Picking an Instrument
We hope that your 5th grader came home excited about one or more of the instruments they were able to hear during the band instrument demonstration at school!
BAND instruments include the woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments: flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, cornet (trumpet), French horn, trombone, baritone/euphonium, tuba, and percussion. Whew! That's a lot to choose from!
If your child is still unsure of what instrument they would like to play, there are several online tools to help them make their decision. You can also view the Linn-Mar Band slide show your child watched on their tour by clicking HERE.
Sounds
Click here to visit a website with short sound clips of each band and orchestra instrument.
DEMOS
The members of the United States Army Field Band demonstrate each of the instruments played in our 5th grade band plus a few extras!
find your match!
Take a few short listening quizzes to see what your strengths as a musician are.
The most important things to remember about choosing an instrument are:
♫ Pick an instrument based on what sounds your child liked the best and what they are most excited to play. That may not be the instrument that fits in her backpack or that his best friend is playing, and that’s okay! The instrument your child is most excited about playing is the instrument that will be practiced the most.
♫ Due to the number of instruments available, there may be a limit to the number of students who can play in each section, so it is important to also select a second-choice instrument.
♫ If you and your child are still undecided about what instrument would be the best fit, you can arrange for a mouthpiece test with your school band director under the SIGN-UP tab on this site. A mouthpiece test would allow your child to make some first sounds on the mouthpieces of several instruments to see what is a good fit.
A note about Percussion
While each section in the band is unique and challenging in its own ways, it is important to note that percussionists must often play their part without help from others in their section. Percussion students need to have an excellent sense of steady beat and an ability to keep time when other sections in the band are playing melodic material. Click the snare drum on the left to access an online tool that will help you assess your child's ability to keep a steady beat and will help you decide whether or not percussion would be a good fit for them.
Percussionists will be required to practice both snare and mallet instrument assignments, so students choosing percussion should be willing to dedicate some extra time to practice each week.