Instrument videos

The flute is the smallest of the beginner instruments and therefore plays the highest notes.  Flute most often plays the melody.  The player blows across the head joint to create a sound.  The student uses fingers of both hands and holds the instrument horizontally, balanced at three points. 

We look for 8-12 students to play flute.

The clarinet uses a reed that vibrates to create a sound.  Students use fingers of both hands to cover holes, similar to but larger than a recorder.  The clarinet is very versatile, playing high and low notes. If you enjoy playing recorder (or were really good at it!), this would be a good choice for you!

We look for 18-23 students to play clarinet.

The saxophone also uses a reed that vibrates to create a sound.  Alto saxophone takes a bit more air to play than clarinet, and Tenor saxophone requires even more! Students must have large enough hands and fingers to reach around the instrument and comfortably touch the keys.  It is a much larger and heavier instrument than clarinet.  

We look for 6-7 students to play alto saxophone.

We look for 2-4 students to play tenor saxophone.

The cornet/trumpet is the smallest member of the brass family and therefore plays the highest brass notes. Trumpet often times plays the melody. The sound on the cornet/trumpet is produced by buzzing into a small mouthpiece. Students use right hand fingers to press the valves.

While braces are somewhat troublesome at first to a cornet/trumpet player, it is not impossible to make good sounds with braces.

We look for 15-20 students to play trumpet.

The French Horn is a member of the brass family and you buzz into a funnel shaped mouthpiece instead of a cup shaped mouthpiece. The french horn also uses three valves, like the trumpet, but are played with the left hand. The right hand goes inside the bell to hold the instrument and to create different sounds with the hand. 

French horn players must have a keen musical ear to hear the different pitches well. Students that have piano experience or sing on pitch well would be good candidates for the French horn!

We look for 3-4 students to play French horn.

The trombone is played like the other brass instruments (buzzing into a cup-shaped mouthpiece), but is the only instrument that uses a slide instead of valves. The right hand moves the slide.  It plays notes in the lower range.

While some might think that trombone players must have long arms, but most 5th grade students don't struggle to play the notes required of trombone players in 5th Grade Band.

We look for 15-20 students to play trombone.

The baritone (also referred to as the Euphonium) is a hybrid between the trumpet and trombone.  It plays like a trumpet (since it has 3 valves) but sounds like a trombone. Many students think this is the tuba, but this is the tuba's baby brother. The baritone is a great choice for students who like to play low notes but would rather push valves rather than move a slide.

We look for 3-6 students to play baritone.

The tuba is the baritone's big brother! It looks and plays just like a baritone, but it's about twice the size and weight of a baritone. The tuba plays the lowest notes in the band. Students that can do a "horse face" meaning they can wiggle their lips like a horse when it neighs, would do well on the tuba. You do NOT have to be a certain size to play the tuba! We have some of the smallest students in the band play tuba and they rock at it!

We look for 5-9 students to play tuba.