Beginning Band

Beginning Band is a class for students who wish to learn to play one of the musical instruments found in a traditional Symphonic Band. These instruments include flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trumpet, baritone horn, trombone, and percussion. Students will learn techniques for sound production, music reading, and technical proficiency on their chosen instrument. Students will also participate in required quarterly concerts/ recitals. No previous experience is required to participate in this class. This class is open to all grade levels. Students who elect to take band are required to purchase a low-cost methods book and rent or purchase an instrument for their own use within the class. A small number of instruments are available for use through the school for students who qualify for free/ reduced lunch.


Required Materials:

(Instruments marked with an (*) will be capped for participation to help keep the ensemble balanced)

You can access the websites for our two most popular local music stores at their websites:

Beacock Music: https://www.beacockmusic.com/ 

Music World: https://musicworldstores.com/ 

Do you need financial help in order to rent an instrument or get a technique book?   Click Here

¿Necesitas ayuda económica para alquilar un instrumento u obtener un libro de técnica?   Clic Aquí

How to earn top marks in Beginning Band:

While Beginning Band is intended to be a place of exploration for young musicians who are just starting out, there will still be an expectation for them as they learn and grow within the context of the class. The category breakdown of our grading system is as follows:

Attendance and Participation- 30%

Playing Check Ins-15%

Classwork – 15%

Concerts- 40%

Participation in band class involves coming to class prepared with instrument, our required technique book, and a pencil for taking notes or completing in-class music-reading and writing assignments. Students should be actively engaged in the lessons in progress, alternately listening to instructions and playing their instrument when appropriate, and working together with their peers in order to advance the progress of the whole group. Students who forget their instrument or any other element necessary for class participation or who are not otherwise engaged in class activities will be docked participation points for the day. 

A note regarding the asterisk (*) mark in our grade book: If a student is absent from class, they are unable to receive a daily grade for participation for that day. I use the asterisk (*) mark to indicate that a student missed the day, but this mark does not count for or against a student's grade and should not be a concern to either the parent or student. I will replace asterisks (*) with a zero (0) after any relevant due date has passed. Students can make up assignments at any time with no penalty, but if an individual waits until the last minute in a quarter (when I have to post grades), I begin to run out of time to grade large amounts of late work and there is a chance that I may not be able to grade all late material. 

This is a performance-based class that performs a total of two concerts. Attendance at these concerts is REQUIRED. Parent-excused absences can be made up through completion of a special project to be determined later in the year. Unexcused absences from concerts will result in a score of “0” for that grading event, which typically will result in the overall grade being lowered by one mark. Please see our calendar of events below for a complete list of our performance dates.

What to Wear:

Attire for concerts is black and white formal or semi-formal wear (ex: slacks, button-up shirt, and tie for the young gentlemen, dresses, skirts, dress slacks and blouses for the young ladies). There should be no jeans, sweatpants, or other workout wear. For girls, all dresses or skirts should fall below the knee. If a skirt or dress comes up higher than the knee, dark-colored leggings should be worn as a supplement. All concert attire should otherwise follow all guidelines for school attire.

**The safety and well-being of our students at Woodland is our number one priority, always. Precautions stemming from the current Covid-19 epidemic have led us to suspend public performances for the time being. If circumstances change and we are able to return to a more normal performance medium, we will return to our regular concert performance routine. **

Beginning Band:

Beginning Band, Trojan Band, MS Choirs

Beginning Band

Beginning Band, Trojan Band, WHS Beaver Band

Questions?

Contact: Bryana Steck 

steckb@woodlandschools.org