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.
