6th Grade Band

For information regarding Band Room Procedures, Practice Expectations, Concert Dress/Attire, Concert Etiquette, and Attendance, please refer to the AMS Band Student Guide. 

Students enrolled in 6th grade band are assigned to attend large group rehearsals on A days or B days.  Each group rehearses every other day with Mr. Tipping during 3rd period.

Each 6th grade band student is assigned to a lesson group that meets once every six school days during 6th period WIN.  Lesson attendance is required for all band students. Lesson groups are divided by instrument and may be taught by Mr. Tallman, Mr. Tipping, or Mr. Thompson. 

Attendance and full participation in small group lessons accounts for a large percentage of each band student’s grading percentage. Additionally, students are rewarded and recognized for 90% lesson attendance in each quarter. The procedures for lesson attendance and grading are as follows: 

• 3 points (full credit) for attendance and full participation

• 2 points possible for being present with No Instrument, eligible for full credit by submitting a makeup recording

• 0 points for an excused absence (“absent excused” from school), eligible for full credit by submitting a makeup recording - an "M" for missing will be entered on Infinite Campus

• 0 points for an unexcused absence, eligible to receive up to 1 point by submitting a makeup recording - an "M" for missing will be entered on Infinite Campus

To complete a lesson makeup assignment, a student has two options:

• For those with access to a recording device at home, record two lines of their current lesson book assignment and email the link to Mr. Tipping. Recordings may be in either video or audio format. Video is preferred as more complete feedback can be provided to the student.

• For those without a recording device at home, submit a signed note from a parent attesting to their student practicing a minimum of 30 minutes to make up for their missed lesson time.

The 6th grade bands give three public performances during the school year:

• Fall concert in December.  This concert is shared with the 6th grade chorus and orchestra.

• Ensemble Festival in March.  Each lesson group performs a selection before a small audience and a judge.

• Spring concert in May.  This concert is shared with the 7th and 8th grade concert bands.

*Please click the Calendar link in the top menu for current year performance dates. 

All brass and woodwind players are required to have their own instrument. Options include purchasing your own or renting through a music store.

If your student has their own instrument, make sure you have record of the brand, model, and serial number. We strongly encourage you to have a nametag on the instrument case. With nearly 400 students in the AMS Bands, there are a lot of instruments in our room each day.

In some cases, students may rent a school-owned instrument. Large and/or expensive instruments including French horn, baritone, tuba, oboe, bassoon, bass clarinet, tenor sax, and bari sax are typically rented through the school. *A limited number of smaller instruments are available for rental from the school. 

Percussionists need to supply their own drum sticks. All other percussion equipment is provided by AMS. A small percussion rental fee is collected each year.

Each student is expected to bring their own supplies, which may include reeds, valve oil, and cleaning brushes or swabs.

For more information on instruments and supplies, click here.

6th grade band students will continue to work from Tradition of Excellence Book 1.  Students who used Tradition of Excellence Book 1 (and for percussionists, The Performing Percussionist) in 5th grade band should retain their copy for use in 6th grade. We will provide copies for students who do not have the required book(s). 

As a class, 6th grade band is graded on a Pass/Fail basis. To earn a passing grade, each student must achieve a minimum score of 60% in the following: 

1. Preparation of assigned material

2. Participation in rehearsals and lessons

3. Performance in 6th grade band concerts and Ensemble Festival

Grade updates will be posted regularly on Infinite Campus. As always, please contact Mr. Tipping with any questions you might have!

Conner Tipping is in his sixth year of teaching in the Ames Community School District and his fourteenth year as a music educator. He currently teaches sixth-grade band at Ames Middle School, assists with the seventh- and eighth-grade bands, directs the ninth-grade concert band at Ames High School, and supports the high school marching band and other aspects of the band program. In addition, he provides individual and small-group instruction for students in grades 6-12.

Before teaching in Ames, Mr. Tipping served as Director of Bands at Benton Community High School in Van Horne, Iowa, where he led all aspects of the band program, including concert, marching, and jazz ensembles, as well as individual instruction. From 2016 to 2019, he was at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. He spent his first two years as a graduate assistant with the UCM Bands while earning a master's degree in Instrumental Conducting, followed by a year as Interim Assistant Director of Bands. In that role, he conducted the Symphonic Band, co-directed the Marching Mules and wrote drill for the ensemble, taught courses in band administration, marching band techniques, and conducting, supervised student teachers, and coordinated the Festival of Champions marching band competition.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Tipping taught at Carlisle High School and at Newman Catholic School (Mason City, Iowa). Throughout his career, his ensembles have consistently earned Superior ratings at state festivals and achieved top placements at concert, marching, and jazz competitions. In 2015, the Newman Catholic High School Concert Band was selected to perform at the Iowa Bandmasters Association Conference. His students have been selected for the Iowa All-State Band and the All-Iowa Eighth Grade Honor Band, and he has been recognized with an Iowa Governor's Scholar Favorite Teacher Award.

A native of Des Moines, Mr. Tipping earned a Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Music Education from Iowa State University. He is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Iowa Bandmasters Association (where he previously served as Research and Development Committee Chair), the South Central Iowa Bandmasters Association, the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education, the National Band Association, the Ames Education Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Beta Kappa. He has presented at a number of professional conferences, including the Iowa Bandmasters Association Convention and the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education First- and Second-Year Teachers Symposium. He also serves regularly as an adjudicator for the Iowa High School Music Association and other regional festivals, and is a frequent guest clinician for honor bands and school music programs throughout Iowa.