I really miss band and my students. It’s different than summer because the reason I’m missing them right now is that this is the best time of the school year in the band room. The kids are playing at their best, we’re playing music that challenges them and preparing for a concert that will be their best one of the year. When I was in high school I very specifically remember a song that we played and how I would feel when I played it and I remember saying to myself “I can’t ever stop doing this.” I know that band provides that kind of feeling to your kids where they look forward to sitting in that moment with the music. We talk about it pretty regularly, and they laugh at me when I say I get the shivers just knowing that there’s a really awesome part in the song coming up. I’m looking forward to the days where we make up for lost time and experience those moments regularly in the classroom again.
In the meantime, as I mentioned earlier I’m extremely frustrated with technology, it takes 8 hours for a 2 minute video to upload and that is no exaggeration. I’m not assigning any more google classroom work this week other than what’s already in there, and if students want to make their recordings and them save them and upload them when we get back to school with a better internet connection, that will be fine. Those assignments will be assigned and graded when we get back so now is the time to do them. Ideally they should keep working on those spots that they are supposed to record, because those are the toughest sections in the pieces.
Now for the most important part of my message - #playontheporch is starting for us tonight. Play on the porch was started by a radio station in Michigan in an attempt to have people making music for others to hear outside similar to the high rise buildings in Italy and New York where everyone came out and sang on the balcony. The radio station chooses a song every day and everyone is supposed to go outside and play it. Today’s song is Sweet Caroline! It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the music, just make something up. Actually you don’t ever have to play the song they select, just go outside at 6pm and play your instrument, and see if anyone else is out there. Mr Maurizio is having the middle school students do this too. I think the population of Byron will probably start to notice if all of the band students are outside playing! And wouldn’t it be fun to step outside, and hear someone else a few blocks away playing something? My goal is to have someone say they heard me playing… Actually, if I stepped outside and heard a student playing something I know that I would shed a tear of joy. =) OK then the last thing to do is post it on twitter or Instagram or facebook and include the hashtag #playontheporch if you want it to go to their social media feeds, but for sure tag the band in your picture or video. #byronhsband We’re kind of a big deal and it’s time to get our Hinterhalt back up and going so we can all thrive through this quarantine with a smile on our faces. Perhaps we’ll bring some joy to the people around us too. Corona can’t stop our band.
Stay safe everyone. See you on the porch at 6.