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Friday 11/6 is the last day of Quarter #1.

Below is a list of this week’s sessions. Huge thanks to our awesome upperclassmen leaders for hosting! For this quarter our YHS Band students, grades 9-12, have clocked a total of 111 periods of guided practice so far!

• Monday 11/2, p.9: Jazz Saxophone with Swaroop, Jazz Trombone with Colin, Saxophone with Alissa
• Wednesday 11/5, p.9: Trumpet with Michael
• Thursday 11/5, p.9: Clarinet with Sarah
• Friday 11/6, p.9: Flute with Chinmay, Horn with Alicia, Jazz Trumpet with Michael

Due to the updated YCSD calendar, Ms. Kluga needed to make some lesson changes for November. The updated lesson calendar is available on Dashboard.

Nice job at rehearsal this week! It was so much fun to see you all having fun together!

Please plan on attending your sectional this week – check your e-mail for the link. Have your notes and rhythms ready to work on Critical Mass.

Thursday 11/5 from 2-3pm is our next rehearsal. Practice your music so you are confident, then we can have fun putting it together!

Band students have had 7 lessons so far this quarter, each one building on skills from the previous, and this week’s lesson was particularly challenging.  Young musicians need to work repetitively to build muscle memory – which doesn’t always sound like music at first. As our students practice at home, with other family members at home too, here is a reminder of how you can help support them 🙂

Our 17^th annual costume contest will take place in class on Thursday 10/30 and Friday 10/31.  Extra points if your costume is home-made, or in any way musical.  Looking forward to celebrating this fun holiday with you!

Is posted on Dashboard. Click on Documents, and then on Lesson Calendars.

Students can earn extra credit by attending a guided practice session with an upper-classman, or an extra help appointment with Ms. Kluga. Availability is announced daily in class. Ms. Kluga is always available for extra help by appointment.

Here are the rest of this week’s guided practice session offerings. Zoom links were sent via e-mail.

Wednesday: Horn, Flute, Clarinet, Jazz Band Trumpet

Friday: Clarinet, Trumpet

Thank you to our awesome upperclassmen for your time and leadership!

We will meet Thursday 10/29 from 2-3. Ms. Kluga will make a call regarding the weather during the day on Thursday. Please arrive early so that we can begin promptly at 2.

This week we tried out the UpBeat app (which combines the social meeting platform of Zoom with the recording capabilities of Acapella) during our virtual rehearsals and band lessons. Students started by clapping a simple rhythm exercise, and once that was successful, went on to perform a more complex rhythm with instruments. A sample video of this project is attached. 

Ms. Kluga is really excited about the musical possibilities Upbeat offers our students! More to come.

FYI – Ms. Kluga had to make a few changes to your upcoming lesson days/periods. Please see the revised October lesson calendar, which is attached and on Dashboard.

All students have a new lesson assignment this week. You should hear some music making at home 🙂

Students can earn extra credit by attending a guided practice session, or an extra help appointment.

Practice sessions are offered weekly by our upperclassmen, and are held both in person (socially distanced with instrument PPE) and over zoom. The date/time is communicated in my class announcements. Ms. Kluga is also always available for extra help by appointment.

Thank you to our awesome upperclassmen for your time and leadership! You are making a difference!

We will meet Thursday 10/22 from 2-3. Please arrive early so that we can begin promptly at 2.

Practice with the A-ccompany app to help you learn your music. Check out this video on all the cool features.  Part assignments are posted under Jazz Band Documents on Dashboard. Happy practicing!