Band FAQ’s - Approaching Beginning Band Students as...

4
Band FAQ’s I want to do band, but don’t think I’d be very good at it... NONSENSE!! Everybody is capable of learning how to play an instrument. I make learning how to read notes and play an instrument easy and fun. I think band will be too much work; I’ve got a lot going on and want to keep up with my schoolwork. Band is work, don’t get me wrong. You do have to put in a certain amount of effort. However, many students in band are involved with many other activities (dance, sports, boy scouts, girl scouts, etc.) and are excellent students. In fact, there are many studies showing that students who play an instrument score higher on tests like MCAS and SAT’s. So how much work is involved? When your in band, you will start out by having one lesson on your instrument per week that lasts 50 minutes. You’ll be in a class with other fifth graders who are just starting out on their instrument like you. I’ll ask that you play regularly at home (about 4 - 5 times per week for about 15 minutes a day). If you can keep up with that, you’ll be playing like a pro in no time! Do I ever have to stay after school for band? You never HAVE to, but many students still choose to. All lessons and band will take place during the school day. I am available for after-school help whenever you need it. Does it cost any money to play in band? Lessons and band do not cost anything. It does, however, cost money to rent an instrument. I recommend renting from Rick’s Musical Instruments. They provide great customer service, low prices, and perform exceptional work. Have someone at home call Rick’s Music at (401) 658-3404 for more detailed information. You may also use your own instrument if someone in the family has one. If it hasn’t been used in a while, you will need to have it cleaned up and fixed a little, and will probably have to buy some accessories that come with rented instruments. In either case, you will need a lesson book that costs about $10. There is also a limited quantity of school-owned instruments you can use at little-to-no charge. What instrument do I get to play? When signing up, you will get to pick your first choice and second choice instruments. Most students are able to play their first choice instrument. Sometimes I might ask for you to take your second choice in case there are too many students for one instrument. For instance, the band cannot have 30 drummers and only 2 clarinet players. I’m not sure if my family can afford to rent an instrument. Can I still play in band? Absolutely! I want every student in fifth grade who wants to play in Band. If you need an instrument, talk to me. The school owns some instruments that can be loaned out at no charge. Preference will be given to students on free or reduced-cost lunch. www.BellinghamMusic.org/join

Transcript of Band FAQ’s - Approaching Beginning Band Students as...

Band FAQ’s !!

I want to do band, but don’t think I’d be very good at it...

NONSENSE!! Everybody is capable of learning how to play an instrument. I make learning how to read notes and play an instrument easy and fun. !I think band will be too much work; I’ve got a lot going on and want to keep up with my schoolwork.

Band is work, don’t get me wrong. You do have to put in a certain amount of effort. However, many students in band are involved with many other activities (dance, sports, boy scouts, girl scouts, etc.) and are excellent students. In fact, there are many studies showing that students who play an instrument score higher on tests like MCAS and SAT’s. !So how much work is involved?

When your in band, you will start out by having one lesson on your instrument per week that lasts 50 minutes. You’ll be in a class with other fifth graders who are just starting out on their instrument like you. I’ll ask that you play regularly at home (about 4 - 5 times per week for about 15 minutes a day). If you can keep up with that, you’ll be playing like a pro in no time! !Do I ever have to stay after school for band?

You never HAVE to, but many students still choose to. All lessons and band will take place during the school day. I am available for after-school help whenever you need it. !Does it cost any money to play in band?

Lessons and band do not cost anything. It does, however, cost money to rent an instrument. I recommend renting from Rick’s Musical Instruments. They provide great customer service, low prices, and perform exceptional work. Have someone at home call Rick’s Music at (401) 658-3404 for more detailed information. You may also use your own instrument if someone in the family has one. If it hasn’t been used in a while, you will need to have it cleaned up and fixed a little, and will probably have to buy some accessories that come with rented instruments. In either case, you will need a lesson book that costs about $10. There is also a limited quantity of school-owned instruments you can use at little-to-no charge. !What instrument do I get to play?

When signing up, you will get to pick your first choice and second choice instruments. Most students are able to play their first choice instrument. Sometimes I might ask for you to take your second choice in case there are too many students for one instrument. For instance, the band cannot have 30 drummers and only 2 clarinet players. !I’m not sure if my family can afford to rent an instrument. Can I still play in band?

Absolutely! I want every student in fifth grade who wants to play in Band. If you need an instrument, talk to me. The school owns some instruments that can be loaned out at no charge. Preference will be given to students on free or reduced-cost lunch.

www.BellinghamMusic.org/join

FLU

TE

! Th

e flu

te is

the

only

woo

dwind

inst

rum

ent

in ou

r ban

d th

at d

oesn

’t us

e a

reed

. The

flute

’s so

und

com

es fr

om b

low

ing

air a

cros

s an

ope

n ho

le. F

lutes

ar

e us

ed in

a w

ide

varie

ty o

f sty

les

of m

usic.

The

y’re

ver

y im

porta

nt in

th

e sy

mph

ony

orch

estra

and

clas

sical

cham

ber m

usic,

but

they

’re a

lso u

sed

in jaz

z, L

atin,

and

wor

ld m

usic.

      ! ! !

! CLA

RIN

ET

!

The

clarin

et is

a s

ingle

reed

w

oodw

ind in

stru

men

t. Th

e ty

pe o

f cla

rinet

we

use

is a

B-fla

t clar

inet,

but

ther

e ar

e m

any

type

s of

clar

inets

in u

se

toda

y. Un

like

the

flute

and

the

saxo

phon

e,

whic

h ar

e m

ade

of m

etal

and

have

clo

sed

tone

ho

les, c

larine

ts a

re g

ener

ally

mad

e of

plas

tic o

r w

ood,

and

hav

e op

en to

ne h

oles

that

the

play

er

mus

t cov

er w

ith h

is or

her

finge

rs. C

larine

ts a

re u

sed

in m

any

diffe

rent

sty

les o

f mus

ic, a

nd c

an p

lay a

larg

e ra

nge

of n

otes

.

SA

XO

PH

ON

E

! The

alto

saxo

phon

e is

a sin

gle

reed

woo

dwind

ins

trum

ent i

nven

ted

in th

e 18

00s

by B

elgian

ins

trum

ent d

esig

ner A

dolp

he S

ax. O

ther

com

mon

sa

xoph

ones

inclu

de th

e so

pran

o, te

nor,

and

barit

one.

The

sax

opho

ne is

a v

ersa

tile

instru

men

t, us

ed w

idely

in ja

zz, L

atin,

sou

l, Br

oadw

ay, a

nd w

ind b

and

mus

ic. M

ost

begi

nning

sax

opho

nists

sta

rt ou

t on

the

alto

sax.

Sinc

e th

e fin

gerin

gs o

n all

sax

opho

nes

are

the

sam

e, s

tude

nts

can

easil

y br

anch

out

to

play

ing o

ther

mem

bers

of t

he s

axop

hone

fam

ily

durin

g th

e co

urse

of t

heir

mus

ical c

aree

rs.

!! ! ! ! T

RU

MP

ET

! W

ith it

s br

ight

to

ne, t

he

trum

pet i

s an

im

porta

nt p

art o

f m

any

style

s of

mus

ic,

includ

ing c

lassic

al, ja

zz, b

lues,

so

ul, fu

nk, s

alsa,

and

mar

iachi.

W

hile

trum

pets

are

kno

wn

for t

heir

abilit

y to

play

loud

, brill

iant

note

s (lik

e bu

gle

calls

), th

ey c

an a

lso p

lay s

oft,

pret

ty m

elodi

es.

Som

e st

uden

ts w

ill be

gin

on T

rum

pet a

nd m

igra

te to

oth

er b

rass

ins

trum

ents

like

the

Fren

ch H

orn,

Eup

honiu

m, a

nd T

uba.

TR

OM

BO

NE

!

! The

trom

bone

is o

ne

of th

e ol

dest

inst

rum

ents

in

use

toda

y, an

d ha

s ch

ange

d ve

ry lit

tle s

ince

its

inven

tion

in th

e 14

00s.

Tr

ombo

nes

are

mem

bers

of t

he

bras

s fa

mily

, and

unli

ke o

ther

ban

d ins

trum

ents

, tro

mbo

nes

are

oper

ated

usin

g a

slide

. In

addi

tion

to h

aving

a lo

ng h

istor

y, tro

mbo

nes

are

also

very

ver

satile

inst

rum

ents

. Tr

ombo

nes

are

impo

rtant

in s

ymph

ony

orch

estra

s,

wind

ban

ds, a

nd in

a n

umbe

r of s

tyles

inclu

ding

sa

lsa, j

azz,

Bro

adw

ay, s

ka, s

oul,

and

sacr

ed m

usic.

Tr

ombo

nes

can

also

rang

e in

tone

from

sof

t and

an

gelic

to d

ark

and

scar

y. ! ! ! B

AR

ITO

NE

/EU

PH

ON

IUM

! Th

e eu

phon

ium (y

ou-P

HONE

-kne

e-yu

m) is

som

etim

es

know

n as

the

barit

one.

It is

a m

embe

r of t

he

bras

s fa

mily

and

look

s lik

e a

small

ver

sion

of

a tu

ba. I

ts s

ound

is s

imila

r to

that

of a

tro

mbo

ne, b

ut it

use

s va

lves

like

a tru

mpe

t ins

tead

of a

slid

e (lik

e a

trom

bone

). So

me

stud

ents

who

be

gin

on e

upho

nium

will

mov

e “d

own”

to a

tuba

in la

ter y

ears

, w

hile

othe

rs w

ill st

ay o

n eu

phon

ium.

PE

RC

US

SIO

N

! Perc

ussio

nists

are

uniq

ue m

embe

rs o

f the

ban

d fo

r sev

eral

reas

ons.

Firs

t of a

ll, pe

rcus

sion

instru

men

ts a

re th

e on

ly ins

trum

ents

in th

e ba

nd th

at y

ou h

it. A

lso, p

ercu

ssio

nists

lear

n m

ore

instru

men

ts th

an a

nyon

e els

e in

the

band

. Whil

e yo

ur

frien

ds w

ill co

ncen

trate

on

learn

ing o

nly o

ne in

stru

men

t, yo

u’ll

be re

spon

sible

for u

nder

stan

ding

sev

eral

instru

men

ts b

efor

e th

e ye

ar is

ove

r. Pe

rcus

sion

is on

e of

the

olde

st fa

milie

s of in

stru

men

ts, d

ating

bac

k to

pre

histo

ric ti

mes

. ! Pe

rcus

sion

is als

o on

e of

the

mos

t dive

rse

instru

men

t fam

ilies,

inc

luding

hun

dred

s of

inst

rum

ents

use

d in

a w

ide

varie

ty o

f cu

lture

s an

d m

usica

l sty

les. E

vent

ually

, stu

dent

s w

ill br

anch

ou

t to

even

mor

e ins

trum

ents

like

cym

bals,

bas

s dr

um,

trian

gle,

han

d dr

ums,

xylo

phon

e, a

nd d

rum

set

. This

beg

ins b

y lea

rning

how

to p

lay o

n th

e be

lls a

nd p

ract

ice p

ad, a

s pi

ctur

ed

here

.