2018 - 2019 GT Music Projects

(December 2, 2019)

Here are the projects from 3 of the GT music students.  We hope you enjoy!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e0kaqdOg60rn92a9nZczsWBZGg8a9VYh/view?usp=sharing

May Blog Posts

(May 31, 2019)

Hello Once Again!

Here are our second to last blog post for the school year!

Griffin – I have been learning songs I want to learn on my own time such as Shreksophone, the Pink Panther, and Careless Whisper. I really don’t have much going on in band or MOJO, but in lessons, I am learning a new song called “Work Song.” Thats pretty much it.

Zoe – We did our 5th/6th school play on the 23rd and it was really fun. The third performance was the best one because we all remembered our lines and the lyrics to the songs and we pulled up so many people for the bunny hop, green grass grows, and mister sun.  I’ve been practicing piano more lately; I learned how to make chords using the black keys and have them sound good, and I watch tutorials online about basic piano. I am thinking about taking piano lessons this summer. I also have been looking at theatre camps that I can go to for the summer. I really enjoyed doing the play so I think that going to a camp for a few weeks would be super fun. I have also just finished memorizing Mean Girls the musical. It is the 4th Broadway I’ve memorized along with Hamilton, Heathers, and Dear Evan Hansen. I really like the sound of musicals and I like listening to them because they tell a story. I can’t believe that GT is almost over! It’s weird to think that just about five months ago we were trying out to get in and then celebrating when we did, or at least I was. It’s also crazy to think about how much better I’ve gotten at writing my own songs. When I tried out I wrote a cheesy song called butterfly that didn’t really apply to me or relate to people. Now I feel confident with my songs and they are much better written. GT has helped me a lot with improving both my musical abilities and my self-confidence. Thank you, Mr. Bosse and other teachers involved (sorry I don’t know who you are :p) for putting this together and giving me a great experience.

Soleil – This month is the last month of GT, and I’m sad because I won’t be able to play my French Horn much longer. But, I decided that since I’m done with my red book, I will play French Horn for 8th-grade promotion. It has been really fun learning the music on a harder instrument because I already know it on Trombone, so I know what it’s supposed to sound like. It’s a fun challenge for me. Overall, GT this year has been super fun and I’m glad I got to try a new instrument. I can’t wait for next year!

Andy – This year, I have improved greatly in music. I started out as a first clarinet (just barely) and didn’t know anything about the higher octave. That is what first clarinets are all about. However, I really worked at it, and practiced on all of the pieces, and eventually got the hang of it. I worked so hard on the clarinet that I have become really good at it. I almost never squeak, and I am way more efficient at figuring out notes and stuff. I am glad that I have improved so much in music this year.

Chloe – During the month of May, I didn’t work on my goal. I sarted working on the 8th grade graduation music. I was suprised that once I started playing it I knew it from memory of last year when we played it. Rondeau is the “hardest” piece out of the three that we are playing:  Pomp and Circumstance, Star Spangled Banner, and Rondeau. This year, all of the songs are easy to me because I have improved on my flute playing skills a lot. I play part one for flute in band class. Part one has the highest notes and the melody for some of the songs we played this year.

April Blog Posts

(May 3, 2019)

Here are our students’ blogs for the month of April:

Ian – Now In GT, I can now play all of the scales that I chose for my goal I also am trying to memorize all 6 scales by the end of the school year. I have also got more fluent when I am playing and have seen improvement.

Andy – This year in music, I have grown a lot. Last year included. I came in to Molly Ockett not knowing anything about music, however from being in band and General Music class, I learned a great deal. I practiced at home, listened to the music whenever possible, and tried my best to succeed in music. And now, I am in GT Music. Because I have a strong desire to play music, and because I worked on my music all the time, whenever I had the chance, and apparently it worked out. Now I get to live out one of my dreams of playing Jazz music next year at Fryeburg Academy.

Astrid – In April I didn’t learn any new songs, but I did practice the song I learned in March. I also practiced the plucking part of here comes the sun on the ukulele. I’ve also been trying to learn how to sing while playing the ukulele. It was surprisingly more difficult then I thought it could ever be. I did master singing the Moldy Peaches song while playing it on the ukulele. But trying  to sing Here Comes the Sun while playing it on the ukulele is IMPOSSIBLE for me. I don’t know how the Beatles did it but I hope I’ll be able to get it down by the end of summer. Overall, the month of April was my favorite month for learning the ukulele by far.

Chloe – I have not been doing my goal for this year. I don’t think I will be doing GT next year. But this year, before I stopped doing my goal, I edited my goal to make it shorter and easier to accomplish given the amount of time I have left to complete my goal. I do not think I will complete my goal because I have been busy doing school work. But if I end up doing GT next year I will make sure to create a goal that Is sustanable to me and with the time I have to complete it.

Soleil – This month I started music class. I’m doing a jazz project and theory packets. For my jazz project, I decided to do a newspaper article. It’s really fun because I have a crossword puzzle and a weather forecast. For the theory packets I am on packet 18 and only have 4 more to do until I have to compose a peice of music. I’m learning a lot more in music this year than I did last year. Mr. Bosse was even having a hard time grading the packets! Meanwhile in GT, my goal is going well and the French Horn is still challenging which is good I guess.

Michael – During the month of April, much has happened. Though I was not there the whole month, I saw great improvement as well as excitement in the band. We loved playing our music, especially our dust bunnies piece. We couldn’t wait until the concert! As well as we are excited for the rest of the year of making music.

Zoe – In April I wrote a song called, “Complicated.” This song is important to me in a lot of ways. It goes over my insecurities in the pre-chorus #2 and it talks about my emotions through out the whole thing, and it just has a powerful message I wanted to share with people. I performed this song with the piano progressions that I wrote with it at the PAC along with the song “Stay” by Rhianna. Performing there made me realize that I love doing that more than most things and I really want to continue doing things like that. I also joined the 5th/6th grade school play which is a musical called, “The Velveteen Rabbit.” I am the windup doll which is a fun character to be.

Griffin – At this point, I have finished the red book on the trombone which was my goal. Now I am working on the GT final assignment. I am so relieved that the concert is over but also kinda sad. On May 15, there is a MOJO party after school. We play music jeopardy and bring some food. I am very disappointed to not have MOJO for the rest of the school year, but we still get to have band to play at the 8th grade promotion. That is all that is currently going on in my music life.

March Music Blogs

(April 2, 2019)

Hello Again,

Here are our March GT Music Blogs:

Zoe – Ok so, not too much is happening for me in music right now. I’m going to try out for the 5th/6th grade play. The play is “The Velveteen Rabbit” which is the play that we will be performing; I’ve never read the book, so I don’t really know what it’s about. Another thing is that I might sing some songs in the Chorus concert on May 6th. I wouldn’t sing with the chorus, I’d sing alone. I want to sing “Stay” by Rhianna because Mr. Bosse and I were working on it with the piano for our GT class time…hahaha!  I also want to play “I Don’t Wanna be You Anymore” by Billie Eilish for my friends Shelby, Brooke, and Gyonnah because I know how much they love Billie, and I want to sing an original song. There is only three songs of mine that I like enough to sing in front of people, and they are called “Anxiety,” “Fly,” and “Inbetween.”  I like these songs because I think that they are well written (maybe cuz I spent like a week on each one ahaha). That’s basically it for now. Talk to you again in April!!

Andy – Ever since I started going to Molly Ockett, I have joined the group known as MOJO, which stands for the Molly Ockett Jazz Orchestra. I think that it is a really nice thing to do on a Wednesday afternoon. It consists of kids who would like to widen their horizons when it comes to Jazz music – instrumental or vocal. This year, however, there are only instrumentalists. It’s really fun, and we have a great teacher – Mr. Sakash. He teaches music at the Fryeburg Academy and is quite smart and skilled when it comes to music. So, if you play an instrument, I would definitely suggest trying it out.

Soleil – I am involved in music in many ways. I play the trombone in the band, take violin lessons, participate in musical theater, and at home, I play my ukulele for fun. Most recently in GT Music, I’ve been studying French horn. The French horn is more difficult than any other instrument I’ve ever played before. You would think that it’s easy for me to learn because I already play trombone. Reading music is no problem, but the embouchure you need to play french horn is much smaller than that of a trombone. Furthermore, the French horn has many overtones. This means some notes can be played with multiple fingerings. I have had fun with this challenging instrument and hope to continue exploration with all different types of instruments throughout my entire life.

Chloe – This month has been a lot of work. I have been practicing on my high notes during band class, but if I feel that I will not do good during the concert this year then when I play the lower notes. Other than that, this month has been a success. Although I accidentally missed a couple of my music lessons with Mr. Bosse, I still making a comeback!

Ian – Hi!  In GT so far this year, I have learned a lot. I have learned to play 6 scales on Alto Saxophone. This is tremendous progress since at the beginning of GT I couldn’t play 3 scales and now I can play 6. My goal is to be able to play 6 scales and at the end of the year, I want to be able to have them memorized for my final test. I want to make sure that I can play them fluently and with a good tone.

Griffin – This Year in GT, I have been learning how to play the trombone. It is very, very different from playing the saxophone and you have to use a lot more air to even get the slightest little sound. I don’t know how Soleil and Owen R. do it, but it sure doesn’t work for me, but I enjoy the fact that it’s hard. It gives me something to do and it makes me have something to accomplish; this is fun and challenging. All I know is that I’m definitely going to learn a new instrument next year.

Michael – Not much has happened in music during March. I have been practicing for the band a lot, everyone has. We have been improving a lot too! We took our mid-semester evaluation! It has been a fun month. Everyone has been working hard and trying their best! Everyone has been having fun in their lessons and trying to be able to play the music to the best of their abilities.

Astrid – In March, I learned and mastered my favorite childhood song. It’s called “Anyone Else But You” by the Moldy Peaches. This song has a lot of sentimental value to me, and I would listen to it on repeat for legit an hour. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy in my heart, and when I listened to it this day it makes me tear up since it reminds me so much of my childhood. Sometimes I like to wonder how this song was around the same time I was alive. It’s a deep thought, but I’m grateful I was able to learn my favorite song on one of my favorite instruments.

More to come…..

February Blog Posts

(March 1, 2019)

Hello Again,

Here are some blog posts from our students for the month of February:

Soleil – I love many genres of music; from classical to jazz to rock. My interest in all of these genres is expressed clearly in my homeroom. We have a playlist that we play every morning. I play songs that range from Man in the Mirror to songs such as Mack the Knife. All songs portray a different feeling in different ways which make music all the more interesting. This is why I love hearing music, whether it’s in the grocery store aisles and even in jingles on the radio.

Griffin – I have had an exciting year so far with band and MOJO. In band, we are doing four different pieces – Extremis, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Dark Ride, and Southampton March (Not Revenge of the Dust Bunnies yet) – all of which I feel very confident about playing. In MOJO, we are playing two pieces (so far) called Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Hancock and Dig Dis by Hank Mobley. I have been working very hard to master Hank Mobley’s solo. This year in band and MOJO, I have had lots of fun.

Andy – This year in GT Music, I am learning how to play the alto saxophone. My end goal is to be able to play Deck the Halls for Mr. Bosse. I am a little behind because I got my saxophone from Mr. Sakash late, but I have successfully gotten half way through the red book. I know all the essential “know-how” notes and fingerings, but I’ve still got a ways to go. I do think that I will be able to achieve my goal by June, especially since I am ahead of schedule on my steps to goal completion. I love playing music, and GT music is a great way for me to expand my horizons when it comes to playing instruments and I’m really happy that I got in.

Chloe – So Mr. Bryan asked me if I could play a song for his chorus on the flute. I said I would try, so he handed me a piece to play.  When I first saw it, I thought, “there is no way I will be able to play this.”  When I attempted to play it in the band room, I told him that I did not know a bunch of the notes, so he told me that he could give me a red book to find and learn all of the notes that I didn’t know.

Michael – During the month of February, much has happened.  Part of this is music, in lessons, the children of the Molly Ockett middle school have learned much of the music that they are playing in band. The band itself, we have been improving. As well as we have been given the task of grading our teachers in band bingo. This is what has happened in February.

Zoe – A lot of things have happened since January for me. For one, I have been writing a lot more of my own songs. I have found that it’s easier to write a sad song, but I have been working on making more happy ones. Another thing that’s happening is that I have started to write my own piano music to the songs too! I’ve written 4 full songs with piano and started 2 with piano. Right now the piano in my songs is very simple chords, usually like 3 or four, but my dad is helping me add filler piano and beats into my songs. Another very important thing that has happened in my music life this year is that I went to the 302 restaurant on a Saturday which is open mike night and I performed two of my songs and one cover. Doing that has heightened my confidence and made me want to do it more.

Astrid – Over the month of February, I practiced my ukulele, but my main achievement was learning somewhere over the rainbow. It was tricky, but I got the hang of it from my fellow friend Caileigh who also plays the ukulele. We had a lot of fun just jamming out and figuring out the rhythms and beats to the song. We tried learning one of our favorite tv shows theme song. It didn’t work out but it was so funny.  Maybe one day I’ll be able to master the Office theme song on the ukulele…

Ian – In February in GT, I have made some progress and can now play all the scales that I have chosen. Once in a while, I mess up, but I fix my mistakes. I still cannot play all my scales without my paper though so that’s where I have to work on the most. I have also learned more about the saxophone and have completed half of my goal of being able to play and memorize my scales. I am still having trouble though with the memorizing part and still have to learn to memorize them. Luckily with the help of Mr. Bosse, he taught me a way to remember my scales with a neat trick which made it a little easier for me. I am still continuing to practice Saxophone.

 Please stay tuned for more blog posts….

2019 Introductions (Part 3)

(February 7, 2019)

Michael (7th Grade) – In this month of January, a load of things have happened in music. In band class we have been working hard making sure that every note in our music has been perfect! We are still missing our piece “Dust Bunnies,” but Mr. Bosse has been working hard to be able to get it to us! We are hoping that we will be able to get it in the month of February. Every Monday and Wednesday, our band class meets to be able to play music; everyone comes with smiles on their faces ready to play. Mr. Bosse, our conductor, is very good at conducting and he always makes sure we get the most out of every time we meet!

Astrid (8th Grade) – Hi, my name is Astrid and my goal in the music industry currently is to learn how to play the song, “Here Comes the Sun” on the ukulele. So far, I’ve learned how do the first bit of plucking in the song. It was very difficult but also very entertaining. It was easy when I was learning from the video, but then I had a power outage at my house, so I just kept on practicing till I got the rest of the chords correct. Overall I’ve been having a blast learning the ukulele over the past month.

Grace (8th Grade) – My name is Grace and I’ve been playing violin for a while, but I recently got into guitar and ukulele. I can definitely say that these instruments are a bit different from the violin and in some ways harder. For example, singing while strumming is a challenge but I got the hang of it after awhile. Some songs I’ve learned on the guitar and ukulele range from “Sweet Creature” by Harry Styles to “Dear Maria, Count Me In” by All Time Low.

Griffin (6th Grade) – “My life revolves around music. I love making music and listening to music. It helps me work and it lightens my mood. When I get home from a long, stressful day at school, I finish some homework and instantly go into another room and enter my own world to play music on piano, saxophone, bass, drums, and now, thanks to Mr. Bosse, trombone. I have been playing saxophone since fifth grade. I love to improvise, play jazz, play band music, and so on. With listening to music, I like to listen to jazz, classic rock, and heavy metal. I’ll listen to anything from the Beatles, Louis Armstrong, and Elvis to AC⚡️DC, Black Sabbath and KISS. Music has truly changed my life.”

2019 Introductions (Part 2)

(January 29, 2019)

Hello Again!

Here are a few more entries for the month of January!

Andy (8th Grade) – Music is everywhere: movies, radio, and even in our minds. I can’t imagine a world without music; it would be dull and boring. Think about movies for instance, suspenseful music, sad, or even uplifting music. It gives it life and adds to the emotion thrown into the film. Music is a great way to express yourself, by playing it, or listening to it. I listen to music all the time, and it always makes me feel better. I love music, and a world without it would be dull and boring, and I would hate to live in that world.

Ian (8th Grade) – So far in GT, we have met once and figured out are goals for this year. GT has added on to the amount of playing time I have in band and other music related activities. Music has made a way to have myself calm down from other related schoolwork, it limits my stress, and I don’t lose control of my actions. GT also makes it possible to miss a whole class which is awesome! 😉

Stay tuned for more posts from our Gifted and Talented Musicians!

2019 Introductions (Part 1)

(January 22, 2019)

Hello and Welcome Back to MOMS Got Talent!

We have a new set of students who have made it into the GT music program for the 2018-2019 school year.  Our plan is to post on a monthly basis, so please stay tuned!

Here are a few introductions from our GT Music students:

Zoe (6th Grade) – My name is Zoe and I have always had a love for music, mostly singing. It has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. Some music related things that have been happening in my life are that I’ve been writing my own songs with instrumentals from YouTube. I like using the tracks on YouTube because it gives me a mood to write about.  I have realized that it is a lot easier to write sad songs, which confuses me because I’m not a sad person…haha. I also recently started to learn piano in GT music and outside of school. So far I’ve learned the A through G chords, where the letter F and C is on the piano (using chopsticks and fork) and I’ve also learned the Barney song!

Soleil (7th Grade) – Music is important to me because it’s the chance to do something I enjoy and do with my friends. This semester, some of my friends and I are learning the Cantina Band from the movie “Star Wars.” We plan to play it at our spring band concert. This is what I love about music:  you can explore many types of music and play it in many different ways.

Chloe (7th Grade) – For the in school concert I think we did good. There were lot of kids and we made little mistakes. The only thing we can work on is dynamics which is not a big problem because when we play in the gym we need to be extra loud because the gym echos and because of  this the people can’t really hear what we are playing when we need to play soft; so it lets people be mf when we need to be mp.  Because of this, people got to play louder than usual. And for the after school concert it was really good because there were a lot of people who came to see it and the janitors neeeded to bring in a lot of extra chairs. The duets were good and I think we made at least 2 or 3 mistakes. I think coming in to the band room at 6 was good because it gave us time to warm up. I also think the concert went well because nobody played too early but some played too late and some people forgot to play when they needed to.  Otherwise than that, it was a good and successful concert that we worked very hard to make happen.

Stay tuned for more introductions and thoughts from our GT Music Students!

~ Mr. Bosse