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Beginning band is a class designed to prepare students to play in our Symphonic/ Marching Band. In beginning band students will have the opportunity to choose from the following instruments: Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Baritone,Tuba, and Percussion. We do not teach "drums" as that is only a very small portion of the percussion family and students who wish to study music beyond high school will be expected to have skills on all percussion instruments. In this class students will learn music performance, music theory, and music history as it pertains to the literature being covered in the class. We will be using Essential Elements as our workbook. We will provide a copy of the book for our students but this book is widely available in any music store for under $10 and we encourage every student to purchase their own copy. We have a limited number of school owned instruments for students to use. If you have the means, it would be best for your child if you could provide an instrument either through purchase or rental or you may already have an instrument in the family. If you are going to provide your own instrument, please work with a reputable music store so that you make a good investment.
Students in beginning band are graded on daily participation, weekly practice outside of class (homework), playing tests, written tests, and performances. We require beginning students to practice 120 minutes each week and that practice should be spread out into at least 4 sessions of 30 minutes each. The beginning band performs at our annual Winter and Spring Concerts and they are invited to perform at a football game with the marching band. All of these performances are a required part of the grade. A calendar of our performances will be provided at the beginning of the year.