ALL 6th graders have the opportunity to participate in band this year!! That's right, EVERY 6th grader should try band this year to see if it's something they'd like to pursue further in middle school. This is your first, best, and only chance to start band as a brand new beginner!!!! If you'd like to explore your options for band instruments, click the gold link! Instrument Selection Guide 

AND, if you've been playing your BAND instrument in elementary school, you can and should keep playing with us in BAND during 6th grade! BAND is a class that meets every. single. day! That's right, you get to have band class every day, just like math and science class!!!

In order to participate in BAND for your 6th grade year, 3 steps should be taken:

1. When registering for 6th grade classes, select BAND for an exploratory class. Make sure to tell us if you are a beginner (never played) or which instrument you played in elementary band.

2.  IF YOU ARE BRAND NEW TO BAND OR WANT TO TRY A NEW INSTRUMENT:  

Go to one of these music stores and tell them you'd like to try a couple instruments out to see which instrument you'll play at Jenkins for 6th grade.

Graner Music Meeker Music Meeker Music

4460 Barnes Road 624 N. Tejon 3604 Hartsel Dr. 

(across from Doherty HS) Downtown location North location

Store Hours: Store Hours: Store Hours:

Mon-Fri: 10 AM - 6 PM Mon-Fri: 9:30 AM - 6 PM same as Downtown

Sat: 10 AM - 5 PM Sat: 9:30 AM - 4 PM location

Sunday: Closed Sunday: Closed

3.  Get your instrument!  Get to a local music instrument shop (above) and rent your instrument** before August 12! Larger instruments, including Tenor or Bari Sax, Bass Clarinet, French Horn, Baritone, and Tuba* can be rented from the school. For more instrument rental information, click here.

*There will be some special opportunities for students who already play band instruments to “transition” their skills to advanced middle school instruments that were not offered in elementary school. Examples: 

If a student played: Then, an option would be:

Alto Sax Tenor or Bari sax 

Trombone or Trumpet Baritone or Tuba

Trumpet French Horn

Clarinet Bass Clarinet

**Jenkins cannot provide an instrument for every single child, so we must ask parents to provide some instruments for their students. I recommend that parents rent instruments from a local music store for the first few months because most stores have a rent-to-own plan, which allows students to try an instrument before parents invest larger amounts of money. Rental fees are based on the type and age of the instrument, but most instruments (flutes, clarinets, trumpets, trombones) cost $15-20 per month to rent, while alto saxophones run $30-50 per month.  If a student is in need of a school rental for one of these instruments, please contact Ms. Shank so she can have the correct supply on hand. 

In order to have balanced instrumentation in the band, instrument sections may fill up and will be treated on a first come, first served basis. 

Band is EDUCATIONAL!

Band is IMPORTANT!!

Band is FUN!!!

Dear Parents and Guardians:

As your child enters middle school, he or she has several options for his or her exploratory classes. We would like to explain some important points about the advantages of giving your student the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument in BAND.

Learning to play a musical instrument is a unique educational opportunity. It continually addresses Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor learning. These are the three primary facets of education.

• Cognitive development refers to the student’s ability to retain and think about information. Learning to play an instrument and read music helps a student learn critical thinking and problem-solving skills and gives hands on experience while learning to read musical notation. The student learns about music through active participation in music-making activities. 

• Affective learning refers to the student’s emotional and social development. An integral part of BAND class is to establish the idea that every student is an important and valued member of the team. One of the most important aspects of the program is that it helps each student feel successful and gives him or her a reason to look forward to school every day. Each student develops the self-esteem necessary to continue learning. Putting it simply, BAND IS FUN!!

• Psychomotor refers to the development of coordination between the mind and body. Playing a musical instrument is one of the best ways of developing physical coordination; especially fine motor skills—one of the critical areas of development necessary for successful learning.

In addition, independent studies have shown that a student who is in his or her school BAND consistently has higher test scores on academic achievement and college entrance exams, especially in the areas of math and science. Students who participate in their school BAND have higher self esteem and more self confidence. 

BAND AT JENKINS

Students have BAND class for one period every day for 52 minutes for the entire year. BAND is a year long commitment to the BAND team. Students can also take choir or orchestra class for their second elective choice. Orchestra is a year long class like band. Choir is offered as a quarter long class.

INSTRUMENT SELECTION NIGHT

Before a student enrolls in BAND, Ms. Shank, or one of her colleagues that assist with the instrument selection process, will talk to each student to get to know them better. Each student will be helped in the process of choosing an appropriate instrument based on the student’s aptitude, preference, physical development, background and the availability of that type of instrument, while trying to maintain an appropriate balance of instruments within the BAND. Below is an example of preferred instrumentation.

Woodwinds: Preferred # in Beginning BAND

Flute 10-12

Oboe*** 2

Clarinet 15-25

Saxophone* 2-4

Brass/Percussion: Preferred # in Beginning BAND

Trumpet 8-12

F Horn 3-6

Trombone 6-12

Baritone 4-6

Tuba 2-3

Percussion** 4-6

*I DO NOT RECOMMEND that students choose the saxophone as their first instrument. It is very expensive, overly loud as a beginning instrument, and is more easily learned as a second instrument once students have played another woodwind instrument for a year. I prefer to evaluate our 6th grade woodwind players and recommend qualified students for a switch to saxophone within the 6th grade year.

**Percussion students rent a percussion kit and learn to play the mallet instruments first. Later the practice pad (a practice version of snare drum) is introduced. Percussion kits include a set of bells and a practice pad in a soft case, sometimes with wheels. The pad, sticks, and mallets (stored in a stick bag) will be taken to and from school. Please refer to the supply list at Selection Night for more detailed equipment list.

***Oboe is a highly specialized instrument that requires especially delicate care, a student who really wants a challenge, and is self motivated to practice every night. Oboe is a double reed instrument, which means the reeds cost around $20 per reed and students should have two working reeds at all times.