All I can say is WOW!!! The band definitely did their best performance of the year. The music was incredible, drill fantastic, and the guard was amazing! We totally peaked! Everyone in the band, the staff, and parents are thrilled with the incredible year we had. Bravo!
Outside the dome many parents have asked me why we were 4th place, that they thought we should have placed higher with the scoring. Now that our website is password protected I can be a bit more forthcoming in addressing this now. So here it is, I am going to go for it. Many parents said we should have probably scored in 2nd or 3rd place. Everyone has their own opinion and even when we look at our show a few months from now, many of us will still be scratching our heads. What is going on here?
Obviously we should have scored higher. The big spread over us is, to say the least, way out of line. The judges had us in a row, coming in 4th or 5th across the board. Traditional or let’s say “classic” judging is definitely taking place. I must be honest with you, none of us are surprised. The ironic thing, all the judges have the same exact opinion, which really shouldn’t happen if you think about it. Judges should have different opinions and different views. And bands should be strong in some areas and weaker in others. This did not happen. We were lined up on the sheets like ducks in a row. Well we know this is subjective, and yes, perhaps I should have waited to find a more cryptic way of writing it, but I do get upset when our kids get slighted. I felt today, especially with that spread, that we were slighted. We all know what we deserve, hey, we all knew we were having issues at the Bethel show, and we all know we are amazing now. Remember, each band we are competing against has been in existence for many years. They have all been competing for 30 plus years, even if they only say a few years in this conference. We are in our 7th year and what we have done the past 7 years is nothing short of incredible. We are a force to be reckoned with! Today, we showed that.
I am so proud of all the kids. We got the highest score we ever received, did a fantastic job, and are now at the mall, being with each other. We had an amazing year!
Thanks to everyone and check us out on youtube!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Syracuse Trip Update - Dome Today, We Are Ready!
So here are some thoughts going into today’s State Championship Competition. We are totally ready, everything has worked to our favor. The weather has been super cooperative. We got two full run throughs in on each of the past two weekends while other bands barely got outside. Yesterday, the other bands had to do an indoor show and we luckily had a weather break and got a full rehearsal and run throughs outside at a great facility. We practice on an artificial turf field so we are used to that texture to march on. We are peaking, the most important part of trying to aim the band to a perfect perfomance at the dome.
We have been dealing with timing problems all year, the actual keeping the band together, due to the complexities of the drill, drum placement, field spreads, etc. and have solved all of those problems. The dome ceiling reaks havoc on every band, the echo coming off the roof is almost as loud as the actual band and can cause any band’s dome perfomance to fall apart. We have it down, we are used to looking at the drum majors, we have been practicing it all season so the dome should have minimum impact on our performance. Bands that have never had a timing issue frequently have a hard time adjusting. We have been adjusting all year. So we are as ready as we can be. We are marching great, looking great and sounding great. The entire band is in a prime position to be incredible at the dome. Now we have to perform.
Now here is the most important paragraph. Be ready for anything. This medium is subjective and judges simply “liking” or “not liking” the show impacts the scores incredibly. There is also a huge let’s say................ “tradition” thing going here. Bands have to pay their dues to move through the ranks and getting high scores takes time (read between the lines). But, we cannot criticize the judging environment. Some day they will crown us champions and we will be the beneficiaries of the “tradition” thing. Also, our neighbor, Mineola, is having an incredible year. Their guard is probably the best guard in the state and that alone could push them to 1st in our class. Brentwood and Sachem are also seeded to possibly get 1st place in their classes. They are all having great years. We should be ready and supportive of our neighbors. Whenever a Long Island band does well at the dome it helps us all.
So after we perform, and this goes with ANY judges performance, prepare yourself for any place. We could get 5th place, we could get 1st. There is simply no way of knowing what the judges will do. We have a fresh read, most of the judges haven’t seen us yet, which makes it VERY unpredictable. No matter what, we will go home at least 5th in the state. We will beat a ton of bands in the lower two classes, LS3 and SS3.
I’ve said this a million times and I will say it again. We cannot let 10 judges define what we are and how we feel about ourselves. We have accomplished great, amazing things this year. Look and listen to us, we are great! No matter how this day turns out we are “Champions.” No band in New York has made the strides that our band has in the past 7 years. Have fun! Be proud!
We have been dealing with timing problems all year, the actual keeping the band together, due to the complexities of the drill, drum placement, field spreads, etc. and have solved all of those problems. The dome ceiling reaks havoc on every band, the echo coming off the roof is almost as loud as the actual band and can cause any band’s dome perfomance to fall apart. We have it down, we are used to looking at the drum majors, we have been practicing it all season so the dome should have minimum impact on our performance. Bands that have never had a timing issue frequently have a hard time adjusting. We have been adjusting all year. So we are as ready as we can be. We are marching great, looking great and sounding great. The entire band is in a prime position to be incredible at the dome. Now we have to perform.
Now here is the most important paragraph. Be ready for anything. This medium is subjective and judges simply “liking” or “not liking” the show impacts the scores incredibly. There is also a huge let’s say................ “tradition” thing going here. Bands have to pay their dues to move through the ranks and getting high scores takes time (read between the lines). But, we cannot criticize the judging environment. Some day they will crown us champions and we will be the beneficiaries of the “tradition” thing. Also, our neighbor, Mineola, is having an incredible year. Their guard is probably the best guard in the state and that alone could push them to 1st in our class. Brentwood and Sachem are also seeded to possibly get 1st place in their classes. They are all having great years. We should be ready and supportive of our neighbors. Whenever a Long Island band does well at the dome it helps us all.
So after we perform, and this goes with ANY judges performance, prepare yourself for any place. We could get 5th place, we could get 1st. There is simply no way of knowing what the judges will do. We have a fresh read, most of the judges haven’t seen us yet, which makes it VERY unpredictable. No matter what, we will go home at least 5th in the state. We will beat a ton of bands in the lower two classes, LS3 and SS3.
I’ve said this a million times and I will say it again. We cannot let 10 judges define what we are and how we feel about ourselves. We have accomplished great, amazing things this year. Look and listen to us, we are great! No matter how this day turns out we are “Champions.” No band in New York has made the strides that our band has in the past 7 years. Have fun! Be proud!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Syracuse Trip Update - Saturday Night
Tonight’s update, Saturday, October 31st, 2009. We had a great day. First we woke up at 8:30, had a great breakfast and talk, and then went to the Phoenix Show. We got a full warm up in before it started raining, then performed an incredible show in the gym. We then went to eat at the Phoenix cafeteria and got those famous salt potatoes! Then on to Central Square Stadium at 3:45. We let the kids do homework or nap on the bus from 4:15, our arrival time, to 5:10. Then, with the rain totally stopped, we got a great rehearsal in. We worked on sections of the show for about an hour and then did two full run throughs. The band is totally peaking and we are ready for tomorrow. Gotta go, I have to put my costume on and make my entrance with some of the senior boys! Go Yankees! And thanks to the parents who set up the banquet room for us!
Syracuse Trip Early Saturday Morning Update
Last night we had a great Buffet, the dinner included just about everything you could imagine. Then we went to the pool and hung out in the lounge areas until bed time. Many students were studying and doing homework while about 20 were in the workout room at any given time throughout the evening. We will be having a late wake up, at 8:30am, eating at 9:30 and on to Phoenix today, looks like rain.
It is supposed to stop raining at the time we are to go to Central Square to rehearse. We will probably go there, wear the raincoats over our coats and do a drill only rehearsal with no pit and no instruments, and then when it clears up, perform the show and get outside for a while. This will give us an edge with no other bands getting out the past few weeks due to rain.
We have these incredible box moves that we want to perfect before tomorrow. We are currently seeded 5th place out of 5 in our class, but hey, with judging, you never know what will happen. The way the band looked and sounded this past week, anything is possible.
It is supposed to stop raining at the time we are to go to Central Square to rehearse. We will probably go there, wear the raincoats over our coats and do a drill only rehearsal with no pit and no instruments, and then when it clears up, perform the show and get outside for a while. This will give us an edge with no other bands getting out the past few weeks due to rain.
We have these incredible box moves that we want to perfect before tomorrow. We are currently seeded 5th place out of 5 in our class, but hey, with judging, you never know what will happen. The way the band looked and sounded this past week, anything is possible.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Syracuse Trip Update - Friday at 4:45
Here is the beginning of the Syracuse Trip update. We left the school about 15 minutes late. One of our busses had a flat tire so we had to send for another bus. Once on the road it was clear sailing until we hit about a mile south of Yankee Stadium. We were on Route 87. After a 15 minute slowdown, the roads opened right up and we have been without traffic. We are now about 50 miles south of Binghampton. We should get to our hotel around 7pm.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Dome - The Big Burrito!
Wow, waking up this morning, I realize that we are once again having a rain show, probably indoors at Mineola High School tonight. What does this mean? Well, the last time we performed for judges on the field was October 4th, at the Huntington show. So we are going into the dome a new band, not being judged for 3 weeks, an eternity in a competitive marching band season. In addition, the judges who saw us at that show could very well be judging us at the dome, which is good, and bad. The bad...........they burried us. The good...............they said that if we got this show down, we could take it all. At Arlington the next week, the judges popped Mineola to an 82, pretty much guaranteeing them a win at the dome, which is great for them, our neighbors. I personally think that the slate at the Arlington show will be judging the “large school slate” since most of the bands at that show were large schools. All except Mohonassen and Mineola. We will know who the judges are going to be on Monday morning and I will post it on this blog.
Knowing Mineola was going to have a phenomenal year, we heard it from camp our goal was to stay right under them this year and possibly get 2nd at the dome. That didn’t quite work out, they beat us by alot. However, with the weather, Mother Nature has given us another lease on life! The early October scores really mean nothing now. There will be 12 judges deciding our fate and we have quite a bit of control over that.
What do we need to do? Watch the youtube video of the Pep Rally. That pretty much tells it all. I don’t know why there are still wrong notes, people sticking out musically, and the opener sounds like only 20 people are playing. We have to get over the drill anxiety and play out while we march. Yes, the drill is hard, but we are nailing it. Let’s play musically and get those parts down cold this week! It is better but not championship caliber.
What is the worst that can happen? We can go in with what we got and get 5th place in our class. We will still beat half the bands at the dome in classes LS3 and SS3, and come home winners. Right now, with the wrong notes, unmusicality, people sticking out and people not playing, that’s what we would get.
What is the best that can happen? We put it all together, get confident, play musically, all of us get our music down, and nail this thing, coming in 1st place. An upset for the ages, one which will be talked about forever. It is totally possible and in our court. We have to make a decision and do it! These last rehearsals have to be incredible. We still have this morning’s music rehearsal, this morning’s sectionals, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s rehearsals, a big rehearsal on Halloween at Central Square Stadium, and the big warm up rehearsal at skytop before the dome. That is alot of rehearsing and cleaning. Big music rehearsals and some huge visual rehearsals to tighten up those box moves.
Major upset, an upset of huge proportions. One for the ages. Let’s do it!
Knowing Mineola was going to have a phenomenal year, we heard it from camp our goal was to stay right under them this year and possibly get 2nd at the dome. That didn’t quite work out, they beat us by alot. However, with the weather, Mother Nature has given us another lease on life! The early October scores really mean nothing now. There will be 12 judges deciding our fate and we have quite a bit of control over that.
What do we need to do? Watch the youtube video of the Pep Rally. That pretty much tells it all. I don’t know why there are still wrong notes, people sticking out musically, and the opener sounds like only 20 people are playing. We have to get over the drill anxiety and play out while we march. Yes, the drill is hard, but we are nailing it. Let’s play musically and get those parts down cold this week! It is better but not championship caliber.
What is the worst that can happen? We can go in with what we got and get 5th place in our class. We will still beat half the bands at the dome in classes LS3 and SS3, and come home winners. Right now, with the wrong notes, unmusicality, people sticking out and people not playing, that’s what we would get.
What is the best that can happen? We put it all together, get confident, play musically, all of us get our music down, and nail this thing, coming in 1st place. An upset for the ages, one which will be talked about forever. It is totally possible and in our court. We have to make a decision and do it! These last rehearsals have to be incredible. We still have this morning’s music rehearsal, this morning’s sectionals, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s rehearsals, a big rehearsal on Halloween at Central Square Stadium, and the big warm up rehearsal at skytop before the dome. That is alot of rehearsing and cleaning. Big music rehearsals and some huge visual rehearsals to tighten up those box moves.
Major upset, an upset of huge proportions. One for the ages. Let’s do it!
Monday, October 5, 2009
All It Takes is All You've Got
So we perform at the competition and we’re feeling great, when suddenly the scores are read out and the judges put us six points under Mineola. What do we do now? Well, first, we have to be realistic. There is so much that needs to be improved on in our show. This isn’t something to get upset about, it’s motivation! It means we have somewhere to go and a definite way to raise our scores. If we can get focused, rehearse effectively, and really perform, then we can give the judges every reason to boost our scores way up. Just because the judges are keeping us under now, doesn’t mean that’s where we’ll stay. We can all recall the competition just before the dome when Division Avenue beat us by three points. THE WEEK BEFORE THE DOME! And so everyone assumed that meant that’s where we would place when Syracuse finally came around. Well we all know that was not the case and it doesn’t have to be the case this year either. A sloppy performance of a difficult show doesn’t get us any extra points. On the other hand, mastering a difficult show is how we will defeat every other band out there. We know our show is the hardest it’s ever been, but our band is the best it’s ever been and we all know we can handle it. We have to keep the momentum on this train running and we can’t let some scores slow us down. The score is simply a fly on the windshield, nothing a little windex won’t take care of. We will have to work hard and clean up our performance and get the judges to acknowledge our efforts. If everyone knows their parts, and marches in step, and plays in tune, we will give the judges no choice but to put us over all the competition.
How can we do this?
Well falling apart isn’t an option anymore. We are having fewer and fewer tears in the show, but we have to get rid of them completely and start to groove. There are three drum majors on the podiums at one time, and they will lead you in the right direction. Watch them and don’t listen to the pit! Another thing is being able to play your part correctly, march your sets in step, AND watch the drum major all at the same time. It is no easy task, but getting your part down cold means one less thing to worry about. So get to it! We are well into the season and there’s no excuse for not knowing your parts. Practice your runs every day, memorize where the major hits are, and DON’T PLAY WRONG NOTES! Every single person, by joining the band, accepted the responsibility to do his or her part to help the band. Knowing your music and your spots in the drill is your individual responsibility. No one can do that for you. The music isn’t easy but it’s not beyond our ability. I believe we can really have a great performance at the dome if everyone does their part.
The Final Ingredient - Performing as “Champions”
before we get the Championship!
We are putting on a show; it’s not just another rehearsal and for some of you, that psyches you out. Don’t let the competition, the judges, the audience, or the scores get to you. Prepare yourself because every time you should expect nothing less than the best performance of your life. Yes, it only really counts at the dome, but that doesn’t mean you can relax till we get there. From your first step on the field to the last step off you are all musicians, performers, and most importantly winners. All it takes is all you’ve got. Simply put, you’ve got what it takes! Giving 100% is all we need to win. Every single person needs to take this idea and completely internalize it. If the band as a whole begins thinking like champions, we can perform like champions, and overall win like champions. It’s a proactive way of thinking. We can’t sit and wait for the win to come to us, we have to get it for ourselves, in our heads! To do this, we must become the champions we aim to be. We must rehearse like champions, we must walk like champions, eat like champions, and breathe like champions. Most of all we must think like champions. This obstacle isn’t out of our reach; we may have to stretch, but..............
How can we do this?
Well falling apart isn’t an option anymore. We are having fewer and fewer tears in the show, but we have to get rid of them completely and start to groove. There are three drum majors on the podiums at one time, and they will lead you in the right direction. Watch them and don’t listen to the pit! Another thing is being able to play your part correctly, march your sets in step, AND watch the drum major all at the same time. It is no easy task, but getting your part down cold means one less thing to worry about. So get to it! We are well into the season and there’s no excuse for not knowing your parts. Practice your runs every day, memorize where the major hits are, and DON’T PLAY WRONG NOTES! Every single person, by joining the band, accepted the responsibility to do his or her part to help the band. Knowing your music and your spots in the drill is your individual responsibility. No one can do that for you. The music isn’t easy but it’s not beyond our ability. I believe we can really have a great performance at the dome if everyone does their part.
The Final Ingredient - Performing as “Champions”
before we get the Championship!
We are putting on a show; it’s not just another rehearsal and for some of you, that psyches you out. Don’t let the competition, the judges, the audience, or the scores get to you. Prepare yourself because every time you should expect nothing less than the best performance of your life. Yes, it only really counts at the dome, but that doesn’t mean you can relax till we get there. From your first step on the field to the last step off you are all musicians, performers, and most importantly winners. All it takes is all you’ve got. Simply put, you’ve got what it takes! Giving 100% is all we need to win. Every single person needs to take this idea and completely internalize it. If the band as a whole begins thinking like champions, we can perform like champions, and overall win like champions. It’s a proactive way of thinking. We can’t sit and wait for the win to come to us, we have to get it for ourselves, in our heads! To do this, we must become the champions we aim to be. We must rehearse like champions, we must walk like champions, eat like champions, and breathe like champions. Most of all we must think like champions. This obstacle isn’t out of our reach; we may have to stretch, but..............
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Last Night...............Wow
After last night’s rehearsal it was clear, we totally learned this show. The band rose to the challenge and is now nailing this very difficult, incredible show. The guard was incredible, the drum line amazing, the pit great and the winds came out of nowhere this week and are powerful, musical and amazing. We could win this thing, if we perform, and the judges do the right thing. Mineola and Roslyn should be at the top of the class in any order. In my opinion, that’s what should happen. Grant it, I haven’t seen Mohonasson or Leroy or even Phoenix, the other 3 bands in our class, but from all I am hearing through the marching band “grapevine” they are having a similar year to last.
Prepare yourself for any placement! You cannot let the judges opinions dictate how we feel about what we have accomplished this year. You cannot challenge or complain about the judging because someday they will crown us championships. This is a subjective environment and it is part of the territory. Anything is possible. We can win, or we can get 5th out of 5. No matter what happens, I am totally excited about how much we have accomplished this year. We will still beat about half of the bands at the dome, a world away from our novice performance in 2002, a short 7 years ago. We are the fastest and most improved band in the state from our start in 2002. We are famous, incredible, and a powerhouse band!
After watching last year’s dome performance on youtube, it is clear we should have won the show. Yes I will admit it. Nobody did those incredible drill moves. It looked and sounded like a national class band. This year we have done it once again. Will we get credit for it? Maybe yes, maybe no. No matter what the result, we have left an incredible legacy here. Our band is simply amazing!
Be ready for anything. The only thing that is guaranteed is the fact that anything can happen with the scores.
Get psyched, and let’s have an incredible weekend!
Prepare yourself for any placement! You cannot let the judges opinions dictate how we feel about what we have accomplished this year. You cannot challenge or complain about the judging because someday they will crown us championships. This is a subjective environment and it is part of the territory. Anything is possible. We can win, or we can get 5th out of 5. No matter what happens, I am totally excited about how much we have accomplished this year. We will still beat about half of the bands at the dome, a world away from our novice performance in 2002, a short 7 years ago. We are the fastest and most improved band in the state from our start in 2002. We are famous, incredible, and a powerhouse band!
After watching last year’s dome performance on youtube, it is clear we should have won the show. Yes I will admit it. Nobody did those incredible drill moves. It looked and sounded like a national class band. This year we have done it once again. Will we get credit for it? Maybe yes, maybe no. No matter what the result, we have left an incredible legacy here. Our band is simply amazing!
Be ready for anything. The only thing that is guaranteed is the fact that anything can happen with the scores.
Get psyched, and let’s have an incredible weekend!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Competition Update!
Yesterday was a much better performance than at Bethel! We closed the gap from 8 points to 4 points. Our train is back on the tracks and here we come! We are coming back and are once again a contender.
The Judges
The judges love our show. This is rare. They usually are very critical of the show, in fact, all shows. Our show they love, the drill, the music, the programming........everything. We just have to perform it, which we clearly are not yet doing. If we perform this show cleanly, without any musical tears, and with style both musically and visually, we can win this class. This is a huge undertaking however, considering the fact that the show is very hard, we have limited rehearsal time, and that we only have a month left. The staff and myself are confident that we can do it. The judges acknowledged that we are doing a difficult show and had some ideas about how we can get the show cleaner and more proficient.
Our Performance
I am going to be totally honest. After watching the performance again as I uploaded it on you tube I realized that there were still some major problems in the first and second tunes. We still have huge timing problems, keeping the band together. People are pulling fast and slow, entrances are off, and the band does not lock up the tempo. We cannot achieve any kind of excellence from the judges when we have these kinds of problems. This affects every caption at least 1/2 a point and can account for 6 points down from these tears. The fact that we are 4 points away, with multiple tears in each of the first two tunes is very promising in terms of where we can go with this show. In addition, the warm up area was very far away, which caused us a very short and weak warm up at the show. This is why we played very out of tune and poorly from a musical standpoint. Just listen to the youtube video. There are many wrong notes, out of tune notes, overblowing, and poor tone quality which we usually never display. Once again, I blame this on the poor warm up due to logistics at the Sachem facility so we shouldn’t have this problem in the future.
What we need to do
We need to practice and watch the drum majors. These are 4 of the best drum majors on the planet! They absolutely nailed this show with their superior conducting. If you follow them they will lead you to the championship. Marching around, listening foward, and taking your eyes off the drum majors even for a split second can lead to catastrophe in terms of the band not locking up. Once again, the drum majors follow the drummers, visually watching their feet and sticking, the band follows the drum majors visually, and the band locks up. Just like the demonstration I did yesterday with the three snare drummers. The visual count off was flawless while the audio count off was off. Yes, we have been taught to listen to music all around us our whole lives, to balance, tune up, and blend together, but when we are spread out on a football field we need to do the opposite and watch the drum majors. Once again, they are rock solid and will hold us together. We must never take our eyes off them.
The Pit and Colorguard
The pit was amazing! No problems, watch the youtube show. They listened back and were just about perfect! The guard was the best they have been in years, still a little off in some sections but everyone is right now.
This week we will be working on locking up the band on the first and second tunes and readjusting the colorguard spots on some of the impacts along with some general tweaking. We are rehearsing two nights this week, be there and be ready to work! Great job this weekend!
The Judges
The judges love our show. This is rare. They usually are very critical of the show, in fact, all shows. Our show they love, the drill, the music, the programming........everything. We just have to perform it, which we clearly are not yet doing. If we perform this show cleanly, without any musical tears, and with style both musically and visually, we can win this class. This is a huge undertaking however, considering the fact that the show is very hard, we have limited rehearsal time, and that we only have a month left. The staff and myself are confident that we can do it. The judges acknowledged that we are doing a difficult show and had some ideas about how we can get the show cleaner and more proficient.
Our Performance
I am going to be totally honest. After watching the performance again as I uploaded it on you tube I realized that there were still some major problems in the first and second tunes. We still have huge timing problems, keeping the band together. People are pulling fast and slow, entrances are off, and the band does not lock up the tempo. We cannot achieve any kind of excellence from the judges when we have these kinds of problems. This affects every caption at least 1/2 a point and can account for 6 points down from these tears. The fact that we are 4 points away, with multiple tears in each of the first two tunes is very promising in terms of where we can go with this show. In addition, the warm up area was very far away, which caused us a very short and weak warm up at the show. This is why we played very out of tune and poorly from a musical standpoint. Just listen to the youtube video. There are many wrong notes, out of tune notes, overblowing, and poor tone quality which we usually never display. Once again, I blame this on the poor warm up due to logistics at the Sachem facility so we shouldn’t have this problem in the future.
What we need to do
We need to practice and watch the drum majors. These are 4 of the best drum majors on the planet! They absolutely nailed this show with their superior conducting. If you follow them they will lead you to the championship. Marching around, listening foward, and taking your eyes off the drum majors even for a split second can lead to catastrophe in terms of the band not locking up. Once again, the drum majors follow the drummers, visually watching their feet and sticking, the band follows the drum majors visually, and the band locks up. Just like the demonstration I did yesterday with the three snare drummers. The visual count off was flawless while the audio count off was off. Yes, we have been taught to listen to music all around us our whole lives, to balance, tune up, and blend together, but when we are spread out on a football field we need to do the opposite and watch the drum majors. Once again, they are rock solid and will hold us together. We must never take our eyes off them.
The Pit and Colorguard
The pit was amazing! No problems, watch the youtube show. They listened back and were just about perfect! The guard was the best they have been in years, still a little off in some sections but everyone is right now.
This week we will be working on locking up the band on the first and second tunes and readjusting the colorguard spots on some of the impacts along with some general tweaking. We are rehearsing two nights this week, be there and be ready to work! Great job this weekend!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
A Few Thoughts Going into Today
Remember, this is subjective environment. Anything can happen today. We can be points up, we can be points down. In a subjective medium like marching band, we literally go with a clean slate every single week since the judges are different at each and every competition. Do not let the judges scores define how we feel about ourselves. We are the “most powerful and fastest growing band” in the field band conference. Our band has gotten significantly better year after year, just look at our youtube site. Everyone in the activity knows this. I told the band that we are the “train” an unstoppable, momentum gaining entity that nobody can stop. Never forget what we are doing and how great we are getting year to year. That 8 point spread two weeks ago was huge, I will not lie. The other bands think they have stopped our momentum, stopped our resolve. They haven’t. We just hit a speed bump, that’s all. We fell apart, pure and simple. A bad day. No matter what the judges think, never forget that. Do not let scores define us. Yes it is hard, we are in a society that is defined by the wins and losses. But in this activity anything can happen at any time. Like baseball, any team can win that 5 game series in the first round of the playoffs. In Marching Band, we are even in a better position since the weekly scores really mean nothing until the dome, the final competition in the “Big Room.” Look at the year we got 2nd at the dome. One week before we were 3 points under Division Avenue and slated to be the bottom 3 in the class according to the scores across the state. We should have come in 9th out of 12. Instead we received 2nd place! That 3 point lead that Division had was for all practical purposes unbeatable. We defied the odds and beat 8 bands that we shouldn’t have beaten! Act, think, and perform like champions. Be patient, the scores will come.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Reach Show - It's a Horse Race
Being a part of the Roslyn family has changed my life for the better in many ways. For instance, at Roslyn I learned how to apply to colleges. First you have 3 target schools, colleges you can realistically get into. Then you apply to 3 safety schools, colleges that you know you can get into. Then you apply to 3 reach schools, colleges that are possible to get into and/or your dream schools. I never knew any of this, and with my daughter only in 8th grade, did not realize the significance of it all as I embarked on my own children’s college quests. Stephanie is now in her 2nd year of college and I am going through the same college search with Joey, my son who is a senior (quad player) at Mineola. Yes, here at Roslyn we “Reach.” We go for it, we push the envelope, we shoot for the stars. No matter how you word it, we always strive to be better, greater, more advanced. It is something I have grown to respect, love, and have made it a part of my own life in so many ways. Thank you Roslyn!
Now to our show. A “Reach”, that is what this year’s show is. We are reaching for the stars, trying to do a show which is a “great one.” This show is very difficult musically and visually. We are going for it. This show is designed to “Win.” It is the the “Harvard” of marching band shows. Even the judges yesterday loved it, they said it has so much potential. They consistantly noticed the difficulty, the power of the entire show and said if we execute it, wow, anything is possible!
There is no question, for whatever reasons, this week we fumbled in the opening two tunes. We fell apart, had some major problems, and didn’t recover quickly. Things went wrong that never went wrong. There are so many variables, who knows why. Maybe we were nervous, maybe tired, maybe this is just human nature. We are in a performance medium. Sometimes you excel and sometimes you falter. Just remember, you can never get better at anything unless you hit some speed bumps once in a while. The third and fourth tunes were much better but the damage had already been done. You just cannot score well when you fall apart like we did. Let’s regroup, practice, focus, bring our best game to the table and be great.
I am so proud of the resiliency of this band. Everyone is in high spirits, knows what we need to do and will do it. The 8 point spread between Mineola and ourselves is mostly due to the band’s problems in the first two tunes. We are very close, let’s just get it done.
As Mr. Carman so perfectly put it, it’s better to have these problems in Connecticut at the first show of the season, than on Long Island at the end of the season. Yes, we started our season off and are now underway, big time. Not exactly the opening we wanted, that’s for sure, but we will learn from our mistakes and achieve greatness. The other Long Island bands will be starting at the end of the month while we are into the season and rocking! We have worked hard and will continue on our quest to build a dynasty.
Practice, have sectionals, and learn the music so that you can have a better personal best each and every week. Come to rehearsals ready to rock!
Remember, this is a horse race. The season ends at the dome and that is where we need to peak. That is where it really counts. Our show is a Championship Show, we just have to execute it!
What can you do? Practice, practice, practice. Come to lessons this week, the lesson rotations start, download it from the Symphonic Band or Wind Ensemble pages. All band members are in the rotations. Have sectionals. Practice on your own and learn your music so well that you can play it marching. Being able to play the show sitting down will just not do it, you have to know it cold, inside out. Colorguard, practice your routine so you can nail it and do it together. The routine is down but not together. Watch the youtube site to fix your mistakes. We have alot of work to do if we are going to master this show this year. Let’s do it!
We will be working on the opener on Wednesday night, breaking it down musically and visually. We have a home football game on Thursday at 4:30. Let’s be amazing at that and prove to ourselves that we can nail this show!
Now to our show. A “Reach”, that is what this year’s show is. We are reaching for the stars, trying to do a show which is a “great one.” This show is very difficult musically and visually. We are going for it. This show is designed to “Win.” It is the the “Harvard” of marching band shows. Even the judges yesterday loved it, they said it has so much potential. They consistantly noticed the difficulty, the power of the entire show and said if we execute it, wow, anything is possible!
There is no question, for whatever reasons, this week we fumbled in the opening two tunes. We fell apart, had some major problems, and didn’t recover quickly. Things went wrong that never went wrong. There are so many variables, who knows why. Maybe we were nervous, maybe tired, maybe this is just human nature. We are in a performance medium. Sometimes you excel and sometimes you falter. Just remember, you can never get better at anything unless you hit some speed bumps once in a while. The third and fourth tunes were much better but the damage had already been done. You just cannot score well when you fall apart like we did. Let’s regroup, practice, focus, bring our best game to the table and be great.
I am so proud of the resiliency of this band. Everyone is in high spirits, knows what we need to do and will do it. The 8 point spread between Mineola and ourselves is mostly due to the band’s problems in the first two tunes. We are very close, let’s just get it done.
As Mr. Carman so perfectly put it, it’s better to have these problems in Connecticut at the first show of the season, than on Long Island at the end of the season. Yes, we started our season off and are now underway, big time. Not exactly the opening we wanted, that’s for sure, but we will learn from our mistakes and achieve greatness. The other Long Island bands will be starting at the end of the month while we are into the season and rocking! We have worked hard and will continue on our quest to build a dynasty.
Practice, have sectionals, and learn the music so that you can have a better personal best each and every week. Come to rehearsals ready to rock!
Remember, this is a horse race. The season ends at the dome and that is where we need to peak. That is where it really counts. Our show is a Championship Show, we just have to execute it!
What can you do? Practice, practice, practice. Come to lessons this week, the lesson rotations start, download it from the Symphonic Band or Wind Ensemble pages. All band members are in the rotations. Have sectionals. Practice on your own and learn your music so well that you can play it marching. Being able to play the show sitting down will just not do it, you have to know it cold, inside out. Colorguard, practice your routine so you can nail it and do it together. The routine is down but not together. Watch the youtube site to fix your mistakes. We have alot of work to do if we are going to master this show this year. Let’s do it!
We will be working on the opener on Wednesday night, breaking it down musically and visually. We have a home football game on Thursday at 4:30. Let’s be amazing at that and prove to ourselves that we can nail this show!
Monday, September 7, 2009
We're Already Ahead of Schedule
Here is the long term goal chart we set up in 2004. We set a long term goal for the band to be in the National Class by 2017. Long term and short term goals are important in life and by doing this we could get a good idea of what we have already accomplished and where we are going. This year, 2009, we are supposed to score in the middle of SS2 (small school 2). We already did that last year so our short term goal is to win the class or place 2nd this year, then we could petition to move up to SS1 next year or the year after. The obvious disadvantage to moving up a class is that the bands are stronger and harder to compete against. The advantage is that we are on later in each Long Island show (the only class that goes after SS1 is the National Class) and that we are on in the evening at the dome, with a huge crowd, higher scores, and a more prestigious environment. There is no pressure, just work hard and we will be going ahead, moving through these steps in the building of our dynasty!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Subjective Judging - Please Read
And now a little blog which I have posted before about the judging system and the marching activity. You have to go into this activity knowing what to expect. If we win great, if we don’t then maybe next year. People who live in a sports world may have a hard time with this system. In the “Cutting Edge,” a movie about a professional hockey player who loses his peripheral vision and joins forces with a famous ice skater, joining the ranks of the olympics, it is very obvious the differences when the judges make “all the calls.” The prior hockey player has trouble comprehending his new medium. The following paragraphs are to let you know what we as the marching staff deal with, live with, and try to conquer the best we can in our “quest to be the best.” I will update you after each show on our inner workings, what we are doing, and what our goals are through this blog.
Marching band judges each have a caption, which I listed in the prior blog post on September 3rd. The judges are supposed to judge their caption without going "out of caption." They don't do this which is obvious by the fact that they almost always rank all the bands in the same exact order across all captions. This defies reason, each band is strong in different areas and realistically, each judged caption should have the bands in a different order. Now check out this scenario, hope I don’t lose you. Sometimes the visual judges only judge the guard without even looking at the band marching style, forms, posture, etc. This puts a band that marches a difficult show well at a disadvantage because they get no credit for their work. Sometimes the music judges also decide to judge the visual, which diminishes a band's music score since it isn't being judged. When a music judge does this and is not impressed with the visual aspect, a band in essence is "penalized" twice for the visual portion of the show. Actually, the band is penalized a third time since there is no credit given from that judge for the music they are doing. As staff members we try to be subjective, but still are scratching our heads as we leave some of the contests because the numbers don't even seem to line up with the taped critiques. Oh yes, each judge makes a tape critiquing the band. We get these tapes immediately after we perform and go to the staff room to listen to the tapes and prepare for the post contest judges meeting, where we get 5 minutes with each judging group (visual and music) to get an in person evaluation from the judges.
You need to know, when you get involved in this activity, that it is a "subjective judging" environment. I probably should repeat that last sentence a hundred times! These scores are entirely determined by the judges' evaluations using the judges sheets. The judges decide absolutely everything. It is very much like figure skating or judged olympic events. They make the call for everything. One or two judges can bury you, giving you a score so low that it moves you out of contention for winning a contest. This has happened to us at all the contests last year. We may not agree with the judges, but complaining will not solve anything since we realize that this is a "subjective" environment. It comes with the territory. Those same judges could have had us up by points, giving us a large lead over all the other bands.
Sometimes the judges don’t give you credit for something amazing. For instance, at the dome last year not one of the 12 judges (double slate at the dome) said one word during our drum feature, they were silent. It was probably one of the high points in the entire dome, the drum conveyor belt and the band doing the walk through box. National Class Bands did not even attempt what we mastered. Just look at our youtube site. But the judges, not one word!!!! Can’t complain, nowhere to complain to, we’ll just get them mad. We work the judges as best we can and chip away at them, selling our program in those post contest meetings and wherever else we can. Remember, patience, patience, patience. The wins will come, I went through this with Mineola (I taught there for 11 years) in our climb from last to 1st on the island. Mineola had the high long island scores in 1997 and 1998, over everyone. It took quite a bit of patience, wow! Many rough show scores in that climb, the same thing we are going through right now.
Then you have a situation like last year at the dome, when 6 of the 7 bands in our class were constantly moving, one band sat down on park benches for one third of their show. They tied for 1st place! Every student who plays an instrument sits down their whole first 5 or 6 years, the easiest way to play an instrument. The judges chose them and put them in 1st despite the fact that they sat playing. Some bands cut the band down to their top players, having auditions and being more selective. They win with 40 or 50 total in their band. Here at Roslyn we want as many kids involved as possible so we don’t cut it down to the best, most experienced players. Touching lives is why we are here! This is why some conferences give you higher scores if you are a larger band, and put the bands in size order, total number of band members or musicians.
What the audience usually responds to is "general effect". It only accounts for about 40% of the score and that is why people don't always agree with the judges' results.
Many marching band people say that the only way you can tell who is the best is to wait until the dome. That is where all the bands in the class perform at the same time, for the same judges, in the same environment. At the dome the judging slates are doubled, so the scores are derived from 12 judges. Anything can happen at championships.
Marching band judges each have a caption, which I listed in the prior blog post on September 3rd. The judges are supposed to judge their caption without going "out of caption." They don't do this which is obvious by the fact that they almost always rank all the bands in the same exact order across all captions. This defies reason, each band is strong in different areas and realistically, each judged caption should have the bands in a different order. Now check out this scenario, hope I don’t lose you. Sometimes the visual judges only judge the guard without even looking at the band marching style, forms, posture, etc. This puts a band that marches a difficult show well at a disadvantage because they get no credit for their work. Sometimes the music judges also decide to judge the visual, which diminishes a band's music score since it isn't being judged. When a music judge does this and is not impressed with the visual aspect, a band in essence is "penalized" twice for the visual portion of the show. Actually, the band is penalized a third time since there is no credit given from that judge for the music they are doing. As staff members we try to be subjective, but still are scratching our heads as we leave some of the contests because the numbers don't even seem to line up with the taped critiques. Oh yes, each judge makes a tape critiquing the band. We get these tapes immediately after we perform and go to the staff room to listen to the tapes and prepare for the post contest judges meeting, where we get 5 minutes with each judging group (visual and music) to get an in person evaluation from the judges.
You need to know, when you get involved in this activity, that it is a "subjective judging" environment. I probably should repeat that last sentence a hundred times! These scores are entirely determined by the judges' evaluations using the judges sheets. The judges decide absolutely everything. It is very much like figure skating or judged olympic events. They make the call for everything. One or two judges can bury you, giving you a score so low that it moves you out of contention for winning a contest. This has happened to us at all the contests last year. We may not agree with the judges, but complaining will not solve anything since we realize that this is a "subjective" environment. It comes with the territory. Those same judges could have had us up by points, giving us a large lead over all the other bands.
Sometimes the judges don’t give you credit for something amazing. For instance, at the dome last year not one of the 12 judges (double slate at the dome) said one word during our drum feature, they were silent. It was probably one of the high points in the entire dome, the drum conveyor belt and the band doing the walk through box. National Class Bands did not even attempt what we mastered. Just look at our youtube site. But the judges, not one word!!!! Can’t complain, nowhere to complain to, we’ll just get them mad. We work the judges as best we can and chip away at them, selling our program in those post contest meetings and wherever else we can. Remember, patience, patience, patience. The wins will come, I went through this with Mineola (I taught there for 11 years) in our climb from last to 1st on the island. Mineola had the high long island scores in 1997 and 1998, over everyone. It took quite a bit of patience, wow! Many rough show scores in that climb, the same thing we are going through right now.
Then you have a situation like last year at the dome, when 6 of the 7 bands in our class were constantly moving, one band sat down on park benches for one third of their show. They tied for 1st place! Every student who plays an instrument sits down their whole first 5 or 6 years, the easiest way to play an instrument. The judges chose them and put them in 1st despite the fact that they sat playing. Some bands cut the band down to their top players, having auditions and being more selective. They win with 40 or 50 total in their band. Here at Roslyn we want as many kids involved as possible so we don’t cut it down to the best, most experienced players. Touching lives is why we are here! This is why some conferences give you higher scores if you are a larger band, and put the bands in size order, total number of band members or musicians.
What the audience usually responds to is "general effect". It only accounts for about 40% of the score and that is why people don't always agree with the judges' results.
Many marching band people say that the only way you can tell who is the best is to wait until the dome. That is where all the bands in the class perform at the same time, for the same judges, in the same environment. At the dome the judging slates are doubled, so the scores are derived from 12 judges. Anything can happen at championships.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
How We Get Judged
A Brief History of Long Island Competitive Marching Bands. I put this up each year for the new parents and to refresh everyone on our judging system.
There are approximately fifteen bands that compete on Long Island. Roslyn is the most recent addition to this group (it's our 7th season). The others have been in this competition circuit for 30 to 40 years. Competitive bands can perform 30 to 60 forms (this year we have 67, up from 32 two years ago), are constantly moving, with memorized music (no lyres), and march in synchronized perfection (or as close as is possible). The other 50 plus Long Island non-competition bands perform their shows during halftime at home football games and at the Newsday Festival. They tend to perform between 3 and 15 pictures (abstract forms) and do a much less complex show.
There are several competitive circuits in our area. There is the MAC circuit, in Conncecticut and northern New England, the TOB (Tournament of Bands) circuit in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the YEA circuit, which encompasses the entire East Coast, and the NYSFBC (New York State Field Band Conference) which we compete in. The Long Island bands always seem to compete together. In the 80s and early 90s the Long Island bands competed in the Tournament of Bands. The Championships were usually in Scranton, PA. Then in the mid 90's the bands switched to a new circuit, the CMBC (Cadets Marching Band Circuit) which was run by the Bergen County Cadets, one of the top Drum Corps in the world. The draw of this circuit was it's Championships at Giant's Stadium. When the Giant's put in real turf the CMBC was no longer able to use the stadium, they changed their name to YEA, and moved the championships to venues in Atlantic City, Hersheypark, and Scranton. It was about this time that the Long Island Bands started to transfer to the NYSFBC, the draw to this conference mainly being the Carrier Dome championships, which is obviously indoors, and an incredible venue. The NYSFBC is also a band director driven group, which I feel is the best of the circuits in terms of it's positive outlook and emphasis on education. By the end of the 90's almost all of the Long Island Competitive bands competed in the Carrier Dome/NYSFBC.
Each circuit has a totally different way of judging, different criteria, different judges, and different philosophies. I will now go over the NYSFBC judging system as best I can in a few paragraphs.
NYSFBC Band Classes
There are two main criteria for determining classes in the NYSFBC. There are Small School Classes (SS3, SS2, and SS1) which are determined by school size and the quality level of the program. There are the Large School Classes (LS3, LS2). Class 3 are the less advanced bands, Class 2 the more advanced bands, and Class 1 the most advanced. The top class, reserved for the best in the country is the National Class which consists of incredible bands of any school size. Since they are determined by school size, there can be tiny bands and huge bands in the same class in the NYSFBC. For instance, Northwestern, who won SS2 for several years, marched around 40 members. Some bands have only the really serious musicians and guard people in their bands, which makes them smaller and easier to make perfect. My goal as a band director has been to get as many people involved in the program as possible. In our conference, you get a bump in General Effect from being big but that's about all. In the YEA conference, the larger the bands, the bigger the class, and the higher the scores; they reward you for being bigger and feel that the General Effect of a larger group gives you a higher score.
NYSFBC Judging / How We Get Judged
In the NYSFBC there are two large areas that we are judged on, Visual and Music. Each of these two areas are broken down into three segments, Field, Ensemble, and General Effect. So here are the six judges that judge us: Field Visual, Ensemble Visual, GE Visual, Field Music, Ensemble Music, and GE Music.
Field Visual: This judge is on the field, walking around, through, and in front of the band. This judge's job is to evaluate the individuals on the field and how they march, do their guard work, and how they look as individuals.
Ensemble Visual: This judge is up in the stands and evaluates the drill, the band and the guard doing their designs and work as an ensemble, the artistic value of the show.
GE Visual: This judge sits up in the stands and judges the "General Effect" of the visual portion of the band and guard. This is usually what the audience responds to, the GE.
Field Music: This judge is on the field, walking around, through, and in front of the band. This judge's job is to evaluate the individuals musicians on how they are playing their parts.
Ensemble Music: This judge is up in the stands and evaluates how the band performs their music as an ensemble. This judge evaluates the difficulty of the show, how clean the band is playing musically, and how they sound.
GE Music: This judge sits up in the stands and judges the "General Effect" of the music. This is usually what the audience responds to, the GE.
There are approximately fifteen bands that compete on Long Island. Roslyn is the most recent addition to this group (it's our 7th season). The others have been in this competition circuit for 30 to 40 years. Competitive bands can perform 30 to 60 forms (this year we have 67, up from 32 two years ago), are constantly moving, with memorized music (no lyres), and march in synchronized perfection (or as close as is possible). The other 50 plus Long Island non-competition bands perform their shows during halftime at home football games and at the Newsday Festival. They tend to perform between 3 and 15 pictures (abstract forms) and do a much less complex show.
There are several competitive circuits in our area. There is the MAC circuit, in Conncecticut and northern New England, the TOB (Tournament of Bands) circuit in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the YEA circuit, which encompasses the entire East Coast, and the NYSFBC (New York State Field Band Conference) which we compete in. The Long Island bands always seem to compete together. In the 80s and early 90s the Long Island bands competed in the Tournament of Bands. The Championships were usually in Scranton, PA. Then in the mid 90's the bands switched to a new circuit, the CMBC (Cadets Marching Band Circuit) which was run by the Bergen County Cadets, one of the top Drum Corps in the world. The draw of this circuit was it's Championships at Giant's Stadium. When the Giant's put in real turf the CMBC was no longer able to use the stadium, they changed their name to YEA, and moved the championships to venues in Atlantic City, Hersheypark, and Scranton. It was about this time that the Long Island Bands started to transfer to the NYSFBC, the draw to this conference mainly being the Carrier Dome championships, which is obviously indoors, and an incredible venue. The NYSFBC is also a band director driven group, which I feel is the best of the circuits in terms of it's positive outlook and emphasis on education. By the end of the 90's almost all of the Long Island Competitive bands competed in the Carrier Dome/NYSFBC.
Each circuit has a totally different way of judging, different criteria, different judges, and different philosophies. I will now go over the NYSFBC judging system as best I can in a few paragraphs.
NYSFBC Band Classes
There are two main criteria for determining classes in the NYSFBC. There are Small School Classes (SS3, SS2, and SS1) which are determined by school size and the quality level of the program. There are the Large School Classes (LS3, LS2). Class 3 are the less advanced bands, Class 2 the more advanced bands, and Class 1 the most advanced. The top class, reserved for the best in the country is the National Class which consists of incredible bands of any school size. Since they are determined by school size, there can be tiny bands and huge bands in the same class in the NYSFBC. For instance, Northwestern, who won SS2 for several years, marched around 40 members. Some bands have only the really serious musicians and guard people in their bands, which makes them smaller and easier to make perfect. My goal as a band director has been to get as many people involved in the program as possible. In our conference, you get a bump in General Effect from being big but that's about all. In the YEA conference, the larger the bands, the bigger the class, and the higher the scores; they reward you for being bigger and feel that the General Effect of a larger group gives you a higher score.
NYSFBC Judging / How We Get Judged
In the NYSFBC there are two large areas that we are judged on, Visual and Music. Each of these two areas are broken down into three segments, Field, Ensemble, and General Effect. So here are the six judges that judge us: Field Visual, Ensemble Visual, GE Visual, Field Music, Ensemble Music, and GE Music.
Field Visual: This judge is on the field, walking around, through, and in front of the band. This judge's job is to evaluate the individuals on the field and how they march, do their guard work, and how they look as individuals.
Ensemble Visual: This judge is up in the stands and evaluates the drill, the band and the guard doing their designs and work as an ensemble, the artistic value of the show.
GE Visual: This judge sits up in the stands and judges the "General Effect" of the visual portion of the band and guard. This is usually what the audience responds to, the GE.
Field Music: This judge is on the field, walking around, through, and in front of the band. This judge's job is to evaluate the individuals musicians on how they are playing their parts.
Ensemble Music: This judge is up in the stands and evaluates how the band performs their music as an ensemble. This judge evaluates the difficulty of the show, how clean the band is playing musically, and how they sound.
GE Music: This judge sits up in the stands and judges the "General Effect" of the music. This is usually what the audience responds to, the GE.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Balancing It All on the Head of a Pin
That’s what I call it, making a rehearsal schedule for a competitive marching band. How much to rehearse, how many shows to do, how we rehearse, and how to handle attendance are key parts of running this marching band which I deal with every day. Balancing the schedule of a competition marching band is a delicate endeavor. Meeting the needs of the students is the priority however we do "compete" so we need to maximize our rehearsal time, and get as much done as is possible. We need to utilize every minute without hurting the quality of our group. The balance is as tricky as balancing something on the head of a pin. I have been asked many questions from parents and students about how I schedule rehearsals and competitions so in the spirit of communication I have posted my philosophy of rehearsals, competitions, and how we have built our schedule.
How Many Hours to Rehearse
I have had some parents ask me why we rehearse so much. I have had even more parents ask me why we don’t rehearse more. Well, when starting the competitive marching band here at Roslyn, they rehearsed 2 nights a week, Saturdays, and did a show every weekend. They even added some rehearsals if the band needed it. Coming here in 2003, I decided that we would go with a 1 night rehearsal format, no Saturday rehearsals, and try to add an hour or two of rehearsing on show days, before we leave the high school. This is the least that I felt we could practice and still be competitive. By having great communication among the staff, proper planning, and efficient rehearsals, I felt we could build a dynasty with this structure. Hicksville HS in the 90’s had the highest scores on Long Island and had this exact schedule. I observed them frequently and they were efficient, there wasn’t a minute of wasted time in their rehearsals. It amazed me that they could have the highest of scores and rehearse so much less than the bands they were scoring above. I used them as a model when I came here to Roslyn.
Why No Shows on Columbus Day Weekend?
I always schedule a break weekend in the middle of the season to recharge our collective batteries. I copied this from some of the upstate bands. Playing the same music over and over can be daunting and create a malaise among band members. By taking a weekend off to visit colleges, or just spend time with our families, we can create another peak for our band, hopefully at the dome. I feel that this avoids us getting into a plateau where we stagnate.
Back to Backs
Why not do two shows in a weekend like all the other bands in our area?
We don’t do “back to backs,” a Saturday and Sunday show weekend, and here is my reason. I have always, throughout my 26 years of doing marching band, avoided doing two shows on a weekend. Many bands do this and feel that it helps them keep the momentum going. I feel it becomes too taxing. In my formative years, I had a famous band director upstate tell me “never do back to backs.” I asked why, he said “look at your kids on Sunday night after doing a back to back and that will answer your question.” Two years ago, not sticking with that advice, we did a “back to back” for the first time, the New York Championship at Griffin Field the day after the Denton Avenue Show. I looked at our kids after the Sunday performance and now I totally agree; I feel one show a weekend is definitely enough. As a side note on this issue, the upstate bands do Saturday night shows, and nothing else on Sunday and those bands are amazing. Rarely do you see one of the top upstate National Bands double up shows on a weekend.
Formulating the Schedule
I build the schedule in April, put it up online, finalize it in mid August, tweak it and add times in September and stick to it. I do not schedule anything on the “off weekend." I will not add anything after school starts because I feel it is unfair to the band members to require them to be at everything and then add something. We get many requests to perform at various events on and off our campus with only a few weeks notice. My policy is clear, we will perform if given the dates prior to band camp. Requiring perfect attendance, which we must do since we have a drill where every person is of the utmost importance, creates this policy where we don’t add performances after the schedule is finalized.
Rehearse Less? Rehearse More?
For the parents that say we need to rehearse less, I submit that it would greatly hinder us to even take a few hours out of this schedule. We are at a bare minimum in terms of being a competing band. Any less would mean going to a “home game and Newsday band” format, where we only perform at the home games and Newsday Festival, which is what most bands on Long Island do. Any more rehearsing, and we would burn out, not be fresh with the show, and it would hinder our academics and not leave time for jobs, other activities, etc. Personally, I feel that a competition band teaches so much more about music and life. I feel that the schedule we have is perfect for our school, students, parents, and community.
Is Our Schedule Working?
I feel that our schedule is clearly working. We are very successful, being one of the most talked about bands, getting exponentially better each year. Our competitors, virtually every one of them, rehearse twice as much as us. We are certainly among the top 3 or 4 bands on Long Island, regardless of the scores, so this schedule works for us.
Constantly Learning and Tweaking
As a band director I am constantly learning about maximizing rehearsal time, meeting with the staff regularly, and tweaking our schedule year to year. I welcome parental and student input and have used it regularly. Right now, I feel we are on the right track with our schedule. Our kids are excited, fresh, and love the marching band, which is the top priority!
How Many Hours to Rehearse
I have had some parents ask me why we rehearse so much. I have had even more parents ask me why we don’t rehearse more. Well, when starting the competitive marching band here at Roslyn, they rehearsed 2 nights a week, Saturdays, and did a show every weekend. They even added some rehearsals if the band needed it. Coming here in 2003, I decided that we would go with a 1 night rehearsal format, no Saturday rehearsals, and try to add an hour or two of rehearsing on show days, before we leave the high school. This is the least that I felt we could practice and still be competitive. By having great communication among the staff, proper planning, and efficient rehearsals, I felt we could build a dynasty with this structure. Hicksville HS in the 90’s had the highest scores on Long Island and had this exact schedule. I observed them frequently and they were efficient, there wasn’t a minute of wasted time in their rehearsals. It amazed me that they could have the highest of scores and rehearse so much less than the bands they were scoring above. I used them as a model when I came here to Roslyn.
Why No Shows on Columbus Day Weekend?
I always schedule a break weekend in the middle of the season to recharge our collective batteries. I copied this from some of the upstate bands. Playing the same music over and over can be daunting and create a malaise among band members. By taking a weekend off to visit colleges, or just spend time with our families, we can create another peak for our band, hopefully at the dome. I feel that this avoids us getting into a plateau where we stagnate.
Back to Backs
Why not do two shows in a weekend like all the other bands in our area?
We don’t do “back to backs,” a Saturday and Sunday show weekend, and here is my reason. I have always, throughout my 26 years of doing marching band, avoided doing two shows on a weekend. Many bands do this and feel that it helps them keep the momentum going. I feel it becomes too taxing. In my formative years, I had a famous band director upstate tell me “never do back to backs.” I asked why, he said “look at your kids on Sunday night after doing a back to back and that will answer your question.” Two years ago, not sticking with that advice, we did a “back to back” for the first time, the New York Championship at Griffin Field the day after the Denton Avenue Show. I looked at our kids after the Sunday performance and now I totally agree; I feel one show a weekend is definitely enough. As a side note on this issue, the upstate bands do Saturday night shows, and nothing else on Sunday and those bands are amazing. Rarely do you see one of the top upstate National Bands double up shows on a weekend.
Formulating the Schedule
I build the schedule in April, put it up online, finalize it in mid August, tweak it and add times in September and stick to it. I do not schedule anything on the “off weekend." I will not add anything after school starts because I feel it is unfair to the band members to require them to be at everything and then add something. We get many requests to perform at various events on and off our campus with only a few weeks notice. My policy is clear, we will perform if given the dates prior to band camp. Requiring perfect attendance, which we must do since we have a drill where every person is of the utmost importance, creates this policy where we don’t add performances after the schedule is finalized.
Rehearse Less? Rehearse More?
For the parents that say we need to rehearse less, I submit that it would greatly hinder us to even take a few hours out of this schedule. We are at a bare minimum in terms of being a competing band. Any less would mean going to a “home game and Newsday band” format, where we only perform at the home games and Newsday Festival, which is what most bands on Long Island do. Any more rehearsing, and we would burn out, not be fresh with the show, and it would hinder our academics and not leave time for jobs, other activities, etc. Personally, I feel that a competition band teaches so much more about music and life. I feel that the schedule we have is perfect for our school, students, parents, and community.
Is Our Schedule Working?
I feel that our schedule is clearly working. We are very successful, being one of the most talked about bands, getting exponentially better each year. Our competitors, virtually every one of them, rehearse twice as much as us. We are certainly among the top 3 or 4 bands on Long Island, regardless of the scores, so this schedule works for us.
Constantly Learning and Tweaking
As a band director I am constantly learning about maximizing rehearsal time, meeting with the staff regularly, and tweaking our schedule year to year. I welcome parental and student input and have used it regularly. Right now, I feel we are on the right track with our schedule. Our kids are excited, fresh, and love the marching band, which is the top priority!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Contacting Me
I think it is extremely important to have access to me as a teacher and band director. I get very upset as a parent when I contact a teacher and it takes them days to get back to me, so I understand how important communication between a teacher and parents is. I feel that I am very accessible and take great pride in that. Getting back to someone quickly shows respect and caring towards them. I even give my cell phone out on trips, so most parents in the band have access to my cell phone number, which I don't have a problem with. I would like to go over some ways in which you can contact me quickly and efficiently.
E-mail
I have an iphone and check the e-mail pattersax.com about 10 to 20 times a day. This is quite simply the most efficient and quick way to contact me. I will usually get back to you within a few hours, it may be longer on the weekend but will be within 24 hours, even if I am away on vacation. If you want me to call you on the phone, e-mail me the phone number. If the issue needs personal attention I will call you back. Talking is a much more personal way of communicating if it is an issue of a sensitive nature. If it is simply informational, or a question, an e-mail is the best way to ask.
Texting
Having a daughter in college and two sons in 11th grade and 7th grade, I text all the time. Texting to my cell phone is another way of getting to me if you don’t have e-mail access and want a quick answer or a call to your phone. Band officers, drum majors, and captains text me if they are late or need some quick info. Make sure you tell me who you are when you text me if you don’t have a signature included with the text.
School Phone
The school phone number is a new number this year, a direct line to Mr. Coffey and myself. If you leave me a message on the school phone, it will go directly to my e-mail as an audio file, I will have it within minutes, so this is another way to get in touch with me. The number is 516-801-5152. Once again, let me know how you want me to get back to you.
Cell Phone
Please only call my cell phone if it is an absolute emergency. I have all the parent numbers and student numbers in my cell phone so your name will probably come up if you call me on my cell. Assuming it is an emergency, I will answer, even if I am changing a diaper or reading my little ones a bedtime story at home. Please only reserve this mode of communication if it is an emergency and you need to talk to me immediately.
Snail Mail
Forget it, if there isn’t a check in it, I throw it out! :)
My Own Personal Communication Rules
These are a few of my own rules that I try to use with communication. Once again, the medium is constantly in flux, so we all have to be aware of the new ways of communicating and work within it.
I have an iphone and check the e-mail pattersax.com about 10 to 20 times a day. This is quite simply the most efficient and quick way to contact me. I will usually get back to you within a few hours, it may be longer on the weekend but will be within 24 hours, even if I am away on vacation. If you want me to call you on the phone, e-mail me the phone number. If the issue needs personal attention I will call you back. Talking is a much more personal way of communicating if it is an issue of a sensitive nature. If it is simply informational, or a question, an e-mail is the best way to ask.
Texting
Having a daughter in college and two sons in 11th grade and 7th grade, I text all the time. Texting to my cell phone is another way of getting to me if you don’t have e-mail access and want a quick answer or a call to your phone. Band officers, drum majors, and captains text me if they are late or need some quick info. Make sure you tell me who you are when you text me if you don’t have a signature included with the text.
School Phone
The school phone number is a new number this year, a direct line to Mr. Coffey and myself. If you leave me a message on the school phone, it will go directly to my e-mail as an audio file, I will have it within minutes, so this is another way to get in touch with me. The number is 516-801-5152. Once again, let me know how you want me to get back to you.
Cell Phone
Please only call my cell phone if it is an absolute emergency. I have all the parent numbers and student numbers in my cell phone so your name will probably come up if you call me on my cell. Assuming it is an emergency, I will answer, even if I am changing a diaper or reading my little ones a bedtime story at home. Please only reserve this mode of communication if it is an emergency and you need to talk to me immediately.
Snail Mail
Forget it, if there isn’t a check in it, I throw it out! :)
My Own Personal Communication Rules
These are a few of my own rules that I try to use with communication. Once again, the medium is constantly in flux, so we all have to be aware of the new ways of communicating and work within it.
- I never write an e-mail when I am angry or upset.
- I have to be ready for anything I write to be put up on a wall or handed out. E-mail is permanent.
- I make an attempt to be aware of who has direct e-mail to their phone and don’t e-mail them at times I know are “personal times.” I know they will get the e-mail immediately, it will disturb them and that it will take them away from their family. I usually make a point to e-mail people like that during a work day or before dinner time, unless it is very important.
- I always try to write “how’s it going” or open with something personal if it is an initiating first e-mail to someone. Some people send very business like e-mails which can be misconstrued as cold and harsh.
- If it is a sensitive issue, I make a phone call. Nothing is more personal than hearing the tone of a voice. With e-mails, sometimes the real compassion and caring gets lost.
- Be aware of what server you are going through with any e-mail or voicemail. The company you are going through owns and stores any communication you make.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Assistant Drum Major Positions
After much thought, Ms. Miller and I have decided to add two assistant drum majors to the student leadership team. The fact that we are now faced with 4 drum majors, all seniors, graduating after next year brought us to this conclusion. Looking at the shows we are considering after the 2009-2010 season, we will be going forward with two drum majors and two assistant drum majors each year. The assistant drum majors will be chosen from students in grades 9-11 during the 2009-2010 school year. The assistant drum majors will remain in the band and play on their instruments during their assistant drum major season. They will be in training to be drum majors and will move up into the drum major position the following year if all goes well in their learning season. An audition process will start immediately and will culminate at band camp, with the final auditions and decision made during camp. If the chosen people hold captain or leadership positions within the band they will relinquish them when they become assistant drum major. We will fill those vacated positions with the people who were next on the list after the interview process which was completed this year, as long as those people have been attending the Wednesday night rehearsals, a prerequisite for getting and/or keeping any student leadership position.
Letters of intent need to be sent to Mr. Patterson asap and must be recieved by June 1st if you are interested in trying out. A 300 word essay describing why you want to audition for assistant drum major and what you have to offer as the band’s drum major the following year must be part of the letter of intent.
In addition, there is a possibility that one of our student leaders positions may be vacated in the next few weeks. Once again, we will fill that vacated position with the person who was next on the list after the interview process last November, as long as that person has been attending the Wednesday night rehearsals.
Letters of intent need to be sent to Mr. Patterson asap and must be recieved by June 1st if you are interested in trying out. A 300 word essay describing why you want to audition for assistant drum major and what you have to offer as the band’s drum major the following year must be part of the letter of intent.
In addition, there is a possibility that one of our student leaders positions may be vacated in the next few weeks. Once again, we will fill that vacated position with the person who was next on the list after the interview process last November, as long as that person has been attending the Wednesday night rehearsals.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
CGX final performance at Roselle Park, NJ!
The Roslyn CGX Colorguard performed an amazing show in New Jersey today at the TOB Competition at Roselle Park HS. Performing an incredible performance from the beginning to the end, the Colorguard had energy, aura, and was the best colorguard we ever had here at Roslyn. This competes a great debut season for the winterguard, performing among the best colorguards in the region. Congratulations to all the girls and Ms. McMahon, who directs the colorguard. Special thanks to Mr. Bennett, who wrote and taught the drill, and Mr. Downey, who helped teach the guard this Winter.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
CGX Ranks 25th out of 36 in their class!!!!
Check this out! Our CGX Winterguard is now ranked 25 out of 36 in the huge TOB conference! Check out their ranking! Hit the link on the roslynband.com website to see the ranking in our region! Also check out the Roslyn Marching Band You Tube site to see their performance! Both links are also available to the left of this post.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Winterguard Rocks in First Competition!!!
I couldn’t believe it! There I was, sitting in the bleachers at Copiague HS, waiting for our CGX colorguard to make their first appearance ever in Winterguard Competition. The audience was all set to go. We had already seen some indoor percussion groups and a few independent and middle school winterguards perform. Then the girls entered, with the most confident look I have ever seen! They set down their flags, got into position and they began their show. Is this a first year Winterguard? No way! They are amazing! Moving through the non-stop drill with precision, the guard did a series of arm moves to the music, and then went to the flags, picking them up as they continued an amazing performance from beginning to end. We were amazed and many in the audience were surprised that this was the first time out in Winter competition for this group. There were a few hiccups, a flag misplaced due to the girls never performing the show in the big gym. No problem, Lauren, having no flag to use, modified her moves to look like a dance routine to the two other flags as they performed their trio in the opening tune. Genius! And when another flag was in the wrong place, Alana saved the day by picking up another flag, since that sequence needed everyone with a flag for the routine to work correctly! Her quick thinking amazed us, and made a more positive situation for the judges to see!
Yes, believe it or not, this was the CGX’s first performance in competition......ever! Unbelievable! They have in one season turned themselves into champions, surpassing any expectation that could ever be placed on a first time guard.
Congratulations to the captains, Jessica Margulis, Lauren Passaro, and Faye Sun. Their hard work and dedication are definitely paying off! Their leadership is incredible.
Congratulations to Ms. McMahon who has, in one season, made an incredible impression on the Colorguard Activity, surely becoming one of the top coloruard directors in the country! Her rapport with the girls, while leading them is unparalleled. Her love for her students is clear to anyone who has worked with her. Ms. McMahon’s style and guidance has totally forged the way for us to have one of the best guards anywhere! Thanks to Mr. Bennett for his incredible drill, instructing the girls, and helping with all those little things which make us incredible. And thanks to Mr. Downey, whose tireless dedication, encouragement, and teaching has helped to bring this guard to this level.
Yes, believe it or not, this was the CGX’s first performance in competition......ever! Unbelievable! They have in one season turned themselves into champions, surpassing any expectation that could ever be placed on a first time guard.
Congratulations to the captains, Jessica Margulis, Lauren Passaro, and Faye Sun. Their hard work and dedication are definitely paying off! Their leadership is incredible.
Congratulations to Ms. McMahon who has, in one season, made an incredible impression on the Colorguard Activity, surely becoming one of the top coloruard directors in the country! Her rapport with the girls, while leading them is unparalleled. Her love for her students is clear to anyone who has worked with her. Ms. McMahon’s style and guidance has totally forged the way for us to have one of the best guards anywhere! Thanks to Mr. Bennett for his incredible drill, instructing the girls, and helping with all those little things which make us incredible. And thanks to Mr. Downey, whose tireless dedication, encouragement, and teaching has helped to bring this guard to this level.
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