6th-Grade Beginning Band uniform guidelines:
Option 1:
Black dress pants. No jeans or sweats will be permitted.
White button-down dress shirt with a collar. The shirt must be plain. A small logo on the upper left chest will be acceptable. (For example: polo logo) Long or short sleeves will be permitted.
Black socks. Please get tall socks as we do not want ankles to be showing.
Black dress shoes. No sneakers, including all black vans or converse.
Option 2:
Black dress. Must be knee-length. Arms must be covered to the elbow. A student may wear a sleeveless dress, but it must be accompanied by a black sweater.
Black dress shoes. Ballet flats will be accepted. Closed-toe shoes only.
Option 3:
If the jazz band is performing on a concert, jazz students may wear jazz polo shirts, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.
Permitted Accessories:
Holiday Concert: Students may wear red sweaters and holiday-themed accessories such as holiday neck or bowties, jewelry, headbands, etc. Elf and Santa hats are welcome! Music-themed neck or bowties will also be welcome for this performance, so rock that sweet trumpet tie!
Other Concerts: All black neck or bow ties. Small silver or gold earrings. No colorful jewelry or bracelets of any kind.
My child has never played music before. Can he or she take band?
Absolutely! In fact, almost all of my 6th-grade students are absolute beginners when they come to me. Encourage your student to take this opportunity to learn something new and wonderful!
Does my child need to have an instrument on the first day of school?
No, in fact, your child should not even consider getting an instrument until they have attended the first few days of band class. I spend those days helping your student select the perfect instrument for them. I will guide you through this process.
Why is there a band fee?
All students must pay an annual band fee to the LMS Band. (Do NOT pay the connections fee LMS asks for at the beginning of the year if you are in band. If you have already paid this, call Mrs. Barrett and ask her to transfer it towards your band fee!) The band fully funds itself. That means that everything you see in the band room is purchased by the band. Fees may be paid to Mrs. Miller or to Mrs. Barrett in office A. Cash or checks made out to LMS band are accepted.
Brass and woodwind student fees: $50 once per year. Included in this fee: $4 recorder. $11.95 method book. Your student will receive these as soon as half of the fee is paid.
Percussion fee: $75 once per year. Included in this fee: $4 recorder. $14.95 method book. Your student will receive these as half of the fee is paid.
The rest of these fees goes towards the general band fund and will be used to purchase and upkeep larger instruments, audio equipment for the classroom, copy paper, music (It costs between $60-100 to purchase EACH piece of music we perform. Each grade performs 3-5 pieces per concert.), and cover the group registration fees for the band to perform at our Large Group Performance Evaluation for GMEA in the Spring.
How much does band cost?
Please note: We use a rent-to-own company, Gadsden Music. 100% of what you put into your rental goes towards you owning the instrument! You may also swap your instrument at some point. I encourage beginning students to rent a used instrument (cheaper option) to start, and then when you know your student loves it and you feel they are ready to keep a new instrument in perfect condition, switch to a new instrument. This makes it cheaper upfront, and then all of the money you put towards the used ones transfers towards the new horn.
With the exception of saxophone and percussion, the monthly cost to rent-to-own an instrument from our rental outfit, Gadsden Music, should be around $32 per month, depending on the instrument brand. Saxophone costs $65 per month. Oboe, Bassoon, French Horn, Euphonium, and Tuba are school-owned instruments (These fees covered in the next section.)
Total costs for renting an instrument
Band Fee
Instrument materials such as music stand and reeds (A music stand is a one-time purchase, while reeds are an ongoing occasional cost)
Monthly Instrument Rental (FYI - Around $128 (4 payments) gets you through Winter break!)
Are there any school owned instruments that my child can use?
Our band program must purchase instruments that are extremely expensive. (e.g. a single tuba, the most important instrument in any school band, costs several thousand dollars) The school owned instruments available are oboes, bassoons, french horns, euphoniums, and tubas. Students who use school owned instruments are still required to buy their own instrumental supplies, and are required to pay a school rental fee of $40 per semester ($10 per month) to cover the cleaning of the instrument after their use. In addition, students must purchase their own mouthpiece, ranging from $50-$100. They are also responsible for ALL maintenance of instruments they check out. In other words, if the instrument is damaged while checked out to you, YOU are responsible for having it repaired by Gadsden Music or another reputable musical instrument repair shop that I must approve.
Total costs of using a school-owned instrument
Band Fee
mouthpiece or reeds
Rent the school-owned instrument through LMS for $40 per semester ($10 per month).
What about percussion?
If selected for percussion, students will purchase a stick-pack from Gadsden Music that includes a stick bag, drum pad, snare drum sticks, and hard and soft xylophone and marimba mallets. I try to make this pack around $100. They will gradually add to this pack throughout middle school. In addition, percussion students must pay a yearly Percussion Fee to LMS of $75. The band fundraises and spends fees on expensive percussion equipment. Percussion students do not pay a monthly rental, so it is only fair that we ask them to give more on their fee towards the purchase and upkeep of classroom percussion instruments.
Total costs to play percussion
Band Fee
Music Stand
stick bag
How soon does my child need to bring their instrument to school after being tested in class?
Instruments should be rented by Friday, September 11th. Gadsden Music will deliver the instruments to the band room to ensure that they remain safe. Instruments should be delivered by Friday, September 18th. We will begin learning to put them together the following week. If your student owns their instrument and you will not be renting through Gadsden Music, they will need to bring them to school as soon as possible so I may inspect the playing condition.
What about purchasing an instrument on the internet (E-bay or Amazon)?
Often, very high quality instruments can be found on E-bay, but these instruments do not usually come with a warranty. If you choose to purchase an instrument in this fashion, I encourage you to have it checked out immediately with a qualified repair technician to make sure it is in playing order. If the person really wants to sell it, they will allow someone to inspect it prior to purchase. Make sure you investigate the E-bay seller. You want someone with great ratings that has had an account for a while. If it's a brand new account, run, don't walk, in the other direction as it is likely a scam. Pro tip: If you are purchasing a brand new instrument online, it comes with a bunch of accessories and white gloves, it is most likely not a quality instrument. Having a quality instrument is very important. Learning to play an instrument is challenging, and students who have to 'fight' against their instrument to produce a tone will usually not end up sticking with band. I highly encourage you to rent for a few months and then talk to me about acquiring a quality instrument.
Does my child really need a music stand?
Yes! You may purchase this anywhere you can find one for the price point you like. This is a time where it is acceptable to use Amazon. Here is a good example of an affordable foldable music stand. The $10 options will work just fine. Practicing with a stand promotes correct posture and hand position and breathing. They will not need to bring their stand to school.
Should my child start playing the instrument if we take it home from the store?
Absolutely not. Please have your student wait to assemble and play their instrument until they have learned how to do this PROPERLY during class at school. Bad habits that are built by trying to play without proper instruction can DAMAGE that EXPENSIVE instrument and create habits that are very hard to unlearn. Please wait until band class so that a foundation of good habits can be learned.
For this reason, instruments rented through our rental company, Gadsden Music, will be brought to the school.
Will we have to fundraise?
I will ask you to do very few fundraisers. When we do one, it is essential that all students participate. This helps keep our fee manageable. This year, we will be doing a SnapRaise fundraiser in September, and I hope for this to be the only fundraiser we do all year long.
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I apologize if that is information overload. I hesitate to offer so many details upfront because I fear it will scare you away, but I also recognize that I would fully want to know what I was getting myself into! Please do not be fearful. You, and your student, will love band!
If you have any other questions, please contact Mrs. Miller
Phone: 706-866-1040 - ask to be transferred to the band room
Email: jmiller.lms@catoosa.k12.ga.us
Online rental (You may also call Gadsden Music at 800-264-7228 and rent over the phone)
Go here
Be sure to watch the video (The monthly repair agreement is strongly recommended!)
Complete the rental process
Email me at jmiller.lms@catoosa.k12.ga.us or call the school with any questions!
*Instruments will be delivered to the band room the following week. I will show students how to safely operate cases and assemble the instrument, at which point they will be permitted (and encouraged!) to bring them home.