Do you get any input about what musical instrument you child will play in school?

[luvmy3]

I am curious because my ds just had his band and orchestra meeting last week and we got the letter home today saying what instrument was picked for him. Before the meeting they have the kids pick 3 in order and at the meeting they let them try them out. My ds didn't have a #1, he was tied between two and he did an excellent job on the percussion. I explained that we have a drum kit at home so he has experience with keeping rhythm etc. He was shown a note on the bells and asked to play a song just using his knowledge of what notes make up the song and where they would be found on the keys, and he nailed it. It came naturally to him, great I thought, he found something he wants to do and can be very good at it.
Then it was on to the meeting for orchestra instruments. He picked violin which he likes and I'm sure he will be good at after he practices. He was happy with that choice as well but I wanted to speak to the orchestra teacher about his personality type and why I didn't think it was a good choice for him. I am not going into details here, but I did for her and gave her specific examples of what we went through when he was learning the recorder, and other examples of non music related things. Anyway, she totally blew what I was saying off, it didnt matter to her, it was almost like she wasn't listening because she said things like "oh I didn't want to practice either but I did and I wanted to give up at first because I wasn't good at it". Trust me this has nothing to do with him not wanting to practice because he isn't good at it, it goes much deeper and darker for him. I was hoping that after getting together with the band teacher (who unfortunately was not the school's band teacher) they would discuss our meetings and what I had to say and he would be picked for percussion. He wasn't and I feel like they really didn't care what I had to say, they needed a violin to fill a spot, he tried it, so they picked him for it. I just don't get it, if they want to foster a love of music for these kids why in the world wouldn't they take into account personality traits along with ability. The only thing I can think of is when she calls me during the next school year to discuss him (which I guarantee will happen), I can just tell her that I tried to tell her.

Just wondering if music programs in all schools are like this?

 

[MerMom60_94]

I am curious because my ds just had his band and orchestra meeting last week and we got the letter home today saying what instrument was picked for him. Before the meeting they have the kids pick 3 in order and at the meeting they let them try them out. My ds didn't have a #1, he was tied between two and he did an excellent job on the percussion. I explained that we have a drum kit at home so he has experience with keeping rhythm etc. He was shown a note on the bells and asked to play a song just using his knowledge of what notes make up the song and where they would be found on the keys, and he nailed it. It came naturally to him, great I thought, he found something he wants to do and can be very good at it.
Then it was on to the meeting for orchestra instruments. He picked violin which he likes and I'm sure he will be good at after he practices. He was happy with that choice as well but I wanted to speak to the orchestra teacher about his personality type and why I didn't think it was a good choice for him. I am not going into details here, but I did for her and gave her specific examples of what we went through when he was learning the recorder, and other examples of non music related things. Anyway, she totally blew what I was saying off, it didnt matter to her, it was almost like she wasn't listening because she said things like "oh I didn't want to practice either but I did and I wanted to give up at first because I wasn't good at it". Trust me this has nothing to do with him not wanting to practice because he isn't good at it, it goes much deeper and darker for him. I was hoping that after getting together with the band teacher (who unfortunately was not the school's band teacher) they would discuss our meetings and what I had to say and he would be picked for percussion. He wasn't and I feel like they really didn't care what I had to say, they needed a violin to fill a spot, he tried it, so they picked him for it. I just don't get it, if they want to foster a love of music for these kids why in the world wouldn't they take into account personality traits along with ability. The only thing I can think of is when she calls me during the next school year to discuss him (which I guarantee will happen), I can just tell her that I tried to tell her.

Just wondering if music programs in all schools are like this?

My daughter picked the instrument that interested her. She didn't have to come up with a #1 choice, #2 choice, and #3 choice. Listing choices makes sense though so you don't have an entire orchestra with one instrument. Either way, I didn't have any input, nor did I feel the need to have input. I would think if the teacher is experienced at all she knows what she is doing and I would give her the benefit of the doubt. If you really would prefer your son play drums, I would just get him private lessons aside from school.

 

[marcyinPA]

When my kids decided to take up an instrument in fourth grade (which is when instruction at the elementary level starts in our district), they were told to put their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices down. In every case, with the exception of percussion, the kids choices are granted. The problem with percussion is that it is VERY competitive. Once the kids move on to middle school band, and then high school band, not every percussionist will make the band. There are always WAY more kids who try out than there are spots...and too many percussionists will cause the band to be unbalanced. (our high school band actually had that same problem with saxophones this year...too many of them, which made the band unbalanced).

Our elementary instrumental teacher only chooses three kids for percussion every year, and she bases that number on how many feeder schools go into the middle school. We have five feeder schools that feed into our neighborhood middle school... (when my DS11 was going into fourth grade, we lucked out, as there were only three kids who wanted to do percussion that year....so he was automatically chosen. Phew)

My oldest son plays the trumpet in our HS band, and has never had a problem with making the band.

My youngest son plays drums, is going into 6th grade, and tried out for the middle school band. He had to wait two weeks to find out if he made it. Fortunately, he did!!! There were 22 kids who tried out for percussion and the director only took 10. The other kids will be offered another instrument (more than likely, baritone or french horn...those are the ones that they push around here!) but if they choose not to, they are pretty much s.o.l.

My drummer knows he needs to work his behind off if he wants to make it into the HS band. Last year, they only took 3...yes 3....drummers from the incoming freshmen who tried out. This is in a band of over 300 kids. The competition is really, really stiff in percussion.

 

[twinglesmome]

Our local elementary schools allow children to take strings lessons in third grade. Fourth and fifth graders have the option to take strings lessons or band instrument lessons. There is no meeting with parents and I am unaware about "tryouts". I am not sure how it works in the secondary schools.

Does your school loan out the instruments? Here, parents are responsible for renting/providing instruments. Don't know if that makes a difference

 

[HM]

Our kids could choose whichever instrument they wanted.And they don't have to take any music class in Middle School if they don't want to. They can choose another elective class instead.

DS chose Violin and DD chose Cello in the Strings classes. Neither was all that interested in Band classes.

 

[mjkacmom]

Well, since 99.9% of the kids also want percussion, you better have years of drum lessons under your belt to get chosen! Of course my ds wanted the drums - ended up with the clarinet. He's actually gotten quite good, and will play it in band in JH.

 

[jen0610]

For our school, once the incoming 6th grade got confirmation that they were placed in band as their elective, there was a night (during May) that we got to come into the school and meet with the band teacher and the music store reps.

They had just about every band instrument there for the kids to try. But, they also had a maximum number of spots for each instrument. Percussion filled up VERY FAST. DS tried the trompone and trumpet before trying the clairnet. He was quickly able to make notes and he liked it, so that is what he went with. Once he knew what he wanted to play, they had several options - used vs new, high to low price clairnets for us to lease or purchase. They also had a learners book with a DVD for the kids to purchase and work on over the summer. I was glad he picked what he did, as I played the clairnet and was able to help him out.

This year, his 8th grade year, he played the school owned bass clairnet and has LOVED it. We have already talked with the high school director and he has one of their bass clairnets on hold of DS.

 

[PaulaSue]

OP, that is weird IMO. Here and at our old school the kids go to "classes" to learn about all inst. and then the child picks which.

 

[luvmy3]

Our local elementary schools allow children to take strings lessons in third grade. Fourth and fifth graders have the option to take strings lessons or band instrument lessons. There is no meeting with parents and I am unaware about "tryouts". I am not sure how it works in the secondary schools.

Does your school loan out the instruments? Here, parents are responsible for renting/providing instruments. Don't know if that makes a difference

We don't have try-outs at the elementary level, this meeting was just a way for the students to familiarize themselves with the instruments they picked and to be evaluated by the teacher to see which best fit them. My point was that, ability shouldn't be the only thing to come into play when deciding which instrument is the best fit. If you are going to have these meetings, and make the parent be there, whats the point really, why not just do like the pp school and let the kids play what they pick, or assign strings one year and then band another

The parents are responsible for the cost of renting or buying the intrument and I certainly understand that they have a maximum number of percussionists, violinists, trumpets, etc. I just think they see the choices the kids put down, and pick one for them before even going into the meeting, at least thats the impression she gave meby her response to my concerns.

 

[AristocatFan]

My 3 kids all picked their instruments; sax, percussion, & flute. Beginner band starts at 6th grade and the kids meet with the directors and try an assortment of instruments but the student picks.

Can't you just tell them your son wants to play in the band and not orchestra? Here you can do either one or both.

 

[luvmy3]

Well, since 99.9% of the kids also want percussion, you better have years of drum lessons under your belt to get chosen! Of course my ds wanted the drums - ended up with the clarinet. He's actually gotten quite good, and will play it in band in JH.

Actually more kids usually want violin. Maybe when they are in the Jr.High and high school it changes but in the 6th grade, there is a high demand for a violin spot.

 

[Mandychelle79]

Unless something has changed since my sister and I went to school

We got to pick the instruments we played. In high school I was asked to play another instrument, because there were too many flutes and I could basically "teach" myself the other instruments. Just had to learn the fingerings.


My dtg has already said she wants to play the flute, and I will allow that. My son, i told him if he plays drums, which he already loves to do, that he will have to take private piano lessons to learn to read music.

 

[luvmy3]

My 3 kids all picked their instruments; sax, percussion, & flute. Beginner band starts at 6th grade and the kids meet with the directors and try an assortment of instruments but the student picks.

Can't you just tell them your son wants to play in the band and not orchestra? Here you can do either one or both.

But he really does want to play the violin, and I am not looking for special treatment I just thought the purpose of the meeting was to get a feel for what would be best for him, not just what he (or they) wanted. I assumed parental input would be taken into consideration but you know what they say when you assume

My dd plays violin, I bet she thinks he'll be a student just like her.

 

[AristocatFan]

Unless something has changed since my sister and I went to school

We got to pick the instruments we played. In high school I was asked to play another instrument, because there were too many flutes and I could basically "teach" myself the other instruments. Just had to learn the fingerings.


My dtg has already said she wants to play the flute, and I will allow that. My son, i told him if he plays drums, which he already loves to do, that he will have to take private piano lessons to learn to read music.

I'm confused by this statement. Drummers do learn to read music.


OP, sorry, I thought he didn't want to play violin.

 

[MM27]

at my school they start in 3rd grade and the kids are allowed to pick whatever instrument they want. The instrumental teacher usually gets tons of drummers. He comes around in the beginning of the year and shows the kids all the instruments and plays a little on each for them.

We have a different teacher that strictly does violin for the district. They also start in 3rd grade.

 

[KristenHoneymooner]

In my district the kids got to choose what instrument to play in 4th grade. They did not try to fill a predetermined list to make sure that all instruments were covered, and there was no issue of "ability" since everyone was a beginner (and I don't see how ability can be evaluated quickly as seems to be the case in the OP's case).

Because of this, the flute section was huge (most of the girls)! However, it all worked out somehow and the band was complete.

 

[JessicaR]

Percussion choice was huge for both my boys - 4 years apart. Every kid wanted that as first choice. OK not every just many. My oldest picked percussion in 6th grade and got it. He stayed with it for 3 years. His teacher approached him and asked him to switch to French Horn. He and I were like huh? However my son liked the idea! This is his 4th year and he still loves it.

My youngest picked Trombone. He stayed with it for 3 years and decided he would like to be in chorus instead! Alrighty then!

I wouldnt put too much stock into what he starts out with. And - since he did pick it and it wasn't just assigned, let him try it! If he isn't happy he can change. Let him feel proud that he got what he picked and see how it goes.

 

[PirateSnowmen]

In fourth grade we were able to choose a string instrument - the orchestra teacher demonstrated all of the instruments to us and we picked which one we wanted to play. They didn't worry about balance or anything because the year was just about learning the instrument and not playing it in a group setting (we did have two concerts during the year, but we just played basic songs in one huge group). I chose the violin - I was really good at it (one of the top 5 students out of over 50 total violins), but it wasn't what I wanted to play.

In fifth grade, we were able to either choose a band instrument, stick with orchestra (in an actual orchestra setting with daily rehearsals), or do both. We had all of the band instruments demonstrated for us, and we chose our top 3 that we wanted to play. I decided to drop orchestra and start band. I chose trumpet as my #1 choice, then clarinet, then saxophone. We went down and tried out the instruments with the directors. I wasn't very good at trumpet, but they said I had a real natural talent for both the clarinet and sax. I had also told them that my mom played flute in high school and I had taught myself to (roughly) play her flute. They wanted me to try it, but I told them that I didn't want to try it because I definitley didn't want to play it, and that was that. They didn't try to force it on me. I ended up choosing clarinet.

I moved to TX (from NY) right before 7th grade started, and I continued playing the clarinet in jr. high and high school and I'm still playing it now in college. In high school I worked at an "elementary instrument drive" (where the kids come pick & try out the instruments). The directors demonstrated the instruments for the kids at school and the kids then wrote down their top 3 instrument choices. They then came up to the jr. high one night and were able to try out the 3 instruments they wanted. The directors really only try to change a kids mind if he/she is REALLY good at an instrument that they ended up not picking or if there are already too many kids signed up for a particular instrument. I know one night that I was there they had over 10 kids sign up for sax in just one night. After that they had to try to sway kids into trying other instruments, but if a kid REALLY wanted to play the sax, they didn't make them switch.

ETA: They always have a huge number of kids want to do percussion, so they actually make the kids try out with the percussion teacher. It isn't anything hard, but they are asked to keep a rythm, copy a technique or two that the teacher demonstrates, etc.

 

[Mandychelle79]

I'm confused by this statement. Drummers do learn to read music.


OP, sorry, I thought he didn't want to play violin.

They didnt at our small podunk school. They learned out to read note patterns but did not learn how to read music. In high school, it was the ones who played other instruments are the ones who did the bells and things for the band.

 

[twinglesmome]

We don't have try-outs at the elementary level, this meeting was just a way for the students to familiarize themselves with the instruments they picked and to be evaluated by the teacher to see which best fit them. My point was that, ability shouldn't be the only thing to come into play when deciding which instrument is the best fit. If you are going to have these meetings, and make the parent be there, whats the point really, why not just do like the pp school and let the kids play what they pick, or assign strings one year and then band another

The parents are responsible for the cost of renting or buying the intrument and I certainly understand that they have a maximum number of percussionists, violinists, trumpets, etc. I just think they see the choices the kids put down, and pick one for them before even going into the meeting, at least thats the impression she gave meby her response to my concerns.

I am not understanding the issue at hand. You mentioned in your original post that your son did not have a #1 choice and that percussion and violin were tied. Your son had the opportunity to become familiar with both percussion and violin at the meeting. The teacher(s) then evaluated him to determine the best fit. You stated that your son was happy with violin choice. It seems to me that he did get his pick of instrument and that the teacher thought it was a good fit! Perhaps the teacher(s) determined that your son was better suited for that particular instrument and not just trying to fill a spot...