Band Camp 2010 recap

I <3 band camp….For real.

The days are long, the work never ends, and the food and sleeping accommodations are mediocre. But we’re outside at the beautiful Appel Farm laying the foundation of the season one note/step at a time. Gotta love it!

(FYI: Our camp starts with 2 days at the school: 9-5 on day 1, and 9-4/6:30-8:30 on day 2. Days 3-6 we spend away in a camp setting. Those days run 9-1, 2:30-5:30, 6:30-10:30)

Day 1 and the 1st half of day 2 went very slowly. The students were not accustomed to the hot weather, and therefore were not as productive as we would’ve liked. That all turned around during the afternoon session on day 2 when we had 3 hours of misty rain. In that time span, we were able to cover as much as we did in the previous 10+ hours of camp (30 pages of drill!). We were wet afterward, but the accomplishment set a good precedent for the rest of camp. During our time away, we finished teaching the drill, and got an awesome band/guard feature put in (among other things).

As for the guard, Jen and I were able to teach 3 1/2 of 5 songs. Even though the kids practice all day, we typically only get the guard for about 9 hours throughout the 6 days of camp. We consider 3 1/2 songs progress.

It looks like the most challenging song will be “I’m Late,” while the most fun song to write and perform will be “Rock Around the Clock.” The former has a quick tempo and challenging flag work. Our 4 seniors will be using large pocketwatches, so all others (including our least experienced) are on flag. Needless to say, it’s obvious. “Rock Around the Clock,” our closer, will be SO much fun to write. The drill is conducive to several features for the guard, and even one big band/guard feature in which they are dancing together. Can’t wait to write and teach the whole song! The guard is fortunate to have a strong class of newbies, which means I can write hard, and water down if I need to. Not the other way around.

Overall, I’m very excited for this season. Stay tuned for updates… I’m off to watch some 50′s-inspired dancing.

Lessons I’ve learned from band camp

Well, band camp has come and gone for Lenape. There was laughing, crying (from laughing so hard), injuries, water balloons, and most importantly, reaching “suck” status with the hard work of our fabulous and dedicated students.

On that note, here are some lessons I learned at band camp (this year, or over the years):

1. Don’t eat mac ‘n cheese before spending an afternoon out in 90* heat.
2. Be ready for anything (in terms of bad stuff): Students dropping out, thunderstorms, injuries, etc.
3. Have backup recordings of your show (cassette tapes, CDs, mp3 players) in case one of the other mediums doesn’t work!
4. When rain has been keeping you inside for 2 days, and your guard has cabin fever, it’s hard not to join them in their hysterical laughter.
5. That any of the above prevent you from getting done as much as you wanted to!
6. Having an assistant at camp makes for lots of laughs and great collaborations (thanks, Jen!)
7. Look up from the drill book and pause the CD player: Sometimes I get so caught up in writing work that I forget to take a moment to see the guard’s excitement for their new show work.
8. Guard tape is not just for equipment: It also serves as a sling to keep an ice pack on someone’s eye so that they can still learn work!

As instructor or student, what have you learned from band camp? Tell me in the comments below!