My 8th grade son likes playing his bass guitar and was hoping to play in the high school jazz band.
Problem is I just found out that if one wants to be in Jazz band, they must also be in regular band. Problem with that is thats 2 periods of a 7 period day which he wont have time for nor do we want to do regular band which also entails marching.
Is this common in other high school bands?
My (very small) high school didn’t have a marching band, but both jazz band and pep band were subsets of and required enrollment in concert band.
My high school marching band was small. Most kids in concert band also marched and all the kids in jazz band marched. What we ended up doing once we had two guitarists was set them up in the pit and they played electric guitar and did some basic percussion for marching band. I’m pretty sure they did parades with us, too. They did very little actual “marching” but everyone had to learn how to march at band camp. This was about 9 years ago.
I joined my high school’s band when I was still in middle school. I never took a band class in high school, but I still did marching and concert (our director didn’t want a clarinet in jazz band which still makes no damn sense–I never liked her anyway). If they have after school practices, he could probably get out of doing the class, especially if he takes honors or AP classes, but he would be expected to practice on his own time.
See I think high school instrumental music programs are really behind the times. Why cant they have their own versions of “School of Rock” where they play rock instruments? Or country or bluegrass for that matter? Heck you want a difficult instrument, try the banjo. I takes just as much hard work to learn to play lead guitar, slap bass, keyboards, and a drum set as it does to play other instruments. But no, they are stuck on the orchestra model.
Well, my guess would be that it’s a lot easier to teach the “orchestral” model than other types of music that require more improvisation. I think if a student is into jazz, blues, etc., it would help them more to classically learn how to play their instrument and broaden their depth of knowledge (especially music theory) when they start pursuing styles they like. In my very basic knowledge of it, a lot of jazz is just going on runs. If you don’t learn your scales, it gets pretty hard to improv a run. Sometimes it helps to be classically trained.
Can your son read music? If so, can he sight read? Does he know his scales? I’m assuming he can tune his instrument to a concert B flat (middle C)? If yes, then he’s well qualified to join your basic high school band. Most kids in band probably aren’t interested in forming niche groups on different styles of music–that’s usually left to individual study. I took private lessons and got to play anything under the sun if I was interested. That might be a route to consider for your son if he isn’t already taking lessons. Band teachers can only do so much.
How well suited is that model for several dozen kids all playing together?
Talk to the band director and see if he will make an exception to the policy for your son. Worst that can happen is he says no.
I was in high school band for 5 years and yep, that’s how it goes. It IS intended to be a learning stituation for students that want to be good at music and are willing to invest time to do so - just like the football team.
We may have had a few people that were good at drums that could read rhythm but not really music. And we had “majorettes”, some which were not very good but did stick in there with an instrument - because it was sufficiently important to them.
The problem with “modern music just for fun” is that casual students have a wide range range of ability, styles, knowledge, and motivation that can’t be organised or developed very well.
Does your son care enough to carry a bass drum or bells in marching band?
School band policies vary. Some require band membership, some don’t. I agree that you should talk to the director to see about an exception. Jazz band needs a bass just as it needs piano. Is the pianist in band?
I’m an assistant director at one of our high schools. I help teach band, jazz band and orchestra. Our jazz band has a pianist who is not in any other music class. Our bassist is in orchestra. (Maybe your kid could join orchestra? Play upright bass?)
As far as other styles of music as high school classes, it’s a nice idea, but not practical. Too many styles, too many additional instruments, not enough periods in the day, not enough teachers, etc. does a local music store offer School of Rock style courses? Many do now. How about an actual School of Rock? You may not be near one, though.
Yes, there is a School of Rock just down the street. But it cost around $300 a month. It would be nice if he could play at his school.
I actually think it IS practical since in say vocal music our school has5 different choral ensembles. I know one school that has Jazz I and II classes. So why couldnt a school have a rock band class instead of a strings class?
Since you work in music can you tell me, how many students would a class or ensemble have to have? I know there can easily be over 50 in the choir and over a hundred in the marching band.
It’s really important that kids learning to play rock or jazz have a good solid understanding of music theory and fundamentals. A really good way to learn that is through regular instrumental ensemble playing.
Choral music is more flexible because the kids always bring their instruments with them, and most kids who like to sing come into high school with some experience.
You should count your blessing though, plenty of schools don’t offer instrumental music as a classroom subject. In Australia, for example, public schools don’t generally offer “band” as a subject. You can take Music, sure, but it’s usually a combination of music theory and music appreciation, and any lessons or ensembles are after school or on weekends. And cost extra.
I guess you could put wheels on the amp, but the extension cord is going to be a bitch.
$300/ month? Ouch. I hear they do a good job, but still…
I don’t know how many students are required to be in a class, but economies of scale work here. Marching bands, string orchestras and choirs can be huge because they’re built to be. All with one director. Multiple ensembles share gear. Rock bands usually work best as a small group and need their own gear.
Choirs don’t require much gear. Sheet music, a piano and a room. They all do the same thing. Sing
That being said, there’s a lot of inertia in school music programs. Rock is newer than the status quo. I can see a school having a rock class, but it’s gonna require a new approach.
As noted up thread, if you learn music in the “classical” approach, you can play anything. My jazz and classical experience allows me to play rock, R&B, country or whatever. I understand that it doesn’t help to get your kid into a school music program, but as I suggested, maybe upright bass in orchestra?
I really do understand your frustration, and I want anyone who wants to play music in school to have a chance at it.
I’ve never heard of a band that took up two whole periods before. Band did last longer than a normal period, but that was usually handled by having it first or last period, and then starting early or ending late.
The types of jazz bands that occur in school require the ability to read music and stuff. So they do usually limit them to people who are in the main band. Though I do note that guitarists (bass or otherwise) who can read music are rare enough that it’s not unheard of for them to recruit outside the band. The jazz band doesn’t usually do contests or anything, and isn’t really seen as its own entity. They don’t really have a class to themselves or anything. (I’m sure they do at some bigger schools, though.)
But it’s concert band, not marching band that they usually pull from. Yes, those are often the same class, but there were always a small handful of people who would join band in the Spring semester, well after marching season was over. So they were just in concert band.
If your son wants to be a jazz or rock band, I’d think the best way to do it would be to form one outside of the school, maybe even with some people who are in band. It happened all the time at my school. I knew a lot of bass guitarists who weren’t in band.
And since I believe you are Christian, you might look into joining a Church youth band. That’s where I learned rock piano.
It was when I was in school. I think that’s the only way to get a good marching band because otherwise very few would join.
I remember the Jazz Band guitar players were never in regular/marching band. The bass player also played trumpet so he was in both. The piano players were in regular band too. Jazz band was at night, so it never took up a period during the day.
A couple of the best musicians in my school dropped out of the band program altogether. One’s on the faculty at Juilliard and the other played drums for mid-level bands (Ben Folds, They Might Be Giants to name a couple) so being in the school band program isn’t the only avenue to musical enrichment (although I suppose it’s the least expensive). They studied privately and went to conservatories so it was not a cheap route.
Too bad SOR is so expensive. It would really give your son something to focus his energy on. Bass is an instrument you really need other people to play with.
You misunderstood.
To be in jazz band one has to be in regular band (one hour) and then they get to take jazz band (the second hour). They are 2 separate classes one hour apiece.
Your right though about marching band. Marching band is its own animal and you either like it or dont (I did). But the problem is it takes a big time commitment because they meet every morning at like 6 am and you go to all the games and do parades.