Band News

News from the RGS Music Dept. about next year’s Fifth Grade Band:

Dear Parents of RGS Fourth Graders,

As you are aware, this year’s fourth graders will become next year’s Fifth Grade Band. It’s a very exciting time and I want to describe to you the instrument selection process that will begin at the end of May for your children.

We have a Concert Band program here at Riverdale and the instrumentation is similar to what you would see and hear in a typical marching band. There are parts for wind, brass and percussion instruments. There are no parts for strings, piano or guitar.

What makes this exciting is that all of your children will have the opportunity to learn a band instrument, so any special needs your child may have would need to be brought to my attention as soon as possible. Please note that all RGS students are required to play in Band for their entire fifth and sixth grade years. When they become seventh and eighth graders, Advanced Band is one of the electives available.

These are the instruments that are taught by me in Beginning Band:

WINDS: flute, clarinet, saxophone (both alto and tenor)

BRASS: trumpet, baritone horn (played like a trumpet but in the lower range like a trombone), trombone, tuba, standing xylophone

Students who are interested in playing: oboe, bassoon, french horn or percussion (starting with rudimentary snare drum – not drum set) are required to take private lessons throughout the year.

In order for us to have a well-balanced band we need lots of flutes and clarinets, a medium amount of trumpets and baritone horn/trombones, a few saxophones, one tuba, one or two oboe, bassoon, french horn, and 3-4 percussionists and 1-2 standing xylophones.

To get started, I would encourage you and your child to go to YouTube to listen to the variety of instrument options. We will also have two assemblies in the music room where fourth graders will get to see and hear Sixth Grade Band, and there will be an individual instrument demonstration at another assembly.

Students are strongly encouraged to find three different instruments that they would be happy playing. When the time comes, students will hand in a form with their three ranked choices: first, second and third. I will look at the results and try my best to give students one of their first two choices.

The need to have a well-balanced band is extremely important. A quick anecdote: one year, most of the fourth graders wanted to play either saxophone or percussion. When I saw the requests on their forms, we had to start all over again so that we could put together a balanced band.

I welcome any questions you may have, so please email me at: mscholz@riverdale.k12.or.us