Examples of the Instruments Offered at PWES
These are the band instruments that students may start on in the 5th Grade.
Click on an instrument name to watch a short video demonstrating its sound.
When choosing an instrument, please keep in mind at least two different instruments you could see yourself playing. When we try you out on the instruments, you may just find that you have a much better sound on one instrument over another. Our goal is to make sure you start on an instrument that you will be successful at, and that you would like to play. Just as you cannot have 15 pitchers and one outfielder on a baseball team, each school should have a balanced musical group with a good combination of instruments.
FLUTEThe flute is a member of the woodwind family. You make a sound on the flute by blowing over the tone hole, kind of like when you blow over the top of a bottle to make a sound. The flute plays the highest notes in 5th grade band and has the melody a lot of the time. The flute is one of the more difficult instruments to start with at the beginning of the year, but after the first couple of months, the flute players glide right through the rest of the year! Click HERE to watch a video of the flute being played.
TROMBONEThe trombone is a member of the brass family, more specifically, it is a low brass instrument. The coolest thing about the trombone is that it has a slide to change pitches. Along with changing the tightness of the players lips and air pressure, the trombone has 7 positions. Low brass instruments are EXTREMELY important to the balance of the band and we need a lot of low brass players! Click HERE to watch a video of the trombone.
|
CLARINETThe clarinet is a member of the woodwind family and it uses a reed in order to make its sound. The clarinet has a very wide range, as it's able to play in the very low register, through the middle chalameau register and all the way to a very high, bright register. Just as the violin is the core sound to an orchestra, the clarinet is the core sound for a band, so I will need more clarinet players than any other instrument in the band this year. Unlike the flute, the clarinet is VERY easy to start with at the beginning of the year and then it gets a little more challenging towards the end of the year when we learn the higher notes. Click HERE to watch a video o the clarinet.
TRUMPETThe trumpet is a member of the brass family and like the flute, it plays the melody much of the time in full band arrangements. It has three valves and these, along with changing the tightness of the players lips and air pressure is what changes the pitch on the trumpet. Click HERE to watch a video of the trumpet.
|
PERCUSSIONPerucssionists need be the most responsible, hard-working students in the band because they are responsible to many different instruments including, mallet instruments, drums, cymbals, timpani, triangles, and many other. The most important instrument the percussionists master is xylophone. Because of this, students who have taken piano lessons are given priority. Percussion is NOT easy! Some people think, "I want to play the drums!" But there is SO much more to percussion! Click HERE to watch a video of a percussion ensemble.
|