Jon was in Oregon at some point in time over the summer. (Who goes to Oregon??? Alek Ratzloff does.)
Hey guys and gals,
Just wanted to say a few things before the school year kicks off. So far, this summer has been really great and I know that most of you have really enjoyed the marching band experience so far. Let's keep that attitude up all the way till we arrive back home from USSBA Annapolis.
One big thing that I wanted to discuss was last Thursdays rehearsal. Every single one of you knows that we were not our best that night. I know what this horn line can do and I know many of the people in this horn line have the capability of being absolutely ridiculous. But, we also have to do well in rehearsals. It was very clear that many people did not have their dot books filled out. Tomorrow is a dot book check and I want every brass player to have his/her dot book filled all the way through set 35. From here on out, you can expect to receive drill at almost all of the rehearsals until the show is finished. Dot books are very useful and I don't feel like many of us are taking the opportunity to use them to their fullest potential. Drill books are nice, but they are bulky and it can be confusing to look at if you're setting your dot. So get those completed! Also, I think we should definitely focus on our rehearsal procedures such as not talking after a set is completed. The staff really needs to talk to each other and it is very distracting if many of the students on the field are having side conversations. Also moving once we finish a set is no good. They are trying to see the picture and if you are not on your dot, you will get called out. We just need to be more focused during our rehearsals so we spend less time fooling around and more time learning as many dots as we can. Our goal should be to push the staff instead of them pushing us. They enjoy it a lot more when they don't have to yell and scream at us and I'm sure we like it more too.
Keep working on learning Chaos!!! It is a very difficult song, but if we learn it and get it clean, it will be absolutely insane.
I know you guys are doing a lot and it really shows, but keep it up. School will slow us down dramatically, but don't let it take away your willingness to work hard!!
YAY BAND
- Jonathan
