Reply To: Teaching Middle School Band with 6th, 7th, and 8th Combined

[nafmeadmin]

We had an after school honors band at my middle school that was 6-8th grades. This posed a challenge because it is hard to tend to the needs of all the students because typically the 8th graders are more advanced and expect more than the 6th graders. This is more of a guess and check type ensemble because you really won’t know what the students can do. I would recommend picking music that is of various levels, it may be boring for some and challenging for others. This is a good technique to use because it will force the students to make music with anything they read. I have found even pieces that are easy when it comes to notes and such, it is still a difficult piece to make “happen” musically. Whatever you feel works for your group will be ok and if it doesn’t, you will find out quickly and then can change it.

Chris
Kent State University, OH