Please check the portal to make sure your work is complete.
Your assignment over “break” was to complete a survey about our distance learning experience. Please fill out the survey here: https://forms.gle/2WwpB9YH8goCrmMx8
On Wednesday 4/15, we will hold Zoom class meetings for both CB and WE students. Information is below:
CONCERT BAND: Wednesday 4/15 at 9:00am
https://zoom.us/j/93682779642?pwd=aUNkaldkcHFzWXU1Rkh0andsSGxVQT09
Meeting ID: 936 8277 9642
Password: 0dmsy7
WIND ENSEMBLE: Wednesday 4/15 at 12:45pm
https://zoom.us/j/92541364706?pwd=Ni80b2lzQ1UvTlZFNnY0UURYSTdMUT09
Meeting ID: 925 4136 4706
Password: 4RDkq6
Was supposed to be this week. Ms. Kluga is sending our Wind Ensemble students a virtual hug, as we add the Disney Festival trip to the long list of things that this pandemic has taken away. We are working with Disney, and our tour company, on reimbursement, but with everything shut down it is taking some time. Ms. Kluga will keep you posted.
As part of our distance-learning, Wind Ensemble students have been working together to create a virtual recording of part of our festival repertoire. This week was supposed to be a joyous celebration of our music making and hard work. Attached, please enjoy a section of “Minimalist Dances” by Matt Conaway.
Preview attachment YHSWE Acapella Project 1 Sharing Size.mp4YHSWE Acapella Project 1 Sharing Size.mp4Shared in Drive
ALL: Sight Reading Factory (one assignment due daily Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). No Flipgrid video assignments this week.
WE: Acapella Assignment #2 (Minimalist Dances m.132-169) Due Friday 4/17. Please use your daily practice this week to brush up on this section of your music. Some take-aways and reminders from last week’s Acapella assignment:
1. You must wear headphones when you are recording.
2. Wear your YHS Band polo.
3. Follow the tempo and listen to the other members of your group. Be confident, and correct, with your entrances.
4. Play at a reasonable volume so you do not overpower the microphone
5. Do your best! Play with dynamics and a beautiful tone!
CB: Acapella Assignment #1 (Small Group Virtual Ensembles). Due Friday 4/17. Please see attached document with information on how to complete this project.
Preview attachment CB Small Ensemble Groups.pdfCB Small Ensemble Groups.pdf58 KB
The weekly HW assignment is posted on your student’s YHS Band Dashboard. Ms. Kluga posted this week’s assignment today. Students should set aside 20-30 minutes a day (M-F) to practice.
Students receive daily sight-reading assignment (M-F), which is part of their daily 20-30 minutes of practice. Info on how to sign up for your free SRF account is attached.
Students send their weekly video assignment through this app. Thank you all for working through the learning curve with Ms. Kluga! The take-aways from this week are: Before the program will allow you to post your video, the final step is taking a selfie. And, for Ms. Kluga, it does not run well using Google – other browsers seem to work better.
Ms. Kluga still has all of your checks, which she will return to you.
As Dr. Hattar pointed out in Friday’s virtual “Senior Town Hall” – Disney World is closed. We will be working with all companies involved to figure out a refund. Ms. Kluga am so very sorry for our students – she so wanted to share this experience with you!
Dr. Hattar has not yet spoken about field trips for May. Ms. Kluga will update you as information becomes available.
In keeping with our John William’s tangent – did you know that part of what makes his film music so effective is his use of leitmotifs? (pronounced “light-moteefs”). A leitmotif is a musical melody that a composer assigns to a character or place in a story, to reinforce the audience’s connection with that character or place. Think of the theme to Jaws (which John Williams also wrote), as soon as you hear that two-note leitmotif, you know danger is coming and that those innocent people should hurry up and get out of the water!!, even before the shark appears on screen.
This technique was originally used in opera, and perfected by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Wagner is best known for composing the Ring Cycle (an epic musical dramatic work containing 4 separate operas that takes 17 hours to perform…but that is a story for another time…. Oh, and it’s called the Ring Cycle because the story is about a magical ring stolen from the gods that possesses omnipotent power (sound familiar??), but that is also a story for another time…).
Now think of Luke’s theme (also called The Force theme). John Williams uses this leitmotif in a wistful and sad way when Luke watches the suns set and wonders about his destiny. Then, Williams uses this leitmotif in a heroic, epic, and victorious way during the movie’s ending scene with Luke, Han and Chewie at Princess Leia’s medal ceremony.
That’s the cool thing about leitmotifs, the composer uses the same assigned melody – but by changing the style of how the melody is played, changes the tone and emotion of the scene, and the character.