been learning lots of different things about music.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Day 4
Wednesday April 24th was my fourth day of SCORE. The day started by going over to the memorial school to watch the 5th grade district band, comprised of 5th grade Essex and Manchester kids, rehearse for the elementary school concert which happened last night at the high school and everyone did great. After the rehearsal I helped Mr. Sokol break down the stage and put away the chairs and music stands. Next I played bass drum on the song "Dark Fortress" with the 7th grade band because their bass drummer wasn't there yet. The rehearsal went really well. After playing bass drum on that song their bass drummer came in so I sat and watched. They're getting ready for the middle school spring concert on May 16th. Mr. Sokol showed me what a musical score looks like, which is an entire song and has all the parts of all the different instruments. He uses that so he can work on certain parts of the song with all the instruments. I watched the second section of the 6th grade band play the song "Imperium." They did a good job. Everyone was working hard and playing really well. After that, Mr. Sokol and I showed them "street beat no. 10," which is a marching cadence we use in the Memorial Day parade, the Memorial Day ceremony and the veteran's day ceremony. They really liked it. They're going to play it themselves eventually anyway in 3 years so it's good they heard it. I played snare drum and Mr. Sokol played bass drum. It wasn't as busy of a day as the first three but it was fun.
Day 3
Day 3 of SCORE started at Memorial School again with Mr. Sokol giving lessons to a clarinet, two alto-saxophones, and one tenor saxophone. The clarinet player was a 5th grader but for some reason wasn't in the 4th grade beginners band the year before, so he joined it this year. The rest of them were 4th graders and they are great musicians. Next we went back to the high school and I played snare drum for the high school day band. It was fun because, in general, since my freshman year, I've been playing bass drum and before that I played snare drum from 4th grade to 8th grade, so it was fun to play the snare drum again, which I think is more fun than the bass drum because there are more drum fills to do on snare than bass. Then C block started and instead of the 7th grade band coming in for rehearsal, it was the 7th grade general music class because general music and band switch off every other day during C block. During this class we watched a DVD of a Pink Floyd concert. It was really good. I really like Pink Floyd's music even though I'm not a huge fan. Then the first section of the 6th grade band came in for rehearsal and just like section two, section one has some drummers that probably never played drums before, but other than that the band was really good. They, along with the 7th and 8th grade bands are gearing up for their Spring Concert on May 16th, so they're working hard to get ready and from what I've heard they sound ready. Then we went back to Memorial again for a flute and clarinet lesson with a 5th grade flute and clarinet player. Then we set up the stage at Memorial for the 5th grade district band rehearsal which took place on Wednesday the 24th of April. That was it for the day until 7:00 later that night when I went to night band for rehearsal. I played bass drum during the song the Navy Hymn and snare drum for the marching set while Mr. Sokol played bass drum, and he's very good I might add. The reason I played snare drum was because the original snare player wasn't there that day. It was another busy day but an enjoyable one. My favorite part was watching the Pink Floyd concert.
Second Day of SCORE
Monday after vacation was my second day of SCORE, even though it should have been my sixth day but it wasn't because of the conflicts I had with the Gloucester Harbor Master. On this day, the 22nd of April the first thing I did was watch the 5th grade elementary school band rehearsal at Memorial School. These kids are really good for 5th grade. I was amazed at how well they play together and play the music. There are a lot of drummers in the 5th grade band, which eventually turns into more drummers when combined with the Essex 5th grade band. Because the two 5th grade bands combine, it's called the 5th grade district band. The drummers could use some work to better their playing but other than that these drummers are really good, just like the rest of the band. After rehearsal was over, I helped Mr. Sokol break down chairs and music stands since it was in the auditorium. After that we went back to the high school to watch the second section of the 6th grade band rehearse. They were really good too, but the drummers here could use some practice too since some of them never really played drums before. According to a drummer in the 7th grade band, a lot of the 6th grade drummers were in a general music class but then switched to band and chose the drums because they thought that was the easiest instrument to play. After their rehearsal, it was time for C block, and the 7th grade band came in for their rehearsal. These guys are really good. The drummers in this band definitely have played for a while. The kid who plays snare drum is awesome. They rehearsed for a little bit and then we started talking about the Boston marathon bombings since this was their first class since vacation started. One girl said she and her family were a few blocks away from the finish line where the bombs exploded but she said she heard the bombs go off. Also a 5th grade girl said that she and her family were right at the finish line on the same side the bombs went off, but she said they left about an hour before the explosions. Next thing we did was go back to Memorial School and watched Mr. Sokol give flute lessons to a 4th grader and she is really good. Then we came back to the high school and the last thing we did was watch the Michael Jackson documentary "This Is It," which is a documentary about a concert, actually more like a show, that he was supposed to do in London in 2009, but tragically passed away just before. It was an interesting documentary and it showed how much of a hard worker Michael Jackson was for getting ready for a big performance. It was a really busy and fun day.
Monday, April 29, 2013
First Day of SCORE
My first day of SCORE actually didn't start until Friday April 12th. The Tuesday before, on April 9th, I went down to talk to the Gloucester harbor master about starting my internship with him, but he said that, for one thing, he couldn't keep me as an intern with him for the five weeks of SCORE, and that there was also a liability issue, meaning they're responsible for me and if anything was to happen while we were out on the boat, that's where the liability comes in. Man how I wish he told me that in December instead of last minute. So instead I switched my internship and I am now working with Mr. Sokol. I love music so I thought this was a good backup after it didn't work out with the harbor master.
On my first official day of SCORE on Friday April 12th, I came in around 7:45 for A block and watched the 6th grade band rehearsal. The 6th grade band is divided into two sections: 1 and 2 and they switch every other day. On Friday, I saw the first section rehearse. I even got to play bass drum on one song since the other bass drummer wasn't there that day and they usually have two of them. In fact, both 6th grade bands have two bass drummers. During C block, the 7th grade general music class came in and played keyboards. Then during that class and every class we had that day, we practiced lockdown drills. Because this was a small class, we all went into Mr. Sokol's storage closet. Then D block came around and I went and had lunch. During E block the 8th grade general music class watched the Michael Jackson documentary "This Is It," which was supposed to be a concert that he was supposed to perform in London, but before he could do that, he tragically passed away. It was a very interesting documentary and I liked it. My first day of SCORE wasn't a busy day, but it was fun to see what Mr. Sokol does during the day with all his different classes.
On my first official day of SCORE on Friday April 12th, I came in around 7:45 for A block and watched the 6th grade band rehearsal. The 6th grade band is divided into two sections: 1 and 2 and they switch every other day. On Friday, I saw the first section rehearse. I even got to play bass drum on one song since the other bass drummer wasn't there that day and they usually have two of them. In fact, both 6th grade bands have two bass drummers. During C block, the 7th grade general music class came in and played keyboards. Then during that class and every class we had that day, we practiced lockdown drills. Because this was a small class, we all went into Mr. Sokol's storage closet. Then D block came around and I went and had lunch. During E block the 8th grade general music class watched the Michael Jackson documentary "This Is It," which was supposed to be a concert that he was supposed to perform in London, but before he could do that, he tragically passed away. It was a very interesting documentary and I liked it. My first day of SCORE wasn't a busy day, but it was fun to see what Mr. Sokol does during the day with all his different classes.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
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