For those of you who read the "There and Back Again" post you know that I attended a drum corps camp over the past week-end. The camp, in a lot of ways, was an eye opener for me. But I guess the thing that got me the most was how 100 brass players who had never played together before could show up on one week-end and sound like a well-rehearsed ensemble by the end of the week-end. The answer, of course, is the fact that they wanted to be there! That's right - 100 horns sounding like they had been playing together forever becuase they had the desire. Do the math folks! We've got well over 100 kids in our band, we rehearse every day, and yet our sound doesn't come close to matching the sound I heard on Sunday afternoon. The sad part is, it could! Yes, the average age is higher than our by maybe 2 years, yes, it's all brass, no woodwinds. But still, if we could get the kind of effort I saw over the week-end from all members, at worst, we would be better! Too much "dead wood" - too many "rotten apples" and, on the other hand, too many kids who want to make the Patriot Band the best in the state! Kids come into band with many different levels of commitment, but never-the-less, it is a class with a curriculum and standards, just like math, science, etc. The biggest difference is that every member of the band affects the outcome. If half of your algebra class gets As and the rest of the class gets Fs, the failures in no way affect those who get As. But if half the band class plays right notes while the other half plays wrong notes, the entire group is harmed!Thanks Mr. Smeltzer, for holding the students accountable for playing their part. I'm in total agreement and believe it should be taken even further. What do you think? Talk to me....I'm Daddy V.
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WHY CAN'T WE DO THAT?
For those of you who read the "There and Back Again" post you know that I attended a drum corps camp over the past week-end. The camp, in a lot of ways, was an eye opener for me. But I guess the thing that got me the most was how 100 brass players who had never played together before could show up on one week-end and sound like a well-rehearsed ensemble by the end of the week-end. The answer, of course, is the fact that they wanted to be there! That's right - 100 horns sounding like they had been playing together forever becuase they had the desire. Do the math folks! We've got well over 100 kids in our band, we rehearse every day, and yet our sound doesn't come close to matching the sound I heard on Sunday afternoon. The sad part is, it could! Yes, the average age is higher than our by maybe 2 years, yes, it's all brass, no woodwinds. But still, if we could get the kind of effort I saw over the week-end from all members, at worst, we would be better! Too much "dead wood" - too many "rotten apples" and, on the other hand, too many kids who want to make the Patriot Band the best in the state! Kids come into band with many different levels of commitment, but never-the-less, it is a class with a curriculum and standards, just like math, science, etc. The biggest difference is that every member of the band affects the outcome. If half of your algebra class gets As and the rest of the class gets Fs, the failures in no way affect those who get As. But if half the band class plays right notes while the other half plays wrong notes, the entire group is harmed!Thanks Mr. Smeltzer, for holding the students accountable for playing their part. I'm in total agreement and believe it should be taken even further. What do you think? Talk to me....I'm Daddy V.
THERE AND BACK AGAIN or HOW I MADE 500 GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES IN ONE NIGHT!
GLASSMEN DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS - TOLEDO, OH
For those of you who don't know, Daddy V's oldest daughter Laura, is embarking on "an adventure of a life time" by pursuing a baritone spot with the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps from Toledo, Ohio. Friday, November 23 was the beginning of the Glassmen camp with 260 prospective members in attendance, breaking down to 100 brass, 100 percussion and 60 guard (approx.). After registering, Daddy V was whisked off to the Glassmen kitchen to help prepare the evening snack (which consisted of the afore mentioned 500 grilled cheese sandwiches) Glassmen have there own building known as G-West. To be perfectly frank, it's a dumpy old school building that leaks air, smells bad and is falling apart - but, hey, it's home! Laura attended the first all corps meeting and then joined the horn line for their first practice. To be honest, I worked til 1:00 AM on Saturday, got up and helped with breakfast at 6:00 AM, worked until 1:00 AM Sunday morning (no kidding - it takes a lot of work to feed and clean up after 260 kids) got up at 6:00 AM again and worked until 3:00 at which time I attended the "show and tell" presentation. Except for meals, I never even saw Laura! Her audition went well and she is planning a return trip during December for Round 2 and daddy V is once again planning a return to the kitchen - just don't let Mrs. Daddy V know or she'll expect me to do kitchen work at home too!
Pep Band Time
Hey banders past and present! Basketball season is just around the corner and that means plenty of pep band tunes on the way! What are your favorites both past and present? Give us your top 5 likes and dislikes! If you are a Patriot alum, give us an idea what year your tunes were played.
LEARNING ABOUT BAND FROM BIRDBRAINS!
Teambuilding and Teamwork
Geese… Fact #1: As each bird flaps its wings when flying in formation, it creates uplift for the bird following. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71 percent greater flying range than if one bird flew alone.Lesson Learned: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the strength of one another.
Geese… Fact #2: When a goose falls out of formation, it feels the drag and resistance of flying alone and quickly returns to the formation.
Lesson Learned: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stay in formation with those who are ahead of where we want to go and we will be willing to accept their help as well as give our help to others.
Geese… Fact #3: Geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Lesson Learned: We need to make sure our honking from behind is encouraging and not something else.
Geese… Fact #4: When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at the point position.
Lesson Learned: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership.
Thanks to Krista Lucas for the above post! I hope we all read it and learn!
PATRIOT GUARD GEARS UP FOR COMPETITION!
PATRIOT GUARD RETURNS TO COMPETITION!
For the first time in 10 years, the Patriot Guard will be competing this winter in the Indiana High School Color Guard Association winter guard circuit. For those of you who have never seen a winter guard program before, it takes place on a high school gym floor. Each guard designs a show that includes flags, rifles, sabers along with props, back drops and other things to "tell" their story. This year, the Patriot Guard will compete in class B which means our show will be 3 minutes long. After class B comes class AAA, the AA, then A. After this comes open and world class. Each class requires a longer show length. Every guard must work themselves up through the ranks in order to compete in the higher classes. Jay County was one of the first competing color guards in the state of Indiana, starting way back in 1980. We were out of it until about 1993 when Lori Mark and Daddy V started the winter guard up again. The guard competed until 1998, narrowly missing state finals in 1997. The new edition of the winter guard is thanks to the enthusiasm of Emilie Boyes who spent 5 years competing in winter guard during her high school career (no genius, it didn't take her 5 years to get through high school - her guard used middle school kids!) Keep your eye on TTMDV for updates as the show progresses.
WEEKEND WITH THE STAFF!
Daddy V and Lucia Hart
One of the best parts of my job is the people with whom I get to work Not just the kids - most of you are a pleasure to work with - but also the adults who I work with in and out of school time. Saturday was a staff reunion at Scotty's Brewhouse in Muncie and a good time was had by all! On Sunday, we had our first creative meeting for next summer's show. We listened to a lot of music and tossed around some show ideas, themes, and titles. Certainly not in a position to make any big announcements yet but probably some time after New Year. Stay tuned.
FLIPPIN' INCREDIBLE!
That's right! Flippin' incredible! I was in total shock yesterday when the saxophones tested on the parade tune and FIVE, count 'em, FIVE students could not play the required measures. Not due to lack of practice but because their instruments were not in working condition! That's incredible! It's like going to take a test in class and forgetting to bring a pencil! And I'm sure there are similiar problems in the flute and clarinet section. Within 10 minutes I had all but 1 of the saxes up and running again - small problems! How can you sit in class day after day with an instrument that does not work and do nothing about it! Everyone wants to win - everyone wants to be the best - everybody thinks we get shafted - yet we proved yesterday that many of us do not know how to be champions. People are griping that we are testing - they're gonna quit - they hate concert band - it's boring! But next summer - whoa baby, we want to be the best! Well ya know what, in the words of legendary band director Dave Humbert "Everyone wants to go to Heaven but no one wants to die!" If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen! We don't need you if your best is a broken horn and a half-baked attitude! Anderson Highland used to have over 200 kids in their band and were moderately successful. Many quit when Mr. Fletcher came along because he held them accountable for their ability to play their instruments in a correct and musical fashion. The numbers are steadily increasing and guess what - they won State Fair last year! If our summer marching program is what you consider to be your be all and end all of bandom then suck it up and start working now! This is a class with a state mandated curriculum and standards and as long as Mr. Smeltzer is in charge it will be run according to those standards. If it's too much work then, again, in the words of Mr. H, "don't let the door hit you in the butt!"
Talk to me, I'm
Daddy "Steamin Mad" V
Talk to me, I'm
Daddy "Steamin Mad" V