Observation 8th Grade Day 1 Band

On Monday January 30th 2012, I went to observe the eighth grade band at Chief Joseph Middle School. Monday was an unusual day because it was right after their concert, and some of the band members were missing because they were at a rehearsal for a choir concert. Ms. Nelson was very nice; she was in the process of handing out music to all the students who were in class. Karen and I offered to help handout the new music. Ms. Nelson was happy with this idea because there was not enough parts for all the students; Karen and I ended up making copies for her. The three pieces that the students were going to play were: Pietro’s Return, a piece in 6/8, Go West, a piece that would be combined with the orchestra, and Encanto, a march which could be difficult side for eighth graders. There were posters in the classroom, that pertained to music. The students were pretty well behaved for not having very much to do. Near the end of the period, Ms. Nelson put on the recording of the concert and allowed the students to eat some donuts. This was an adjustment to the class because this activity was originally planned for Wednesday when all the students would be back in class. The last two minutes of the class period, the band played though the first eight bars of Encanto. The students then put their instruments away,stood at the door and waited for the bell to ring.