Today was the first day, and I was happy to see returning students as well as meet new ones. Three students will be seniors this year, so this will be my last time working with them in the band camp, and I'm going to miss them a lot. Two of them are sectional leaders and have been extremely helpful, leading sectionals, working with the other students, and assisting me with various tasks.
I usually like to begin each day with a warm-up routine and vary some aspects so it doesn't become monotonous throughout the week. We always start with long tones starting from B in the staff and then descending chromatically to Eb. Next, we'll start at the B an octave higher and descend chromatically to the B in the staff. Finally, we'll go back to the B above the staff and ascend chromatically until as high as the students feel comfortable.
For scales, we began with the Bb major scale in unison long tones. Then, I had the divided the group and had the students play the scale in thirds. Finally, we went around the circle and everyone played a scale, beginning with C Major, until we had progressed entirely around the circle of fifths.
Today I also introduced buzzing. Several students were having trouble with notes in the third octave, and I thought harmonics would help to strengthen embouchure. But not everyone had their flutes with them (the section leaders only had piccolos); I believe harmonics will be more effective on flute, so we'll wait until tomorrow.
Finally, we went through one of the two drills the students had to learn, and we'll start the next drill tomorrow. Looking forward to it!
Questions? Comments? Contact me!