Middle School Band
May 14, 2008 on 11:25 am | In Some of This Some of That | 4 CommentsMy daughter entered band in 5th grade while we were still living in Illinois. When we moved to Texas, we discovered that students don’t begin band until 6th grade. So, my daughter was a year ahead. I took the time to speak with the band director and was assured that she would be given the opportunity to continue learning on her instrument. What he didn’t tell me was that to do so, she would need private lessons.
My daughter has been so bored in band this year, it’s been a bad experience. The last month or so, things have improved slightly, but things have moved at such a slow pace. I hired a private instructor who has been working with my daughter the last few months, but it hasn’t helped too much, she’s still bored.
Tomorrow, my daughter will try out for the middle school honors band for next year. She has to play several scales and do some sight reading. I’ve been encouraging her to practice, but she, like me, is a procrastinator. She did practice a little bit while I was gone last week, but, when she was told yesterday by the band director that her tryout would be on Thursday, she panicked.
Last night, I asked her to play her scales for me and before I knew it, she was sitting, with her instrument on her lap, crying. She told me her private instructor had given her some negative feedback and has been telling her for a couple of weeks that her instrument isn’t fitted properly. I have no idea why she would be saying that, and the negative feedback has got to stop! My daughter’s self-confidence was crushed!
I sat with her last night and helped her re-build her confidence. We sat together, working through the scales, for about an hour, until her lips were too tired to play anymore. By the time we were done, she had successfully played 5 of the 7 scales and done some sight reading. I promised her we would finish practicing tonight so that she’ll be amply prepared for tomorrows try out. She was smiling when we finished and I think she’s going to be just fine. I am considering firing her private instructor though.
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Hi, I stumbled upon your blog through blog catalog. I have 2 daughters, one of which is going into 7th grade and the other just came home from her first year in college. Both play musical instruments. My oldest, who wants to be a music teacher (bless her heart), had a string of bad private instructors. It is very hard to find ones that encourage your child, and not discourage them. Especially when they are young. It breaks your heart. So I am just commenting to say been there and I feel your pain. My 12 yo plays cello and is in the middle school orchestra. We are lucky, they have music classes starting in 4th grade here. What does your daughter play? And how did the auditon go? Sorry if I missed it in another post.
Feel free to stop by my blog….I think we may have some in common : ) I am a work at home mom and my blog is my way of staying sane. Take care.
After the Dust Settles…
Lynn K.’s last blog post..Thursday’s To-Do List
Comment by Lynn K. — May 15, 2008 #
Lynn K. – Thanks so much for stopping by. It’s nice to know that the situation of having a bad private instructor isn’t all that unusual. My daughter has one more meeting with her this school year and then we’re done. I will spend the summer looking for a new instructor.
She plays the baritone (looks like a small tuba, sounds like a trombone). She had an awesome band director and private instructor when she first started playing, but then we moved. It’s been hard to find someone to continue with.
The try out went very well, she should know something in a couple of weeks.
Comment by Lynne — May 15, 2008 #
My oldest plays french horn. We had a terrible time finding a private instructor that 1. played the french horn and 2. had a positive attitude. On our 3rd try, we ended up with a trumpet player/instructor who knew a french horn player, and he agreed to help her with her piece for college auditions. He was great and and very positive and thankfully she got into the school she wanted. Now the private teacher at college is negative and discourages her. We just can’t win. She started palying violin in 4th grade and picked up the horn in 11th. So she hasn’t been playing the horn that long and the instructor won’t teach what she needs to know. He thinks she should know it already. And now that she is in college I am trying to let her deal with it and make her own decisions. It is hard. Anyway, knowing how hard it was to find a french horn teacher, I can imagine baritone would be tough too. My daughter wants to be a music teacher and just played baritone at the last concert. I think her goal is to be able to play every instrument known to man : )
Lynn K.’s last blog post..Thursday’s To-Do List
Comment by Lynn K. — May 15, 2008 #
Lynn – Oh wow! Sounds like the trials and tribulations of band! I don’t think people realize how difficult it is to get good instructors. They think everything is just learned in band class. My daughter considered switching to tuba this year, but I’m glad she decided to stick with the baritone. I’m going to be starting my search for a new private instructor soon. I’m also going to be speaking with the band director for more recommendations. I’d like to know what qualifies these people to be placed on the private instructor list, I’ve been very disappointed.
Comment by Lynne — May 16, 2008 #