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During the first few weeks of the school year, band instructors will be meeting with and trying out instruments with all fifth graders. Our goal is to help students choose a musical instrument that they want to play and will be successful playing if they decide to join band. We are also working to achieve a balance of instrumentation for the band. All students will participate in a 2-4 step recruitment process.
Step 1 - Band Introduction
Students will attend a band introduction session with their class at the beginning of the recruitment process. Students will learn about:
What students experience in band
The band schedule
5th grade band expectations
What instruments are available to play in band
What each instrument sounds like
Ideal 5th grade band instrumentation
The recruitment process
At the end of the introduction session, students will mark their top 3 instrument choices that they are interested in playing if they join 5th grade band.
Step 2 - Instrument Testing Round 1
All students will meet with the band teacher in groups of 4-5 to try the flute, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone. During this time:The teacher and each student review his/her top 3 instrument choices from the band introduction
The teacher shows the students how to produce a sound on each instrument
Each student is given the opportunity to try each instrument
Each student is given a score of excellent, good, fair, or not recommended for each instrument based on the type of sound produced
When all students are finished, the teacher discusses the scores with each student
Students are asked to give their top choice from the 4 instruments they just tried
At the end of this time, students who marked saxophone, horn, euphonium, tuba, and/or percussion in their top 3 choices will sign up to come back and try those instruments at a later time. The recruitment process is now complete for those students who did not mark an additional instrument in their top 3 choices. We would like to have a balance of flutes, clarinets, trumpets, and trombones in the 5th grade band, but the number of students who are able to choose these instruments is not limited.
Step 3 - Instrument Testing Round 2 (for students signed up to try saxophone, horn, euphonium, and/or tuba)
Students who signed up to try saxophone, horn, euphonium, and/or tuba during the first round of testing will meet with the band teacher to have the opportunity to try the additional instrument(s) from their top 3 choices. The same process is used for these instruments as with the instruments in round 1.Because of the need for a balanced sound, we are limited to having 6-10 saxophones in our band at each school. The opportunity to choose the saxophone will be given to students who get the best sound when trying the instrument. We have had up to 40 students at each school interested in the saxophone in past years, so students who are interested in the saxophone must be prepared with a second choice if they are not selected for the saxophone. Students who play the horn, euphonium, or tuba in 5th grade band rent their instrument from the school because of the overall high cost to purchase or lease these instruments. Therefore the number of students who are able to play these instruments is limited to the number of instruments that the school owns. We generally have enough instruments for 2-3 students to play horn, euphonium, and tuba at each school. The students selected for these instruments will be based on interest and sound quality when testing.
Step 4 - Percussion Audition (for students signed up for an audition)
Students who are interested in percussion will sign up for a percussion audition. The audition will consist of a prepared keyboard instrument exercise, sight-reading on the xylophone and snare drum (playing music the student has never seen before), and a series of rhythm exercises that test steady beat, rhythmic aptitude, and body coordination. Students interested in percussion will be given materials for the keyboard instrument exercise ahead of the audition and will be given time to prepare the exercise at home. While not required, we strongly recommend at least two years of continuous piano lessons to prepare students for this audition. We have seen over time that students who have had at least two years of piano instruction have a higher development in the key skills needed by percussionists. Students with these skills will typically perform better on the percussion audition than students who have not had piano lessons. Students are NOT guaranteed percussion if they take piano lessons. Generally 2-6 percussionists will be selected at each school based on audition scores.
The recruitment process is an exciting time for students and band teachers. A significant amount of time is spent helping students find an instrument that they want to play and will be successful playing should they choose to join 5th grade band. Some students begin the recruitment process with a lot of musical exposure and know exactly what they are interested in playing while others may have only just learned about band instruments in music class. No matter where students and parents are on this spectrum, it is important that they begin the recruitment process with some flexibility in mind. While students are given some freedom to choose the instrument they want to play, all 4th grade students and parents are asked to respect the recruitment process and band teacher decisions. No matter what instrument a student chooses to play, an exciting musical and learning experience awaits those who choose to join 5th grade band.
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