Mrs. Cancino’s Fifth Grade Band Newsletter
January 23, 2017
Dear Band Parents:
I heard a few more Band Ninja Belt Tests this week, and was so excited to see the children motivated to earn
more belts. We also took playing tests on line #61 and a review fingerings/notes/letter names test. We’ll start
working more on #62-67, talking about key signatures and incorporating our new note and articulation (ask
your band member how to “slur” notes and what is the difference between a slur and a tie). The next playing
test will be on line #66.
I was able to start hearing All-County Band auditions, page 20 in the book. It’s terrific to hear what the
students prepared with a few hints. Whenever your child is ready, he/she can volunteer to play the solo in
class. This will also count for the extra credit offer for the third quarter. Any student who is earning 50
bonus points (up to, depending on the performance) or auditioning for All-County needs to play for me by
February 16th. We worked more on the solo this week.
For All-County, to reiterate, I have only a handful of seats at each school, limiting the number of students I
can recommend. Whenever a musician doesn’t “win the job” after an audition, it’s a chance to analyze the
performance, identifying what went well and what can be improved. Encourage your child to give the next
audition a try, as they become easier every time!
Solo & Ensemble Festival is a great performing event that is open to all of the students. They can choose a
solo (anything from the “Real Book” packet in their folder, or something similar) or could pair up with
classmates to play a duet, trio, or quartet. They’ll go to the host school on a Saturday morning at their
scheduled time, play for a band director who will give them feedback (“great tone,” “work on deeper
breathing,” “try XYZ for faster technique,” etc.), and they’ll receive a participation certificate. If your child
is interested, have him/her come and see me about it. This performance will be on May 6, 2017 at Milton
Somers M.S., beginning at 9:30 a.m. And, I offer extra credit for participating.
Our next performance, just so it’s on your calendar, will be the Spring Concert. Same format, same uniform,
same time, same place as your school’s Winter Concert. See below:
Matula, April 20th, 6:30 p.m., Matula E.S.
Barnhart, April 25th, 6:30 p.m., Barnhart E.S.
Mitchell, April 26th, 6:30 p.m., Somers M.S.
J.C. Parks, April 27th, 6:30 p.m., Lackey H.S. **still waiting on approval from Lackey, but pencil it in!
Have a terrific week!
Mrs. Cancino
Band Director: Matula, Mitchell, Barnhart, Parks
[email protected]
http://www.ccboe.com/departments/music/