What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Start Band

Beginning Band Edition

It’s May … temperatures are rising, kids are counting down the school days that remain, and families are making summer vacation plans. Oh, and there’s one more thing you might not have known about…recruitment for next year’s beginning band is underway.

The process may consist of final band concerts performed by the current year’s beginning students for students who will be eligible to join the band next fall.

In some schools, music departments offer a couple of days in the spring to allow students to select their instruments and even try them out. It’s a process that helps all the stakeholders — band director, the student, parents/family — decide what instrument to play next fall.

Once an instrument is selected, students are encouraged to purchase or rent their instrument and begin private lessons over the summer months or even take a special summer session to jump start band.

For parents and students who are new to this we offer the following guide on what you should expect when you’re expecting to start beginning band.

Choosing an Instrument: I Want to Play THAT!

You may find that your student is gravitating toward a specific instrument. It’s not unusual to have a particular one in mind.

In my case, I was in kindergarten when the 5th & 6th grade band students gave a performance for our school. Sitting on the gymnasium floor in front of me were the flute players. I thought they made the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard! I loved how shiny the instruments were and how they seemed suspended in midair. I could hardly wait for the years to pass until I could join the band and start playing the flute.

For Andy, his “aha moment” took place in the 4^th grade when he attended his cousin’s band concert where a saxophone quartet performed. All of Andy’s siblings and father played trumpet or clarinet, so hearing this different kind of music made by this unique instrument was very exciting for him.

What motivates a student to choose the instrument they do?

•  Band class is a very social activity so many students will choose an instrument because their friends are playing it.
• Some students select an instrument that a parent or other family member plays or played, making it already available to them.
• Other students may have had a positive experience like mine or Andy’s and have dreamed of nothing else but playing the instrument they heard and admired.

Whatever the reason for your instrument choice, welcome aboard! If you need information on how to rent or buy your child’s first instrument, refer to our post on Musical Instruments: Should You Rent or Buy?

A Balanced Band: We Can’t ALL Play the Clarinet

When the time comes for students to choose their instruments, many band directors will instruct them to have at least three options in mind, such as flute, clarinet, or oboe. The reason for this is because it’s the director’s job to ensure the school has a balanced band. In other words, not too many players of the same instruments.

It’s the director’s responsibility to bear this in mind not only for next semester’s band but for junior high and high school bands in the years ahead. There are many factors that go into creating a balanced band, and the decision doesn’t solely rest on your band director’s shoulders. In larger school districts with robust music programs, music departments meet to discuss current trends and future instrumental needs of band and orchestra programs.

I recall a district that had a cap on the number of saxophones that were able to start in beginning band. Unfortunately, some parents would do an end run around this and start their child on saxophone with lessons a year ahead of time. “We are already playing saxophone, so we aren’t switching now.” Not only did this create a disharmonious start to the parent-teacher relationship, but it also inevitably created an imbalance at the high school level just a few short years down the road.

If you’re considering starting your student early to force an instrument preference before having a discussion with the band director, we have a word of advice…don’t.

Undermining a teacher before you have met them is offensive especially when you don’t know the larger picture. Students who don’t get their first choice do just as well as those who do.

Ultimately if a student is doing well and enjoying band, in few years when other program opportunities arise like jazz band, marching and pep bands, or pit orchestra, many students may find a way back to their first choice instrument (like saxophone for jazz band) or even pick up a completely different instrument that compliments their first one (like oboe or bassoon for a clarinetist, or percussion for a strong marching band drumline).

In the district I mentioned earlier, fast forward to when the high school band teacher deliberately let the first concert be imbalanced for the audience of mostly parents. If you’ve never played the saxophone part of a band arrangement, you should know that these parts are not typically melody, and saxophones can be the loudest instrument in the whole ensemble. When the parents were blasted by a wall of saxophones and little else, it was explained that if they wanted to have a better band some students should consider making a switch.

Another bizarre imbalance happened in a different district’s elementary school. That particular year every single student in the 5th grade signed up for either band or orchestra! The bigger the band, the bigger every section can be. This was fantastic on many levels.

Interestingly enough the band ended up with six beginning oboes. Most large bands or symphony orchestras are lucky if they have one or two, but at this school they had six! What was crazier was that five of the six were taking private music lessons with Andy and myself.

That spring we attended the spring concert because we simply had to experience the sound this would make. We were not disappointed. It was glorious and memorable. We always tell oboe students that for the first two years you will sound like a duck and that is OK! Now imagine six of them!

Some Instruments Aren’t for Beginners: Walk Before You Run

Most school programs will not offer the whole range of symphonic instruments to their beginning band students. In part, because it’s unrealistic for teachers who are increasingly spread across multiple schools to be able to teach beginners on twenty different instruments, but also because some instruments are frankly inappropriate for beginning band students.

Larger instruments like the tuba and euphonium (a baby tuba) may start out on a baritone (a mini baby tuba). Not only is a baritone significantly easier for a pre-teen to get their arms around, but the mechanics are the same so when the time comes it is easy to adapt to the larger instrument.

The same is true for larger saxophones (tenor or baritone), the bass clarinet, and the bassoon. Some instruments, while small and adorable like the piccolo, seem like they are ideal for a beginner’s small frame. However, these screaming twigs require muscles that are already conditioned for the task with precision and strength for the smaller embouchures they require.

In the end, whether your child is a fan of Kenny G and dreams of a soprano saxophone or discovered Chuck Mangione and is hoping to play the flugelhorn, you should recognize that they will likely begin and spend several years on an alto saxophone or trumpet to get their chops up to handling these other unique, and frankly very cool, more advanced instruments.

Learning To Read Music: It Takes Time

I remember one year a student rented a flute from the store where I taught. The staff warned me that mom was a bit prickly. She didn’t want the three-month trial rental because she doubted her child would be able to read the music and get kicked out of band before the month was up. I won’t lie to you, learning to read music can be challenging, especially for students who have not had prior music lessons. However, teaching students how to read music is part of what beginning band teachers do!

Your student will start by learning three to five notes up front. Weeks will be dedicated to ensuring that not only can your student play those first notes but also identify them on the staff.

This is where private lessons can be most beneficial. If your student needs extra reinforcement because they are struggling with either sound production or reading the notes, we’ve got them.

And if your student has an easy time of it, private music lessons will allow them the opportunity to progress more rapidly than if they were only having lessons at school. The fact is we help create student leaders for band directors to rely on to help their peers, even if it is only by example or by raising the bar.

Embrace The Noise: Practice Brings Improvement

The noises your beginning band student is going to make are not going to be lovely for quite a while. Like the oboe-playing students with their “duck years,” students who play other instruments will also go through a period of uncontrolled, unfocused, and unruly honks, squeaks, and toots that will be LOUD.

What we ask parents to do is to encourage continued practice and to seek help for issues that may be frustrating your student. It’s critical for parents to refrain from complaining to their student about the quality of their sound and how much they dislike listening to them practice.

Consider this the same learning curve as a toddler learning how to wield a spoon. It’s messy. Over the course of time, they will get control, but only if you give them the opportunity to make the mess and encourage them to find control over their muscles. Don’t be the reason they quit.

We realize it can be difficult for some home situations, especially in apartments with thin walls. Having a conversation with neighbors and landlords to set a dedicated practice time can help students with developing healthy practice habits and help all persons within earshot to be supportive and remain kind.

The Practice Conundrum: The Art and Struggle of Practice

Band class isn’t practice.

Private music lessons are not practice.

Practice happens between these activities at home and should be DAILY.

Developing the habit of practice takes reinforcement and accountability. Parents, you must help your child with this.

One of the biggest reasons we see beginning band students start taking private lessons mid-year is because their band teachers recommend them to us to help them get caught up.

In these cases, we restart the students and dedicate time to learning how to practice to get results. Students that never practice outside of class or private lessons don’t improve and ultimately will quit by the end of the year. It’s unfortunate, because it does take a good two to three years of playing before the fun opportunities of extracurricular honors groups, jazz band, pep or marching bands become available for students. Additionally, practicing often helps move students more quickly from sounding like “noise” to a more pleasant developed musical sound.

You can help your child develop a solid practice schedule by showing them you too can dedicate time to something you’re passionate about.

For example, how often do you get the opportunity to read for pleasure? Do you miss it? Guess what? If your kid is starting beginning band they are old enough to practice for 20-30 minutes and give you 20-30 minutes of time to read a book. Or practice a foreign language. Or do some task around the house that you would prefer to put off.

Maybe this is the ideal time for you to return to your own musical thing and start practicing or even taking lessons of your own. We do instruct many parent/child duos for lessons throughout the week. Cut a deal with them to show them that you’re doing the same and that learning is lifelong and joyful.

Independent Learning Rate: What’s Normal?

While all students might start band at the same time, not all progress at the same pace. The fact is that students learn at different rates. Additionally, different instruments have different learning curves. No one instrument is easier to learn than another, and mastery is solely dependent on what a student puts into it.

Ultimately, the best attitude to have is one of cautious optimism focusing on all aspects of the journey, not just the musical ones. We are growing brains in band because learning a musical instrument is like cross fit for the mind. There is a huge social component to being in band because we are doing teamwork with our friends. Music is fun and there is a lot of pride in knowing that we can create the music that we listen to. Even when a student doesn’t produce the best of sounds, there are other things we can point to as your student progresses forward.

Your child’s progress may be influenced by natural proclivity or outside opportunities like private lessons. But ultimately their success is hard-earned and should be recognized as such.

For the students who struggle we try to showcase the incremental milestones, especially in the first year when the sounds they are producing are not what they or their parents imagine they should be. It might take time, but this is a marathon, not a sprint.

At the other end of the spectrum, when students have an easier time, we caution parents about expressing the concept of “gifted” or “prodigy” with respect to their child’s music learning. Some work comes easier for some than others, but no one’s work or efforts should be diminished, something that happens far too frequently to artists.

Few people will see or experience the hours of practice that come before a performance. Instead let your children know that their accomplishments are remarkable for all the effort and hard work they have put into it. And most importantly, emphasize that they should be so proud of how well they are doing.

Questions about purchasing or renting instruments, private music lessons, or how we can help? Feel free to reach out to us at A Kopp Music. We’re here to help!