Sunflower Elementary Band Information

Sunflower Elementary Band Update

LETTER TO NEW 5th Grade Parents

 USD #385 Instrumental Music Department

                603 East Central Ave

May 23, 2008

Dear Parents:

                The Instrumental Music Department of Andover Schools is making plans for an outstanding year for our 2008-09 Beginning Bands.  The Instrumental Staff members for the Central Schools are: Craig Gray, Kevin Brightup, and Joe Emery.  We are very in tune to helping students make right choices with regards to being a part of the band.  We are excited about the possibility of having your child in the Band.  We would like every 5th grade student to participate.  It is a great opportunity for students to direct their energies and efforts in to a positive form of self expression and the Band Program has been built on a long standing tradition of excellence.  We are excited to be able to continue that tradition.  We want Band to be an avenue that will give your young musician a sense of belonging, self confidence, and pride.  We want to be able to give our students a sense of security and family starting in 5th grade straight through graduation.  We believe that the best students are involved in Instrumental Music.  It is a proven fact that musicians score higher in creative writing, math computation, and several other educational areas due to their involvement with the critical thinking skills needed to play a musical instrument.  Like my Grandmother always said, “Teach a Kid to Blow a Horn and They’ll Never Blow a Safe.”  We believe that Instrumental Music is a great tool to keep young people involved in school and we want your child to be with us.

                Our plan for introducing the Instrumental Music Program will involve three major components.  5th grade students will be given the UMI Readiness Survey at the beginning of school.  This survey provides valuable information to the Music Staff with regard to your child’s musical strengths.  Areas that will be evaluated are pitch, rhythm, and harmony.  This evaluation tool helps the staff guide you and your child to the instrument that they are best suited to play.  On August 18th, a select group of High School Band students will demonstrate the various instruments available to the 5th Grade Class.  At that time permission slips will be sent home seeking permission to continue the testing and recommendation process.  We will meet with each child, survey their interests and let them try out different instruments.  Based on all of this information, the Band Staff will make a first and second choice recommendation for your young musician.  We would prefer that you do not buy an instrument until we have sent home our recommendations.  Our goal is to direct students to the instrument that will help them become a successful musician.  Their success is our main concern.

                On Tuesday, August 26th at 6:30 p.m. there will be a short (30 minute) Beginning Band Parents Informational Meeting in the Andover Central High School Auditorium.  At that time the music stores will have the various instruments available for inspection along with the information about purchase and lease options. There are also many other sources for instruments that we will discuss during this meeting.   We would like for each child to have their instrument and book by Tuesday, September 5th.  The book that our beginners will be using is “Essential Elements 2000”  Book 1.

                We are looking forward to a great musical year in Andover.  We hope that you will make plans now for your child to be involved in the Andover Elementary School Bands.

 Craig Gray

Kevin Brightup

Joe Emery

 Frequently Asked Questions About Band

Does my child need any prior experience?
No. Not any! We will teach them everything from scratch. All note reading, rhythm counting, and playing of instruments will be taught in detail from the opening of the case to playing a concert.

How will I know which instrument my child will play?
You don’t, not yet. We will let your child try each instrument. This will allow them to find the instrument that fits him/her most naturally. This allows for a normal rate of progress. Often students want to play an instrument that he/she has seen on TV, or one that a relative has played and it does not fit their teeth structure, lip size, etc. Too many students decide on the drums and think that will be easy to play, when it requires more self discipline and excellent reading skills. Students
and parents should keep an open mind on what they are going to play and make a decision after all the instruments have been tried.

My child knows what instrument he/she wants to play. Should we go ahead and obtain an
instrument?
No, not yet. Sometimes the instrument a child has interest in playing is very difficult or nearly impossible to play due to individual lip and teeth structure or the size of the hands and the fingers. It is very important that your child’s early experiences on the instrument be as positive and successful as possible. During band class, each student will have the opportunity to play every instrument. At the conclusion of this process, your child will have much more information upon
which to base his/her final instrument choice.

We bought a piano and they quit taking piano lessons, will they quit band?
Probably not. Research shows that most students this age prefer a group experience with peers to a one-on-one teaching from an adult. Group beginner band is fun and the retention rate is very high.

Does my child need a new instrument?
Your child needs a reliable and quality instrument. Beginners have their hands full learning a variety of new things. Attempting to learn on an instrument that is in poor condition usually leads to frustration and failure in a short time. All students want to succeed, but they may not realize that the difficulty they are experiencing is the fault of the instrument and has nothing to do with their ability to learn. Providing a properly maintained instrument that will contribute to a successful
learning experience is a critical factor.

When do we get an instrument?
On Tuesday night-August 26th, we will have two local music merchants at ACHS for you to visit with. Purchases may be made at that time. Your child will need to bring his/her instrument for the first time on Wednesday, September 3rd In recent years, the market has been flooded with inferior instruments that we do not recommend. For a child to be successful, it is vital that a he/she starts on a quality instrument from a reputable dealer that will service the sale and guarantee the quality of the product. It is very risky to purchase an instrument off of the Internet if you do not know the reputation of the brand. Before any purchases are made from sources other than the music store, please consult with your band director for recommended brands.

What instrument does the band need most?
The most important factor is that your child begins on an instrument that he/she will be successful with. However, this is always a considerate and thoughtful question for a band director to receive. Every band needs equal representation with each instrument family of the band. Based on a 100 member band a good instrumentation would resemble: 12 flutes, 30 clarinets, 10 saxophones, 20 trumpets, 20 trombones, and 8 percussion.

How long will my child need to practice?
The frequency of practice is much more important than the duration of a practice session. A beginning band student who practices at home 4-5 times per week for 20-30 minutes will be much more successful than the student that practices twice a week for an hour.

Should my child take private lessons?
Students with private lessons achieve the most success because the fundamentals of playing are taught from the very beginning allowing technique and positive habits to be developed more quickly. Your child’s band director has a list of private instructors should you wish to pursue private instruction for your child.

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Cool links for your young musician to try:

We are so excited to have your young musician in our classes--

Craig Gray--Flutes and Clarinets

Kevin Brightup--Saxes and Percussion

Joe Emery--Trumpets and Trombones

Contact us if you have any questions.

Volunteer Sign Up

Click on the committee e mail link below and include your name and phone number.  This will send a message to the leadership and you will be added to our list of volunteers for that event.  Please click generously.

For Information about the ACHS Jaguar Bands click the link below:

ACHS Jaguar Bands

For Information about the ACMS Jaguar Bands click the link below:

ACMS Jaguar Bands

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