Behind the scenes with a school band

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/02/2018 (2976 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

December’s École Regent Park School Grade 6 to 8 band concert was held in the gym of Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau. It was a fun performance, showcasing talented student musicians. 

Afterwards, I was left wondering:

“How does the band teacher pull all that together?”

So, I invited Vanessa Nowostawski, the Regent Park band teacher, to explain.

Band teachers need bachelor of education and bachelor of music degrees. In the music program, there is a class for each instrument category — woodwind, percussion and brass. Budding teachers learn the techniques of all the instruments typically found in a school band, as well as band, orchestra and jazz techniques and conducting.

At Regent Park, band is mandatory in Grades 5 and 6. River East Transcona School Division owns one class set of each of the core band instruments, which enables each Grade 5 class to borrow enough of one instrument for each student. They may try flutes one month, trumpets the next, and so on.

By December, students are ready to choose between the six instruments — flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, euphonium or tuba. 

To teach the different instruments, Nowostawski uses strategies such as working with technique similarities between instruments. For example, flute and clarinet both read treble clef notes, brass instruments use the same mouth pieces, etc. If she has to work with one group, she’ll assign the other students a task such as reviewing their notes silently.

She also teaches the entire band to read music, to produce the rhythm and to listen for the overall tone (volume control) of each instrument. Students are taught that it is not a competition; that each individual’s instrument must blend harmoniously with the others, and at certain times a lead instrument may carry the melody.

Toward the end of Grade 5, students audition if they want to switch to one of the instruments that become available in Grade 6 — saxophone, oboe, French horn or percussion. 

Grade 7 and 8 students may join the optional jazz band, which is for students who want to expand on what they’ve learned with a genre that tends to be more upbeat and features pop, swing, Latin, rock and funk.

Students are asked to practise 15 minutes per day at home and some schools hold workshops where band clinicians visit to share their knowledge.

Research shows the benefits of music in education range from improving language skills, attention span, self-confidence, and more.

Nowostawski enjoys the Regent Park band’s team spirit, and the sense of accomplishment the students have when a musical piece comes together. 

If you are able to attend any of the division’s school band concerts, I’m sure you will be as impressed as I was with the performance.

Suzanne Hunter is a community correspondent for Transcona.