And a One, Two, Three, Four
May 25, 2017
As the last days of summer wind down, fifth graders anxiously wait for the start of something new: band. Many middle schoolers at St. Robert school participate in band. However, the St. Robert band experience starts before 6th grade for many instrumentalists. The beginning band for fifth graders allows students to be introduced to the band experience outside of school hours in preparation for the band classes they may take in the following years. Beginning Band commences at the start of 5th grade, when students do not even know how to put their instruments together, but by the end fifth grade, the musicians are playing harmonies across varying genres of music.
The band teacher, Mr. Zolinski says, “The spring concert will show the audience how hard the students have worked and how much they have grown musically, particularly if they compare it to the November concert, especially when it comes to the beginners; at the first concert, the students played simple tunes like ‘Go Tell Aunt Rhodie’ in unison out of their method books, but now they are playing full sheet music pieces with both melody and harmony.”
Learning melodies and harmonies is a big step up from playing everything in unison. This marks significant growth amid the band students.
The beginning band is playing ‘‘Ode to Joy’ by Ludwig van Beethoven. ‘Ode to Joy’ is the familiar theme from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.” Mr. Zolinski also said that “Ode to Joy” is “one of the most recognizable and most famous pieces in history.”
Another song that the fifth graders will be playing is “‘Court of the Noble Trumpeteers’, which will feature four Beginning Band trumpet players–Ava Harwood, Flannery O’Keef, Win Williams, and Nick Womack–playing a bright and majestic melody as the band plays with them.”
The last song that the Beginning Band will play at the Spring concert is one called “Synergy March” which “is a spirited concert march with a crisp melody and bold accompaniment, with brass and woodwinds featured separately and percussion serving as a link between the two.” These are some of the hardest pieces that the Beginning Band has played yet.
It is amazing to see these players develop into wonderful musicians and “graduate” into Intermediate Band.
Salvatore • Jun 1, 2017 at 2:00 pm
Being in intermediate band this was definitely true for a beginning band Saxophone player. The going into band class is a big step up in responsibility. Mr. Z is a great band teacher that not only teaches music, but also inspires us to go further in musicality with our instruments. Good Job Writing the Article Too!
greta • Jun 1, 2017 at 11:27 am
band this year was really fun for me because it was cool to learn how to play the clarinet(and Mr.Z is really fun)
mercedes • Jun 1, 2017 at 11:22 am
I had a lot of fun in band this year and many of the pieces were very fun to learn and play
Alex • Jun 1, 2017 at 10:07 am
I play the cello
Win • Jun 1, 2017 at 9:53 am
I thought that this was a very good written paper. It is very detailed and accurate.
Lily • Jun 1, 2017 at 9:48 am
Hey that’s us! I can’t wait for band next year!
Donovan • Jun 1, 2017 at 9:45 am
Band this year was very fun to me. At the beginning of the year, we all didn’t know really anything about our instrument. By the end of the year we all know it way better than the beginning of the band year. Nice article too!