School band

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A school band is a group of student musicians who rehearse and perform instrumental music together. A concert band is usually under the direction one or more conductors (band directors). A school band consists of wind instruments and percussion instruments, although upper level bands may also have string basses or bass guitar.

School bands tend to be more common in the United States than others due to a vast increase in funding to music education in recent years. School bands in the United Kingdom are generally similar to those in the US although pure brass bands are more commonplace in schools than in the US. Some countries usually prefer certain special types of bands, usually drums, over conventional ones. The school band movement in Japan is unusually strong, organized around an enormous competition system administered by the All-Japan Band Association. Many international observers of Japanese school bands consider them to be the most impressive in the world, particularly among very young students, and Japan is also home to one of the world's leading professional concert bands, the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra.

Contents

[edit] Middle school bands

Although some children learn an instrument prior to entering a middle school (or junior high), students in music education programs within the United States and Canada generally start daily band classes in the 6th or 7th Grade. The students usually make up a band based upon their grade which may then be broken up into sectionals to provide better instrument-specific instruction.

A "beginning" band, consisting of the youngest students in the school, usually gives two or three concerts a year, and may participate in a local/state contest. These bands are given easy but challenging music to learn, often with many duplicate parts and simple rhythms. Students sometimes may be required to memorize the 12 major scales and hand in practice logs.

Depending upon the size of the school, there may be one to three "higher level" bands after the beginning band. These bands are usually divided similarly to high school bands. Some schools require students to audition and be placed in a band according to their ability on their instrument. Others will assign students based on their performance as seen in class. Yet others will simply sort the students according to their age or grade level. Most of these decisions are decided by the conductor.

[edit] High school bands

High school bands typically challenge students musically more than those in middle school. Music is much more difficult with more complex passages, intricate rhythms and more involved phrasing. Selections also vary in style. A well-rounded band is expected to be able to play a wide variety of music, ranging from serious 'program music' to lighter 'pops-style' music. For many high school students, school bands are the main form of music education available to them in school. Marches were the first major contributions to the wind band repertoire. There are many amazing pieces other than marches written for wind band at present, but there are some historical standards that should be included into the repertoire of advanced ensembles. Some of the most notable of these pieces are Holst's Second Suite in F, and Grainger's Children's March and Lincolnshire Posy among others.

Below is a list of the instrumentation in a typical band at the high school level. Middle school/junior high bands are usually around the upper values for each instrument. Instrumentation in beginner bands is usually much larger than this. College and professional bands generally have smaller numbers of players. These numbers may vary widely, based on the instrument and the people playing them (as many people playing instruments such as tuba may drop out, causing others to change instruments to fill the need).

Woodwind

Brass

Strings

Percussion

There are a variety of other auxiliary percussion instruments used on specific pieces.

[edit] College bands

Many colleges/universities have band as a class. Some are integrated within a 'Music' course while others are not. They tend to be larger than a high school band and play at a higher level.

[edit] Other school bands

There are many other school band opportunities for students. Most of these fall under the jurisdiction of the director that teaches the daily band classes, whether or not the smaller groups meet daily or during school hours.

[edit] Marching band

Main article: Marching band

Many schools, especially high schools in the United States, have a marching band. A school marching band may contain from 11 to over 500 students. Marching bands often practice frequently during the late summer and early fall and most often attend their school's football games, playing music in the stands, and marching a show during halftime. A show is usually between 6 and 10 minutes long, but many competitions place restrictions on length. Bands often compete in marching band competitions throughout the marching season (typically the same time as football season). Competitions vary in intensity. Some areas have many smaller, local competitions hosted by individual schools. Others host a regional competition. Others, such as Bands of America competitions are nationally known and take place in professional arenas.

In addition to their show, marching bands often march parades. Often this is limited to their city or town's municipal parades, but some bands travel to participate in well known parades, such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Years Day.

[edit] Jazz Band

Main article: Jazz band

Many schools have jazz programs in addition to their concert program. Different schools have different time slots for their jazz band. Some meet as an actual class during the school day. Others choose to practice after school two or three times a week. Meeting as a class during school can often cause schedule conflicts with students' academic classes. Typical instrumentation for jazz ensembles will include trumpets, trombones, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, a drum set (often called a 'trap set',) guitar, bass guitar, piano and often, a vibraphone. Many areas have jazz festivals, but the popularity of these widely vary from different regions of the country. Jazz bands are most often used as an ambassador ensemble for the band program as a whole. In addition, jazz education is seen as growing in popularity as a speciality area within school music departments.

[edit] Chamber Ensembles

Schools rarely have chamber music ensembles that meet as real classes, usually depending on the region, state and budget. Most of these groups are ad hoc ensembles put together by the director or the students themselves for a contest or recital. Examples would be clarinet quartets, woodwind quintet, brass quintet, duets, and trios. Groups comprising of the entire woodwind or brass section of a band are also sometimes formed.

[edit] All-region bands

Perhaps not associated with the individual school, All-Region bands are audition-only groups for the most advanced players in each school. There are many different "All-Region" bands, ranging from the most local "All-County" or "All-District"(when referring to school districts) to the more prestigious "All-State". Many states also have a level between County and State bands which varies in name according to the area. These events are often highly enjoyed by the students that attend them. Musical literature is often increased in difficulty for the concerts, providing a challenge that isn't seen at schools. Students also get to meet new players on their instrument and share stories from their own band experiences. Region bands typically last over a weekend, though some may meet for over a week before performing a concert.

[edit] Stereotypes and popular culture

[edit] 'Band geek'

"Band geek" is, in a literal definition, a person obsessed with playing band music. However, the term usually relates to the fact that most people who were in school bands in the 1970s-1980s were known to be 'smart' among their peers.

Note that the term, as well as many stereotypes has fallen out of popularity in many schools. In fact, it has become a label of pride for many band members, being found on t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc.

The term "band nerd" is also used as well as band geek, depending on your school.

[edit] Movies

  • Popular films with school bands in it storyline
Strike Up the Band, 1940
A musical regarding a teen's attempt to meet director Mr. Paul Whiteman.[1]
Mr. Holland's Opus, 1995
A struggling composer ends up making an impact on the lives of high schoolers through music.[2]
Band, 1998
A reflection of a school's marching band from summer camp to competition and everything in between.[3]
American Pie Series, 2001
Although a movie about teen angst, a male teen falls for a female "band geek".[4]
Drumline, 2002
The members of a collegiate marching band fight their way to get noticed by its director.[5]
  • Popular collegiate marching bands used in films
UCLA Bruin Marching Band, over 20 films[6]
USC Trojan Marching Band, 9 films[7]
  • Popular collegiate marching bands used in film soundtracks
University of Southern California Marching Band, 1 film[8]
Los Angeles CA Marching Band, 1 film[9]
  • Other collegiate bands in movies
The University of North Alabama Pride of Dixie Marching Band was featured in the 1994 Academy Award winning movie Blue Sky [10]

[edit] References

 This article or section relies largely or entirely upon a single source.
Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations of additional sources.
  1. ^ Information found on www.imdb.com
  2. ^ Information found on www.imdb.com
  3. ^ Information found on www.imdb.com
  4. ^ Information found on www.imdb.com
  5. ^ Information found on www.imdb.com
  6. ^ Information found on www.uclaband.com
  7. ^ Information found on www.imdb.com
  8. ^ Information found on www.imdb.com
  9. ^ Information found on www.imdb.com
  10. ^ Soundtrack credit found on www.imdb.com

[edit] See also

Look up School band in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[edit] External links