National Anthem - Super Bowl Messup

So I've been reading a lot about how people feel about Christina Aguilera messing up the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. Personally, I feel that the National Anthem should be song with your own style as long as it is tasteful, respectful and fits within the time limit of the actual original song.

What I believe is unfair is when her patriotism is brought into question simply for the error in performance. I'm sure this was not intentional nor does she warrant this type of criticism from people who may have never performed a note in their lifetime. Performing in public is hard enough. Performing at the Super Bowl, in front of a record number crowd, must be one of the most difficult things to do, even for a 5 time Grammy Winner.

I hope that students take this into consideration when they are preparing for their solo & ensemble performances. I think we can all agree that practicing will make us better. Do we believe that Ms. Aquilera didn't practice? I believe she did. Now it is up to you to practice as hard as you can, focus on your task and prepare for the most amazing performance you can possibly give. No matter what happens the day of the performance, if you dedicate yourself to working hard and perfecting your music, no matter what happens, I believe that you will be successful.

Hang in there and stay focused on your goals!

Get a GMail Account

If you do not have an e-mail account, here is a quick video to get a GMail account. You can choose any of the free services like Live Mail (MSN), Yahoo, etc, however GMail has many services that are linked on our site and blog, so it might be more useful to have a GMail account, rather than one of the others. If you want, you can always create a GMail account and have your other e-mail imported into GMail for you to view.

The last statement about using Wordpress is an option, however if you are reading this blog, it might be better to use Blogger.com instead, as it links to your GMail account already. Besides, both Blogger.com and GMail are both owned by Google. :)

Ustream on Snow Storm

Check out some of the video I've been broadcasting using a fun Web 2.0 tool called Ustream.




Live Broadcasting by Ustream

This is what Smart Music can do, with a Lesson :)

Below is a video of a student who came in for a lesson.  He also had a Smart Music assignment due, so we worked on both.  This video will demonstrate the importance of having lessons in conjunction with Smart Music.  Without lessons teaching students how to improve on their instrument, Smart Music is not as effective.

Wow!

Take a look at this 3 year old.  I spoke to the students the other day about how directors spend thousands of dollars working and perfecting their conducting style.  Music teachers take courses in college on conducting.  After college, a premier conductor can be hired to conduct symphonies like the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra or any number of others.  Those conductors spend much of their time conducting and leading some of the highest quality of instrumentalists from around the area, country and world.

This 3 year old has the technique that only some conductors only dream about, and he's 3!  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0REJ-lCGiKU

Progress - Moving forward, not backward

We have begun our adventure that is solo & ensemble.  At this point, students must remain focused on their objective and hopefully that objective is to work hard and progress on their individual instruments so that a successful performance is achieved.  This includes remaining focused during class time.  I have many students in each hour and I try to cycle through the students so I see each one at least once every two weeks.  This is a challenge for me but can be done.

While I am working with those other students, those who remain in practice rooms or band room must continue to practice their music and not practice their gossip.  :)  Yes, I do know that conversations may occur in band during class time.  However, you have minimize these conversations.  Every time you carry on a conversation with someone, that is at least 5 minutes of lost practice time.  Think about that you may do this several times in a class period, for sake of argument let's say 3 times.  That's 15 minutes per class.  Multiplied by 2.5 times per week until solo & ensemble qualifications (Feb. 28 - 6 weeks away from now), and you get 90 minutes of lost practice time just inside of class.  If that happens outside of class, the time spent talking instead of playing becomes even more difficult to track.  Bottom line, stay focused and work hard in class.  Work with me (Mr. Werner) whenever possible and as many times as possible.

Extra, Extra, Read all about Extra CREDIT?!?

Sometimes there are extra credit opportunities and I try to announce them in class, but that does not always get to parents.  So using our new Blog, I'll put things up as much as I can.

The next extra credit opportunity is Thursday, Jan. 13 at Mukwonago HS.  The MHS Bands will be performing at 7pm in the theater.  This is a great way to see what the high school bands are doing and see if your child may be interested in joining the bands next year in high school.  Students can earn 10 extra credit points by attending the concert and bringing me the concert program with their name on it and a parent signature indicating they attended.  Students can earn an extra 15 points by writing a 1 page evaluation of the performance.  Extra credit is due by Friday, Jan. 21.