US School Band Setup?

[iiipopes]

the fledging band members will be evaluated for what is their "appropriate" instrument, based on the director's analysis of the student's physical makeup, embouchure, and aptitude. The band will consist of a simplified concert band arrangement with upper and middle woodwinds and brass, but no larger instruments.

I have to say that this approach to instrument choice is silly...*Edit* Sorry to hijack this thread....

I absolutely agree. I am only relating what is going on in my son's school. I can see that the director and I may have to have a "long talk" next year.

My director wanted me to play trombone and I adamantly refused, clutching my dad's trumpet, who was deceased at that point. He finally relented, and I went on to play very well, band camper of the year, co-lead in jazz band, 1st section in concert band, etc.

My personal view is get them a small bore Eb tuba, a Wick 4 or 5 or a Bach 22, and go for it 6th grade. So what if the fledgling tubist has to relearn BBb fingerings? No big deal. Half of the fingerings are the same anyway.

[Peach]

Thanks for the replies - interesting reading to say the least.

I was always under the false impression that band was the way music was taught in the US and was compulsory. Shows how wrong you can be I suppose.

Just a couple more questions-
If kids opt-in to band class (and presumably want to do the class?) why do instruments get so beat-to-crap so quickly? That again is a preconception I've picked up from reading other posts so I could be way off base again.

When kids opt-in to band, what are they missing out on from the standard curriculum?

I expect answers to both questions will again vary widely from State-to-State...

Thanks again!

[TMurphy]

Thanks for the replies - interesting reading to say the least.

I was always under the false impression that band was the way music was taught in the US and was compulsory. Shows how wrong you can be I suppose.

Just a couple more questions-
If kids opt-in to band class (and presumably want to do the class?) why do instruments get so beat-to-crap so quickly? That again is a preconception I've picked up from reading other posts so I could be way off base again.

When kids opt-in to band, what are they missing out on from the standard curriculum?

I expect answers to both questions will again vary widely from State-to-State...

Thanks again!

Good questions, both.

Instruments tend to get beaten up pretty badly because, quite simply, the kids who beat them up don't care. Usually I see it happen to school instruments...instruments the kids own themselves are usually a little more well cared for, because their parents make sure their money doesn't go down the tubes. Rentals also tend to get beaten up, because rental usually come with some sort of insurance plan...if it's free to get it fixed, who cares if it breaks, right???

That said, it is to my experience that MOST kids take decent care of their instruments. Accidents do happen from time to time, but generally, most kids are pretty good with them. The ones who don't, though, often cause a lot of damage...and not always to their own instrument.

As for your second question....this will not only vary from state to state, but from school district to school district. I would even go so far as to say there is probably some variation from school to school within the same district. In my school, as I said before, there is a designated pull out period for the kids who need extra help (BSIP). The other kids usually have an "enrichment" period, where they do some extra work, or can read on their own. I get to see my band students during this time, so they really don't miss anything.

[Rick Denney]

If kids opt-in to band class (and presumably want to do the class?) why do instruments get so beat-to-crap so quickly? That again is a preconception I've picked up from reading other posts so I could be way off base again.

When kids opt-in to band, what are they missing out on from the standard curriculum?

In Texas, band took the place of physical education in high school. In junior high school, it was an elective, and boys who didn't take band often took shop class. That may be different now.

Instruments get damaged quickly because 1.) children are not taught to respect the property of others, 2.) the parents are not held responsible for the damage done to instruments by the children, and 3.) the teachers are not provided the disciplinary tools required to hold the children responsible for the damage they do.

Rick "thinking that marching with a sousaphone is reasonable PE" Denney

[sloan]

Instruments get damaged quickly because 1.) children are not taught to respect the property of others, 2.) the parents are not held responsible for the damage done to instruments by the children, and 3.) the teachers are not provided the disciplinary tools required to hold the children responsible for the damage they do.

of societal decay.

Wrong inference.

all of the things Rick cites can be tracked back to: the Band Director is judged by how many bodies he can put on the field during intermission at the football game.

As a result, HS band is not (generally) an activity that students must qualify for; students cannot be "disciplined" by removing them from the band; it's a sellers' market, and the students are selling (Warm Bodies R Us).

When was the last time a HS band student received a C in band (during the Fall semester) for any offense other than "not showing up on Friday night"?

How many times have you seen a HS band director call in the parents to ask for help with their unruly child, while at the very same time the student was receiving straight A's in Band?

Not everything is "society"'s fault - sometimes it's the fault of individuals, and their priorities: the ones they set for themselves, and the ones thrust upon them by the people who write the checks.

[TubaRay]

Instruments get damaged quickly because 1.) children are not taught to respect the property of others, 2.) the parents are not held responsible for the damage done to instruments by the children, and 3.) the teachers are not provided the disciplinary tools required to hold the children responsible for the damage they do.

This pretty well sums it up!

[TubaRay]

Not everything is "society"'s fault - sometimes it's the fault of individuals, and their priorities: the ones they set for themselves, and the ones thrust upon them by the people who write the checks.

Perhaps you are correct, here, but it is society that drives all(or most) of the other factors.

[iiipopes]

Instruments get damaged quickly because 1.) children are not taught to respect the property of others, 2.) the parents are not held responsible for the damage done to instruments by the children, and 3.) the teachers are not provided the disciplinary tools required to hold the children responsible for the damage they do.

Rick "thinking that marching with a sousaphone is reasonable PE" Denney

I absolutely agree. I was fortunate to grow up in a system that did provide the director the means, including withholding of passing onto the next grade if intentional damage to instruments was not fixed. We rarely had a "beat up instrument" problem, also because with (by the time he retired) 30 years of consecutive "I" ratings at state, there was inherent pride in the band program that obviated most of those concerns.

And having marched with a souzy, both field and street, I was in such good shape that in general PE class I could leg press more than some of the football players, and could outrun them in distance, if not in speed.