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 BANDS

Carl's Pro Band 2020 Winter Catalog

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Musical instruments, accessories, supplies and other offerings from Carl's Pro Band in Bloomington, IL.

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We need your help!

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NCHS BANDS needs support reaching our goal of $2,500.00 for the CO-VOIDED Unit 5 Music Parent's Spaghetti Supper Fundraiser (un-raiser).

 

The Annual Spaghetti Supper is a Unit 5 Music Department fundraiser, sponsored by the McLean County Unit 5 Music Parents Association. This is an annual event that allows for families to financially support the music programs by purchasing tickets for a spaghetti meal and enjoy the talents of their children in a musical performance.  Even though Covid-19 has eliminated our ability to hold the annual Spaghetti Supper in person, due to current pandemic restrictions, it cannot stop our love for music and desire to financially support the music programs. 

 

Instead of selling a product or asking for volunteers, U5MP is simply asking for your generous financial donation for these important programs. Many programs have large financial short-falls due to cancelled fundraising events because of the pandemic. The best part of this year's fundraiser is that 100% of your donation will go directly to support the Unit 5 music programs and Unit 5 Music Parents Association this year!

 

All donations made to U5MP are deductible charitable donations and you will receive a receipt for your donation.  

 

Copy and paste this link:

   

 

Thank you!

Dates to put on your calendar

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See the NMB calendar for the summer calendar information.

Where should we dine out at this week?

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Watch this space for the dates and places that you can dine at and help NCHS Bands!

Little Leaps and Sounds

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you are doing as well as you can be given the continued difficult circumstances. 

I'm excited to let you know about a new book that I've written called "Little Leaps and Sounds". In 2018, I put out my first book "Leaps and Sounds: 12 Etudes for Jazz Saxophone", which was geared towards advanced saxophonists and included etudes that focused on integrating the altissimo register of the saxophone to the rest of the instrument. 

This NEW book is meant to be an intermediate version of my initial effort in 2018 and I've made some additions to this version that I think will be of interest to any student or educator who picks up a copy! I've also written the etudes in such a way that it was possible to transpose and edit versions for trumpet, bass clef instruments, concert instruments and even guitar TAB, which are all available via PDF NOW by clicking here. 

Here is a quick blurb from the book's preface...

“Little Leaps and Sounds: 12 Intermediate Jazz Etudes” is a collection of 12 etudes written over the chord changes to common jazz standards. Each etude features specific harmonic considerations/substitutions, tempos and styles. This collection of etudes aims to serve any instrumentalist who is looking to challenge themselves in the traditional range of their instrument, using fresh harmony and contemporary jazz vocabulary. 

The play-a-long tracks offer the performer the chance to play the solos at tempo with and without  recorded soloist accompaniment. A duplicate of each solo has been added immediately following the original version and contains diagrammed harmonic analysis. Each diagrammed analysis is also accompanied by a written analysis of the solo. 

I had the great joy of working with several colleagues on the creation of the versions of the book for non-saxophonists. William Flynn edited and created the guitar TAB version of the book, as well as recording all of the etudes for that version as well as the concert instruments version of the book. 

Dr. Eric Siereveld took time to edit this collection of etudes for trumpet and also recorded the trumpet etudes. Trombonist Jack Kotze recorded all of the etudes for the bass clef instruments version of the book. 

Click here to checkout a YouTube video where I'm playing an etude from the book called "Ms. Bird", which is written over the chord changes to the jazz standard "Lady Bird". 

Over the next two months, if you follow me on Instagram (@adamlarsonjazz), you'll see several members of the saxophone community taking time to play through the etudes in the book and sharing them in short video posts. In addition to being a very generous way of helping me promote the book, it's always so much fun to see everyone's takes on the material and the sense of community it builds- thanks to everyone who agreed to be a part of the promo roll out! Check out some of the pre-release uploads: saxophonists Chris Madsen, Remy LeBoeuf, Alex LoRe, all threw down. Many more awesome takes to come!

There are THREE very BIG promo giveaways that are going to be happening in conjunction with two wonderful brands that I'm an endorsing artist for! Both Vandoren and P. Mauriat have generously agreed to sponsor competitions centered around the release and promotion of this book, with prizes that are certain to get students interested. 

Vandoren will be hosting two competitions; one for high school students and another for undergraduate college students, where applicants have the chance to win "Adam's Setup". First prize for each competition includes a BRAND NEW SETUP- Mouthpiece, Reeds, Ligature, 2nd prize is two boxes of reeds and 3rd prize is a brand new neckstrap. 

The High School Competition submission window opens on Wednesday, February 4th and closes on Friday, February 12th at midnight. Fellow Vandoren Artist and close friend of mine, Chris Madsen, will join me in judging the entries and a winner will be announced on Monday, February 15th. To participate, interested students will need to make a video of themselves playing the etude called "You" from the new book and upload it to Instagram. To purchase the book and obtain access to the required etude, students can use code "VANDOREN" to receive 10% off the price of the book. For full details on eligibility, how to apply and what to expect follow me and Vandoren on Instagram.

The College Competition submission window opens on Wednesday, February 18th and closes on Friday, February 26th at midnight and a winner will be announced on Monday, March 1st. To participate, interested students will need to make a video of themselves playing the etude called "You" from the new book and upload it to Instagram. To purchase the book and obtain access to the required etude, students can use code "VANDOREN" to receive 10% off the price of the book. For full details on eligibility, how to apply and what to expect follow me and Vandoren on Instagram.

P. Mauriat will be doing a similar giveaway in March, with more details to be announced...BUT, the grand prize will be a BRAND NEW saxophone! Let your students know!

Thanks for taking time to read this email and I hope you might be able to support this new project that I'm really excited to share with students, educators and fans alike. 

P.S. - Saxophonist Alex LoRe and I have completed the initial phase of composing a book of saxophone duets, due out this spring! I love getting to create for your all- thanks again!

Adam