Music program at your MCPSchool

[Anonymous]

Our kid is looking forward to playing an instrument in 4th grade. How is the music program in elementary schools? What should we expect in MS and HS music? Does your kid take lessons outside of school?

[Anonymous]

If you search this forum you can find info about instrumental music. In our cluster (wealthy) starting in 6th grade, virtually all students take outside lessons. A few start during elementary school, but not most. Elementary instrumental music teachers are angels, and deserve all our admiration and support. Enjoy the ride.

[Anonymous]

Usually, with the exception of a few precocious string players, the 4th Grade band is new beginners and awful. There is an exception for Potomac ESes who habe many precocious string players. More serious kids who like their instruments do start private lessons. Starting in Middle School, they play every day in class, which improves quality. Then, high schools have selective ensembles, another jump up. There are also outside orchestras for the musically inclined. Chorus is a separate track in middle and high school, and depending on School more popular than instrumental.

[Anonymous]

We found the ES school lessons to be very minimal. If you can manage private lessons I think the experience would be much better. By 5th it is just "band" no more lessons. My DS quit. He was no ready for band. He also hated missing math class to go.t

[Anonymous]

How large are choral programs in ES, MS, and HS around here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How large are choral programs in ES, MS, and HS around here?

Several middle schools in McPS do not have even a single chorus class

[Anonymous]

My kid is now in middle school. Loved ES band (but agree with others -- instruction is minimal, so if you want your kid to get good, sign up for outside lessons). Middle school band has been good too, and it meets every day, so definitely a higher quality of performance even if students don't have lessons.

[Anonymous]

Mine used ES band to realize she loved her instrument, and made some reasonable progress in spite of a transition between two very good music teachers.

When she decided to continue in MS, we purchased the instrument we’d been renting (paying a pro-rated price) and started private lessons, which she still takes as a junior playing in her HS jazz band. We could have started private lessons in ES, but they really weren’t necessary.

I will say that this was for a low brass instrument. Strings tend to start earlier and be more intense and competitive, if you allow yourself to get sucked into that.

Also, be aware that ES instrumental music isn’t a regular class; kids are pulled out of their regular classes a couple of times a week (IIRC) for section and ensemble work. Teachers try to work around it, but the kids are still responsible for making up the work.

[Anonymous]

My kid made it to advanced band in middle school (just!) without private lessons. He was one of the only kids who didn’t have private lessons and it showed.

[Anonymous]

ES band was a good intro and got my child interested in an instrument but not really instructional. MS band is much more serious class and it seems like everyone also has private lessons.

[Anonymous]

I have a HS senior who has had a great music experience. I think the ES experience will depend a lot on the teacher. Middle school was where my kid really started to shine— band was every day, there was jazz band as an after school activity, there were honors band opportunities— all really fun for my kid.
In HS he started taking private lessons as he really got deep into jazz.

[Anonymous]

In ES, it was the best experience as we had a great teacher who taught in groups with individual instruments. Come MS and HS they go into bands with no direct teaching of instruments. The better kids do private weekly lessons and depending on the instrument, sometimes a private music group or orchestra.

[Anonymous]

Do they have piano in band in ES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they have piano in band in ES?

Piano is not a concert band instrument. You would only see piano in a jazz band and at most secondary schools those are after school ensembles. A few high schools have jazz band as a class. Even then, only 1 or 2 kids will be playing piano.

Some secondary schools have a piano lab class but by that time most kids interested in piano have already started lessons (same for guitar).

Also be advised that many MCPS schools don’t even have pianos anymore in the building. MCPs only buys electric keyboards now so they don’t have to pay for annual tunings. Even then, a piano is only purchased when a new building is built so you can imagine the state of most pianos.

[Anonymous]

Piano players accompany the choirs in high school