HOW to put sheet music on your iPad!

The video above is a tutorial on how to upload sheet music onto your iPad!

Step One: Download dropbox onto your computer. www.dropbox.com
Step Two: Download Dropbox app onto your iPad and sign in!

Step Three: Download forScore app onto your iPad!

Step Four: Tap the upper right hand tool box and select dropbox from the drop menu!

This should open up all your files that you have put in your dropbox folder on your computer! Remember you must scan you music in and make sure that it is a PDF! :) 

Have fun!!!!

My other favorite sheet music app! 

www.musicnotes.com has a great app! If you purchase sheet music from this website they automatically sync the song with your app so you can play your song from your iPad instead of printing it out! (But I suggest you print as well!)  

CIRLCES

I should have taken a picture but did not so I'll try to explain our productive choir day with words.

We sang in a a circle! In multiple circles!  WOW What a difference does this make!  Well first of all my high school kids were really productive today and hard working and they even asked questions! YES QUESTIONS!!! WOW!! I was so proud of them today!

I had each part stand in a circle. Ended up with 4 circles in the room (standing).  Sopranos sang to sopranos and altos sang to altos..... Its amazing what is heard when you stand in a circle.  If we could perform concerts in a circle I would do that in a heart beat!  It really helps them hear their own part when they are segregated in this way. AND it helps when we are in one big circle as well.  I think I might try mixing them up next week. Try having the sopranos and the altos in one big circle and not standing by a person that sings their part. They should still be able to hear their part but not close by.  I don't know if the boys are ready for that challenge yet. They are still getting their notes learned!  


Since that was so successful with the high schoolers I thought I would try it for the rest of the day. I had my 4th graders next and they are learning a 3 part song with the 3rd graders. So I had each part stand in their own circles and it seemed to work well!

THEN I tried it with my select middle school group! THIS DID NOT WORK!  My sopranos loved it, my altos struggled... A LOT... and my basses well they always struggle. Its hard to figure out how to sing in the process of growing for those boys!   I don't know what happened but it seemed like if one person got off then the whole section did.  I guess I don't have a strong enough confident leader in that section to lead them in the right direction.  A bunch of followers we got there.  They did better when I sang their part beside them and when I played all 4 parts on the piano.  Maybe it was just the day.  We will have to go back to a big circle with this group I guess.


I use one big circle many times in all my choir rehearsals. It really helps to be able to hear what everyone is doing.  Listening is the most important aspect when it comes to choirs.  My Mixed Octet sang the national anthem in a circle at a volleyball game and it was AMAZING! They blended and sang so well with each other. I'm tellin' ya if people didn't care about visuals in a concert I would have all my choirs sing in a circle.

Saturday on a Lawn Mower

Here in Armour we appreciate the well tuned lawn mower. We have great lawn mower races and once a year we have a lawn mower poker run.  You can of course join us on any vehicle you choose, some ride in go-carts, dirt bikes, golf carts, 4 wheeler etc....   We basically take a "walking" tour of Armour! So we go to historical homes around town (we just look at the outside, we don't invite ourselves into peoples homes) and then our last stop is the Museum where we get one playing card and we finish our hand at the Hoi Paloi (a bar/restaurant in town).

And here  we go....

Phyllis and I had matching mowers! Our first time on Zero Turns! :) We did well!!!

  Lets get it started!!!
WE ARE READY!!

(We start at Wilson's True Value)

 Raymond was on a Coast to Coast Mower! My grandparents used to own a Coast to Coast in DeSmet!

 Tyler spray painted his black mower to a copper color and we added some orange glitter spray paint, hard to tell in the picture but it was AWESOME and SPARKLY!

 Dick bought my Dad's old mower and he brought it out to join our fun adventure!  Here we are at the nursing home! :) They had root beer floats for us and the residents! So nice of them!

I probably should have taken a picture at every stop but oh well. Here we are coming down a dirt road to visit the 2 newest houses in town! :)

These boys always parked right in front of my mower thinking they would block me in!  

We went around the lawn mower track a few times then went to the park for hot dogs and a few games. Here they are doing an egg toss.  

 Tyler and Raymond were the firsts ones out!

 Here is their dead soldier!

And then there was three! 

 I about stepped on this guy! 

Phyllie is ready to go to the next spot!  

Our last stop was the Museum!!! There is a 2 headed calf in there!  

 And now we end at the Hoi Paloi for some food and drinks!

Byron (the owner) has great toys for the kiddies to play with. Here Noah is placing marbles on top and watching and hearing them make their way to the bottom! 

A good time was had by all! I can say I didn't even come close to wining the poker hand. My card I drew at the museum was a 5... Thats ok it was a fun day! And it was so BEAUTIFUL outside!

Saturday in De Smet

My day started with some social updates and simba. This picture above was my view from the recliner. Simba soaking up the sun! Then I chilled at the rent's store for a bit, ate some DQ, then Mom and I headed for the grocery store. We got what we needed for our afternoon of baking and also picked up some groceries for my grandma and then visited her for a bit. We came home and the adventure began.

I always say that I would rather cook than bake. Cooking you can have some give and take on ingredients but definitely not in baking. I think everything turned out ok but probably would not have if I was on my own. We started with the granola bars and while those were baking we made pita bread, when that was done we decided to go through with our thought of making a dessert for supper and then we made supper. Here are some pictures of our afternoon of cooking:



Here are ingredients for the granola bars:
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar ( could us just a 1/4)
3/4 cup raisins (we used chocolate chips instead and probably more than 3/4)
1/2 cup wheat germ (we used flax seed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (we skipped this step)
1/2 cup chopped English Walnuts (we used almonds)

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1) Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, raisins, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl, making sure to beat the brown sugar lumps into submission.
Or if you're making chocolate chip bars, you'll leave the raisins and cinnamon out, and use chocolate chips
2) Combine egg, oil, honey, and vanilla in a small bowl.
3) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix it all up, and dump it into a greased 91/4x13 inch pan. Using a greased spatula, or a wet spoon, spread it into an even layer.
You will seriously start to think that there is not enough to go around, but if you keep patiently spreading, it will all work out.
4) Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool pan on a wire rack, and when its all cooled off, you can cut into whatever size bars you like.



Here is all the ingredients put together and ready to bake. I did not take a final picture because it doesn't look much different then this picture. :)




Mixing the dough for the pita bread!




Mom kneading the dough!



Mom cut the dough into eight piece then we rolled them to what you see here and we let them sit.




After cooking in the oven for bit they look like this! This will be used for my lunches at school! mmmm So excited to fill these bread pockets with yummieness!




I forgot to take pictures before but this is part of our supper along with corn on the cob. These are chicken enchilada rolls. There is chicken, cheese, cream cheese, taco seasoning and taco sauce oh and we added green chilies. Cheese on top and bake for 15 minutes! (Pinterest Recipe)

I just realized I didn't take any pictures of us making the apple cream cheese bars but here is a picture of the final product.



YUMMY!!!!!!(Pinterest Recipe)
Now we will probably relax a bit, then maybe go for a walk. It is a bit chilly out. Then watch a movie...
HAPPY WEEKEND!!!
-Whit

All State Auditions

My day....

My day started out pretty good considering the fact that I didn't sleep well last night. I once in awhile wake up with my heart pounding for no reason. I wonder what that's all about. Maybe I had a bad dream.... Anyways.... The morning was normal, I had the kindergartners and they are always so sweet and quiet. One child told me a story of how there were rats living in his house and it some how got in the refrigerator and was eating the celery. Oh MY! He was so confused on how it would get in the refrigerator so several other boys were telling him how a rat could get into the fridge. It was so cute! If I could I would love to listen to their stories all day! :)
 The rest of my morning, I was productive with some vowel research. I decided I am going to do my research project with my high school choir (not sure if it will be mixed or womens). It will be on vowels and how we can sing the perfect sounding vowel. So this morning I got out my college IPA for Singers book and wrote in all the IPA for one of our Christmas songs. I think it will be useful for the singers to see a vowel in a different way, and to see it separated from the rest of the word. Comment below if you have any experience in vowels and using their full potential in a choir.
My biggest excitement for the day was high school vocal. We had all state auditions! This is always a nervous event for my singers and one for me as well. I do not do the judging. I have a judge come in from out of town. The way we do it is I have the singers sing as a quartet instead of as individuals. It is a faster way because we can still here an individual and we can also hear if they can hold their own part while someone else is singing a different part. We end up switching the quartet around several times until the judge is close to making a final call. Today was close! We have so many GREAT singers! I was so proud of everyone that auditioned! I know it takes guts and hard work to do what they did! This year we had 3 people audition on every part except the bass part where we had 2. It was very close all around. The judge listens for pitch and tone and sometimes we have to go with work ethic for a tie breaker.  I always feel bad for the people who do not make it! Its tough but sometime that is life. And thankfully most of my singers are younger so they have more years to try it again! I hope they do! I am always glad to see the audition part is over. Now we can work on all the All State Pieces and get down to the nitty gritty! YAY!
Tonight I head on over to Platte to audition their All State singers. I always have fun with this. Platte has amazing talent and I love to hear them sing! ANNNNNDDDDD I will eat at SUBWAY!!! :) Its the little things in life that make me excited!

First time blogger

FIRST BLOG....duh.duh.duhhhhh

I find blogs so fun and full of interesting information.  My blog will be about lots of different things. Things I find useful in my music classroom. Things I find useful in everyday life.  Just plain thoughts of the day.  

In this moment today my thoughts through my head consist of my music lessons for the day (3rd grade, mixed choir, 4th grade, music alive).  I also have thoughts of my Master's program. We have to create an e-portfolio and I'm debating whether or not to buy a subscription to this e-portfolio website or not. You can do so much more for $13 a year. Maybe its worth it? Since I will be working on it for 2 years AND it will only let me upload 3 documents.... There will be WAY WAY WAY more than 3 documents in my master's program. Dont ya think? 

I'm so excited for CHOIR today!!!! WOOP WOOP!! We are going to add drums today to our song we are working on for Coronation. We are working on Some Nights by F.U.N.!!!!  The kids love it and I think they are finally getting into the song. What I mean is emotionally invested in the song.  We also are starting Christmas stuff.... yuck.... BUTTT what makes it enjoyable is that I found a beautiful new arrangement of The First Noel!  I CAN'T WAIT to challenge my kids with this piece! So excited!!

Music Alive is my auditioned middle school group and we are working on a piece for Veterans day and also a Christmas piece. These poor kids have to learn songs so fast as we only meet one day a week. 

I better get back to work... time to organize choir folders!