Great Job at the "Friday Night Lights"

It is very difficult making the call with the rain.  It is the hardest job for any band director. You will get people angry if you go out in the rain, you will get people upset if you don't go out and it clears up.  The situation is further complicated by the fact that the field clears off and drains in about 10 minutes.  So we really had to stay to see if the rain would stop.  In addition, we have not been on the practice field in 9 days, a huge amount of time in the middle of the season.  If it rains this Wednesday, October 19th, we would be going to perform at Newsday without performing the show outside for 15 days!  So this was a difficult situation to say the least. At 7:30 we brought the band out to no rain but then at about 8pm it started to rain, borderline time to go inside.  Luckily, it lightened up a bit when we finally went on.  We got the run through in, and the band looked and sounded great!  This was very very important and we got it done.  Thanks to everyone for being so understanding with the inevitable confusion and for being a great team! The parents were amazing, drying off the instruments and putting them back into the trailer. We also made the necessary Newsday show adjustments.  We needed to get 45 seconds off the show.  With the Newsday rule of 10 minutes on the field, we were way too close with the 9:50 we have been running with the show.  Making the adjustments, we got it down to 9 minutes last night, perfect for the Newsday show.  The Newsday announcer makes an announcement, which will be as we enter the field, then Lindsay will talk over the band playing in the opening to set up the show, a few phrases which describes what is going on. In competition that introduction by Lindsay will be during the pre-game, which is that time when the band is first on the field, playing around.  We have 13 minutes total in the Competition environment so we can let the band play without the "set up phrases" covering up the music.  We also need the special announcement by the Newsday announcer because it sets up how great we are to everyone, reading our accomplishments and getting the attention of all the camera people on hand so that we get some good coverage.  Many bands at Newsday do not have a resume to talk about and those that do don't think about putting that in the announcement.  Last year the MSG Varsity crew put us as the second to last band in the entire telecast and said the phrase "And now from the best, to the biggest" between us and Northport.  The announcement helps facilitate this as well as the fact that we have a very entertaining show.  Great job to the band last night!  And thanks to everyone who helped and for being understanding with the rain.

Disney Trip Itinerary and Waiting List

We have just received permission from DIsney to add some people to the trip to fill the rooms to 4 in a room.  This all has to be finalized with Disney by Friday.  They are very strict about security due to our performing in Disneyworld. If you are currently signed up for this trip and would like to pull out, please let us know so that we can add a person in that spot. If you are on the waiting list, I will be contacting you to see if you still want one of the spots.

Our Performances and list of what park we are in each day will be posted here shortly.

http://web.me.com/patpatterson/Roslynband.com/Florida_Trip.html

Homecoming Schedule

Homecoming, Saturday, October 1, 2011

Report to the school at 12:30pm.  If you have an SAT get there when you can.  We need to work on the two parade tunes, Broadway and Rocky. 

About 30 of the older players will be performing at the Cafeteria grand opening at 2:00, we will all be performing the parade tunes at the field for a pre-game at 3:30pm. Game starts at 4 and our full half time performance will be between 4:45 and 5.  You will be dismissed after halftime but are strongly encouraged to stay for the entire game.

As always, in the case of rain, still report to the school at 12:30pm.  The cafeteria opening will go rain or shine and with our turf field's ability to drain almost immediately we will have to wait to decide what will be going on.

Great Job Today at the Brentwood Show

Great job today.  We never had a 70 in the middle of September.  We are an easy 5 to 8 points better than we have ever been!  The judges loved the show.  And our show would have been much clearer to everyone if Lindsay’s voice was heard, I didn’t get the PA fixed until the closer. Our overall score is the highest we ever had at this time of the year. Right now, the subjectivity is working in our favor.

And now for some big news. Our visual total was the 2nd highest in the entire show!  2nd on the Island!  Our colorguard and marching has catapulted us to one of the highest visual bands on the island!  Today, we beat some bands that we never beat before.  Special kudos should go to Mr. Downey and Ms. Lusardi for our visual numbers today.

Music we were 4th overall in the show.  Another first!  4th music on the island, even with a super low number by one music judge.

The audience loved the show!  The entire audience reacted to our effects, the ice cream truck, the sleeping, and the ending.  Everyone is talking about us once again.  We will really shine!  We are great!

On the way home on the bus I looked at the nysfbc.org website to check out last night’s scores.  WE ARE CURRENTLY IN 2ND PLACE IN THE STATE IN OUR CLASS.  Jordan Elbridge won with a 68.75, Johnson City with a 67.2, Norwich with a 66.95, Corning East with a 64.7  and Phoenix at another show scored a 65.05.  We are 2.15 points above the highest band in the class below us and within striking distance of the top band.  Of course, judges subjectively make the call on all of this, but right now it is pretty exciting to be placed that high on the opening weekend.

I will be putting the video up on youtube within the hour.  Sign up for the twitter tweets if you want to be tweeted when it is up.  I will send out a text if I get it up before 9pm.

I am so proud of all of you.  And congratulations for waiting on the field for 5 plus extra minutes while we tried to fix the sound system.  That was a great opening performance.  With a championship at stake we need to work hard and go for it!

1st Performance of the Season - Bravo!

Great job today!  The band looked and sounded great, especially for a first performance.  The video is now up on our youtube site.  Look for things we can fix before next week.  Make positive comments on the site.

Thanks to all the parents who helped and to the band members who helped out as well. A special thank you to Amy Pinchiaroli for filling in, you were great! And thanks to the 6 people who stayed an extra hour to help out loading the trailer.  I know you totally did it to help out the band, stayed there late while everyone else went home and for that reason you have "hit the jackpot" by getting awarded 200 points for showing me that you really care about the band!  Want to know who they are, just check the attendance and awards spreadsheet.  Yes it was beautiful out and I really don't blame people who went home right away after the game today, we are all very busy and some were taking in a nice day, spending time with their family, doing homework, or just getting a breather after a few days getting into the routine with homework.  Those special people who do that incredible amount extra may be awarded my special "jackpots" throughout the season.  They can come at any time and will be awarded to people who go "above and beyond" what is expected from any band member.  Congrats to todays "jackpot" winners.  And I want to continue our "no drama" policy with the band program.  We have taken some great strides this year in minimalizing the amount of drama between band members.  For instance, do not see people getting more points than you as a competition against you.  We are all on the same team.  Congratulate anyone in our band who excels.  Look around.  Did someone in your section or another section of the band do something great today?  Tell them, write them a text, compliment them.  Write a positive thing on the youtube site about something you see. Make freinds with everyone!  This is what is making our band great this year!

We have a very important rehearsal on Wednesday so lets all focus and be as great as we can next Sunday at the Brentwood show, our first competition.  I am so very proud of our entire program.  I left the school today thinking that I am a very lucky person to be the director of such a great group of people!

Competition Season is here!

As the season starts I will start posting about our up and coming competition season. This year’s show is very creative and you will see some very interesting things going on throughout it.  We have a crowd pleaser here and hopefully a “judge pleaser” as well.

I just posted the “Brentwood Show Sheet.”  I do this for every single event.  I will also blog about each show before and after so you can come right here if you want to know what is going on.

Twitter - I give twitter updates.  You can have every one sent to your cell phone as a text, or simply bookmark our twitter site to see what is going on throughout the season.  I will be tweeting more on competition days this year so put your phone on vibrate.  I will tweet out the score from the back judges room as well if I know before it is announced.  Just don't cheer and/or boo and get me in trouble.

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.

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.  Short and long term goals are an important part of life and through this great activity, we will “shoot for the stars.” 

Our scores have risen and we have been beating more and more bands each year at the dome.  And at the dome “ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN.”  When we received 2nd out of 12 we were ranked dead last all season in the competitions.  The dome brings in the best judges and doubles the slate to minimize the impact one judge can have.  Judges from outside our area are more likely to make the call and lead the local judges to do the right thing when we are at the dome.

And now a paragraph about all the band shifts this season. We are in Small School 2, which is a higher class than Small School 3 or Large School 3.  We get an automatic bump up for being in that class, or at least that’s what should happen.    The Field Band Conference did a spreadsheet of average scores over the past 5 years and adjusted, moving some bands into our class and some bands up a class.  Mineola got moved up to Small School 1 and Malverne got moved to Small School 2, our class.  Copiague moved out of the National Class and are competing in Large School 2 which is why Mineola, in Small School 1 will be performing last in the local shows, unless there is a National Class Band there which is the most prestigious class. We usually go on later in the local shows because of our more prestigious Small School 2 class.  We go on after all Small School 3 and Large School 3 bands, which is most of the bands who compete on Long Island.

The order within classes is done by a draw upstate.  This year, for instance, we are going after Malverne at the Mineola, Brentwood and Phoenix Shows.  Phoenix is going on after us at their show but before Copiague and Brentwood, which pretty much means that they are competing.  Some bands compete in their home show.  If they are scheduled with their class they compete. If they are at the end, then they are just doing an exhibition.  We drew a great spot at the dome, which is why we are checking out in the morning on October 30th.  We are towards the end of the class with just Corning East and Johnson City after us, both new bands which were moved to our class.

You need to be competetive but remember, this is totally subjective, like figure skating.  People who are sports people and are new to our idiom may have some trouble with this.  You may see our band, hear the score and wonder what happened.  Yes, the judges TOTALLY make the call, in fact, they decide everything, total subjectivity.  

Remember, we are great, look at how far we have come and everybody in the Marching Band community, judges, other band directors, audiences, and the public fully knows Roslyn as a “powerhouse” marching band.  We are proud as ever and I as director feel truly privileged to run such a great group of kids and great parents.  We had parents who bring out our equipment, parents running band camp, and the largest contingent of spectators go to the dome from Roslyn each year.  Our parents even cheer for our neighbor competitor when they win the class over us!  We are the greatest people anywhere!  Total team players.  The kids are perfect!  They give up part of themselves for the team every single day! Hard working, fun, smart, bubbly, and love band!  What more could I ask as a director?  A fair read from the judges?  YES, I want it all!  I want our kids to get the score they deserve!  I am very positive, a “glass half full” kind of guy!  It will happen, at some point, and you will know when my post simply says “YES, HERE WE GO.” It may be this year, next year, or 10 years from now, but it will happen.  It is inevitable. We are on the right track!

Syracuse Trip Return Time

Please note - Due to our performance time of 11am, we will be checking out of the hotel on Sunday, October 30th in thevearly morning, leaving after awards to stop at the Carousel Mall for lunch, then driving home to arrive at Roslyn between 7 and 8pm that night.

Attendance and the impact on missing anything on our schedule

This week I have had number of last minute absence notifications from events and/or rehearsals, more than in the past 4 years combined.  Perhaps people are thinking that my more relaxed approach to Marching Band equals a more relaxed approach to our attendance policy.  This could not be further from the truth. I am relaxing the Marching Band rehearsals and camp to make it more fun and to make it a better experience for all.  As always with our marching band, there are severe ramifications to missing anything on our schedule.  In a band like ours, attendance is just about 100%.  Please fully realize that missing any event or rehearsal - anything on this band schedule - will just about guarantee you not receiving any leadership position in the marching band.  People with one or more misses over their years in the band aren't even considered for these positions.  Any band members who are excused told me within a few days of the schedule going up in March that they had a major attendance problem and I worked the program around them and excused them or told them not to be in the band.  Major family issues are pretty cut and dry as to what we consider an excusable absence.  Weddings, Bar mitzvahs and Bat mitvahs, Communions, Baptisms (all of immediate family members) are usually told to me right after the schedule goes up since these are set up years in advance.  Obviously, deaths in the family are excusable.  Concert tickets, other concerts, tickets to sporting events, SAT prep classes, studying, etc are considered unexcused absences.  If you miss a rehearsal for any of these you will be pretty much out of the band if you come 5 minutes late to anything else that year.  This is like being in an RCP or Spotlight show.  It is your job to stay healthy, get plenty of sleep, and be there for everything on the schedule. People are depending upon you. It is also your job to do your academic work around our one weekly rehearsal each week. Anyone who is in this band already knows this. We have band members who work family events around our schedule.  We have about 20 people who are not in the band because they were unable to come to one of our events. This is a very special group where every single person has a very important position.  We only have 11 events and need every person at every one.  Here is it directly from our band booklet.

Marching Band Rehearsal Attendance

During the fall season, rehearsals are held on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 9:00 pm, and on competition days for an hour or two prior to leaving for the competitions.  Attendance at rehearsals and performances is MANDATORY. Students who have a conflict with any rehearsal MUST SUBMIT a parental note at least TWO WEEKS in advance.   Students with ONE ABSENCE will be given a WARNING from the band director.  Any additional absences will result in removal from the Marching Band.

Marching Band Competition Attendance

Band members must attend all competitions and shows. As in a school musical, each position is crucial to the success of the entire unit.  The show is custom written for the exact number of people in the band, and even one hole effects each member’s drill, which must be modified at the competition, which is not acceptable.  Anyone who has a conflict with one of the shows may not be a part of the marching band. In a competitive marching band, every person has a leading role.  

Band Camp Blog 1

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.

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.