Save the Date!

7th and 8th Grade Bands Urbandale Middle School

The Football Game! This is a wonderful event in our UMS band calendar. We gave all of the band students in grades 6-12 the opportunity

to come together and play at a UHS football game. This has been great for

the younger students to have the chance to interact with the high school

students, and it’s really fun for them to get to play at the game, too!

This year we will be playing with the high school at the game on October 5

versus Des Moines North. Our students will be playing the school song,

“Confidence” during the pre-game festivities, and then will sit with the high

school band in the stands during the first half of the game to play the school song any time that the J-Hawks score.

Be sure to have your calendar marked, as you won’t want to miss a J-Hawk

band of nearly 450 students on the field. This will be a real treat for everyone!

More details will be coming soon.

Instruments Need to be Labeled with Nametags

We have over 250 students in band at UMS – this is fantastic! With so many instruments, there is a greater chance that instruments will get mixed up. Be sure that your child’s instrument is clearly labeled with both their first and last name.

Case tags are available at Rieman Music, but a luggage tag works just as well. Consider something in a distinctive color that will stand out, or add a fun sticker or duct tape pattern.

Fundraiser Sept 13-21

Football Game Fri, Oct 5 All 6-12 grade band students will be playing together – nearly 450 strong!

Band Concert Mon, Nov 19 The UMS bands, grades 6, 7, and 8, will all be performing

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8

Stay tuned for details on our new fundraising program!

7TH & 8TH GRADE BANDS SEPTEMBER 2018

2

Opportunities for learning for UMS band

students

Band Lessons Students will start band lessons the week of Sept 4. Students were given their lesson day and time in rehearsal on Aug 30-31, and are asked to bring their lesson book to their first lesson (if they are not sure, whatever they used last year will be great). If a new book is needed, you will be notified following their first lesson.

Scales

We have a goal for all students to be able to play all 12 major scales by the time they leave UMS to help them prepare for high school band. This month the seventh grade students will be working on concert Bb, Eb, and F scales. The eighth grade students will be working on concert C, F, Bb, Eb and Ab scales with arpeggios. Each month we’ll be adding new scales to the students’ repertoire, increasing tempos, adding octaves, and memorizing a few as well!

Jazz Bands

Auditions for the UMS Jazz Bands will be held later in the month of September and are open to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. We are planning to have two jazz bands, a “Blue” jazz band that will rehearse on Mondays and Thursdays from 7:00-7:45 a.m., and a “White” jazz band that will rehearse from 7:00-7:45 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays (this group will not conflict with show choir). Students that play saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, jazz guitar, bass guitar and drum set are encouraged to participate. Stay tuned for more information about how to get involved in jazz at UMS!

7TH & 8TH GRADE BANDS SEPTEMBER 2018

3

The UMS Band Performance Calendar

Other performances For participating students only (not all bands): Friday, November 30 – Jazz Band Concert Saturday, January 12 – CJC Jazz Festival Saturday, March 9 – UMS Solo Contest (optional) Wednesday, April 17 – Jazz Band/Show Choir Tour of Urbandale elementary schools Monday, May 13 – Jazz Band Concert

All students are needed for the following performances. Please be sure to mark them on your calendars now to avoid conflicts in the future. Every member of the band is important; no one sits on the bench!

Friday, October 5– All UMS Bands perform at UHS football game, meet at 6:20 p.m. at UHS

Monday, November 19 – UMS Band Concert at PAC, 7:00 p.m., grades 6-8

Tuesday, January 15 – 8th Grade Band with UHS Bands Concert at PAC, 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 24 – 6th Grade Band, 7th Grade Band, and UMS Jazz Bands Concert at PAC, 7:00

p.m.

Saturday, January 26 – Band Summit with UHS Bands at UHS, 1:30-6:30 p.m., parent concert at 5:30

p.m. in PAC, grades 7-12

Saturday, February 9 – SCIBA Large Group Festival in Norwalk, Times TBA, but please plan on

earlier in the morning for 6th grade and late morning/afternoon for 7th-8th grade

Thursday, May 23 – 7th and 8th Grade Band Concert at PAC, 7:00 p.m.

7TH & 8TH GRADE BANDS SEPTEMBER 2018

4

What are students learning in band?

The third learning requirement asks students to listen to, analyze and describe music. This will start on a basic level, listening for contrasts in dynamics, style, tempo, and instrumentation. Students will be asked to simply explain what they hear, with no wrong answers. The use of musical vocabulary will be encouraged, and students will be asked to really listen to music, not just use it as background noise. Understanding music from different cultures is also a key component of the curriculum. Students will have the opportunity to play a variety of music in both their group band and small group lesson experiences. Crucial to any student’s success on a musical instrument is the need to improve individually through practice. Each month’s newsletter will feature a different practice strategy that students can utilize at home to help them to see improvements. For the month of September, we’ll be encouraging students to practice small amounts of time more days a week. The goal is for each student to play their instrument every day. We will play in rehearsal 2-3 days each week, which leaves 4-5 days for students to play at home. Often the most difficult part of practicing is to get the instrument out of the case. Once that’s done, just commit to playing for 10 or 15 minutes. Retention improves with regular practice of skills, and it’s easier to concentrate and focus for a shorter period of time. It’s also helpful if students have a scheduled time to play (before TV, after homework, while parent or guardian is making dinner, etc.) Students that try to practice for an hour on Sundays to catch up for the week often find themselves tired and frustrated by the end of the practice session. It would be better to end sooner feeling confident and successful. That leads to greater enjoyment of making music!

UMS band students have a set of four learning requirements for the school year:

1. Perform a variety of music on your instrument, both alone and with others.

2. Understand how to read music, with attention to notes, rhythms, and articulations.

3. Listen to, analyze and describe music.

4. Understand music from different cultures.

Students will be performing with others at 6 different concerts and events throughout the school year (please see page 3 for all dates). Students will also have the opportunity to perform a solo at our optional contest on March 9, 2019. We have already begun working on the second learning requirement, understanding how to read music. Improving reading skills allows students to play with greater accuracy, and we can then spend more rehearsal time on the more musical aspects such as dynamics and balance and blend. Currently students are focusing on note names and will be taking a speed test to determine a baseline score. Students are timed for 90 seconds to see how many notes they can accurately name. The goal for 7th grade students is 30 correct notes, and 45 correct notes for 8th grade students. No matter where a student begins the year, the aim is for EVERY student to reach the goal. Each student has a packet we’ll be working through during rehearsal, to help them understand how to read key signatures, time signatures, accidentals, and enharmonics, as well as how to decipher and count rhythms accurately. The extra time spent on this work now pays dividends in the students’ future playing.