My youngest has an interest in joining the middle school band. Any advice? I suggested that he might consider drums as we already own a set. Is this a silly idea. I know a lot of kids think playing drums in school band is cool and get nudged to something else. I’m cheap damnit and don’t want to buy new instruments but I don’t ever see electric guitar, keys or bass at the football games.
Share this post with
Drums!
Trombone
Don’t have him play trombone. He’ll be mocked: "Tromboner." The trombone section is the one with the misfits and the losers. They’re always doing stuff like hitting cute girls in the back of the head with their slides.
My youngest will go in for a
My youngest will go in for a "test" today for the percussion section. The band teacher is only filled one of the 3 spots and knows we have drums at home. Unfortunately my boy has not ever really practiced drumming and doesn’t have much of a natural rythm yet. He will need to play a rythm for the teacher as his test, so last night I showed him how to hold a stick and then taught him to do the old RRLR LLRL deal and made him practice for an hour. I was surprised he was able to "stick" with it for that long. We shall see, maybe I should ask the band teacher if he knows where I can get a rusty trombone?
Drums!
Most parents sterotypically shrink from the very thought of drums IN THE HOUSE! MAKING ALL THAT DAMN RACKET!, but I wanted my kids to choose drums in the school band. Unfortunately, when it was H’s turn to join band, and I told the band teacher I wanted H to play drums, she actually tried to talk me out of it. At first I thought she was going to tell me something I did not know, but then it dawned on me that the message buried in her garrulous condescention was the muthafuckin’ obvious one: "Drums make lots of racket! Especially when kids practice! You might not like it, Mom!" She truly thought I was that stupid. UH. She always acted like she was slumming — could barely be bothered to deal with these philistines. OK. Anyway! So, then she informs me that she doesn’t let kids play drums unless they’ve had at least two years of piano lessons. She tells me this on the day he is eligible to start band, which starts THAT WEEK. They don’t tell you two years before band starts. What? How the hell do they get drummers? What if all the kids who have had piano lessons don’t want to play drums? WhatEVERRRR. Anyway! I would encourage choosing drums because they’re fun to play, especially for kids; it’s a little more likely that the kid will stick with drums (basement — or Papa Pete’s! — rock band vs. KSO) rather than carry on with that tuba playing throughout the dorm years; we NEED more drummers, and what if he’s a great drummer? We especially need those; if you have drums in the house, you get to play them, too!; and for every kid I get playing drums in school band, a cockroach of regret gets crushed to death in my soul.Also, drums are cool. Anyone who ever got teased for playing drums was either a Klansman in a previous life, or was in a John Hughes movie with Eric Stoltz.
P.S. Can we get Graves outta the basement long enough to get him back on the World’s Loudest Marching Band wagon? Then you’ll see some guitar, bass and keys out there!
Unlike most parents, I have
Unlike most parents, I have a barn with a jam room with a permenant set up of drums out there. Yes it’s loud, but not in the house. I could really dig an adult marching band… that could be fun fun fun with the right people. I once tried to start a polka band but alas nobody took me seriously,… or was it nobody really had the interest. Either way that’s how it goes.
It’ll be interesting to see what the band teacher has to say. I know space is limited in their program but I’ve actually got enough gear that I could send a snare/tom/bass whatever to school for him to use there and still have my setup at home.
Do they still rent instruments?
This is coming from my own personal scar tissue, so keep that in mind, but I’d probably let the kid have the last word in instrument selection. Even if they come up with something ridiculous. Since my dad was a band director, we had quite a selection of instruments laying around the house. Although I really wanted to play flute, my dad decided I had too much lip (no, literally!), and should probably play clarinet instead. Or tuba. Or saxophone! Clarinet was the 2nd most feminine instrument I could think of, so I settled for that, but I really think I would have tried harder to fail at flute. I hated the clarinet. I liked sucking on reeds, but I didn’t really like the sound of the instrument. I never, never practiced. I quit at the end of 8th grade.
This is only my band story! I have an equally stupid and self-damaging orchestra and piano story, if you want to hear it. Hence, the guitar lessons at age 35.
trombonists do it in 7 positions
Band teachers and their obsession with lip sizes, gets kids on weird instruments all the time.
I was already playing piano when the band tests indicated I’d make a fine trombonist, so I took it up even though I didn’t care a lot about it. I just wanted to make music. Trombone helped me learn guitar (positions become frets). It’s a ridiculous instrument, but I had fun.
Drummers always seemed to have the most fun in sectionals because they were all the way in the back and would likely be ignored by the conductor, slaving away on the second flute parts in the front, if they wanted to make fun or throw shit.
Becky, your nephew looks like Dennis Wilson in that photo!
thanks for the feedback
Thanks for the feedback band peeps. This is all new to me as I never got to partake in band. My own experience was wanting to play percussion/rtythm blocks in music class and the music teacher not liking my banging randomly along to the melody line vs. actually keeping a tempo. When band rolled around I was told there was room in the horn section by the band teacher but later told we could not afford the rental $$ from the parents. Sometime in late middleschool my dad installed a wood stove and my summers and weekends became filled with the joy of cutting fire wood. This also killed my attempt to play football in highschool as I was told It cost too much and I wouldn’t be able to make practices because I’d be cutting wood. In any case it’s cool to be the parent and be in a position where I can indulge my kids in things like ski club and such, but the downside is I know practly nothing about these things other then they can be fun.
Ok, on choosing the instruments, my son came to me with the idea of playing drums, so it’s not forced on him, but I’m hoping we can force it on the band teacher. I was showing Jack some of the rudements two nights ago and I’m impressed with his enthusiasm and ability to sit and practice them. He’s very sloppy and his timing is horrible, but damn if he doesn’t sit there and focus. It’s really cool to see him trying so hard, and he was so excited yesterday after having his first band class. He told us that band will make him smarter because all the smart kids were in band class. I shall be picking up a metronome for him to practice with so he can gain a sense of timing.
Success!
Success!
The boy made it into the percussion squad and is super excited about it. Now I’ve got to dig up a metronome so he can practice practice practice.
Metronome
$15 on Craigslist.
Every band needs a drummer,
Every band needs a drummer, good choice. Now he will start to feel neglected like nobody is paying attention to him way in the back with the motherfucking quads.
metro gnome
Thanks for the tree tip, er tip tree yahmo gonna contact that metro gnome. Man the boy is excited and I’m excited for him, time to get out my spare snare and put new heads on it. The band teacher said they could keep one there so he doesn’t have to lug the instrument home every day.