Facepalm

[Gumbo4x4]

Back story - the school DD10 attends does a weird thing with band. Rather than letting the kids choose their instruments, they "test" all the kids on everything & assign them an instrument. The test consists of about 30 seconds of each instrument.

Knowing this & also knowing DD wants to play drums, we put her in drum lessons over a year ago. So, tryout day was Friday & of course she scored highest on drums.

Band director approached DW this morning & said she thought DD would be "bored with band because she was too advanced on drums" and she suggested DD take up another instrument for at least a year......

Facepalm

 

[Turn the Page]

Our band program didn't have try outs per se but you would list your three preferences of instruments and the directors would assign you to one. I'm sure there were certain things they were looking for and it wasn't just random but I don't know what they were.

I can see the directors point about your daughter being bored. However, if she has just been playing drums perhaps she could go on something different like timpani or keyboards. Both are in the percussion section and may give her enough stimulation so she wouldn't be as bored.

Although, if her band program is anything like mine, the first few weeks are very much about teaching the basics of musical theory and really individualized training on how to hold instruments, etc. It's boring for everybody.

 

[whitney250]

When I was in school we had to take a test to determine how well we read music, and then had to pick 3 instruments we would like to play. They let us try them out before school started and we were scored on them. We were assigned our instrument depending on our test scores and how well we scored on the instruments on the first day of school. Drums were always the most in demand instrument, so it was very difficult to get them.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Back story - the school DD10 attends does a weird thing with band. Rather than letting the kids choose their instruments, they "test" all the kids on everything & assign them an instrument. The test consists of about 30 seconds of each instrument.

Knowing this & also knowing DD wants to play drums, we put her in drum lessons over a year ago. So, tryout day was Friday & of course she scored highest on drums.

Band director approached DW this morning & said she thought DD would be "bored with band because she was too advanced on drums" and she suggested DD take up another instrument for at least a year......

Facepalm

And here I thought being proactive was a good thing. Will we never learn?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

And here I thought being proactive was a good thing. Will we never learn?

And the crazy thing is it's not like she's a musical genius. She just has a very basic working knowledge of the drums & how to read the music, which is something her peers do not have as they haven't had lessons. She's a few months ahead of the curve at best.

 

[wilkeliza]

And the crazy thing is it's not like she's a musical genius. She just has a very basic working knowledge of the drums & how to read the music, which is something her peers do not have as they haven't had lessons. She's a few months ahead of the curve at best.

Just wondering is this also the type of school that usually sells or rents the instruments to their band members? Maybe they are pushing her to try something else so that they can sell you the package. I remember my band director being very upset that my mom had already bought me a clarinet. I tested fine for it (I knew the test before we bought it as my 2 older brothers were already in band at that point) and was allowed to play but he kept pushing for me to do something else and it came out that it was because they took cuts on instruments they were able to sale.

 

[Jennasis]

30 years ago when I wanted to play an instrument in grade school we also had to test. If you wanted to play a woodwind you had to show you could actually get the mouthpiece to make noise. If you wanted a brass, same thing. I couldn't get the flute mouthpiece to play but was able to make the reed work on a clarinet mouthpiece so I got the clarinet.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

And the crazy thing is it's not like she's a musical genius. She just has a very basic working knowledge of the drums & how to read the music, which is something her peers do not have as they haven't had lessons. She's a few months ahead of the curve at best.

I can still remember how excited my oldest son was about joining the band in 6th grade. I was a percussionist and that is what he wanted to do as well. The music teacher insisted that he would play the clarinet and that was the day his future in the band became a non issue. I understand they have to have a balance of players in all of the instruments, but I wonder how many kids walk away when they have no options but to play what the teacher needs. I guess I should count my blessings because, looking back, I have no idea how my parents lived with me and a drum set all in the same house.

 

[PlutoRocks]

I can still remember how excited my oldest son was about joining the band in 6th grade. I was a percussionist and that is what he wanted to do as well. The music teacher insisted that he would play the clarinet and that was the day his future in the band became a non issue. I understand they have to have a balance of players in all of the instruments, but I wonder how many kids walk away when they have no options but to play what the teacher needs. I guess I should count my blessings because, looking back, I have no idea how my parents lived with me and a drum set all in the same house.

Count me as one of the kids who didn't do band because I couldn't play the instrument I wanted to play. I wanted to play clarinet but they told me I had to play trumpet - I didn't want to so I walked away. This was in sixth grade. Oh well - I joined the dance team instead so it's not like I was scarred for life but still...

 

[PattnFmly]

This is interesting. In our schools, in grammar school, they do have "try the instruments" day in September. But the kids all get to play what they want to play. If there's too many on one instrument they just deal with it. Now in the high school band, if there's a lot on one instrument, they may ask some of the kids if they want to ALSO play something in the same family, but they don't deny any kids their instrument of choice. The kids then swap off during a concert. My one son plays tenor or baritone sax depending on what each song calls for. There's another boy who plays both trumpet and French horn for the same reason.

 

[jdb in AZ]

DD played the French horn and was in all-state. She tried out for drum major and won, but the high school band director asked her to keep playing the marching horn instead. There were some tears, but she "took one for the team" her junior year. She went on to play in two national honors bands, then stayed with the horn in college. Ironically the university marching band director needed more percussionists so she ended up with cymbals for marching season but played the horn in orchestra.

 

[Nayan]

Everyone at my school wanted flute, sax, drums, etc. I got the oboe . I'm not sure how much babysitting money I spent on reeds for the darn thing, but in 9th grade I was asked to play three solo's for the school spring concert. I also got to play bassoon and xylophone, which were both interesting.

 

[EMom]

When I was in school, they asked what you wanted to play and you told them. If they got too many in one instrument, they steered you to another. The goody goody girls played flute and the popular girls played clarinet. The quirkier girls played other instruments. Boys never played flute or clarinet. Times have changed.

A few years ago, DD went in on sign up day and they tested students. They measure their arm lengths, etc. The one that stunned me was when they assessed their LIPS. DD has very full lips. I joke that they are the kind people pay good money to get, like lipstick models. We were told she was not suitable for the flute and that she could play it for perhaps a year or two at most before her full lips became a hindrance. WTH? Thinner lips do better, we were told. Alrighty. She wound up with the clarinet, after I nixed the trumpet, telling her she'd scare the cats if she practiced that thing in the house. I don't remember all the things they did, but they were measuring kids, doing breathing tests into peak flow meters and all sorts of stuff. I just shook my head. It's a huge school and fed into a high school with six bands, so they can be selective. But it was nuts.

DD only stayed in two years. They encouraged us to rent from an affiliated music store, but we did the math and decided to buy. We purchased a clarinet at a huge discount by watching for a sale, and two years later we sold it for just a little less than we had paid.

 

[Turn the Page]

When I was in school, they asked what you wanted to play and you told them. If they got too many in one instrument, they steered you to another. The goody goody girls played flute and the popular girls played clarinet. The quirkier girls played other instruments. Boys never played flute or clarinet. Times have changed.

A few years ago, DD went in on sign up day and they tested students. They measure their arm lengths, etc. The one that stunned me was when they assessed their LIPS. DD has very full lips. I joke that they are the kind people pay good money to get, like lipstick models. We were told she was not suitable for the flute and that she could play it for perhaps a year or two at most before her full lips became a hindrance. WTH? Thinner lips do better, we were told. Alrighty. She wound up with the clarinet, after I nixed the trumpet, telling her she'd scare the cats if she practiced that thing in the house. I don't remember all the things they did, but they were measuring kids, doing breathing tests into peak flow meters and all sorts of stuff. I just shook my head. It's a huge school and fed into a high school with six bands, so they can be selective. But it was nuts.

DD only stayed in two years. They encouraged us to rent from an affiliated music store, but we did the math and decided to buy. We purchased a clarinet at a huge discount by watching for a sale, and two years later we sold it for just a little less than we had paid.

It's funny you mention boys not playing clarinet. We had a very large band, the high school band had more than 300 members compared to a high school student body size of around 1300 so the band is pretty popular. Of all the clarinets only one was a boy.....and I married him last fall. I still joke with him that I sat next to him in band every day for 6 years and had a crush on him in high school and it took him almost 20 years to catch up lol.

I can see the problems with the lips and such. If you can't get the enough airflow or have the right anatomy for the various instruments it just won't work.

 

[cabanafrau]

And the crazy thing is it's not like she's a musical genius. She just has a very basic working knowledge of the drums & how to read the music, which is something her peers do not have as they haven't had lessons. She's a few months ahead of the curve at best.

I've never dealt with my own children in band, however I can see right here what the problem is. You're doing it wrong. The proper way to handle this is first of all insisting your child is a musical prodigy, a modern day reincarnation along the talent potential of a young Mozart.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

I've never dealt with my own children in band, however I can see right here what the problem is. You're doing it wrong. The proper way to handle this is first of all insisting your child is a musical prodigy, a modern day reincarnation along the talent potential of a young Mozart.

Throw in a name change to hyphenate her middle name to something like Firstname-Mariah-Gaga-Miley-Beyonce-Madonna-Taylor-Janis-Adele-Britney-Christina-Katy-Pink-Gwen-Avril-Gumbo4x4. They'll know she's bound for stardom with a name like that. It's a can't miss.

 

[diznygirl]

Our band program is always looking for good percussionists. Sounds like it's more that they need to fill other spots. I'd have your daughter stand her ground about wanting to be a percussionist. No sense in wasting a year playing something else.

 

[Jaya]

My daughter wanted to play the flute in junior high marching band. The band director assigned her the French horn. Of course, we were expected to buy her instrument. Buy a French horn? I think not. She played the flute. Nobody played the French horn. The band got along just fine.

 

[RedAngie]

 

[ronandannette]

I wish they would have done the "test" back in DS's band days...he was assigned the slide-trombone and at the time had arms too short to hit all the notes. That entire band was a train-wreck; I can still remember the recitals - total cacophonies...