The Firebird Band
So you're ready to join band....NOW WHAT?!?
STEP 1: Get Fitted
Last fall, all of the 4th grade students were fitted to instruments by a professional from the Marshall Music Company, and a letter was sent home telling you with which instrument they had been fitted. This is a free service that is provided to schools and gives me a lot of insight into what students are physically best suited to play, taking into consideration things like, braces, under/over bites, lip fullness, breath support, etc. They also were taking into consideration an certain instrument balance for me, so we can cover all the different parts in a piece of music.
QUESTION 1: Does my student HAVE to play the instrument they were fitted with?
ANSWER: No, but...
We fit students to identify physical factors can make it easier for a student to play certain instruments, it doesn't mean they have to go with what was suggested. It does mean that they have a physical predisposition to be successful on their fitted instrument, but INVERSELY means that they may have to work harder and have more difficulty on instrument other than what they were fitted, because if will have different physical requirements.
STEP 2: Get an Instrument
Information on getting an instrument is HERE. The short version is:
1. You get what you pay for
2. If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true
3. The devil is in the details
4. Buyer beware!
PLEASE take the time to read THIS WEBPAGE to make sure you (but mostly, your student) doesn't suffer with an inferior instrument! I will be HAPPY to check out any instruments you are thinking of purchasing. PLEASE EMAIL ME BEFORE BUYING!
STEP 3 Get the Book
We work out of the Standard of Excellence Book 1 (The BOOK)
A link to the book is HERE, but they are all available on Amazon or at any of the music stores in the area. Make sure you get the correct book. Some come with a CD and Internet downloads of the songs. However, these will be available through the Google Classroom for free.
STEP 4 Attend the Meeting
On the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL there is a MANDATORY meeting of the 5th grade band parents and students in the gym at NOON. This is the ONLY meeting you are required to attend for band and we get all of the nuts and bolts, ins and outs, ups and downs covered in approximately 15 minutes. Specifically, we will talk about practice expectations, signing up for Google Classroom, instrument rentals, and schedules.
Bandmate is an amazing tool for your musician at home. Compatible with Kindle, Android, and Apple, it is also Ad-free, and totally FREE. After selecting their instrument in the drop down menu, the students play a note and see that note on a staff to confirm they are playing the correct note! Click above to download. There is a PAID version that adds some more functions to the app, but for the purposes of out band class, the free version will be enough.