Small Band Tip 4: Starting High School Players

I'm going to write about something a little different today. Instead of writing about performance aspects of a small band I'd like to write about beginning band. Specifically beginning students at the high school level. 

At my school I have an unusual situation. I teach junior high and high school band, which in and of itself is not that unusual. However, what makes my situation different is the fact that the high school is on a 4x4 block schedule while the junior high is on an eight period schedule. To further muddy up the waters there isn't a seperate band class for junior high. Instead they pull them out of PE. 

So, what is the result of this jumble? Well, the result winds up being 7th and 8th grade crammed into one class. Did I mention that there is a new sixth grade only school that I don't get kids from?

Now, I'm not complaining, just painting a picture. It's tricky building a program with a shaky feeder. So, how do we work around this? We start most of our kids in high school. 

This is where the block schedule comes in handy. I was able to convince my guidance counselor to make me a first block beginning band class. Usually the class runs between 5-10 students. That doesn't seem overly large but we'll see that you can build a program very quickly this way. 

On a 4x4 block a student takes the same four classes for an hour and a half each day for a semester. We are on a 9 week schedule. How do I use that to my advantage? A student enters beginning band one semester and the next semester we move them to the performing band class. 

I prefer to use Ed Sueta's Premier Performance for my method book. It's fairly no frills and straight ahead which is what I need with such a time crunch. The first nine weeks I aim to finish book 1, the blue book, which we are easily on track to do this year. 

Now, I don't follow the book straight through, but really who does? As a general rule I cycle through the book three times. I go through it the first time focusing on technique exercises and unison pieces. I skip all duets and full band pieces for the time being. That typically takes 6 or 7 weeks with high schoolers. Next we cycle back through and play all of the duets that we skipped. That takes about a week at the most. Then we usually take a week to play full band stuff to get their feet wet so to speak. 

I said that I focus on technique. I mean religiously. Every day I strive to finish at least one page a day. That's an easy pace to maintain and focus on technique. For our warm up every day, for the first several weeks at least, we play through any and all previously learned technique lines. That gets monotonous fast but it really reinforces solid playing. When we reach our first scale we switch to using a Rhythm of the Day and scales as our warm up. 

After we have worked through the blue book we move on to book 2 or the green book. Book 2 is seventh grade material but it's hard not to be intimidated by it at first. It is night and day to the blue book and it typically does not go as quickly. Particularly since I start introducing sheet music as we go. My goal is to have this class perform at least 3 tunes with the advanced band on whatever end of semester concert is coming up be it Christmas or Spring. To this end we often wind up "cherry picking" our way through the book introducing new concepts and such. 

Every teacher has their method of teaching a class. Mine has evolved to suit my situation. With limited numbers I often lead the class by playing my guitar. Why guitar? It allows me to vocalize instructions such as counting while I demonstrate music. I use a very simple: "I do, You do, We do" structure.

We start every exercise by identifying the Time Signature, Key Signature, Tempo and Dynamic Level. Next I demonstrate the music. After that I give my students a minute or two to practice it on their own. I resisted this for a long time. Even when students are actually working it sounds like complete chaos. But I've given in to practicalities. After a minute or two has passed we play it together. Often times I give them another moment to fix any mistakes made before we try it again. 

Eighteen weeks. That's how long I have to get kids ready to be part of a performing group. At the end of that they're rip roaring ready to go right? Don't bet on it, but they are ready to be part of something bigger and they usually get the hang of it quickly when given the opportunity. Using this system I almost doubled the size of my program in a years time. I anticipate at the current rate of growth having a 45-50 piece ensemble by the end of next year. That does not take into account any junior high students who do actually make it through the program. 

I have actually considered adding an intermediate band at the high school level and attempting to work through book 3, the dreaded red book. Of course this would mean giving up on Jr. High altogether and I'd hate to do that at this point. So, how do others deal with situations like this? What methods do you use?

Beer Review: Sam Adams Belgian Session

I decided that since last week's beer review was so much fun, both the writing and the drinking, that decided to do another. We're still making our way through our recent variety pack. This week the brew of choice was a Sam Adams' Belgian Session. 

This little baby is another seasonal brew which is apparently now out of season. I promise this isn't on purpose it was just luck of the draw. I really like me some Sam Adams. It's not Abita, but it still won't steer you wrong. 

Company Description: 

A crisp, refreshing version of a traditional Belgian beer.  Fruity, slightly spicy flavors from the Belgian yeast are balanced by toffee and caramel notes from our blend of malts while the hops provide a citrus character that rounds out this enjoyable brew.

Pairs well with Boston Lager Steamed Rice, French Onion Soup and Caesar Salad. 

I didn't pair this with any food so I can't tell you how it mixes. The wife and I were so banged up Wednesday that we skipped yoga and caught up on Walking Dead. While we relaxed I grabbed this little baby hoping a little buzz would dull the ache in my arms. Worked like a charm.

Now, I was a little nervous when I saw "citrus character" on the label. I was afraid it would be like an IPA. Stew just doesn't do IPAs. Luckily it was barely an aftertaste as were the fruit notes. Nothing overpowered the main beer taste and it was all complimentary. As my friend Phil would say, it tasted good and I got a little buzz. I'll definitely buy it again when it's available. I give it five Hops.

Beer Review: Abita Fall Fest

In the past I've been accused of being a beer snob. Now, this was from a man who's idea of beer begins and ends with Bud light. Hey, if I wanted to drink water I'd buy some Dasani. Today I've decided to embrace my inner snob and do a beer review. 

Our local grocer allows you to create your own variety 6 pack. My darling wife and I frequently take the opportunity to try new beers. Today we made a random selection of 6 that we had never tried. 

We started with two since we aren't drunks after all. My wife tried the Blue Moon Blackberry Tart Ale. I opted to try the Abita Fall Fest. The Fall Fest is a seasonal beer only brewed from September – November. 

Company Description:

Abita Fall Fest is an Octoberfest-style lager brewed with pale, Munich and caramel malts. iI is hopped with German Perle and Hallertau hops. The result is a full-bodied, malty lager with a bright amber color. Cheese pairings include Gruyère and Swiss-style cheeses.

Suggested temperature: 42°
Suggested glassware: pint, pilsner, goblet, stein or stange. 

Being one of those boys round here I decided to forgo the glass and drink straight from the bottle. I did pair it with my wife's cheesy buffalo chicken dip. The result? More deliciousness than you could imagine. 

I'm a big fan of amber ales. I'm a big fan of Abita. Needless to say I'm a big fan of Abita's regular Amber brew. This Fall Fest had just a little less malt to it but was simply delicious. It also brought out the flavor of the dip like it wasn't no thing. 

If you like ambers, and you should, then. I highly recommend this beer. The window is fairly narrow to get your hands on it so don't wait. Oh, and save me one. 

Vegan/Paleo Breakfast on the Go

I don't know about you but breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I'm also a big fan of bread products as part of my breakfast. You can see the dilemma for a modern cave man. No bread allowed! Well, sorta. You can have breads. Provided they aren't grain based. No wheat. No oats. No corn. No rice. Among others. 

If you are scratching your head right now then it's ok. I've been there. You can have breads made out of nuts or coconut flour. Usually you have to make this from scratch. Needless to say this takes time. Something most of us don't have in abundance in the morning. That is why the good Lord made microwaves. I maintain that food should either be grilled or made in the microwave. Yes Lord! So, here is a five, ish, minute recipe for a simple breakfast cake that can be made gluten free, paleo or vegan with very little work. In the interest of fairness you should know that I stole this recipe. I'll post the link to the original at the end. Ok, here goes. 5 Minute Coffee Cake in a cup.

Ingredients needed.

1 TBSP of Butter. If making vegan I would sub coconut oil.

2 TBSP of coconut sugar.

1 Egg. Vegan- sub 1 TBSP flax seed and 3 TBSP water.

2 TBSP coconut or almond milk.

1/4 Cup flour of choice.

1/8 TSP Baking Powder

Cinnamon

Vanilla Extract. No imitation vanilla! 

1. Melt butter.

2. Mix in coconut sugar until creamy.

3. Mix in egg or flaxseed substitute.

4. Add in milk of choice and optional splash of vanilla.

5. Add in flour. I use half coconut and half brown rice. Not true paleo I know but hey, it's what I like.

6. Add in baking powder.

7. Sprinkle in optional cinnamon as desired.

8. Mix well.

9. Microwave 1-1 1/2 minutes on high. Voila!

You can do this in a coffee mug or a paper bowl. If you opt to use a coffee mug I highly recommend you use Pam spray first. Trust me, I have gotten in trouble over this before. The original recipe has a crumble topping that you can make. I've never tried it. I usually use honey and I have an organic hazelnut spread I want to try. 

Well, there it is folks. Paleo on the go. Can easily be made vegan and is naturally gluten free. Let me know how you enjoy it. Follow the link at the bottom for the original recipe. 

 http://prudentbaby.com/2011/10/entertaining-food/a-cup-of-coffee-cake-in-under-five-minutes-2/

Book Review: The Silence of Medair

From the Description

Time stole victory. 

Medair an Rynstar returned too late to drive back the Ibisian invasion. Centuries too late. When friend and enemy have become the same thing, what use are the weapons Medair planned to use to protect her Empire? There is no magic or artifact that can undo the past. No matter how Medair wishes to hide from the consequences of her failure, others will not allow her the luxury of denying the present. Her war is already lost, but she carries weapons which could change the course of new battles. 

With the skirmishes of war beginning, and hunters in near pursuit, it is her conscience Medair cannot escape. Whose side should she be on? What is she really running from?

Premise

Quite a few fantasy stories center around the concept that the good guys have to find a magic totem/weapon/item to defeat the evil powers. In fantasy circles they call this a fetch quest. In the case of Medair, a royal courier of sorts, she is sent to find a magic horn to repel the Ibisian invaders.

She finds the horn but unfortunately falls into an enchanted sleep. While she sleeps the Ibisians succeed in kicking the ever living crap out of her people. When she wakes up centuries later the world isn't even close to how she remembers it. The world, however, remembers her and she has become the stuff of legends.

Pros

I really enjoyed the character of Medair. I thought that Host did a great job of showing the Survivors Guilt that she suffers. After all, her people were slaughtered and enslaved and its partly her fault.

The Ibisians were another nice touch. Instead of the typical evil powers they're actually tragic figures in their own right. Survivors of a magical conflagration they have fled to Medairs country. They refuse refugee treatment deciding that conquest or failure are their only options. Quite a bit of hubris to the Ibisians.

Cons

Host tends to throw a lot of terms, names and places around and expects people to keep up. In a way that shows faith in her readers but even I got a little confused as it went along. It does all become clear as you read but it slows things down a little.

Closing Thoughts

I loved this book! Fair warning it can be a slow read. However I never felt that the pacing drug. It's just a cerebral story. It is also the first in a duology.

If you'd like a fantasy story that turns a few conventions on their ear, characters that are almost immediately engrossing and a dash of tragedy then I highly recommend this book. I give it four and a half swords. For only $4.99 it's definitely worth it. Click the link below to check it out.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/31775?ref=SFelkel

Summertime Fitness Redux

So, summer break is almost over. I can hear wailing and Lamentations now from all of my fellow teachers. Since things are winding down I thought I'd share how my fitness goals have progressed. We bought ourselves 160lbs worth of bumper plates which has helped tremendously. 

1. A 2x Bodyweight Back Squat. I actually haven't even tested this yet. The goal is to try for a PR right before school gets back in full swing. I did test my Front Squat and hit a PR of 265. That's 1.5xBW which I'm pretty proud of. That's roughly 80% of my best back squat PR of 335. I think I can add 5lbs to that before this is all done. 

2. A Bodyweight press.

I'm still not there on strict presses. This is by far my weakest lift. I did however hit a push press at 165 which is 95% BW. Getting there, just slowly. 

3. I hit a Bodyweight PR Clean on the 4th. 175lbs. For freedom!! I won't lie about it though. It was ugly as sin, but I did it. I've predominantly worked my snatch this summer so I'm not surprised the technique was a little off. 

4. We got a fairly nice little set of gymnastics rings from academy.

They have expanded their line of BCG products to include fitness. Go check it out. I actually haven't spent a lot of time dipping. Dipping on rings is a completely different animal to stationary dips. I've mostly spent time doing tuck holds working on core strength and stability. 

5. I finally built an adjustable slosh pipe.

Now to paint it black and take it for a walk. This oughta freak the neighbors out. 

6. I'm way behind on my deadlift. I did a set of 5@255 the other day that felt much smoother but the pounds are coming up very slowly. 

7. Speed. The last thing on our list and the one that has received the least attention. Everyday that I've meant to spend devoted to it something has come up. Ah well. Such is life. 

There we have it. The progress I've made this summer. It doesn't seem like much when it's all listed out. Still, my pants are fitting looser every day and I feel like I've made some strides. We celebrated our two year anniversary Crossfit style.

We've even added a little yoga for flexibility.

Hopefully school won't be all consuming this year and I'll be able to continue making gains. Wish me luck!

Summertime Fitness

So, summer is here and school is finally out. Even though I’ll be working at the summer job this still means more time to spend with the wife! Thats a huge deal for us. Almost as importantly it means more time to devote to getting closer to my fitness goals. We’ve been cross fitting for almost six months and I’m twenty pounds down but I’ve got a few goals that have kept getting put off for one reason or another the last three years. Three freaking years! So, lets list the goals. 

1. I want to put up a 2x body weight squat. My best PR is 330 at about 190. I’m down to 175 at the moment and would like to drop another 5lbs and put up a 340 squat.

 2. I want to press my body weight. The best so far is about 135. So, 35-40lbs away. 


3. I want to clean my body weight. This one is actually not far away. I hit a PR of 165 last week which is about 95% bodyweight. I feel that I’ve got a much better handle on the technique and with a little more work will hit this goal soon. I think I finally understand what they mean by "pull yourself under the bar". Ive been trying to pull the bar up to shoulder height and then getting under it rather than exploding up and instantly dropping down to catch it in the squat. Ive also at least once or twice made the mistake of power cleaning it and then front squatting  it. Now if I can just put some mental blocks behind me I think I got this. 

4. Get a dip station or some rings and get back to dipping. I prefer weighted dips to benching. Partly because dips are safer to perform alone. Partly because I don't own a bench and have no plans to buy one. Also, no one ever developed the shoulder problems you get from over benching by doing dips. And the just look tough as balls when done right. 


5. Build an adjustable slosh pipe. 
Not necessarily a goal, more of a tool to reach my goals, but I still plan to make one. These bad boys are deceptively tough. They will leave you gasping for breath and muscles you didn't know you had wiped out. 

6. Put up a 400lbs Deadlift. 
Honestly that number is a smidge arbitrary. I at least want a 2x body weight PR but would like a little more. 

7. Get faster! I know that’s kind of open ended. Faster than what? At what distance? I’ll get back to you on that one. At the moment I'm leaning towards short distances such as 10 meters or so. I need to get out and get a baseline time. 

Ok, we’ve established our goals. Now we need to define how we’re going to attain them. Well, my program is very similar to Crossfit Football. It’s a four day split with two days devoted to strength training and two days devoted to Met Cons a la Crossfit. 

Day 1. 


Squat 3x5


Press 3x5


Deadlift 1x5 

At the moment I’m playing around with Time Under Tension for my squats and Isometric/isotonic work for my DLs. What is TOT? I'll give you an example. I set my metronome to 75bpm. I take four beats to reach the bottom of the squat. Its important to take all 4. I come up in two. Slow down, fast up. Isometric/Isotonic is a little different. Honestly, we could spend a whole blog tackling it and i just don'l like doing that tonight. Long story short ISOS involve moving a set weight against pins or a bar for a set count. This insures that you actually put 100% effort into an isometric hold. If you'd like to try these techniques there are several free metronome apps that will make it easier. 

Day 2. Met con. 

Rest Day/optional skill work. 

Day 3.


Front Squat 3x5


Angled Press 3x5 or Weighted Dips
Romanian Deadlifts 3x5


Split Snatch/Power Cleans 5x3 ramping sets. 

Day 4. Met con

Day 5. Rest or optional skill work such as hitting the bag, rolling, sword work, shooting bows. Stuff like that. Maybe if I’m feeling froggy do some sled sprints or agility stuff. Maybe even some slosh pipe carries!

Complete rest on Sundays. 

Well, there it is. My goals and how I intend to get there. As you can see I prefer basic compound lifts. For the most part. I have a few assistant exercises programmed for various reasons. Partly to work around a lack of weights until I can purchase some 45s. Partly because I have always struggled with certain exercises. Particularly upper body work. I have exactly two months to make all of this happen but i feel pretty good about it. I’ll keep you updated as we go.