WHAT INSTRUMENT SHOULD I PLAY?Written by Jennifer Hubbard

One day in fifth grade, a little girl named Sarah

decided that she wanted to join the

school band.

She was interested in all of the different

instruments, but didn’t know

which one she wanted to play.

At school one day, she was walking past the band practicing. She decided to poke her

head inside the classroom and see what was going on.

Right as she walked in, the

teacher said, “Hello little girl, would you

like to join the band?” “Oh boy,

would I?” she exclaimed. “I don’t

know where to begin. I don’t know what instrument I

should play.”

Upon hearing what Sarah had said, he decided to help her choose what instrument to play. “Boys and girls in the band, why don’t you stand up and tell us something about your instrument and why

you chose it?”

The first child to stand up was Bobby. He played the

tuba. “My favorite thing about the tuba is that it is big and it has a very low sound. It has four valves and is part of the brass

section.”

Suzy was the next to stand up. “I play the alto saxophone. There is also

the tenor and baritone sax, but the alto sax is the

highest sounding out of the three. They are all part of the woodwind section. The tenor sax is in the

middle of the sounds, and the baritone is the biggest

saxophone and sounds the lowest.”

“Wow, so far it sounds like the bigger the instrument, the lower the sound and the smaller the instrument, the higher

the sound” said Sarah.

“Yes,” said the teacher, “You are very

observant.” Angelica, who played the flute and

the piccolo exclaimed with excitement, “I play the highest sounding

instrument in the band. It is part of the

woodwind section.”

“Most woodwind instruments use a reed, like the clarinet,

the saxophones, and the oboe. However, my

instrument does not,” said Angelica.

“The piccolo is small enough to fit inside your pocket, but the flute is only small enough to fit inside of your backpack.”

“I want to play something that is really loud and strong and triumphant” said Sarah. “I know,” said the teacher. “Why

don’t you play the trumpet?”

Just then, David stood up with his trumpet proudly and said, “You should definitely play the trumpet. It only has

three valves that change the sound, lots of tubes and it is light enough to carry. It can be heard from miles away. It is part of the brass section, like the tuba and the trombone.”

“What is the trombone?” Sarah asked. “Well, said the teacher, it doesn’t have any valves at all. Guess how you play it? You use a slide and memorize where to place the slide for each note. “Oh my, I think that is what I want to play. That sounds like the most unique instrument that I

have ever heard of.”

Jack jumped out of his seat and said, “You should

definitely play the French horn, it looks really cool! It has a velvety tone that can

be heard over other instruments without

overpowering them. To make a sound on the

French horn, you have to buzz your lips into the

cone-shaped mouthpiece.”

Right after Jack finished talking, Sandra stood up and said, “You should play the clarinet! It’s a woodwind and

you use a reed and is softer sounding than most instruments. There is also a bass clarinet that is soft and hard to hear. You use a reed too and you have to blow the air in a really unique way. The clarinet is very light, but the bass clarinet is a little bit heavier and longer.”

The teacher then said, “Sarah, do you think you have a favorite instrument or something that

interests you?” Sarah said, “I think I like the French horn because it looks cool and the trombone because it seems as if it’s the most unique.”

“Those are great reasons Sarah! I can’t wait to see which one you end up playing in band!”

The teacher said, “If you end up not liking either of those, don’t forget there’s always plenty of other instruments to choose from! You will definitely find something you love soon!” Sarah graciously said, “Thanks for informing me

about everything and don’t forget to thank your students for sharing something about their instrument!”