Beginner Band

Welcome back beginners! We are getting back into some good habits to start this six weeks. Somethings beginners should be working on at home:

• Practice 3-5+ times a week in well lit space with a good chair and music stand

• Play long controlled sounds to improve tone, bugles, octave slurs, and register slurs.

• Get those fingers moving on technique lines and tetra chords.

• Play fun songs from the Essential Elements Book, 43, 48, 58, 75, 90.

If your beginner student plays clarinet or saxophone, please be sure to purchase size 3 reeds for this semester. Students can no longer play on size 2.5 reeds. Click here for more information and links to purchase reeds!

Upcoming Dates

• 1/31/25 - Practice and Pizza $5

• 2/14/25 - End of six weeks

• 3/5/25 - Ensemble Contest 

Concert Band

We made great headway in one of our three pieces this week, Time Lord! You can begin passing that off next week when assignments open on Smart Music. Next week we will dig into Soaring and Southampton March. Click the links here to listen and play along with our music for our next concert cycle. 

Sectionals will continue next week. Be sure you know when and where your sectional is. Sectionals are graded and required of all Concert Band students. We will get through the second half of your ensemble and start cleaning things up. Have a great three day weekend!

Southampton March 

Time Lord 

Soaring 

Questions to ask your band student:

• How did you do on your chair test?

• Which of the three new pieces do you like best?

Upcoming Dates:

• 1/31/25 - Practice and Pizza $5

• 2/14/25 - End of six weeks

• 3/1/25 - Ensemble Contest 

Symphonic Band

Symphonic band has a ton of new music that we are working to prepare music for Ensemble Contest on March 1st and UIL on April 11th. In order to prepare our ensembles, we started a new sectional schedule, every ensemble will meet three times before ensemble contest. 

We had a chair test this week on a section of our toughest UIL music and the kids did a great job preparing, I am very excited to work on some challenging music with them and help them grow as musicians. Listen to our UIL music below:

Peacemaker March 

Dances of a Shimmering Spirit 

 Questions to ask your band student:

• What is the name of your Ensemble? What are the three dates for your sectionals?

• How do you think you did on your chair test? 

Upcoming Dates:

• 1/24/25 - HEB Honor Band Clinic 6:00-9:00pm

• 1/25/25 - HEB Honor Band Clinic 8:00am-4:00pm; Concert at 7:00pm at Trinity HS

• 1/31/25 - Practice and Pizza $5

Jazz Band

You got a ton of new music this week! Click into the song links below and listen and play along as much as you can with these new pieces. The more (and sooner) you can learn these pieces, the better! Next Friday we cannot have rehearsal due to HEB Honor Band. Instead we will hold a Saturday Jazz rehearsal from 11-1 with snacks included!

Brazil 

Sunday Morning 

Upcoming Dates and Performances:

• 1/25/25 - Saturday Jazz 11-2

• 2/5/25 - LD Bell Jazz Showcase performance @ Ld Bell

Jazz Band Resources:

• Membership Guidelines and Welcome Letter

• Fall Jazz Calendar - All rehearsals and performances (as of now) are listed.

  • Link the Google Calendar to your calendar!

• Pay $40 jazz fee online - includes jazz shirt, snacks, clinicians, travel, etc

• Jazz Band Remind - @jazzbronco

Band Resources

Band Wishlist

Music and Arts 

Smart Music/Make Music - Assignments 

LD Bell Band Website 

HEB VPA Instagram