97%?

Congratulations, Storm Lake 7-12 band students on a fine performance last Saturday at BVU Honor Band.

I especially liked one of the pieces that the HS Honor Band performed. It was a march titled"
A+ March and Excellent Prelude". It is quite an eye-opener and well worth a look by you and your student on you tube!

The concept of the march is based on a state law in Massachusetts that said that all 97% work in schools would be deemed an A+. A band piece was written which uses mathematical calculations to decide what a 97% performance of the piece would be. Students are assigned a specific amount of errors to create the 97% performance. The piece is performed with the statement of the march. It sounds just like a typical graduation march. Then...the march is re-stated with the 97% target for accuracy. Needless to say---it doesn't work! Go to the following link, or search for "A+ March" on you tube.



We are always expecting quality and excellence from our music students. High standards lead to greater achievement in all areas of life. A rigorous curriculum develops life skills that influence standard of living, productivity, income level, and of course, life wisdom. How better to do that than to be involved in music and be held to a high performance standard?

Think about your student- are they a 97% student- or always working to be at 100%? Preparation on lesson assignments at home lead to that 100% mark, as skills are mastered, and performed accurately in the lesson setting. When we all contribute the best that we can to the group, we get to our 100% much faster.

Have high expectations for quality preparation at home, and the quality performances will happen!