My students need mouthpieces, reeds and basic supplies that many parents are not able to afford that helps maintain a feeder school for the high school band.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
My students are faced with many challenges. Many of the students are from single parent homes and their mothers have other children in the home which limits the parents to purchase instrumental accessories. Many of my students want to attend college and participate in collegiate bands through music.
My middle school students are so amazed about the marching band and there has been an overwhelming response of students who have signed up for beginning band.
I actually have 45 in one middle school band class and 25 in another middle school band class. Band is a positive avenue for my students. Huntington is in a high poverty area but their passion for music keeps them driven to attend the school. The schools is located in Louisiana and has just recently been transformed to a 7th-12th grade school-within-a- school. Many begin band in 7th grade so the middle school band is structured to feed the high school band. Necessities are needed to allow the students to be able have everything needed to be successful and learn the basics of music to prepare them to move to the next level. Band keeps many of the students out of trouble so there is a big push from the administration to join the band because of the scholarship opportunities to attend college after graduating from 12th grade.
My Project
Mouthpieces, reeds, ligatures, valve oil, etc. are needs in band and will be a big help for the students because many of their parents cannot afford the necessities. These items will change my students' lives because they allow them to have what's needed to learn the fundamentals of music on his or her instrument and how to operate on the mouthpiece and reeds to create a sound to help them better prepare for the band. By learning to play an instrument with the mouthpiece it also enhances the cognitive thinking of the brain through the use of music. Learning all the scales with the accompany of the mouthpieces and reeds allows preparation of fundamentals and scales that may allow the student to receive a band scholarship when they graduate from high school. By donating the items they can learn what's needed for the marching band and learn their craft even more to make them better musicians and allows the students to stay motivated and busy. Production limits time to get in trouble.
I lack extra mouthpieces, etc.
The likelihood of students parents purchasing mouthpieces, reeds, etc is very slim from the experience I have had with them. The students have potential but need help with getting items to allow them to learn an instrument. The resources I am asking for are not instruments (even though they would be great to have). I am simply asking for the basic supplies such as mouthpieces, reeds, valve oil, ligatures, cork grease, etc. This will allow the program to grow.
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