Brentwood Show Recap

Great job today! You know how you did! You were on, big time! Everyone in that stadium knows how you did, everyone! You took a major step in reaching the Dynasty level! Unfortunately, the judges didn’t agree. They will, give them time!  And we are definitely gaining ground.  The Field music judge had us 3rd in the entire show, and the Ensemble Music judge had us up.  The GE Music had us down and the GE Visual judge pounded us. Seems the GE Visual and Ensemble Visual just didn't like our show today. We will win them over.  

One of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous quotes is important when we deal with the subjectivity of judging. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”  This is definitely a time of challenge for our band.  We know how we are doing on that field, how much better we are getting, yet the scores are not yet reflecting our progress.

Building a dynasty is very difficult. We are clearly accomplishing our goals. Along the way there are speed bumps. Today was another one of those. Whatever the reason, we are getting lower scores than we deserve. Perhaps there is something in our show that the judges simply don't like. Perhaps we are totally doing a great job and for whatever reasons, the numbers aren’t reflecting it. We have very difficult, multi meter music, demanding drill moves, and are moving constantly, accomplishing 63 sets in this show instead of our 30 sets of previous years. Our sound is better, in fact it is great! Our marching is better than ever, we have technique like never before. The guard is the best Roslyn has put on the field, they were amazing today. We designed this show to win the class. It is a challenging show. Perhaps we just haven’t peaked yet. Perhaps we are a few inches from the gold in our marching band gold mine, and have to dig for another week or two to reach it. We have important rehearsals left and another month to go. We need to focus and get the most out of ourselves. We just need to max out our precision so that the judges see us for what we are, an incredible, championship band. Remember, the marching band season is a marathon which doesn’t end until the dome. In 2006 we were dumped all season, in last place in the state rankings, only to focus and win 2nd place out of 12 at the championship! Stay focused! Stay the course!

Those speed bumps in life define us. How we handle things that come at us defines us. It is easy to be great when things are amazing. How we handle adversity defines us.

It IS defining us, our amazing resiliency and positive attitude in the face of these scores. I am so proud of our entire band, parents and community. Our positive attitude is unwavering and feeds each of us to work harder and persevere! Our hard work will pay off! Stay the course!

Here is one of my favorite quotes. Nobody knows who said this quote, but it is perfect with dealing with today’s result.

“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results.”

We have a “positive attitude.” Let’s face it, we define it. Our results are “extraordinary.” We are the talk of the Island, the talk of Roslyn, and soon the talk of the state! Really, we are being noticed, that's for sure! Look at how far we have come in the past few years. We are making big waves in this activity. We love what we do and are great at it! Don’t let 6 people’s decision about what we deserve influence our self-esteem and confidence. Soon, the judges will see the light. Tomorrow they will crown us champions. Remember, "Aim high, be patient."

Getting Ready for the Brentwood Show

I am so proud of how the band and parents here at Roslyn are so positive this season.  We all have an incredible healthy grasp of this whole subjectivity thing.  We love our marching band, love the activity, and realize that the judges have a right to their opinion.  Hopefully, this Sunday, the scores will reflect how great we have become as a band.  In looking at the Small School 2 scores, I feel that they are down from last year, all across the state.  Usually scoring in the mid 70s by the second week of the season, we are barely there, while Large School 3 groups are ahead of us.  Don't try to make sense of it all, it is simply a subjective medium.

Please, follow a few simple rules when we are going through the season.  I will recap what I told the band when I talked to them after the show at Copiague.  

1.  Be ready for anything.  Judging scores and slates can come up with totally different reads from week to week.  You can be down by 6 points one week and up by 6 the next.  Keep it all in perspective.

2.  Have great sportsmanship.  These bands are all our neighbors, we are all in this great activity together.  Compliment those other band members you come in contact with.  Don't put any other bands down, even amongst yourselves.  You never know who is right nearby and more importantly, it's not nice.  Watch the other band shows and be positive to everyone you see.  Make friends with the other band members.  

3.  Don't go crazy if you win, remember, somebody just lost to you.  Be nice.  Stay positive. Remember that next week you may be the one who is down in scoring.   If you really need to outwardly celebrate, do it when we get back to our school.

4.  Know how great you are, how much you have accomplished, and don't be dependent upon 6 people's impressions to make you feel good about yourself.  If they love the show, great.  If they don't, that's OK too.  One day they will crown us champions.

5.  Remember the long term goals for our program.  We have 3 shots (years) at winning this class to keep on track.  There is absolutely no rush.  Although our goal is to win the class at the dome, we are keeping it all in perspective.  

The Copiague Show - The Recap!

The Recap
The band was incredible. The energy level was high, the band was more powerful, we had a great performance, clearly a peak for this band and our entire program. Electric! The best performance by any Roslyn Band. Pure and simple!

The Scoop
The General Effect Music Judge buried us. He put us 2nd from the bottom in the entire show in General Effect Music. I do not think that there is anyone in the stands who would think that of our band. Another judges slate would have popped us, I am sure. Sometimes, as the judges look at the show again and again, they grow to love it. Our show will also play well in the dome, the incredible drill, moving of boxes, etc. We were up on two judges sheets and down on four. That GE Music score, which is traditionally our strong point, really sent our score tumbling down.

There is another issue which I have touched on before. I am very conflicted in how to say this. After thinking about it I think I can state it in a very conservative way. Anyone who sat through that show knows how great our band did. The scoring, in my opinion, was, safe scoring. You can draw your own conclusions from that. We have only been on the field for seven years, which is an infancy in this activity. I have overseen the building of three dynasties at three different high schools, two upstate and one on Long Island. Through each of their ascents and growth from year to year, the scores did not always reflect the "new bands" that were on the field. At times there were mind boggling results, with spectators walking out of the stadium scratching their heads, trying to make sense of the scores. Last night, I was thrilled that we were 7th out of 15 in the show. A few short years ago we were 15th out of 15. We are definitely on the move upward. We, at Roslyn, are all very excited about our emerging as one of the powerhouse "dynasty" bands. We are quickly joining the ranks of Brentwood, Mineola, Huntington, Copiague and Sachem as one of the "Great Bands" of Long Island! Are we getting the scores we deserve. Yes! And you know why? Because the judges have a right to their opinions. They are professionals and we must respect them to respect the activity. This activity that we all love! Remember, these judges will someday crown us champions! We are on the move! Aim high, be patient!

The Video Doesn't Lie!

Today was an incredible day for the band.  We played our show in full uniform at the pep rally, which was moved outside for the first time.  It was unbelievable. The entire event was so great outside.  The support of our students for all the sports, cheerleaders, step team, and band was so strong, it totally amazed me.  We have a great school and I was so proud to be a teacher in Roslyn.  Then I posted the video to our youtube account so that we could fix some problems for tomorrow's homecoming performance and competition at Copiague.  THE BAND IS SO INCREDIBLE.....JUST LOOK AT THAT VIDEO!  And the video comments from band members started flowing.  Our band IS a bunch of geniuses.  I was amazed at the comments and the things that the band members found that needed to be fixed!  And the positive support of each other was absolutely amazing.  I have never been more proud to be a band director.  I have been teaching a long time and have never felt this way.  No matter what happens today, let's not let the impressions of 6 people keep us from realizing the great strides we are taking as a band.  We will get those scores eventually!  Aim high, be patient.  We are building a dynasty and are ahead of schedule with our long term goal sheet, look at it, it's at the bottom of the website.  Check out the link to our youtube account with the comments.  Link to it from the roslynband.com website.  I am so psyched about tomorrow!  

Last Night's Show Recap - What happened with the scores?

We know how we performed. Everyone knows how we performed. We were amazing. Remember that feeling on the field and how you felt walking off the field. I could see it in your eyes. I could feel the energy, enthusiasm, and pride beaming off every one of you! I could see it in the audience during and after the performance. The Roslyn Marching Bulldogs are one of the top bands on Long Island. Simply put, we are building a dynasty. Everyone knows it!

So what happened with the scores? Well, simply put, five of the six judges consistently and unusually had us two or three tenths of a point in second place. Go figure. It is unusual to see that kind of consistency between judges? Very unusual. That speaks for itself. Need I say more? Some judges are still judging the Roslyn band of 3 or 4 years ago. They might think yesterday's performance was a "fluke". Or they simply are just not ready to reward us for what we are doing out there. Ask anyone who has regularly competed in a judged environment. Subjectivity in judging can be very tough. They make all the calls. They decide everything. It is not basketball, where if you get it in the basket it is 2 or three points. They decide if you are even on the court. They decide if there is even a ball in your game. They have control of all the scoring. All of it. We overblew a little bit, the entire music judging team took that and ran with it, telling us that was the reason we were down. They used that to dump us. That is their right, they are the judges and don't feel bad or upset about it. These are top notch judges and we just have to convince them of band's progress and excellence. Remember, these judges will crown us champions! Don't complain, move on!

Now let us get to the sixth judge, the ensemble visual judge, who judges drill, ensemble marching, and colorguard. This judge did something that no other judge did, something that is very, very telling and gives us a view of where we will be and where we are going. He had us in second place at the show, over everyone except Arlington, a National Class Band! Here we go, he made the call! Good for him. I told the band this week that we are one of the top bands on the Island, that we are, right now. I told the band that you have to know that, feel that, and the scores will eventually come. Five judges were reluctant to call it, one did. Amazing, sit back and think about that for a minute......That judge watched the entire show, judged it, put down numbers and we were SECOND IN THE SHOW TO A NATIONAL CLASS BAND! Ponder that, pretty cool! Here we go!

As we go on, let's take care of our problems, tweak and fix the mistakes, and bring all 6 judges to that conclusion, that we are a band poised to move to the National Class in the next two or three years. Our goal is to win our class at the dome, and the fact that one judge realized should excite and pump you up! That is a very significant score by one of the top judges at the Dome each year.

So lets move on, clean our show, and convince the other judges, which will be a new slate at Copiague, that we are what we are. One of the top bands on Long Island!

Long Term and Short Term Goals, A Lesson in Goal Setting

As a director I am tremendously proud of how far the Marching Bulldogs have come in terms of their development. The students have worked so hard, from the first step at band camp through the night rehearsals and the competitions. As most of you know, I treat band as a leadership training, character development, and goal setting class in addition to the marching and music instruction.

Our marching band is making incredible strides each year, therefore we should be filled with pride at what the band is accomplishing. We are competing with bands that have been in competition for 30 or more years, with deep rooted traditions in the community and schools. Secondly, a goal of the program, which is to steadily improve and progress each year, is clearly being met and should be apparent to all. The band is clearly getting better each year.

I have told the band many times, our long term goal is to be a “National Class Band” which is the class reserved for the best bands in the state, regardless of school size. They are the bands that perform at the highest and most proficient level of all bands in the country. We are 7 or more years from that goal. This year’s goal is to win the class, Small School 2. I feel this is a reachable goal. This is, of course, risky for me to say, however, I feel that we need to be aggressive in our goals and “reach for it.” If we don’t accomplish our goal, we will still feel great about “going for it.” No matter what the judges decide,e will still feel great about our accomplishments and how much better we are for aiming high. Although this philosophy is somewhat “competitive,” I believe that is what we are, a “competitive band.”

Many bands choose not to compete. They choose to perform a less involved and simpler show at only the Newsday festival and their home games. We, the “Roslyn Marching Bulldogs” compete. We are better for it and will accomplish great things by being a competitive band. If you get a chance to stay late at the Carrier Dome, watch the National Class and you will see what I am talking about. Those bands are magical and someday, we will be one of those bands. Short and long term goals are an important part of life and through this great activity, we will “shoot for the stars.” I know we will capture some of them within the next few years. We are already starting to!

Each set of judges give totally different scores, be ready for anything!
Judges are all different. Each judge has different tastes in music, and different ideas about the concept and quality of each show. Judges also have a tendency to keep bands in the same score range that they were in the year before. Bands literally have to break out of their score range by being much better. Keep it all in perspective. If we win,"Great". If we don't, there is always next week. Aim high, be patient. We will become one of the top bands on the Island. Remember, don't complain about the system of judging, in a few years these same judges will crown us champions. People watching in the stands know who the best bands are, regardless of the score!

Keep looking at the roslynband.com website. Also, read the blog the night after the show. I will put a blog of what happened with the scoring and my impressions of the day’s events.

Weather, It's Impact on Marching Band

Weather is a tricky thing. A really great marching band staff understands how weather patterns can effect your entire season. This is why, when it was great weather at band camp, we "front loaded" the outdoor rehearsals, learning the drill and reviewing it with reps over and over, just in case we get rained out for one, or two, or even three rehearsals. We are ahead, which means, when we get rained on we can shift to indoor music and colorguard rehearsals, where we can catch up on those two segments of our show. With the once a week Wednesday night rehearsals, a few rainy nights can really set us back if we aren't ahead in our field work. We literally plan our rehearsals while monitoring the forecast. We perform in an outdoor arena and must always realize the significance of weather patterns upon our season. So here we are, today, trying to figure out what to do. All outdoor activities in our district for tomorrow are cancelled. Do we have an indoor rehearsal where students and parents may be traveling to and from the school with high winds and rain, possible flooding and other variables involved with losing electricity at the high school, etc. Or do we play it safe and call off the rehearsals as well. We, because of our careful planning, are in a position where canceling tomorrow's activities will not have a diminishing impact on our performances this year. So there it is, rather than take a chance on having everyone come to the school for indoor music and colorguard rehearsals, we are canceling tomorrow's events due to the storm which is tracking up the coast. Practice your music and guard work tomorrow at home, and see you on Wednesday, ready to rock. Remember, all the bands that compete are impacted by the weather. The rehearsal Wednesday night was amazing, the show sounded and looked incredible, we retained the drill and are definitely better than we were at the dome last year. Remember, all the bands that compete are impacted by the weather.

Today's Run Through Video

Here is a copy of today's run through at 11:15 am. I will write a detailed blog of what went on today, tomorrow.

Day 6 - Running the Show with Music!

This is the first time we were ever able to run the entire marching band show with music at band camp! In addition, it happened on the 6th day, leaving us day 7 to work run throughs and embed it into the band members from 9 to 12noon and 1 to 4pm on the last day which is incredible. Mr. Bennett is a genius, one of the best ever and with Mr. Downey assisting him, they are simply one of the best teams of visual people around. The drill is an absolute masterpiece and the show works absolutely great. In addition, the basics program we put into place last Spring, along with starting the music at the end of last year, has put this band in a position it has never been in. We are doing amazing things out here! The dynasty is coming to fruition! Roslyn will be a major player this year! In addition, Frank Mauriello, our new pit person has done phenomenal things with our relatively new pit. Remember, a few short years ago the pit had two members in it. Now, under the direction of Frank Mauriello, it is a force in the program. With 15 members, the pit is exciting, precise, and Mr. Mauriello has brought about a mini dynasty in the pit! Mark Carman, fresh off the DCI tour with the Boston Crusaders, who are one of the top corps in the country, brought the drumline to new heights. They are doing incredible moves while playing, which you can see in the video above. Ms. McMahon and Ms. Miller worked with the guard, learning many moves with the new equipment, in fact the guard won the "outstanding section award" today. Mr. Gazzo and Ms. Miller worked on the music in sectionals to clean up the notes throughout the show. The video above shows some highlights from the rehearsals today and tonight. The night ended with the famed candlelighting ceremony, where the seniors each talked in a breathtaking scene by the lake, with the fireplace. It was a perfect night and many parents came up from Roslyn to see the seniors in their famed send-off. Wait, we still have a season to compete, and win. And that's what we're going to do this year, bring home trophies. We can all feel it.

The 5 drum majors, and Day 5!

My innovation, a new idea which I piloted this year, was going with 5 drum majors. This is a great idea and now, with camp almost complete is a trend I believe will catch on all over the country! These 5 drum majors, Marissa, Jenn, Ashley, Lara, and Alexa were incredible this week, driving the band to success. Student leadership is crucial and our drum majors, officers, and captains are piloting this band to future success. Our entire student leadership team has driven this band to new levels!

Day 5 went incredibly well, as has all of band camp. We went through two thirds of the drill with music and wow, it sounds like one of the top bands in the state! The drill is great, with many moves which will blow everyone away. Breakfast was french toast and cereals, lunch was philly cheese steaks, and dinner was an incredible roast chicken meal. We did basics and drill in the morning, sectionals and ensemble in the afternoon, broke early for pool time at 4pm, and worked the music and drill, doing run throughs from 7pm to 9pm on the field. The kids walked off the field totally pumped about how great we are this year. We truly are building a dynasty which is apparent to everyone here at the camp. The night ended with skit and song night, where our new band anthem was sung!