Welcome to the WJH Beginner Band Page!

Here you will find information that you will need to be successful in band this year as well as anything else I feel may enrich your beginning band experience. Feel free to reach out to me if you need anything (questions or concerns). Teaching beginners is probably my favorite part about being a band director and I'm excited to get a new class of youngins in the band room. 

Over the course of the year, all of your handouts and assignments will be posted to your Google Classroom page. The class codes for all of you band needs can be found below.

Parents

If you are interested in what band is going to be like this year for your child, try clicking this article or watching this video. They're not perfect representations of what band is at every school, but they cover common parent concerns that you may be feeling. The first sounds that come from these instruments are probably going to be rough. They're loud and obnoxious. But, those loud and obnoxious sounds are some of the most exciting sounds for the students, because they're the first. Over the course of the year, they will grow as musicians (you'd be shocked) and the sounds will mellow out and they really will sound like musicians. I'm always amazed at how the beginners grow throughout the year, knowing where they came from. How good they sound is mostly up to them. The harder they work, the more disciplined they are, the better they sound. And part of band class is learning how to work hard and how to be disciplined. Band class is much more than just teaching an instrument, I teach kids how to deal with difficult skills, manage expectations and set realistic goals, make plans to achieve their goals, and how to listen and learn. I'm sure you know that learning these skills are vital to producing a functional member of society one day.