Day three of band camp. I allotted some time to write a blog today. I can now give you my impressions of the new camp. It is great! The cabins are clean and well kept, the grounds are manicured and everything is close. The bugs are at a minimum. The walk from the cabin to the field and rehearsal areas is a matter of a few minutes. The parents have been great as usual. We had some great activities, steal the bacon the first night and crazy hats last night. We moved the curfew to 12 midnight this year and it is working out great. The kids all made it to breakfast and were perky! We do a lights out right away at 12.
We adjusted the schedule yesterday to try something different. We loaded up the night rehearsal and are now giving a larger break in the afternoon. This is a rehearsal schedule that a band director in the midwest told me works great. We tried it yesterday and the kids are responding great. We got through all rehearsals with no fatigue. Water breaks every hour to refresh.
7:30 - Wake Up
8:00 - Breakfast
9:00 to 11:30 - Rehearsal
12 noon - Lunch
1:00 to 3:30 - Rehearsal
3:30 - Pie Mafia activity
3:45 - Afternoon snack provided by Camp Taconic
4:00 to 6:00 - Pool time, break, shower, relax, do homework
6:00 - Dinner
7:00 to 9:00 - Rehearsal
9:15 - Ice Cream Snack provided by Camp Taconic
9:45 to 10:45 - Night Activity run by "Band Fans" parents group
10:45 to 12 midnight - Free time
12 midnight - curfew, lights out soon to follow
7 hours of rehearsing, breaks throughout all rehearsals.
This worked out great. The kids now have more time to go to the pool, shower, and change before dinner, while keeping out of the hot sun in the middle of the day.
We have some pressure to learn the drill due to the rain the first one and a half days. We are in no way passing that pressure onto the kids. The staff will figure out what we need to do as the week progresses to finish the drill with the primary goal being to keep the kids happy and loving band. We will be sticking to this schedule from today through Saturday and using Sunday exclusively as a run through day, running through the entire show. The kids have learned all of the music and we will be working outdoors all day today in an attempt to catch up on the drill.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The last day of camp and our rehearsal hours
Many parents have asked me if we can all leave after breakfast the last day of camp. I feel that I need to explain why the 7 day camp is crucial and why we have to stay the entire final day to rehearse. We all need to see the big picture here. We are a competitive band that must be at a certain level when we take the field in competition. I will explain.
Just about every band we compete against rehearses 3 times as much as us. They work all summer, two to three times a week, and put in around 200 to 300 hours. We compete against them with a rehearsal schedule of 40 hours during the season and about 40 at camp, about 80 total hours. To drive this point home, bands that we compete against do basics for 80 hours. Considering the academic nature of our school we must keep these rehearsal hours down to minimize stress on the students. We can compete, consistently scoring in the middle the prestigious Small School 2 class, due to our maximizing rehearsal time, high level of concentration, and incredible planning prior to rehearsals. Most bands show up to rehearsals and wing it, wasting the kids time.
For any band, every hour at camp is worth 3 hours at home. The concentration level is higher, there are less distractions, and by rehearsing at camp we are getting more done because we are reinforcing our show every day, during three separate sessions. Cutting out 4 or 5 hours of rehearsing on any day at camp equals six night rehearsals (15 hours) during the season. That last day is like adding a second night of rehearsals for six weeks. Although I realize that there will be traffic on Sunday night, that it would be so much more convenient to go home early on Sunday after breakfast, I must ask you to see the big picture here. Would you rather have them rehearse that last day, or add Thursday night rehearsals during the season. Cutting the rehearsal hours will have a major impact on our season. In addition, the last day has to be a "band day" which is why I took out the relay. I feel that doing activities the last day makes if a "fluff" day and lowers the concentration level of the kids, when they should be reinforcing all that they learned during the week. We need that time. We are at camp to learn the drill, learn the music, and reinforce running through the show over and over again so that we remember it two weeks later. I truly believe that our kids have "fun" playing and doing the show. That's why they are in band. Although the activities are also "fun" and help with bonding, too much emphasis on them takes away from the real goal of band camp, to learn the show. Please realize that the really important "fun" is performing, making music, and doing these great shows. This is why I am slightly adjusting the band camp activities as well. We need to get as much practice time in as possible, and still let the kids have enough free time to relax, take a nap, do some homework, or even practice their instruments by themselves to reinforce some of their music in the show.
Just about every band we compete against rehearses 3 times as much as us. They work all summer, two to three times a week, and put in around 200 to 300 hours. We compete against them with a rehearsal schedule of 40 hours during the season and about 40 at camp, about 80 total hours. To drive this point home, bands that we compete against do basics for 80 hours. Considering the academic nature of our school we must keep these rehearsal hours down to minimize stress on the students. We can compete, consistently scoring in the middle the prestigious Small School 2 class, due to our maximizing rehearsal time, high level of concentration, and incredible planning prior to rehearsals. Most bands show up to rehearsals and wing it, wasting the kids time.
For any band, every hour at camp is worth 3 hours at home. The concentration level is higher, there are less distractions, and by rehearsing at camp we are getting more done because we are reinforcing our show every day, during three separate sessions. Cutting out 4 or 5 hours of rehearsing on any day at camp equals six night rehearsals (15 hours) during the season. That last day is like adding a second night of rehearsals for six weeks. Although I realize that there will be traffic on Sunday night, that it would be so much more convenient to go home early on Sunday after breakfast, I must ask you to see the big picture here. Would you rather have them rehearse that last day, or add Thursday night rehearsals during the season. Cutting the rehearsal hours will have a major impact on our season. In addition, the last day has to be a "band day" which is why I took out the relay. I feel that doing activities the last day makes if a "fluff" day and lowers the concentration level of the kids, when they should be reinforcing all that they learned during the week. We need that time. We are at camp to learn the drill, learn the music, and reinforce running through the show over and over again so that we remember it two weeks later. I truly believe that our kids have "fun" playing and doing the show. That's why they are in band. Although the activities are also "fun" and help with bonding, too much emphasis on them takes away from the real goal of band camp, to learn the show. Please realize that the really important "fun" is performing, making music, and doing these great shows. This is why I am slightly adjusting the band camp activities as well. We need to get as much practice time in as possible, and still let the kids have enough free time to relax, take a nap, do some homework, or even practice their instruments by themselves to reinforce some of their music in the show.
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