Dear Beginner Band Parents
Dear Beginner Band Parents,
Welcome to the Olive Branch Band Program! We are very excited to have your child in our band program, and we also look forward to working with you, the parent, in the months/years to come. Band is a special thing for your child to be a part of. Not only will your child learn to play an instrument, they will also meet lifelong friends. From a personal stand point, I can tell you that my best friends are the friends I have met in band. I know many of you may not know a lot about band. That’s ok! I want to provide you with the most information possible. I hope this letter answers a lot of your questions.
I want you to understand the process we go through to determine what instrument your child will play. Over the next couple of weeks your child will have the opportunity to play all the instruments we have in band. We (the band staff) will divide the kids into groups and allow each child to briefly play each instrument (we will show them what to do). This process allows your child to know how it feels to play each instrument and gives them an idea of what they might like to play. As the students do this, a band director will give them a score of 1-10 (10 being the best). At the end of that process we will pass out a sheet of paper with all their scores on it, and the students will be allowed to mark their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for what they want to play. Most students will get to play whatever their first choice is. Unfortunately, some instruments do have to be limited.For example, we can’t have 50 saxophone players in the band! We have to make sure our band is balanced with all the instruments. We do our best to help them make an educated decision as to what instrument they could have the most success playing! Please understand that we will do our absolute best to set your child up for success!
The most common questions we get are “How much does band cost” and “Do we have to buy an instrument”. Each student must provide their own instrument. Instruments vary in cost. Therefore, it is hard to tell you exactly how much band will cost. In a few weeks we will be sending home a detailed price list. To help you out with the instrument buying process, a representative from Amro Music in Memphis will be coming to our school on August 25th. He will be offering a “Rent to Own” option for you with no obligation to buy. You will be able to make payments on an instrument rather than purchasing one outright. Amro is an excellent company with terrific costumer service, and we highly recommend them. They offer a Maintenance and Replacement plan (M&R) that you can pay about $5 extra a month for. If anything happens to the instrument (broken, stolen, lost) they will repair or replace the horn with no cost to you. That being said,we do not require you to buy an instrument from Amro. There are plenty of other options available for purchasing instruments that we will be talking to you about when it gets close to time to buy a horn. In the meantime we ask you that you DO NOT by an instrument that you haven’t talked to us about. Lots of companies make a lot of VERY BAD horns. Please consult with us before making any kind of purchase. There will be meetings at 5:00 and 6:30 for different instrument groups. We will give you more information about the meeting closer to the actual date.
Finally, please understand that we require students to do band for at least one year. As a parent, you know that a child’s attention spanmay not be very long. They will be over the moon when they get their new instrument, and then in about a month some of them will want to quit band. We believe that students should finish what they start. In order to make an informed decision they really should stay in band for at least a year. When I was in 6th grade, I wanted to quit band!! Now I am a band director! Band is such a positive thing, and we believe that if kids stay in for year they will begin to understand that.
I am attaching a list of “frequently asked questions” to this letter. If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us. The best line of communication for us is email. We are in and out of the office and rarely have time to sit down and talk on the phone. If you do call the band hall, please make sure you leave a voicemail! We are here to serve you and your children!
Sincerely,
Jason Gunn
Band Director
Band Frequently Asked Questions
1. Someone I know already owns an instrument. Can my child use this in band?
Yes! We have many students that do this. We would like to take a look at the instrument to make sure that it is in good working order. This is imperative to the success of your child.
2. Does band provide college scholarships?
YES! All students that have graduated from the Olive Branch Band Program have
received college scholarships if they were in college band.
3. How often will the band perform? Do you have after school rehearsals?
The 6th grade band will perform 3-4 times this year. We do something called “band night” in which all of the OB bands grades 6-12 perform on the football field at OBHS. We will also have a Christmas concert in December, and a Spring Concert in April or May. Our beginner grade band has NO after school rehearsals.
4. Will my child be entering a successful band program?
Absolutely! Our 7th and 8th grade bands have received superior ratings at their spring festival over the past several years. Our high school marching band is the 7 time grand champion of the Mississippi Marching Invitational. Our high school Symphonic Band has received all superior ratings over the past 10 years, and is one of the premier instrumental ensembles in the state of Mississippi!
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