Tonight is Instrument Rental Night from 6-8pm here at Monterey in the Music Room. Long & McQuade is renting instruments and selling method books and instruments to all students who need one tonight. I also recommend purchasing a folding stand for home practice.
Tonight at 8:00pm is also the year's first Monterey Music Parents Association (MMPA) meeting! I invite all parents to come check out the MMPA and get involved tonight in the band room.
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Well it's been a whirlwind start to the year! At last, things are getting into routine and ensembles are finally getting a chance to make music!
All ensembles, except beginner band 6, are now required to have instruments, music, and pencils at every rehearsal. There has been some confusion over the various schedules and when each group happens so make sure you/your musician checks out the schedule and makes sure they know what instruments and music they need when. Band 6 Assignments have just been posted under the "Beginner Band 6" link as well as links to many helpful videos on how to get started. There have also been fingering charts posted for all instruments on the Instrument Resources page. Instrument Rental Day in September 30, 2019 at the Monterey Music Room from 6:00-8:00 pm - hosted by Long & McQuade. If you do not wish to attend instrument rental day, instruments can also be rented from the Long & McQuade store or the Tapestry Music Store. All Band 6 Students need to bring their instruments with them to their classes starting October 1st. Morning band for Grade 6 begins October 8th and 9th. Speaking of morning band - class begins at 7:50 am which means students must be in their seats, with their instrument and music set up and ready to go by 7:50. For most students this means they need to arrive by 7:45 so they have time to set up and get ready. I know it's not always easy to get to school at that time, but know that we at Monterey are quite lucky and actually have a fairly late start compared to other schools' early morning groups. I'm greatly looking forward to working with all the different ensembles and students at Monterey. We're off to a great start! Ms Dyler Today, all the grade 6's got to filter through the music room and find out about band, as well as the larger music program here at Monterey. I thought I'd also write a quick blog post about it for parents. If you are looking for more in depth info, please click here to check out the Monterey Music Handbook for all the details. I am also able to answer questions in person at Meet the Teacher Night on Wednesday, September 11 at 7:00. There will be a short Music Information Session after the meet the teacher event from 7:35-8:00 where I will discuss all the information about the Band 6 program here at Monterey and will also answer any questions parents have.
INFORMATION BOOKLET / SIGN UP SHEET Every student received an information booklet today. If it's been misplaced, you can print a new one out if you click here or go to the "Documents and Forms" page under Grade 6 Contract. The back page needs to be filled out and returned to the core teacher or the band teacher (myself) as soon as possible. All forms need to be in by Thursday, September 19. If your child is not interested in participating, you can write "not interested" on the form with your child's name and hand that in. Once all the forms are in, I will assign each student an instrument from their top three choices and will give them written confirmation of what instrument they will play. Once you receive the written confirmation, you may rent or purchase an instrument for your child. I highly recommend renting as a student can start on an instrument in excellent working order, and they can try it for a year to see if they like it. Also, rental agreements often include repairs covered by the rental fee. BAND INSTRUMENTS Instruments available to Band 6 are Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax, Trumpet, Trombone, Baritone, and Bass. If your child is keen to play a specialty instrument (Oboe, Bassoon, Bass Clarinet, French Horn, Tuba) please contact me at [email protected] to discuss further. These instruments are often more difficult for a beginner (Oboe, Bassoon, French Horn), too big for most grade 6's (Bass Clarinet, Tuba), or not an instrument I have available here at the school (Oboe, Bassoon). PERCUSSION Perucussion instruments are not offered until December/January. This is because there are valuable skills of musicianship and musical literacy all students need to learn in grade 6 that is much easier to facilitate on wind instruments. Also, some pieces only require one or two percussionists and it is excellent for those not playing in the piece to be able to play a different instrument so they are still active and involved in the class. I am aware that this is different than how percussion has previously been chosen at this school. It is also important to note that "percussion" is not a drum kit in concert band. The drum kit is used in Jazz Band in grade 7/8. Percussion includes snare drum, bass drum, triangle, pitched mallet percussion including concert bells and marimba, timpani, gong, woodblock, cowbell etc. INSTRUMENT RENTALS Instrument rental night at Monterey is Monday, September 30 from 6:00-8:00. Long & McQuade will be at Monterey Middle School with instruments ready to go and you can purchase everything you need for your musician here at the school. If this time does not work for you, you can also rent instruments from Long & McQuade or Tapestry Music. Tapestry also offers an online rental service if getting to the store is an issue. Students will be expected to have instruments in classes from October 1 onward. Instruments will not be needed in class before then. Please do not purchase or rent an instrument for your child before they've received written confirmation of their instrument assignment. Please note on their instrument contract if you already own an instrument in your household. FINANCES Money is not an obstacle. If you do not have the financial means to support an instrument rental, please contact me to arrange for your child to use a school instrument. Financial situations should never prevent a student from having a musical education. INSTRUMENT CHOICES Please speak with your child about their instrument choice. If they are uncertain, I highly recommend checking out YouTube to get a better idea of what each instrument looks and sounds like. Think of what would be appropriate to practice at home in your space. Instruments like flute and clarinet are quieter, trumpet, trombone, and baritone can be muted with a device that plays it through headphones only. Some students hit a bit of a block today and were unable to make a sound. This is completely normal! Don't let a 30 second attempt at a mouthpiece stop your child from choosing the instrument they want. With dedicated practice and some actual in-depth guidance from the teacher, they'll be able to achieve success. Some of my best flute and clarinet players couldn't make any sounds for 2-3 weeks before it clicked and then it was as if it had always been easy for them. There is no instrument that is "easiest" to play. They all have their "easy" bits and they all have their challenges. Piano, guitar, ukulele, recorder, and bowed instruments like violin are not part of concert band. Occasionally a senior, high school level piece may do a concerto featuring one of these instruments, but they are not part of the everyday concert band literature. Piano and guitar can, however, be played in jazz ensembles and to accompany choir. WHAT IF MY CHILD CHOOSES NOT TO DO BAND? Students who choose not to participate in band will be working in Literacy Circles with their core teachers. They will not be having a free block or play time while the band class happens. Band students are not responsible for work done while they are in band class. Because of the nature of students choosing the band course or the literacy course, students will not be able to switch mid-year. This is a one year commitment. Students are not required to stay in band the entire time they are at Monterey, but if they sign up in September they are expected to remain in the program until June. CAN I DO ANYTHING TO HELP OR BE INVOLVED? Yes! You sure can! Our Monterey Music Parents Association (the MMPA) meets the last Monday of every month at 7:30 here at the Monterey Music room. Please come by and check it out, meet us, and get involved! Our first meeting is Monday, September 30th at 8:00 right after the instrument rental night. We're always interested in having grade 6 parents come out as quite a few of our members have kids graduating from Monterey this year and will need some fresh faces to come out and continue the group. If committing to the MMPA is a bit more than you were looking for - we also have fundraising opportunities that I will have more information on at a later date. WRAPPING UP Hopefully I covered some of the frequently asked questions and concerns. If I didn't, please feel free to send me an e-mail to [email protected] Cheers and Happy New (School) Year! Ms Dyler |
AuthorMs Dyler is the music director at Monterey Middle School Archives
September 2022
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