If you weren't able to attend our meeting on 6/2, here is a synopsis of the information we covered at that meeting. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email us.
At this point, if your child attended a fitting session at school, he/she is considered "signed-up". We understand that some students will choose to not enroll in band in the fall, but at least we have the information for everyone who was fitted. During the first week of school we will be around to talk to the kids and see if there are any additional students who want to be fitted.
Details for next year
Schedule – 3 times per week beginning the second week of school
Instrument and Book – Please check out the information at these retailer websites: Colonial Music (Music and Arts) and Rettig Music
Practicing – It should be viewed as homework and incorporated into a regular homework routine. 15 minutes every other day is a good starting place.
Performances – There will be several performances including one in November and one in May that will be a combined performance with the 5 elementary bands. Others will be announced at the respective schools.
In 6th Grade, at Phoenix and at the high school, students CAN be in more than one musical group (band, strings, choir). Currently at McCord they have to choose one. We will work with you in 7th and 8th grade to navigate that issue if the need arises.
Students who are in school sports or club sports CAN still do band. We currently have many athletes in the band program.
Private lessons are encouraged. Students who take lessons progress faster and usually have a richer musical experience. A list of private teachers can be found on the band website, www.kilbournebands.org
Some of the larger instruments (baritone, french horn, tenor saxophone, etc.) can be rented from the school for a nominal fee subject to availability
More information can be found by perusing the band program website, www.kilbournebands.org
Worthington Kilbourne Band Boosters
An organization of band parents that exists to support the entire band program with time and resources. There are many opportunities to be involved. See the website for more information.
Music Retailers:
Colonial Music (Music and Arts) and Rettig Music are two stores that have great rental programs and give us great service. Of course, you are free to deal with whomever you choose. If you choose to go elsewhere, PLEASE do not buy a cheap, low-quality instrument. Instruments found on Ebay or at discount stores can be inexpensive, but are usually a bad value because of the poor quality of workmanship and materials. Repairmen will often refuse to work on them. If you choose to go this route, understand that the instrument is disposable. The band directors are happy to consult with you about your instrument rental or purchase.
Research points to the enormous benefits of music education
Schools with music programs have graduation rates of 90.2 percent compared with a 72.9 percent rate for schools without music education.
Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving grades of A and B was higher than the percentage of non-participants receiving those grades.
Source: National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 First Follow-Up (1990), U.S. Department of Education.
"The nation's top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century."
Source: "The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of Education," Business Week, October 1996.
Students who were exposed to the music-based lessons scored a full 100 percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner. Second-grade and third-grade students were taught fractions in an untraditional manner by teaching them basic music rhythm notation. The group was taught about the relationships between eighth, quarter, half and whole notes. Their peers received traditional fraction instruction.
Source: Neurological Research, March 15, 1999
Music training helps under-achievers. Students lagging behind in scholastic performance caught up to their fellow students in reading and surpassed their classmates in math by 22% when given music instruction over seven months.
Source: Nature, May 23, 1996
QUOTES:
“Music, to me, was—is—representative of everything I like most in life. It’s beautiful and fun, but very rigorous. If you wanted to be good you had to work like crazy. It was a real relationship between effort and reward. My musical life experiences were just as important to me, in terms of forming my development, as my political experiences or my academic life.”
President Bill Clinton. From The Gifts of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Music Educators National Conference. Used with permission.
“I believe arts education in music, theater, dance and the visual arts is one of the most creative ways we have to find the gold that is buried just beneath the surface. They [children] have an enthusiasm for life, a spark of creativity and vivid imaginations that need training...training that prepares them to become confident young men and women.”
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley
“I have personally found that music has helped me to do problem solving. Without early music lessons, I would have been hindered in these skills.”
Former U.N. ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick
I always loved music; whoso has skill in this art is of good temperament, fitted for all things. We must teach music in schools; a schoolmaster ought to have skill in music, or I would not regard him.Martin Luther (1483-1546)
“The things I learned from my experience in music in school are discipline, perseverance, dependability, composure, courage and pride in results. . . Not a bad preparation for the workforce!”
Gregory Anrig – President, Educational Testing Service
“It is our job, as parents, educators, and friends, to see that our young people have the opportunity to attain the thorough education that will prepare them for the future. Much of that education takes place in the classroom. We must encourage our youngsters in such pursuits as music education. In addition to learning the valuable lesson that it takes hard work to achieve success, no matter what the arena, music education can provide students with a strong sense of determination, improved communication skills, and a host of other qualities essential for successful living.”Edward H. Rensi – President and Chief Operation Officer, U.S.A. McDonald's Corporation