Starting an instrument is one of the coolest things you can do in middle school! You don't need to be "good" at music to join, that’s what these classes are for. My job is to teach you, your job is to show up and try not to drop the tuba.
Instrument Families
We categorize our instruments into three families: Brass, Woodwinds, and Percussion. Scroll through the cards to see your options, or jump over to Band Quest to take our quiz and see which instruments you match with!
A Note on Saxophones and French Horns - Don't worry if you want to play Saxophone but are handed a Clarinet, or want to play French Horn but are handed a Trumpet!
To make sure you are successful, we start these instruments on their "cousins" first:
Clarinet before Saxophone: Clarinet helps you develop the specific mouth muscles (embouchure) you need to get a great sound on the Saxophone.
Trumpet before French Horn: Trumpet helps you learn to hear and match pitches, which is the "secret weapon" for playing French Horn.
When do I switch? This is just for the first semester. As long as you are mastering your fundamentals, you will move to your goal instrument during Winter Break!