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Marsh Grammar School

Band Handbook

2017-2018

Mr. Anthony Ohannessian, Band Director

ayohannessian@methuen.k12.ma.us

marshgrammarband.weebly.com

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Welcome to Band!

Choosing to be in band and to study music is an amazing decision. It shows that you’re

brave: Learning something new can be uncomfortable and scary. It shows that you’re a hard

worker: Studying music is so much fun, but it also takes effort! Lastly, it shows that you’re

curious. There is simply so much great music in the world. All of these characteristics are traits

of a good student and good person. I am so excited that you’re in band class and can’t wait to

teach you and to learn with you! WELCOME TO BAND.

The Marsh Grammar School Band Mission

The Methuen School District Department of Fine Arts tells us exactly why learning and

studying music and the arts is vital to our education. On their website, the department states

that “Fine Arts education is both basic and practical - it is content and process. The arts

stimulate higher order thinking and provide a variety of learning experiences for the intellectual,

emotional, social, and physical growth of all students. The arts represent skills that prepare

students for the new century. They teach critical thinking and evaluation, creative thinking,

problem solving, management and organization, collaboration, and effective

communication in ways that no other discipline can.”

What You Can Expect of Mr. Ohannessian (o-NEE-shin)

Always to share my passion and enthusiasm of music with you. Music has taught and

changed me so much that I decided to dedicate my life to music through performing in

groups and by teaching you! That’s kind of cool.

To help you. There is so much to learn in music. Count on me every day to be here to help

and to guide you in band. Never be afraid to ask questions about music.

To challenge you. In music, recognizing that we don’t know everything and can’t do things

we want to do isn’t fun. You will become frustrated in this class, but we only ever get

better by challenging ourselves and practicing things that we’re not good at. Mr.

Ohannessian has been playing trombone longer than you’ve been alive yet he still

constantly practices trombone.

My Expectations of You

Always to respect others in our classroom. We respect others by always treating others

as we would like to be treated. This includes everyone in our school and community: Mr.

Ohannessian, our other teachers at Marsh, everyone who comes to our concerts, and all

of our peers in band class as well.

To try our best. Performing and playing music is so much fun. We can have even better

experiences performing when we push ourselves to be our best. If we don’t, it simply

wouldn’t be as worthwhile to play in band.

To support each other. We’re a big team. When our friends succeed, we succeed too.

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Getting Started

Instrument Rentals

Obtaining an instrument is the responsibility of the student. Methuen Public Schools

works with K&C Music to provide instruments for students.

This year’s annual Rental Night will take place on September 8 at 6:30pm in the Tenney

Grammar School’s lower cafeteria. This event provides students and parents with the

opportunity to meet with representatives from K&C Music as well as talk with band directors. If

you cannot attend, you may visit Music and Arts at their storefront in Salem or contact Mr.

Ohannessian.

Obtaining a quality instrument is essential for a great experience in music. Please avoid

renting or purchasing brightly-colored instruments (e.g. purple flutes, pink clarinets, plastic

trombones…). Also, please avoid purchasing instruments at locations other than music stores

(e.g. Walmart, Amazon…). Brightly-colored instruments and Walmart-brand instruments are

constructed from cheap materials that do not produce good tone and routinely break. These

instruments are also a trap financially as, when they do inevitably break, many repair stores

refuse to service them as the instrument’s cheap materials make working with the plastic

and/or metal impossible. These repair shops often refer to Walmart-brand and brightly-colored

instruments as “disposable instruments.” Feel free to contact Mr. Ohannessian with questions

regarding respected brands and dealers of musical instruments.

School-Owned Instruments

Marsh Grammar School owns a small collection of instruments that students may

borrow. Mr. Ohannessian will issue these instruments due to the instrumentation necessary in

the group. Students and parents will then need to fill out an instrument loan form. Students

must provide their own mouthpieces when using Marsh woodwind and brass instruments.

Please contact Mr. Ohannessian with any questions regarding this process.

Instrument Storage

When not in band class, students are expected to store instruments at home as practice

cannot occur when instruments are left in school lockers. Exceptions may be made for students

who play large instruments. Even in these instances, however, students are expected to have

an instrument at home on which to practice.

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Daily Procedures and Routines

Set-up

o Students are expected to line-up outside of Mr. Ohannessian’s room

o Students enter Mr. Ohannessian’s room orderly and proceed to their seat in the

ensemble.

o Mr. Ohannessian sets a timer for three minutes. In this time period, students are

expected to:

Set-up instruments (percussion set-up instruments from black cabinet).

Perform necessary instrument maintenance (oil valves, swab

instruments, adjust reeds).

Look to the agenda to see what warm-ups and pieces will be rehearsed

that class period and retrieve these from their folders.

As students will warm-up as a class, students should not play during this

time.

o When the timer sounds, all eyes and ears turn to Mr. Ohannessian. Mr.

Ohannessian will then check each student’s preparedness for rehearsal.

Students are expected to hold up their pencils for Mr. Ohannessian to

check.

Mr. Ohannessian should not see students retrieving materials from their

folder in the middle of class as it should already be on the stand.

Three occurrences of unpreparedness as listed above will result in a

phone call home.

Warm-Up

o Potential warm-ups can include breathing exercises, scales, warm-up sheets

(Yamaha, Five Minutes a Day), chorales (blue books)

Rehearsal

o Rehearsal will focus on excerpts of band music or book music that Mr.

Ohannessian has written on the white board under the agenda.

o Mr. Ohannessian will also write the focus of the next rehearsal on the white

board under “For next time.” Students are expected to copy this assignment for

their at-home practice.

Written Work

o Students in lessons on D,E, and F days will complete a listening reflection on a

piece of music of Mr. Ohannessian’s choosing during the last ten to fifteen

minutes of class.

o Students will complete playing assignments in the last lesson class of each

month.

Dismissal

o Mr. Ohannessian will give students at least three minutes to pack up and

proceed to their next class.

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Bandroom Rules

Often, band rehearsal is the largest class students have. During full rehearsals, there will

be as many as sixty students in the bandroom at a single time. Therefore, in this environment

our rules and procedures will ensure:

Safety

o Students are not to speak when Mr. Ohannessian speaks as often Mr. O has to

communicate important information to the many students in his classroom.

o Students are expected to raise their hand if they wish to leave their seat.

Respect

o Students are expected to respect the space of their peers and of Mr.

Ohannessian:

Students should not touch others’ instruments without their permission.

Students should not enter Mr. Ohannessian’s music library or office

without Mr. Ohannessian’s permission.

o The bands of Marsh Grammar School are TEAMS. Students are expected to

support their fellow “teammates” and treat them with respect:

Students are expected to listen to each other when their peers speak or

play.

Mr. Ohannessian has zero tolerance for students who try to put down,

bully, or demean their peers.

Responsibility

o Students are expected to attend rehearsals and lessons on time and with the

required materials

o Occasionally, Mr. Ohannessian will have to work with specific instruments in

rehearsals. During these times, he will assign independent work to other

sections. Students are expected to work independently until Mr. O says “Hey

Band!”

Discipline Policy

Behavior issues will be addressed with the following series of consequences. Steps,

however, may be skipped depending on the severity of the behavior.

First Offence: Verbal Warning

Second Offense: Name written on board/ conference with Mr. Ohannessian outside of

class.

Third Offense: Phone call home and/or detention

Fourth Offense: Detention and/or office referral

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Marsh STAR Cards

Students in the Marsh Grammar School Band program are expected to be leaders

throughout the school. A good musician is

respectful to their equipment, the equipment of

others, and to fellow performers. All students in

the band program are thus expected to exhibit

these traits. Marsh STAR cards may be awarded

for:

Listening to others when playing

Listening to others when speaking

Helping others with their music

Being prepared for band rehearsal

Taking care of the room and equipment

Acting in a way that shows kindness, safety, and respect to others in the room

Home Practice

Playing an instrument is exceptionally similar to exercising or playing sports. An

athlete trains to strengthen muscles and acquire muscle memory. A musician practices for the

exact same reasons. The muscles they strengthen, however, are less visible.

Practicing is a part of your homework for band class and students should treat it with

equal importance to the homework for our other classes.

Mr. Ohannessian expects at least twenty minutes of practice, five days a week.

o THOUGH MR. OHANNESSIAN DOES NOT REQUIRE PRACTICE CHARTS FOR 6TH

THROUGH 8TH GRADES, HE STILL EXPECTS STUDENTS TO PRACTICE AT LEAST

FOR 20 MINUTES, FIVE TIMES A WEEK. A lack of practice will naturally result in

lower scores for playing assignments, especially through technique.

Practice is great for reviewing things learned in lessons and rehearsals. Break down

tricky parts down practice them in smaller bits.

Practicing for twenty minutes every day is far better than for two hours for one day.

Students are welcome to practice in Mr. Ohannessian’s band room before or after

school when Mr. Ohannessian is present. This includes students in Ranger Club.

If students do not practice outside of school, they will not improve. Mr. Ohannessian will go to

the ends of the Earth to assist students but he cannot give them muscle memory, muscle

development, and muscle strength. Only at-home practice can do this.

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Playing Assignments

Students in fifth grade will use the band karate program in correlation with Essential

Elements Book 1. Band Karate allows students to receive ‘belts’ (white belt, orange belt….) for

the successful performance of selections from the book. Students may earn belts the last class

of each month. The requirements for each belt can again be found attached to the back of this

handbook.

Students in sixth through eighth grades will have one playing assignment each month.

Playing assessments will be conducted on the last class period of each month. Mr. Ohannessian

will assign an excerpt no more than 16 measures in length to be prepared by the student. Mr.

Ohannessian will set a recorder in one of his practice rooms. Students will enter the practice

room one at a time and record their playing assignment. Mr. Ohannessian reserves the right to

have students play for him in class. Students may retake any assessment after one week and

scheduled during their own time.

A rubric regarding the grading of playing assessments is attached to the end of this handbook.

Dates of playing assignments:

A/D Lessons B/E Lessons C/F Days

9/26 9/27 9/28

10/31 10/27 10/30

11/30 11/28 11/29

Carols in the Classroom Carols in the Classroom Carols in the Classroom

1/30 1/31 1/29

2/27 2/28 2/26

3/28 3/29 3/27

4/26 4/27 4/30

5/29 5/30 5/31

Private Lessons

If interested in private lessons, please contact Mr. Ohannessian for recommendations of

educators in the area who are available to teach private lessons. Mr. Ohannessian may also

recommend students to study privately who are progressing quickly on their instrument.

Lessons with Mr. Ohannessian

Mr. Ohannessian arrives at school before 7:30 and seldom leaves before 4:00. As such,

he most happily gives private lessons after school to students. Mr. Ohannessian, however,

reserves the right to refuse giving his own personal time away through private lessons until a

student meets Mr. Ohannessian halfway in effort (ie bringing their instrument home daily,

coming to rehearsals prepared.)

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Required Materials

Instrument

Every rehearsal

Essential Elements Book 1

Music

Band music, warm-up sheets, method book (Essential Elements)

Other

Pencil, Cork grease (woodwinds), extra reeds (woodwinds), valve oil (valve brass), slide

cream (trombones)

Recommended

Tuner, metronome, hand-held mirror

Consequences for Unpreparedness

Forgetting Instrument

o Student will complete the “Rehearsal Detective Worksheet.” If the student

completes this assignment with thought, partial credit will be given for the work

of the student.

o As stated in procedures, three occurrences of unpreparedness for class will

result in a phone call home.

Forgetting Music

o Students must have their own music for each class. Mr. Ohannessian will keep

copies of extra music in his cabinet by the door. If a student, forgets their music,

they must first sign out a copy and return it at the end of rehearsal.

o Mr. Ohannessian will contact parents if a student forgets their music three times.

o Mr. Ohannessian will place all music left in his room in a lost music folder next to

his cabinet.

Reeds

Students studying woodwind instruments (i.e. saxophone, oboe, clarinet) are expected

to have reeds for their instruments. Reeds can be purchased at virtually any music store in the

area. Mr. Ohannessian will have the occasional reed for emergency purposes for two dollars

each. Please note that students—especially beginners—should not be playing on the same reed

for more than a few weeks.

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Grading Scale

Band is a class. All students scheduled in band class will receive a letter grade just as

they do for any other subject. Students will receive a grade based on performance assessments,

ensemble participation, at-home practice, and concert attendance. The complete breakdown of

grading is as follows:

40% Daily Rehearsal Materials and Ensemble Skills

Assessment in band class of students’ ability to play in a full ensemble and their ability

to master daily objectives. Students will be evaluated on preparedness for rehearsals as

well as their progress on their respective instruments.

30% Playing Assignments

Assessment of formal playing tests on scales, assigned exercises, or assigned measures

in a piece. After one week of the assessment, students may retake tests if they wish.

Students however are responsible for setting up a time (i.e. before school, during

lunch…) during which to retake tests.

20% Concert Attendance and Performance

Assessment of student’s ability to perform in a formal concert setting.

10% Written Assessments

Assessment of the completion weekly listening assignments and written music theory

exercises done in class.

Concert Attendance

Band at Marsh Grammar school is a performing ensemble. Thus, concert attendance for

the fall concert, spring concert, and Methuen Band Jamboree are mandatory. Only family

emergencies and illnesses, documented in writing, may excuse a student from attendance at a

concert. An unexcused absence from a concert will result in a zero grade for the concert. Other

performances may include the Methuen Santa Parade and Eighth Grade Commencement.

Please do not schedule doctors’ appointments, vacations, or other events on concert days.

Musicians learn just as much from listening to music as playing music. Thus, when band

shares concerts with chorus, students are required to support their friends in chorus through

their attendance during the chorus’ performance.

Concert Attire

Concert attire for school concerts consists of

Marsh Grammar School Band T-Shirt (expect order forms in September)

Black pants (no jeans) or long black skirt

Black dress shoes

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Concert Dates

Dates for upcoming performances have yet to be determined. Mr. Ohannessian will

send a newsletter home via students as soon as the dates have been finalized. Also keep an eye

on Marsh Grammar School’s monthly calendar for information regarding all of Marsh Grammar

School’s music and fine arts events.

Repairs

Mr. Ohannessian can repair many minor issues with instruments. If a student has an

issue with an instrument, they must contact Mr. Ohannessian before rehearsal begins. Please

ask before attempting any repairs or taking your instrument to the repair shop. If taking an

instrument to a repair shop, please ask for an estimate regarding the length a repair will take

and send a note to Mr. Ohannessian regarding the length of time the student will be without an

instrument. Mr. Ohannessian provide students’ with recommended instrumental repair shops

in the area. Please do not attempt repairs yourself. Mr. Ohannessian has specialized tools and

will happily use them in the repair of instruments.

Marsh Grammar School Band Website

marshgrammarband.weebly.com

The Marsh Grammar School band website provides a valuable resource for students and

family members. Students and family members can find a full calendar of events as well as

electronic copies of all handouts given by Mr. Ohannessian in class. Mr. Ohannessian will also

occasionally post rehearsal recordings online for reflection by students.

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Band Karate (5th Grade Only)

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS BOOK 1______________________________ (name) Levels will be assigned approximately every four to six weeks. At least one line from each level will be assigned as an “in class” performance test. We will take time at the end of class one day each week for this. The rest will be played during their lesson. Students may work ahead. Level will be completed when each part has been passed with at least a 90%. WHITE BELT Date Assigned: _________________ Basic information about your instrument, First 5 notes, Good Tone ____Submit “The Basics” worksheet giving information about your instrument found on pages 1 3 of your book. ____Successfully perform lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 at a tempo of 60bpm. YELLOW BELT Date Assigned: _________________ Quarter Note, Half Note, Whole Note Rhythms, Breath Marks, Duet @ 72 bpm. ____Page 5, Line 13 ____Page 6, Line 18 ____Page 7, Line 22A ____Page 7, Line 25 ORANGE BELT Date Assigned: _________________ Dynamics, Pick Up Notes, Fermata, New Note @ 80 bpm ____Page 8, Line 29____Page 9, Line 35 ____Page 9, Line 36 ____Page 9, Line 39 ____Page 42, Measures 1-12

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PURPLE BELT Date Assigned: _________________ Eighth Notes, Tempo Markings @ 80bpm ____Page 10, Line 45 ____Page 11, Line 48 ____Page 11, Line 51 ____Page 12, Line 53A ____Page 42, Measures 13-28 BLUE BELT Date Assigned: _________________ Ties, Dotted Half Notes, Accents @ 80bpm ____Page 14, Line 62 ____Page 14, Line 65 ____Page 15, Line 67 ____Page 15, Line 71 ____Page 42, Measures 25-36 GREEN BELT Date Assigned: _________________ First and Second Endings, Accidentals @ 80bpm ____Page 16, Line 74 ____Page 16, Line 76 ____Page 18, Line 90 ____Page 21, Line 106 FUCHSIA BELT Date Assigned: _________________ Dotted Quarter Notes, Scales, Arpeggios @ 80bpm ____Page 22, Line 117 ____Page 25, Line 129 ____Page 28, Line 149 ____Page 43, Measures 37 52 BLACK BELT Date Assigned: _________________ Meter Changes, Chromatic Scale, Eighth Note Rhythms @ 80bpm ____Page 31, Line 164 ____Page 32, Line 168 ____Page 33, Line 174 ____Page 35, Line 181 ____Page 43, Measures 53 72

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Marsh Grammar School

Playing Assignment Rubric

Name:________________________________ Date:___________

Instrument:____________________________

Students are responsible for performing a musical selection at their last lesson of each month.

Mr. Ohannessian will assign these passages at the beginning of each month. Students will

record their assignment in class and will be assessed on their pitch, rhythm, tempo,

articulations, and timbre.

Assignment:_______________________ Total:__________

Points Earned 20 15 10 5

Reading Pitch Reads and performs

ALL pitches

accurately

Reads and performs

MOST pitches

accurately

Reads and performs

SOME pitches

accurately

Reads and performs

FEW pitches

accurately

Reading Rhythm Reads and performs

ALL rhythms

accurately

Reads and performs

MOST rhythms

accurately

Reads and performs

SOME rhythms

accurately

Reads and performs

FEW rhythms

accurately

Tempo Maintains steady tempo

throughout

The tempo varies slightly throughout

The steady tempo is

inconsistent

The steady tempo is not

present

Articulations Tongues ALL

rhythms correctly

Tongues MOST

rhythms correctly

Tongues SOME

rhythms correctly

Tongues FEW

rhythms correctly

Timbre Tone full and appropriate for

grade

Tone mostly full and appropriate

for grade

Tone occasionally full and appropriate

for grade

Tone not full and appropriate

for grade

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MARSH GRAMMAR SCHOOL BAND

STUDENT/PARENT SIGNED STATEMENT AND

CONTACT INFORMATION

This statement indicates that both the student and the parent have received this Band Handbook, have read it, and will keep it to refer to during the school year. This signed statement needs to be returned to Mr. Ohannessian the next A,B, or C day lesson. SIGNED STATEMENT I have read the information provided in the Marsh Grammar School Band Handbook and understand the requirements for membership in band. Student name (please print)_____________________________________________ Student signature____________________________________Date____________ Parent/Guardian name (please print)______________________________________ Parent/Guardian signature_____________________________Date____________ Student Instrument Serial Number________________________________________ PARENT/GUARDIAN CONTACT INFORMATION Address___________________________________________________________ City___________________________________ Zip Code___________________ Phone # (H)_________________(W)__________________(C)_______________ Parent email (for band information)_____________________________________ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________