Our middle school band program serves approximately 90 students in grades 6-8; a healthy number for a school district of our size, location, and demographic. We offer grade-level band courses at the middle school, and have a really strong amount of participation. Students at our school LOVE to be in the band!
The students I see each day are a wonderful group of talented, hard-working individuals that are model citizens in our school and community.
MUSIC is what brings my students together. They come from all walks of life, and have so many different personalities and interests. The band room is a second home for many of them and it is place where they feel they belong.
My Project
My percussion students are required to learn both drum and mallet rudiments as part of the curriculum. They each have a snare pad and small bell kit for use during class and for home practice. In the classroom, they enjoying learning to 'play drums' because there are snare, bass, and tom drums available for them to use when they are musically ready. However, my students are struggling to see the importance of learning to read pitched notation and to play mallets. The only large melodic percussion instrument we have in our classroom is a marching band bell set that sits on an overhead cart. Students otherwise must use their own personal bell kits.
Having a xylophone available for classroom use will improve my students' mallet skills.
If my students have more melodic percussion to use during class, they can improve their skills tenfold and understand how important melodic percussion is to the success of the band. A xylophone will also make melodic percussion even more fun for my students. The skills that my middle school percussionists learn in middle schools will carry over into their high school years; the entire band program will benefit from this purchase!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Smercina and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
