Here at Loudoun County High School, music classes are offered in different variants, such as Chorus, Band, and Guitar. In Band, there are many different levels that you can take, such as Intro Jazz and Artist Jazz, also Concert Band and Symphonic Band. The first of both groupings are the lower level of the choice, but offer the same weight as the more challenging level. This is completely absurd. A musician that practices every other day to properly learn the music and receive good grades in the class should not be in a class that does not offer an Honors or Advanced Placement weight for its enrollers. Loudoun County High School should offer an Honors or AP credited class for band so that musicians could get the most out of the work that they choose to put in.
To understand why Band should be offered in either an Honors or AP level, you have to understand how band classes work. Band works like a ladder, you have to finish the first step before you move on to the next step. These steps start as early as sixth grade when you take Clarinet 1 or any other instrument you choose to learn. After completing Clarinet 1, you move on to Woodwinds 1, and in eighth grade you move up to Band. By this time you’ve learned that in order to prosper as a musician you must practice and spend time learning your pieces. When you transition over to High School, you audition into Band and Jazz Band, and get placed in either a lower level or a higher level class based on your skill. As a freshman I was accepted into the upper level, Symphonic Band, and the work that was required out of school to proficiently play the pieces was almost equal to that of my Honors and AP classes, I put in the work for an A+ when those in lower levels like Concert Band put i...
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... learn as well, the amount of practicing rises yet again. In most cases, a dedicated musician will practice for about the same amount as they do their homework for one of their AP classes. The student already has the workload of an AP class, yet here at LCHS they will not get AP credit.
The topic of Honors and AP levels for Band is a topic that should be discussed more often, especially in the setting of School Board or teacher meetings. That is the only way that this topic can be resolved, simply ranting about a topic gets you nowhere. This is shown quite accurately by just watching the news or reading the newspaper. It is my sincere hope that eventually there begins to be an offering of a Honors or AP level Band class, because from there we can begin to actually regard band as a serious class at LCHS, rather than the “easy A” or “GPA Cushion” for all four years.
Band is an elective given in elementary schools through college schools around the world. Many schools come together and compete with one another. School bands also perform at football games, basketball games, and in parades. Most school marching bands are accompanied by a color guard, a group of performers, who add a visual interpretation to the music by using props, flags and rifles. A school marching band apparel includes a military type of style, the school's colors, along with the school's name and mascot. It is important to have band as an elective in schools because it helps kids display their emotions and maybe for some it is a hobby. Band directors have said that having band helps young emotional development, helps contribute to a more intellectual culture, builds teamwork and self confidence. It is hard to imagine being in this amazing class and coming upon these out of the box stereotypes and misconceptions of being a nerd, lazy or unathletic. These stereotypes and misconception mainly come from basically movies, shows and books things that are being aired. For example, a kid show, spongebob, kids from ages three to twelve are watching these shows maybe even teens and adults. A spongebob episode fifteen, season two is titled “band geeks”, putting this low degrading name on the group of kids performing at football games with instruments
For one thing, weighting grades gives students and colleges the ability to examine a more accurate comparison of students from various schools with varying course schedule difficulties (Clinedinst). The thing is, these benefits mainly aid the gifted, college bound students in that it makes them stand out. This brings the opposition of weighted GPAs to argue that the actual weighting does not provide an equal playing field. J. Bravin argues in his book, The Executive Educator, that “The traditional reporting method, assigning grades of A, B, C, D, and F to student work, discourages college-bound students from electing to take classes that require rigorous effort… and leads to an inconsistent standard” (40). Since weighted GPAs lead to inequalities, educators around the country have protested traditional reporting methods, saying things similar to, “The only ones being penalized by not having weighted grades are our students” (Cognard
As a freshman in high school and band, I was nervous, and very unconfident. But band changed it all for me. I found that helping people out was much more rewarding than just being a good player or marcher. Leadership is the best skill I've learned from band, and it will
Marching band is a very broad field to participate in. High school and college band both have specific criteria they have to meet during marching season. But what are the differences and likenesses between high school and college band? In high school band, there is one show to perform and there are many long, grueling hours spent perfecting and fine tuning it. The show is not only for halftime spectating at football games, but also band festival and regional contests. High school band has a more stern outlook because the entire season is spent working for placement, whether it be superior or not. Some bands have a more difficult time working considering obstacles such as size. Bands can range anywhere from only thirty to two hundred. With upperclassmen
Music has always been one of things I excelled in. In elementary school it was required to be in music but second in 5th grade you have the option to be in band. I was in band for 6 years before I stopped and I went to 5 honor bands. I played tenor saxophone and was 2nd chair all six years. Jazz band was something we had in middle school and high school. We had 2 jazz bands in middle school. Jazz one was for 8th graders and jazz two was 7th grade. I played in both. My first year I played tenor 1 and 2 and the second year I played baritone saxophone. My 9th grade year I played only tenor one. We didn’t have to audition but the students who plays that instrument normally would have first say in who gets 1st, 2nd and sometimes 3rd part. That
Elana Sanguigni April 18, 2016 Honors Music Term Paper. The Wind Ensemble and Concert Band reflect a rich history. The formation of the Concert and Wind Ensemble bands dates back to the Middle Ages and Medieval Times. The Concert Band and Wind Ensemble have evolved over the years, due in part to significant historical events, music combinations, individuals, and progress.
Students should be able to take AP English Language and Composition based on the completion of prerequisites as opposed to grade level. It would enable students to follow the career plan they have already created for high school, and allow students to pursue deeper knowledge in their field of interest. Consequently, if no sophomores are allowed to take it, the initiative for middle schoolers to take Honors English 9 early will be reduced, along with academic rigour for advanced students.
According to the Dispatch “The Columbus Municipal School District is getting more than $2.8 million over three years to improve and expand its Advanced Placement programs” (The Dispatch 1). These programs are similar to the proposed college prep course as they help prepare students for more challenging education experiences. The improvements to the program do not stop at just the courses, but also affect the teachers by “providing teachers with a $1,000 incentive for completing pre-AP or AP certification” (The Dispatch 1). The improved Advanced Placement programs will provide students with more chances to improve their quality of education but still have one major flaw and that is the fact that these courses are still optional.
BAND! CHOIR! NO BAAAAAND!! WRONG! CHOIR!!!! Does this conversation seem familiar? If you are a music person or a friend of a music person, you’ve probably heard some variation of this argument, and if you haven’t, well now is the great time to hear the true facts of this argument. Every person involved in band or choir at the highschool, knows without a doubt that their program is, of course, the best, however which one is actually? Band is far superior to choir for many reasons. You learn so much more about how to read and understand music, and you are able to more easily apply this knowledge to other instruments and have a much easier transition.
*Marching Bands are judged at all invitationals, but their scores are not publicly announced when they are the hosting school.
Deciding your next year's classes probably is one of the few school activities you like, but have a hard time completing. One common choice high students need to make is to decide whether they want to take regular core classes or honors core classes. Personally, I seriously don't think it is a hard decision to make. Any sophisticated individual, whether it is the student or the student's parent, would choose honors courses for sure. Everyone's reason for making this decision might be different. I will be discussing my reasons for the choice I made and to persuade you to make this simple decision for you and your child.
“Recent studies show that being involved in music classes makes it easier to learn other subjects and improve skills in other classrooms” (Brown, “The Benefits of Music Education”). A lot of people tend to overlook how much music education has an impact on the success of a student. Because of this, schools should be required to offer fine arts and music classes as electives for the students. Not only will this improve the students test scores, but it will also give the students a broader imagination and more creativity in and out of the classroom. In a lot of schools, fine arts and musical classes are the first to go when there are budget cuts. “Seventy-one percent of the nation’s fifteen thousand school districts have cut instructional hours spent on music and other subjects” (“State of the arts: should music and art classes be brushed aside”). Not only is it affecting the teachers who have specialized in the study of fine arts, it is affecting all of the students and parents who are actively involved in these programs. “Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy and associate dean of the School of Fine Arts at KU, found jumps of twenty-two percent in English test scores and twenty percent in math scores at elementary schools with superior music education” (Lynch “Music Boosts Test Scores”). With that being said, schools should be required to offer music and fine arts classes as an elective for their students.
I am not from a very musical family, so band opened up a completely different world to me. Participating in band allowed me to be more well rounded in my school activities and created a better sense of culture with in me. Playing saxophone in our high school band was an extremely enjoyable experience, I personally enjoyed listening to my part and corresponding parts. Listening to the tones of each individual instrument, as a perfect harmonic sound protruded. It was relaxing as it was a break from my rigorous course load. Band gave me the opportunity to be creative, which was generally absent in my daily life. Having the opportunity to play a musical instrument has also enhanced my intellectual abilities. Studies have shown that playing
Jane Alexander, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), once said, “Many children are missing out on something which gives their education context, gives their lives depth and meaning, and prepares them to be the future workforce.” This “something” that she spoke of is music and art education. Unfortunately, she is entirely correct. We are currently seeing in our country a dramatic cut in arts education curriculum in our public schools due to the limited amount of both time and funding. In many cases budget cutbacks mean arts education cutbacks. This limited amount of resources often forces administrators to place a value on the various subject areas. There is always a demand for greater concentration upon the traditional basics: English, math, science, and history. There is also a new focus on computer competency and a renewed focus on the need for foreign language education. Add to this health education, family life education, industrial arts education, AIDS education, home economics, physical education, and business education and one begins to wonder where arts education fits in.
In today’s modern society, most students are usually not enthused by the idea of coming to school. However, if each and every one of those students were to be enrolled in a music education class, their perspective on school would most likely be swayed. Esteemed news article author, James Catterall, expressed his opinion on what would happen if music education were to be removed from schools’ prog...