Beginning Band 2012 Pleasant Valley Community School District 5 th Grade Band Orientation

Ms. Fitkin 6 th Grade Band at Riverdale Heights and Hopewell Lessons at PVHS Beginning Clarinet and Saxophone Instructor for Summer Band

Mrs. Daurer 6 th Grade Band at Cody 9 th Grade Band at PVHS Junior High Summer Band Beginning Flute and Percussion Instructor for Summer Band

Mr. Gartner 6 th Grade Band at Pleasant View and Bridgeview Beginning Trumpet and Horn Instructor for Summer Band

Mrs. Lopez PVJH 7 th Grade Band Director Junior High Summer Band Beginning Trumpet and Horn Instructor for Summer Band

Ms. Bailey 8 th Grade Band Director at PVJH Junior High Summer Band

Mr. Propes Assistant Director of Bands at PVHS Beginning Trombone, Euphonium, and Tuba Instructor for Summer Band

Mr. Anderson Director of Bands at Pleasant Valley High School

Pleasant View Band

Bridgeview Band

Riverdale Heights Band

Cody Band

Hopewell Band

All-District 6th Grade Band

7 th Grade Band

Jazz Band 8th Grade Band Band

2012 PVHS Band trip to Florida

PVHS Marching, Jazz, and Pep Bands

PVHS Concert Bands

How to Choose Your Right Instrument Preference of a particular instrument sound Ability to produce a sound on the instrument Physical attributes Balance of instruments in the band (Example - need more clarinets and trombones than other instruments) Please don’t choose an instrument just because your friend chooses it, we’ll all be in band together!

Choosing an instrument Flute Clarinet Alto Saxophone Tenor Saxophone Trumpet French Horn Trombone Euphonium Tuba Percussion

Flute The smallest and highest sounding woodwind instrument Flutes often have the melody in band.

Oboe Oboe is a specialty woodwind instrument. Only a few are needed for good balance. If you are interested in oboe, please contact a director.

Clarinet A medium pitched woodwind instrument that often plays melody. The band needs more clarinets than any other instrument to have good balance.

Saxophone Alto saxophone is the smaller and higher pitched instrument. Tenor saxophone is slightly larger and lower sounding. The band needs fewer saxophones to have good balance.

Trumpet The highest sounding brass instrument that often plays melody. Trumpets are important in all types of musical groups.

French horn A medium sounding brass instrument A piano, singing, or orchestra background would be very helpful. A limited number of French horns are available for you to rent through the school district.

Trombone A low sounding brass instrument that uses a slide. The band needs a large number of trombones to have good balance. They are vital players in concert, jazz and marching bands.

Baritone/Euphonium Baritone plays the same notes as the trombone, but uses valves instead of a slide. The school has a limited number of baritones to rent.

Tuba The largest and lowest sounding brass instrument The school has a limited number of tubas available to rent.

Percussion Percussion includes bells (keyboard), drums, and a variety of small rhythm instruments Students need to practice the lesson assignments on both bells and drums. Piano experience is strongly recommended.

Balance The band sounds its best with the correct balance of instruments. When making a cake, you need the right mix of ingredients for it to taste right. In band, we need the right mix of instruments for it to sound right! We need… –High % of clarinets, trumpets, trombones –Low % of saxophones, percussion

About 75%-80% of our beginners start in the summer

Summer Band Classes Two times a week for 5 weeks starting May minute classes of like instruments. Mornings at PVHS & afternoons at Bridgeview School in LeClaire AM & PM classes are identical and taught by the same teacher. Flexible scheduling allows you to attend either session.

Vacations Going on Vacation? The first week of summer band is the most important, try not to miss it. If you need to miss the first week of summer band, please contact a director. Students could miss up to 2 weeks and not be too far behind.

Ice Cream Social Concert The Beginning Band will perform 11 songs at our annual Ice Cream Social at 7:00 PM on Thursday, June 28 th in front of PVHS.

Can’t do summer band? There is the option of finding a private teacher in the area. Please contact a director for recommendations. These students will be able to join band immediately in the fall. Wait until the fall. A band director will be in the sixth grade classrooms on the first day with information on how to join band.

Students will be assigned to a 15-minute group lesson (2 or 3 of the same instrument) per week. They come out of class for this lesson.

Full band meets twice a week for 30 minutes during the school day.

Everyone has time for band! All of the band rehearsals and lessons meet during the school day in every elementary building. Band does not conflict with orchestra, chorus or athletics at the elementary, junior high or high school levels. Practice time is essential, but all students are able to find a little slice of their day to get some practice in.

Band Students in Other Activities 90% of the high school band students are involved in other school activities. PV Band students participate in cross country, bowling, basketball, track, swimming, tennis, wrestling, football, soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball, cheerleading, Platinum Dance team, drama, choir, and orchestra.

Band and Academics 171 out of the 259 high school band students (66%) have a grade point average above of those students (29% of the overall band) have a grade point average above 4.0 Over 1/3 (35%) of the students recognized at Academic Awards Night for having a GPA of over 4.0 are in band

Rental Plans No student is required to rent, lease or purchase a musical instrument from the companies who are represented here tonight. Parents may obtain their child's instrument from any vending source with which they are comfortable. By virtue of their participation in the instrument display night, Griggs Music and West Music have met the district's demanding standards. The stores will deliver the instruments to the school so we can avoid any damage before the instructors have the chance to teach how to put the instrument together.

Internet & Warehouse Store Shopping Beware of non-brand name instruments available on the internet and at local warehouse type retail stores! Local repair persons will not work on them due to the poor quality, lack of durability and parts. Many parents who have purchased these instruments have had to replace them within one or two years.

Already have an instrument? Please have any previously played instrument inspected by an instrument repair person or band director to make sure that it is in good playing condition. Nothing is more discouraging for a beginner than coming to the first day of band with an instrument that doesn’t work. The student will need to purchase the "Standard of Excellence" lesson book prior to the first day of class.

Rental Assistance We want all students to have the opportunity to be a part of the PV band! If finances are a concern, please speak to a director to see if you qualify for assistance. The school district has alternatives available for those in need.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ms. Fitkin at: or Mrs. Daurer at: or Mrs. Lopez at: A web version of this PowerPoint presentation is available at any of the elementary school websites. Just look for “5 th Grade Band Orientation” Congratulations and welcome to the Pleasant Valley Band Program!

Join the fun! PVHS Band on the new marching band field!