Directors make practicing fun

Mike Dynes and Chris Satio have begun posting practicing challenges in their classrooms for the bands to make sure students continue practicing.

The first challenge was to find a strange place to practice and practice there. Possible places given by Saito were under a table, outside, in a garden, in a basement, or even in your bedroom, if that were unusual for you.

Some students went above and beyond with this challenge. Sophomore percussionist Noah Raso chose to practice in a forest.

Percussionists were also given a second challenge, as they could not bring their instruments home from the school, to find anything around your house to use as your instrument. Raso chose to use a cat piano to play his snare part.

“I needed something original to do, and I figured people needed a laugh. Also, the cat piano was a joke in show choir,” Raso said.

Abbey Van Middlesworth, a senior trumpet player, chose to practice in her hammock for her video.

“It was a beautiful day outside, and I absolutely love reading in my hammock. I thought it would be a fun place to play,” Van Middlesworth said.

Aidan Hamner, a sophomore trumpet player, recorded his video on his roof.

“I practiced on my roof just because it was easy to get to from a window, and it seemed to be a good fit for the ‘practice in the strangest place you can find’ assignment,” Hamner said.

The next challenge that Dynes gave students was to learn something new. They were to look up music online, practice it for a bit, then record it. The choice was theirs as to what music they chose. If they can find it, they can use it. The directors just want students to play their instruments during this time without rehearsal.

Noah Raso plays a cat piano in a forest for his "practice in the strangest place you can find" assignment.