Anonymous
08/29/2025 23:55
Subject: 4th Grade Instrumental Music
If a kid has been playing a particular instrument for a while they will be bored but some find joy in playing in a group and with friends. It’s a great opportunity to try and learn a second instrument.
Anonymous
08/29/2025 23:07
Subject: 4th Grade Instrumental Music
You could get in touch with the instrumental music teacher at your child's school. They have experience with this kind of question and they know their program and their students, so their advice would be best.
Anonymous
08/29/2025 22:26
Subject: 4th Grade Instrumental Music
Anonymous wrote:I would try to convince them to try a different instrument. There are two levels- beginner and advanced- but even advanced is just 2nd year students. Your child will be completely bored.
+1 It's nice to get exposure through public school group classes, but if your kid has been already playing instrument X for 5 years via private classes, they'll be bored in a beginner group class so have them try a different instrument.
Anonymous
08/29/2025 21:40
Subject: 4th Grade Instrumental Music
Many kids who do string instruments (which I assume your kid does OP, given the lenght of timing they have been playing) choose a band instrument in 4th just to try something new, and continue with their string instrument in private lessons. I would not recommend that your kid do orchestra. They will be bored, even in the advanced orchestra.
Anonymous
08/29/2025 19:11
Subject: 4th Grade Instrumental Music
I would try to convince them to try a different instrument. There are two levels- beginner and advanced- but even advanced is just 2nd year students. Your child will be completely bored.
Anonymous
08/29/2025 17:20
Subject: 4th Grade Instrumental Music
What instrument do they play?
Anonymous
08/29/2025 17:17
Subject: 4th Grade Instrumental Music
Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what ensemble playing is. They do play in concerts together.
But you're right it's just a bunch of beginners that are learning to play together.
At our school there are achievements that you can go for and is a belt system like martial arts. The students that got their black belts were usually the same students who were in Maryland Youth Orchestra and they likely played the same instrument that they normally did.
Then once they got to middle school those same students were put in the more advanced band classes. ie where Band 1 was usually for 6th graders, these students would be put in Band 2 with the 7th graders instead.
You could possibly just have your child try to pick up a new instrument for the fun of it to do on the side. But I think there are avenues for more advanced kids to still feel challenged or progress through.
I'm not sure if every school is the same.
and just in case you couldn't tell, this isn't an area that I'm really familiar with. But the above is just based off of what I could tell and heard.
Anonymous
08/29/2025 17:15
Subject: 4th Grade Instrumental Music
I'm not sure what ensemble playing is. They do play in concerts together.
But you're right it's just a bunch of beginners that are learning to play together.
At our school there are achievements that you can go for and is a belt system like martial arts. The students that got their black belts were usually the same students who were in Maryland Youth Orchestra and they likely played the same instrument that they normally did.
Then once they got to middle school those same students were put in the more advanced band classes. ie where Band 1 was usually for 6th graders, these students would be put in Band 2 with the 7th graders instead.
You could possibly just have your child try to pick up a new instrument for the fun of it to do on the side. But I think there are avenues for more advanced kids to still feel challenged or progress through.
I'm not sure if every school is the same.
But you're right it's just a bunch of beginners that are learning to play together.
At our school there are achievements that you can go for and is a belt system like martial arts. The students that got their black belts were usually the same students who were in Maryland Youth Orchestra and they likely played the same instrument that they normally did.
Then once they got to middle school those same students were put in the more advanced band classes. ie where Band 1 was usually for 6th graders, these students would be put in Band 2 with the 7th graders instead.
You could possibly just have your child try to pick up a new instrument for the fun of it to do on the side. But I think there are avenues for more advanced kids to still feel challenged or progress through.
I'm not sure if every school is the same.
Anonymous
08/29/2025 17:02
Subject: 4th Grade Instrumental Music
My 4th grader wants to take instrumental music this year. It sounds like these lessons are group intro lessons but not really ensemble playing, is that right? My kid has been playing their instrument for 5 years already — far from a beginner — and takes private lessons. Do I try to convince kid to try a different instrument for school lessons? Let them continue on their instrument at school and private? What have others done?