This year, I have decided to try something new with our Elementary Band ensembles!
In years past, our Elementary Band students were split between Level 1 Band and Level 2 Band. Students were enrolled in Level 1 Band their first year, and students who continued their instrument from fourth grade to fifth grade were automatically enrolled in Level 2 Band. While this structure was beneficial to many students, it was not beneficial to all of them, as all students learn their instrument at their own pace. Automatically enrolling second-year students in Level 2 brought frustration to students who weren't quite ready for that level of music. Additionally, students in both Level 1 and Level 2 who were at a more advanced level than their peers were not able to receive more advanced instruction in their ensembles.
In order to benefit all Band students, I decided to move away from automatic Level 1 and Level 2 Band this year. All current Elementary Band students are enrolled in Combined Band. During our concerts in March and April, our Combined Band (consisting of first- and second-year musicians) will perform songs together. These songs will be accessible to all our Band students (as long as they are practicing at least a little outside of school), but will also allow room for growth for students who are ready for it by the time our concerts roll around.
I have selected some students to also participate in Advanced Band. Advanced Band students will learn one additional song for our Spring Concert that is at a more advanced level. Unfortunately, I only have one day per cycle where I can have rehearsals with each school, and our only time available for rehearsals during the school day is during either lunch or recess. Therefore, students can only attend one rehearsal, so students in Advanced Band will (mostly) be rehearsing separately from Combined Band. On the bright side, this separate rehearsal will allow us time to cover advanced techniques.
I would like to emphasize that this structure is NOT "good musicians" versus "bad musicians." Combined Band is the standard. Again, all students learn their instrument at their own pace, and there are numerous reasons that students might progress faster or slower than others (not all of which are in our control). All of my students are good musicians. All of the Band students have made tremendous progress this year, and I continue to be extremely proud of every single one of them! The addition of an Advanced Band is not intended to separate "good musicians" from "bad musicians," but rather to allow an opportunity for ALL students to learn music that is at a suitable level for them. I have told the students this, and I will continue to tell the students this anytime anyone feels down about not being in Advanced Band!
Advanced Band FAQ:
If you have a question that is not listed here, please email it to me! I will add new questions to this newsletter as I receive them.
What were the qualifications/how was it decided which students would be in Advanced Band?
- I could probably write an entire separate newsletter about my process for selecting students, but I think most families would prefer a shorter answer! A lot of the decision making had to do with logistical factors, some of which included 1.) the confines of our overall schedule due to my traveling between four schools, 2.) the confines of each individual school's lunch and recess schedule and how it affects which grades can rehearse at which time, 3.) space constraints at each school, and 4.) the fact that all four of our schools come together for our concerts, and therefore I need to keep in mind the instrumentation of the entire district, not just each individual school's Band. If all of the Band students were together in one school, or if each school had separate concerts, there is a chance that the results might have been different! None of these factors have to do with each individual student's ability, but they were all still important factors to consider before choosing the students.
- After considering the logistical factors, I was able to look at each students' progress so far this year and where their abilities are projected to be by our concert.
- There are many students who were "on the cusp" where they could potentially be successful in Advanced Band with a lot of hard work, but they also won't be bored/underwhelmed with just Combined Band. For these students, I took into consideration not only the factors listed above, but also factors such as whether that student would benefit more from being a leader in Band versus being overly-challenged in Advanced Band. I was very cautious in choosing the students, as I do not want to accidentally overwhelm any students who would be on the cusp!
Why wasn't there an audition for Advanced Band?
- Very few Elementary Band students would benefit from a Band-specific audition process, especially at this time in the school year.
- Auditioning would promote a "good" versus "not good" mentality for some of our students, which is not the intent of this ensemble.
- Due to the logistical factors listed in the question above, I needed more control over how many/which students were in Advanced Band than what auditions would allow.
How do I know which ensemble(s) my child is in?
- All students are in Combined Band. Some students are also in Advanced Band.
- I will be sending emails this weekend confirming whether students are in both groups, or if they are just in Combined Band. If you do not receive an email confirming this by Sunday (01/22) evening, please reach out to me!
Will my child's rehearsal be during lunch or recess?
- That information is different for each school. It will be included in the email mentioned above.
- If your child's rehearsal is during lunch, they will eat during recess. No worries - all students will still have plenty of time to eat lunch!
Will Advanced Band be a ton of work for my child since they are learning an additional song?
- Nope! Students in Advanced Band will likely not feel challenged by our Combined Band music, which is part of the reason that I selected them for Advanced Band. So, while they will have an extra song to practice, it should not feel like a ton of extra work.
If my child is not in Advanced Band now, can they join later this year?
- Unfortunately, no. I would love for this to be something students can work towards and join at any point in the year, but due to many many factors, it would not be beneficial for students to be able to do so at this time.
- I did mention Advanced Band to the students when we first started rehearsals in the Fall, and I did include it in our Recruitment information as well as our Syllabus. However, I did not fully explain it to the students until recently and I know many students forgot I had mentioned it at all. If we are successful this year, then next year I will provide more information about Advanced Band to both the families and students in the Summer/Fall so that students who are interested in it are able to talk about it with me, ask questions, and work towards it early on.
Will this affect which ensemble(s) my student is in next year?
- The short answer is no, it will not automatically affect next year.
- For our Winter Concert next year, we will follow the same process we have always followed. Students who continue their same instrument from fourth to fifth grade will all be considered second-year Band students and therefore will participate in the Winter Concert, regardless of whether they were in Advanced Band (again, Combined Band is the standard!). Students who change instruments from fourth grade to fifth grade will not participate in the Band portion of the Winter Concert because they will be considered first-year Band students again.
- After our Winter Concert next year, we will switch to our Combined Band/Advanced Band ensembles. Fourth grade students who are in Advanced Band this year will not automatically be in Advanced Band next year. There are a lot of factors that go into who is in Advanced Band, so it is not possible to make guarantees for next year.
- For our students who are moving on to Middle School next year, all Band students will be in "6th Grade Band" regardless of how long they have been playing their instrument. Information about any additional ensembles in Middle School will be shared by Mr. McCartney at the end of this year/beginning of next year.
Will the students continue to rehearse separately after our Spring Concert?
- My honest answer is that I am not sure yet! This is the first year that we have over a month left of school after our Spring Concert (we usually only have a couple cycles max), and I am buzzing with ideas of what all we could learn when we don't have the pressure of an oncoming concert! However, logistical factors such as space and schedule do still exist. For example, I do not have enough room/chairs at any of my schools to fit all of the Band students into one giant rehearsal, so I am currently unsure if we will split Combined/Advanced, 1st-year/2nd-year, 4th grade/5th grade, etc. Stay tuned! :)
