Beginning Band starts the year with Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium (Baritone), and Percussion. Check out some short videos below to hear the instruments and see what you might like to try!
Beginning Orchestra includes Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass. You will find videos for those instruments right below the band instruments.
In the section beneath that, you will find information on other band instruments that we add gradually during the first year. The very final video describes the process and details of getting an instrument for next year!
Beginning Choir: if a student prefers singing to playing an instrument, they can join the 6th grade choir! All voices are accepted!
For percussion, all students start on xylophone (also known as bells or mallets). This helps them learn to read musical pitches at the same pace as their classmates. After the first 10-12 weeks, we add in the drum pad, which trains them for playing rhythms on the snare drum. As we progress through the year we add in more percussion instruments (which are owned by the school - you don't have to buy them!). These include bass drum, triangle, cymbals, timpani, chimes, maracas, and more. Our goal is to create well-rounded percussionists. We do not teach drum set in school, but learning concert band percussion makes it very easy to pick up drum set on the side!
In band, throughout the first year, we gradually add more instruments to complete the full concert band instrumentation. If we tried to teach all of these smaller sections at the beginning of the year, it would drastically slow down the pace of the class. This also allows us to ensure that we have the correct number of students in these sections to achieve a balanced band sound. Many of these instruments only have a few players each year, which means we need to find just the right student to play them. Below are some videos about some of these instruments.
Students interested in French horn usually start on trumpet. We typically have 4-6 beginner students switch to horn around the start of third trimester. We own several school horns, so while you can rent one through a local music store, you may also be able to use a school instrument, which is more economical!
Students interested in tuba usually start on trombone or euphonium (baritone), or sometimes trumpet. The switch usually happens for 2-3 students in beginning band around the start of third trimester. Tuba is a school-owned instrument, so you would not need to rent or buy one. We usually provide one tuba that will stay home for practice, and one tuba that stays at school to be played in class. Students have the option of buying their own mouthpiece.
Other band instruments available for switching to include oboe and bassoon (students would start on flute or clarinet), bass clarinet (students start on clarinet), and tenor sax and bari sax (students start on alto sax). For some switches, private lessons will be needed, so check with us on that if your child becomes interested in doing a 3rd trimester instrument switch!
These are great questions! We encourage you to sign your student up for whatever instrument they seem most interested in, based on trying the instruments at school, and watching and listening to the videos on this website. As we proceed through the year, we will help determine if a switch is needed. This is one of the reasons most families decide that doing the "Rent-to-Own" option is the easiest. If your child needs to switch instruments because we later decide together that a different instrument might be a better "fit", you can do that without losing any money. Also, all repairs are free during a the rental period! The video below talks about securing your instrument rental now, but we would encourage you to wait to do this until closer to the start of school so your child has proper instruction to get started. You can also purchase an instrument or use one you already own, but you will want to make sure it is in good playing condition. Check out the video below for more details about renting an instrument.