As we stated in the brochure we mailed home a few weeks ago, band takes place during the school day. The students are well supervised with three or more instructors in each class and receive a great deal of one-on-one attention.  Band students do not need to know how to play any instrument when they come to us; we take each note one at a time and help them build their ability from the very beginning. We only ask that students practice at home about 20 minutes each day. We feel that, as beginners, any more time than this would be counterproductive.

We will help your child with choosing the instrument that they will be most successful playing. The more successful they are, the happier they will be in band. After presenting all of the instruments to them in class, we will ask your child to choose their top three favorites and help them make a decision based upon the physical attributes of the general area of their mouth and jaw. Instruments are usually purchased on a rent-to-own basis from an approved music store with very affordable rates - starting at $25 per month. The instrument would be your child’s, straight from the music company with no shared mouthpieces.  If your child qualifies to play one of the very large instruments, they will be rented from the school as we do not expect parents to purchase the very expensive, large instruments such as tubas. However, they would still purchase their own brand new mouthpiece. We strongly discourage purchasing instruments from a store that specializes in many other items other than band instruments.

We expect band members to be well behaved at all times and to be good students. Most all of the students who choose to be in the band continue to do so throughout their school career.

The only thing to do at this point is to indicate on your child’s schedule preferences for next year that they want to be in the band!! Please feel free to call us if you have any questions:  379-3100 ext. 8.

                  Welcome to the Clay-Chalkville Band Program!