C.J. Secondary
I was honestly very unsure of what to expect from a middle school band. But, my expectations had been set pretty high from observing the orchestra! The first thing I noticed is that Ms. Nelson wore a microphone. I don't know why I hadn't thought of doing this before.. but I thought it was a great idea. The students could hear her clearly and she didn't have to strain her voice. I was impressed that the students were, for the most part, in their seats with instruments in hand, ready to begin as soon as the bell rang. After watching Ms. Nelson warm up the band, I became more comfortable with the idea of having to do so myself. The biggest thing I took away from observing the middle school band is that having a good ear is the most important thing. You don't necessarily have to be able to play all of the instruments, but you do need to be able to teach them good intonation. You also have to be able to listen to several sections at once and listen to instruments in each. Ms. Nelson was VERY good at this. She didn't seem to miss a beat!
SN is a great director for sure! It takes more than a good ear to teach intonation, you also must model appropriate tone--this can be done on an instrument or by singing.
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