• Sixth Grade registration is soon approaching!!! This is an exciting time for you and your child, but it can also be rather daunting. To make things a little easier, I would like to personally invite you and your child to become members of the Northern Band Family. No prior experience in music is needed. We will start at your child's level and take off from there. We have a great time in our class, develop cool skills and learn some fantastic music.  

     Check out this video to see what our class is about from members of our band!

     Rising 6th Grade Beginning Band Video

     During the first year of band membership students will learn the fundamentals of playing a musical instrument, as well as reading music, notation, history, improvisation and composition. 

    In 6th grade, students will begin on one of four fundamental instruments: Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, or Trombone. Later in the year (normally after our winter concert), students will have an opportunity to audition for Saxophone, Percussion or one of the other “color” instruments such as Oboe, Bassoon, Bass Clarinet, French Horn, Baritone, or Tuba. We begin on the fundamental instruments so students can develop the basic requirements of sound production like embouchure, breathing, hand position, posture, etc. This eases the process for those who end up switching to a "color" instrument and helps ensure all students have fun, feel comfortable and are successful while they improve their skills.  
     
    We strongly encourage families to purchase or rent their own instrument.  The school has a few fundamental instruments to loan in case a student is getting a repair and/or for families who are experiencing financial hardships. 
    The choice to rent or purchase is up to you. I typically encourage the rental option as it is a good way to try the instrument before you commit to purchasing one. Be careful of purchasing an instrument online or in big box stores, as quality and playability of instruments cannot be guaranteed. Stores like Moore Music (downtown) and Music and Arts (Lawndale) have a great rental policy which includes repair.
     
    During a normal school year, Beginning Band meets about 45 minutes, every day, during an Encore period. The first year of band, students have two evening performances, one in the winter and one in the spring. That's a total of around 3 hours of after school time spread across two events. The second and third year are the same, with some field trips thrown in AND your child can participate in one or more of our several extracurricular music activities.  In other words: YES, your child can do Sports, Dance, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, Underwater Basket Weaving, etc. and be successful in Band Class. 
    I do ask that students practice! - just like they would take the time to do Math or English homework, they should also take the time to work on reading music and playing their instrument(s).
     
    Through participation in band, students can learn discipline, perseverance, and teamwork skills, all while making something beautiful and having fun!
     
     
     Please take a moment to fill out this Beginning Band Registration survey if you are interested in registering for Band Class. Filling out this survey does not lock you in to taking band next year, but I would love to know if you are interested!
     
     

     If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at keithb@gcsnc.com 

     Thank you so much for your consideration to join the NGMS Band program, and I hope to meet you soon!