RHHS Marching Band Update #2

Hello to the members of the 2022 RIVER HILL HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND!!!! I

have some great information to share with you, and some very important tasks for you to

complete, so please read this entire letter carefully.

I know that my woodwind players are anxious to sign out instruments. They are currently at the

repair shop getting their annual maintenance, and I promise to let you know as soon as they are

available.

And now....I have a number of tasks for you, and thefirst set needs to be completed by next

Thursday, July 7th. I will need to hear from EVERY FAMILY (via the Google Form linked at

the end) in the Band Program by the 7th so I can begin writing Marching Band drill on the 8th.

The Google Form can befilled out by a parent if the student is unavailable this week.

Summary of RHHS Band tasks - set 1, to be completed by 7/7/22.(See below for details.)

1. Print out your Marching Band music.

2. Make a plan to get your music learned and memorized.

3. Review the Marching Band rehearsal/performance schedule.

4. Update Charms.

5. Submit your measurements for uniform sizing.

6. Complete the Marching Band Google Form.

1.Print out your Marching Band music! Here’s how:

a.Access the RHHS Marching Band Google Drive here ->https://drive.google.com/drive/

folders/15lU94EZZrdnUjH7jH6sM0lYziiW2iiNo?usp=sharing

b.Open the Marching Band spreadsheet, and verify the accuracy of your name, class, grade,

“indoor” instrument, and marching instrument. Contact me via email as soon as possible if

anything doesn’t look right to you.

c.Make note of your part assignment for each piece, as well as any additional instructions

such as “play top notes.” Do not panic if you see some strange part assignments. For example:

*pit percussionists will be reading someflute parts (playing on their keyboards)

*trombone and euphonium parts are sometimes interchangeable

*Wind Ensemble students will be printing two parts for the Alma Mater

*“(none)” means that you do not have to print anything for that particular piece

*“Generic Fanfare” and “FBG” are only one page each, so you’ll be printing the entire

score

If you suspect that I have made an error in any of your assignments, go ahead and write me a

note - there are a lot of parts to assign, and I’d rather verify now thanfind out during Band Camp

that I’ve made a mistake. Finally, please RESPECT the part assignments - print out and learn the

part that is indicated on the spreadsheet, even if, for example, you learned a different part last

year.

d.Go back into the Google Drive and open the .pdffile for each title. Print only the parts that

you need. Eventually these parts will go into plastic page protectors and a 1/2-inch (no larger

please) 3-ring binder. More on that in a couple of weeks.....

e.Note that there is an .mp3 recording for every piece that you have to learn in the “Demo

Recordings” folder. You’ll be accessing these frequently, so you might just want to download

them.

2.Make a plan to get your music learned and memorized.Here is our repertoire list:

warm-up:(SOON - I haven’tfinished writing it yet!)

pregame: The Star-Spangled Banner & Go Hawks Go

halftime: Topaz, Hawaii Five-O, & Tonight

stands tunes: Forget You, Let’s Groove, Laugh-In, F.B.G., & Generic Fanfare

postgame: RHHS Alma Mater

drum cadence (drums only): HawkWalk

All of your music must be learned by thefirst day of Band Camp - August 15th. You will need to

memorize allwarm-up, pregame, and halftime music(6 pieces) by August 22nd. I know that this

can seem a bit overwhelming, but please do not panic - YOU CAN DO THIS. Just be sure to do

these six things:

*Practice standing up - not sitting.

*Practice at least a little bit every day, and increase your practice time as you get in shape.

*Keep steady time with foot-tapping (this will help you with the marching later). Or, if you

know how to “mark time,” please do that.

*Mark every challenging spot with a pencil.There should be tons of markings by the time we

get together in August.

*Bring your music to your private lessons.

*Practice while listening to the recordings.

Those of you who know me know that this last piece of advice goes against everything I believe

about teaching music, BUT this is a bit of a race against the clock, as ourfirst performance is on

September 9th. Having your music learned by thefirst day of Band Camp and memorized by the

beginning of week 2 are absolute necessities, and practicing with the recording is the best way to

get the job done FAST. I would also suggest making a schedule for yourself....maybe something

like this:

*July 1-9: Learn the music at a slow tempo and mark all challenging sections in whatever way is

helpful for you.

*July 10-16: Learn the music at the printed tempos, continuing to mark every mistake and

challenging section.

*July 17-23: Continue to practice everything, and memorize the pregame music (and drum

cadence for drummers).

*July 24-30: Continue to practice everything, and memorize the warm-up piece.

*July 31 - August 14: Continue to practice everything and memorize the halftime music.

Here are some special notes for marching percussionists (snares, toms, cymbals, and bass

drums):

*Sometimes stickings are marked in the music. When they are not, strive to play everything

with “right hand lead.” In other words, the numbers and the “ands” are rights, and the “e”s and

“a”s are lefts. Obviously there are some instances when right hand lead doesn’t work, and I leave it

to you to work out the most logical sticking.

*Bass drummers - I strongly recommend that you learn your parts “in unison”first. This means

playing EVERYONE’S parts for thefirst week or so, and then start working on your specific part.

I am also asking you to highlight every note that you will play in the end. So, for example, if you

are the #1 player and are reading the top notes only, highlight every note in the part that contains

the top note. The #2 part is the second one from the top, and it goes down from there. A sample of

highlighted bass drum music can be found in the Google Drive with everything else.

*The multi-tenors part for “Topaz” is being custom-written for us! Check back in just a couple

of days and it should be in the Google Drive.

Finally, here is one note for piccolo players: Feel free to take ANYTHING down an octave if it

sounds better.:)

Always feel free to contact me if you have any questions about any notes, rhythms, or markings

in your music - I will be happy to help you.

3.Review the Marching Band rehearsal/performance schedule.This is the schedule that Ifirst

referred to when I sent the class lists in early March. It can be found with all of your other

Marching Band goodies here ->https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/

15lU94EZZrdnUjH7jH6sM0lYziiW2iiNo?usp=sharing. These rehearsals and performances are

required for every member of the Marching Band. Thank you for not asking to be excused for

driver’s education, tutoring, work, etc. Be sure to contact me directly (beforefilling out the

Google Form) and AS SOON AS POSSIBLE about anypre-existingfamily conflicts with any of

these activities (we will take care of the rest of the year’s calendar shortly). Please do not wait

until the Google Form responses are due to discuss a conflict. Remember that full attendance is

truly necessary, not only for musical reasons, but also for safety reasons, as unfamiliarity with

the drill (the visual component of our show) can result in dangerous collisions. Students will

bring dinner to Camp each day and eat at 5:45. Please note that stationary members, which at

this point include only the “pit” (keyboard) percussion, electric bass, and electric keyboards, do

not need to attend the full evening’s rehearsal until August 24th. For parents, please note the

“Back to Band” meeting on August 26th at 7:00 in the Band Room. We will discuss the

Marching Band season, formal concert wear, earning money toward Band expenses (including

Spring Trip), the calendar for the year, etc. Band Booster officers will be available to answer any

questions that you may have, and when we’re done we will go out and cheer on the kids at their

final run-through of Band Camp!

4.Update Charms.Charms is the online database management system that is used by the River

Hill High School Band program. Informational emails can be sent to adults or students or both,

and it is very important that I have a student email address, and contact information for at least

one parent. Additional parents or guardians may be added if they also wish to receive band

information.

Please follow the instructions below to verify and update your information in the Charms system.

If you have any problems or issues, please contact Kathie Blackman at

kkblackman@comcast.net.

1.Go towww.CharmsOffice.com.

2.Click on the blue “Login” button in the top right corner.

3.Click on the “Parents/Students/Members” button on the top right.

4.Enter “RHHSMusic” where it asks for the School Code.

5.If you are logging on for thefirst time, the default Student Area Password is specified as

follows:

(a) for most cases, it is the capitalizedfirst letter of the student’sfirst name followed by the

student’s last name (with thefirst letter capitalized): for me, the password would be MBlackman.

(b) if your last name is only two letters, it is the student’sfirst name and last name, with the

first letter of each capitalized: FirstLast

(c) if your last name is Kim, Lee, Mishra, Spanier, or Zhang, then your password is the

student’sfirst name and last name, with thefirst letter of each capitalized like in (b).

You will be prompted to set a new password for account security. Save this password so you

remember it for next time. If you logged in previously and don’t know your password, contact

Kathie Blackman atkkblackman@comcast.net. You will receive a link to change your password

that will be valid for 24 hours.

6.Click on the “Update Info” icon. Verify the following information for the student. Please add

it if it does not exist.

(a) Student First and Last Name

(b) Student Address

(c) Student Phone

(d) Student Email Address

(e) Student T-Shirt Size: Adult Small, Adult Medium, Adult Large, Adult XL, or Adult 2XL

(f) Private Teacher: name if applicable, or n/a

7.Click on parent/guardian name at the bottom left. Verify the following information for the

parent/guardian. Please add it if it does not exist - at least one parent with an email address is

needed.

(a) First and Last Name

(b) Phone - phone numbers will only be used as emergency contact

(c) Email Address

(d) Relation to Student

8.Click on Add New Adult to add information for any other adult who wishes to receive band

communications.

9.Whenfinished be sure to click the green Update button at the top right of the page!

10.If you have two students, please log in and complete for both students. After youfinish the

second, click on the Home icon at the top left of the screen. From the home screen you can click

on the “Multiple Students” icon to link their accounts.

11.Click on the red “Exit Charms” button at the top left to log out.

5.Submit your measurements for uniform sizing.Please grab a tape measure and an assistant to

do the measuring, and click the following link to provide critical information to the Band Booster

uniform team:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/

1FAIpQLSffCxn3cOX71jL1pWBD8csyzVKSwf5Wmds_OZ5F5xBu5NdZug/viewform?

usp=sf_link

If the student is not home this week, you can select the option to send measurements at a later

date on the form.

6.Complete the Marching Band Google Form.Congratulations - you made it! Please, by July

7th, click the following link to finish this set of Marching Band tasks:https://forms.gle/

4Ez49yCfd7ASwHMh8

The most important part of this form is your commitment to participating in Marching Band. We

have had major problems in the past caused by students failing to honor this commitment.

Please note the wording: if you can not make the commitment, LET ME KNOW so we can talk

about how to proceed without negatively impacting other students.

Please remember thatI can not write a single page of drilluntil I have heard fromeveryonein

the Marching Band.I need to start writing on July 8th.

Thank you very much for your cooperation. I know there is quite a bit to accomplish here, but

getting it done now will make things MUCH easier later!

Musically,

Mr. Blackman