Summer is Here!

Summer has arrived! What a great year it has been! Now it's time to refresh and recharge. This is also a great time to get some things done before we start next year. Here goes..

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​Instrument Maintenance

Firstly, it's best to play your instrument some over the summer. I'm not going to pretend that everyone will be practicing for several hours a day (if you do, awesome!), but it would be great to pick your instrument up and play every so often. 

Just like we do Spring Cleaning on our homes and the band room and such, we need to do some on our instruments as well. Read the following for some things to consider:

​Brass

​Note: Woodwinds, DO NOT give your instruments a bath. You will ruin your instrument.

Brass have the most maintenance to do. This is a great time to give your instrument a bath!
Here's what to do:

1. Pull out all slides and valves (carefully!)
   1. Make sure you remember which piece goes where
2. Fill bathtub with room-temperature water
   1. NO SOAP or CHEMICALS of any kind
   2. Just Water
3. Place instrument carefully in water and let it sit for about 30 minutes
4. Pull instrument out and let it dry thoroughly

After the bath is a great time to run your snake through the instrument to clean out any left-over residue.

​Woodwinds

Here are some things to do on woodwinds:​

• Make sure you have a cleaning cloth to run through your instrument
  • You really should do this every day.. so if you don't, gross.
• Check all your screws and make sure they're in place!
• Check for old and worn pads
  • If you need to replace pads, summer time is a great time to send your instrument off to the shop

​Other Suggestions

• Clean out your case
• Recycle old music
• Replace any other necessities (i.e. mouthpiece pad woodwinds)

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What to Play?

Summer is also a great time to work on some things you don't have as much time for during the school year. Here are some suggestions to explore:

• Improvising, making up melodies
• Cool Scales
  • Here's a starting point CLICK HERE
• Music from Movies - just use Google to find tons of fun tunes
• You can also get ahead on your Region Band requirements for next year

THE KEY IS TO PLAY YOUR INSTRUMENT > MAKE. MUSIC.

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Get Outside!

Where this has less to do with playing, it has more to do with the marching band folks and just being active and healthy! We certainly want to be used to the sun come July. 

Fun in the Sun Days

Every Tuesday we will have a planned activity from 9am to 12pm. This is about community and exercise. Come join us and have a good time! The goal is simple - fun.

Around Spartanburg

Spartanburg has a lot of places to get out and walk/run/play/etc. Here's some suggestions:

• Rail Trail (you'll find McAllister here a lot)
• Downtown
• Barnet Park
• Cleveland Park
• Hatcher Gardens
• Cottonwood Trail (especially if you want some shade)
• Climb Upstate

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HAPPY SUMMER! SEE YOU ON TUESDAYS!