Pelham Park Middle School

YOU’RE A PART OF THE BAND -

NOW WHAT?

2020 - 2021 School Year

Mr. Joel Henson Associate Director

• Loves teaching - has for 17 years • Loves family - married and has two sons that attend Helena schools

• Loves music - played trombone • Loves Chicago Cubs baseball, anything Jeep, going to the lake, and spending time with friends and family

About the DirectorsMrs. Amy Moore

Director of PPMS Bands

• Loves teaching - has for 27 years • Loves family - married and has a son that plays percussion in the Pelham High School Band

• Loves music - played piano since 6 years old and clarinet since 10

• Loves sweet tea, desserts, camping, and spending time with friends and family

About the Pelham Park Middle School Band Program

Has three main bands - Beginning Band (6th grade), Concert Band (7th grade) and Symphonic Band (8th grade)

Has 240 members of awesome middle school students

Has opportunities to perform - pep rallies, football games, community events, jazz band, group and individual competitions, and multiple concerts

Has opportunities to do fun things - field trips both local and out of state, band parties and more

Instrument Selection Tryouts Traditional Process

Traditionally in years past:

•We would have you come to the school and students would then test out every instrument with our instrument instructors.

•As the student would try out each instrument these instructors would be filling out a form giving feedback on how the student did on that particular instrument.

•Based on the feedback, the student would then narrow down their choices of instruments to the top two; either one would be an instrument the student is willing and excited to learn.

• Students would then return in August to our Instrument Reveal Night. They would be told what instrument they were selected to play in our program for the coming year.

•Parents and students would then speak with our music store to rent/purchase an instrument and band school supplies.

Instrument Selection Tryouts Process for this year due to Covid 19

• Students and parents must watch videos (found in this presentation) from instrument instructors explaining what each instrument is, what it sounds like, and so on.

• Students and parents MUST fill out the google form (found in this presentation) for their instrument selection, band registration and answering questions about the student. In the google form, students will rank their top three instruments they’re excited, willing to learn.

• Mrs. Moore and Mr. Henson will take into consideration the information provided in the google form as well as the overall band instrumentation. All students will be placed on one of their top three instrument choices.

• Students will return in August (with CDC guidelines) for our Instrument Reveal Night. They will be told that night the instrument they’ve been selected to play.

• Parents and students will then speak with our music store representatives to rent or purchase an instrument and band school supplies.

Why is the Process Important?

There are many factors that come into play when learning an instrument. We want to provide you and your student with as much success possible, so they enjoy what they are doing. We all know that when we struggle with something, we do not enjoy it as much. Yes, we want your student to choose the instrument they are interested in, but their top instrument pick might not be what is best for them; please take into consideration natural ability, characteristics, and facial features.

Here are some examples:

• Big, full lips usually have more success with Trombone, Euphonium and Tuba because the mouthpiece fits their face better. These full lips do not typically do well with Trumpet or French horn.

• If you have small hands, playing the Clarinet might be a struggle since the keys are spread apart.

• If your top lip drops into a V shape in the middle, we call that having a teardrop. Students with this lip shape struggle playing Flute, Trumpet and French Horn.

• The percussionist (drummer) should be a student with low discipline problems, high grades, fine motor skills and if possible, a background in piano. Percussionist will learn to play mallet keyboards, auxiliary instruments and snare drum.

About the Instruments• What instruments we have: Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba and Percussion; no string instruments like guitar, and no piano. Percussionist will learn to play mallet keyboards, auxiliary instruments and snare drum.

• What instruments are rented from the music store: Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet and Trombone

• What instruments are school supplied and students rent from PPMS: Oboe, Bassoon, French Horn, Euphonium, Tuba, Mallet and Auxiliary Percussion

• School Supplied Instrument Fee - $150, Covers any minor damage that might occur during the year as well as end of year cleaning • Percussion Usage Fee - $75, Covers any maintenance repair work and mallet and auxiliary instruments needs due to normal wear and tear.

• The tuba is the only instrument too big to carry back and forth in 6th grade, so we try to supply them with 2 instruments (one to keep at school and one to keep at home) You will not pay the School Supplied Instrument fee twice.

NOW STUDENTS AND PARENTS MUST:

- Clarinet - Euphonium- Saxophone

- Trombone- French Horn

- Bassoon- Oboe- Flute

- Tuba

- Trumpet - Percussion - Mallet Percussion

- All Instruments

1. Watch the videos below to learn about all of the instruments.

2. Fill out the google form below! PPMS 6th Grade Band Registration 2020

- Parent Video- Student Interviews

- Main Video

NOW STUDENTS AND PARENTS MUST:

PPMS Band Classes Learning Options for 2020-2021

1. Traditional - Students attend school in-person.

2. Remote - Students attend school completely online; band classes will be offered through “SmartMusic” and “Essential Elements Interactive”.

3. Blended - Students attend school combining the traditional and remote options for learning but band classes will be in-person.

Final Thoughts• We are doing this online process to make educated assumptions on what each student would be successful playing. 90% of the time. students get their top instrument pick after going through the traditional instrument selection process anyway. 

• You will learn what instrument you are playing when you attend the Instrument Reveal Night! Students and parents must come to PPMS in August (using CDC guidelines) for our Instrument Reveal Night.

• If you feel money may be an issue, please contact us and explain your situation. We will try our best to help find a solution! Every student interested deserves the opportunity to experience Band.

• We will have an evening closer to the start of school for you to speak with our music store representatives regarding renting or purchasing an instrument. No one should rent or purchase an instrument until we have our Instrument Reveal Night at the beginning of the year. Watch for more information!