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A school band is a group of student musicians who rehearse and perform instrumental music together. The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation Verb "studēre" An instrumental is a Musical composition or recording without Lyrics or any other sort of Vocal music; all of the Music is produced by Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. A concert band is usually under the direction one or more conductors (band directors). A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, or wind ensemble Conducting is the act of directing a Musical performance by way of visible gestures A school band consists of wind instruments and percussion instruments, although upper level bands may also have string basses or bass guitar. A wind instrument is a Musical instrument that contains some type of Resonator (usually a tube in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the

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. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 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. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located 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. The All-Japan Band Association (AJBA is an organization that exists solely for the purpose of facilitating an enormous annual competition among Japanese wind bands 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. The is a professional Concert band that has long been regarded as one of the world's finest perhaps rivaled only in recent years by the Dallas Wind Symphony (USA

Contents

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. Middle school or Junior High School serves as a "bridge" between the Elementary School and the High School Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 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. A concert is a live Performance, usually of Music, before an Audience. These bands are given easy but challenging music to learn, often with many duplicate parts and simple rhythms. Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμός - rhythmos, "any measured flow or movement symmetry" is the variation of the length and accentuation of Students sometimes may be required to memorize the 12 major scales and hand in practice logs. In Music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales It is made up of seven distinct Notes plus an eighth

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. High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution 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.

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. Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music Marches were the first major contributions to the wind band repertoire. A march, as a Musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a Military 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. Gustav Theodore Holst (21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934was an English Composer and was a music teacher for nearly 20 years George Percy Grainger (8 July 1882&ndash20 February 1961 was an Australian born Composer, Pianist and champion of the Saxophone and the

Below is a list of the instrumentation in a typical band at the high school level. In Music, the word instrumentation is used to refer to the particular combination of Musical instruments employed in a composition and to the properties 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. The piccolo is a small Flute. Like the flute the piccolo is normally pitched in the key of C one octave above the concert flute (making it effectively a sopranino The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its "Hautbois" redirects here for the strawberry variety see Hautbois strawberry. The cor anglais, or English horn, is a Double reed Woodwind Musical instrument in the Oboe family The bassoon is a Woodwind instrument in the Double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and Tenor registers and occasionally The soprano clarinets are a sub- family of the Clarinet family. The alto clarinet is a wind instrument of the Clarinet family The bass clarinet is a Musical instrument of the Clarinet family The alto saxophone is a member of the Saxophone a family of Woodwind instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the Saxophone family a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s The baritone saxophone, often called " bari sax " (to avoid confusion with the Baritone horn, which is often referred to simply as "baritone" is The trombone is a Musical instrument in the brass family Like all brass instruments it is a lip-reed Aerophone: sound is produced when the player’s The euphonium is a conical-bore, Baritone -voiced Brass instrument. The baritone horn, or simply baritone, is a member of the brass family of instruments Mediatubaogg -->The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched Brass instrument. The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member The viola is a bowed String instrument. It is the middle voice of the Violin family, The violoncello (abbreviated to cello, or 'cello, plural cellos or celli —the c is tʃ The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. The snare drum is a Drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire metal cable plastic cable or gut cords stretched across the a drumhead typically A tom-tom (not to be confused with a Tamtam) is a cylindrical Drum with no snare. A bass drum is a large Drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. Cymbals are a modern percussion instrument Cymbals consist of thin normally round plates of various Cymbal alloys; see Cymbal making for a discussion of their A crash cymbal is a type of Cymbal that produces a loud sharp "crash" and is used mainly for occasional accents as opposed to in Ostinato. A ride cymbal is a type of Cymbal that is a standard part of most Drum kits Its function is to maintain a steady Rhythmic pattern sometimes called a A suspended cymbal is any single Cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal The tambourine or Marine is a Musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame often of wood or plastic with pairs of small metal jingles The cabasa, similar to the Shekere, is a Percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of Steel ball chain wrapped around a wide cylinder The glockenspiel ( German, "set of bells quot or "play-bells" also known as orchestra bells and in its portable The xylophone (from the Greek words ξύλον - xylon, "wood" + φωνή - phone, "voice" meaning "wooden In some parts of Africa the term "marimba" refers to the Kalimba. Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are Musical instruments in the percussion family The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a Musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family Timpani (also known colloquially as kettledrums or kettle drums) are Musical instruments in the percussion family

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.

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.

Marching band

Main article: Marching band

Many schools, especially high schools in the United States, have a marching band. A marching band is in the broadest terms a group of performers that consist of instrumental Musicians and sometimes dance teams / color guard who generally perform A marching band is in the broadest terms a group of performers that consist of instrumental Musicians and sometimes dance teams / color guard who generally perform 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. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with 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. Honor Band A Bands of America Honor Band will perform in the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 2009 in Pasadena California.

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. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual Parade presented by Macy's Department store. The Tournament of Roses Parade was established and first held on January 1 1890 in Pasadena California, eight miles (13 km northeast of Downtown Los Angeles

Jazz Band

Main article: Jazz band

Many schools have jazz programs in addition to their concert program. A jazz band (or jazz ensemble) is a Musical ensemble that plays Jazz Music usually without a conductor 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.

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.

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.

Stereotypes and popular culture

'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.

Movies

Strike Up the Band, 1940
A musical regarding a teen's attempt to meet director Mr. Paul Whiteman. Paul Whiteman ( March 28, 1890 &ndash December 29, 1967) was an American orchestral [1]
Mr. Holland's Opus, 1995
A struggling composer ends up making an impact on the lives of high schoolers through music. Mr Holland's Opus is a 1995 Drama film in which Richard Dreyfuss plays Glenn Holland a musician and composer who takes a teaching job [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". American Pie is a 1999 teen comedy Film directed by Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz, and written by Adam [4]
Drumline, 2002
The members of a collegiate marching band fight their way to get noticed by its director. Drumline is a 2002 film directed by Charles Stone III. The screenplay which was inspired by the life of Dallas Austin [5]
UCLA Bruin Marching Band, over 20 films[6]
USC Trojan Marching Band, 9 films[7]
University of Southern California Marching Band, 1 film[8]
Los Angeles CA Marching Band, 1 film[9]
The University of North Alabama Pride of Dixie Marching Band was featured in the 1994 Academy Award winning movie Blue Sky [10]

References

  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

See also

External links

The University of North Alabama (abbreviated UNA is a Coeducational University located in Florence, Alabama, and the state's oldest four-year The Pride of Dixie is the official name of the University of North Alabama Marching band. Music in the Parks is a day-long adjudication festival for student choral orchestral and band ensembles held annually across North America Buraban is a popular Japanese slang term for Wind ensemble or Concert band.

Dictionary

school band

-noun

  1. A musical ensemble associated with a school, not necessarily a musical school; e.g. marching band.
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