I've got a son (DJ 2) who has just started playing Baritone in the 6th grade. I've got him in private lessons with the Battlefield HS band director. We remind him to practice daily. He likes it, but I would not say he's driven to be the next Bach. He was never much of an athlete, so I want to give him every opportunity to really excel at this. I played Baritone for 5th - 12th grade, and DJ played Baritone for a few years. Is there anything you can suggest?

Do they have things such as travel bands?

Do they have band camps during the summer?

I'd love some day for him to be a MRD, but at this point just an opportunity to excel at a hobby. He played piano for a few years, and viola last year so he's had a decent music foundation. I wish he had the drive for music he has for video games.

Any suggestions?

If you are looking for "travel bands" or summer camps, I would highly suggest drum and bugle corps. To quickly summarize, they are independent marching bands (brass, drums and guard) that perform during the summer. There are corps of all different types if skill was a concern. They have some corps of people that have never touched an instrument before to really good players.
Some corps only do things during the weekends, while others go on tour from June through August.
I did drum corps for two years and it was incredible. If he loves marching band, I would seriously think about it.
If you want more information, feel free to message me and I can answer any questions you might have.
Hope this helps.

Baritone's such a great instrument. Hope he sticks with it!

(01-07-2018 07:26 PM)Dukester Wrote:  I've got a son (DJ 2) who has just started playing Baritone in the 6th grade. I've got him in private lessons with the Battlefield HS band director. We remind him to practice daily. He likes it, but I would not say he's driven to be the next Bach. He was never much of an athlete, so I want to give him every opportunity to really excel at this. I played Baritone for 5th - 12th grade, and DJ played Baritone for a few years. Is there anything you can suggest?

Do they have things such as travel bands?

Do they have band camps during the summer?

I'd love some day for him to be a MRD, but at this point just an opportunity to excel at a hobby. He played piano for a few years, and viola last year so he's had a decent music foundation. I wish he had the drive for music he has for video games.

Any suggestions?

The marching band camp JMU Bands puts on in July is quite good. Last year there were 240 kids in that camp & it's a great experience for kids to play in a band that big. Marching drum corps is great, but no reason to even consider that until 16/17 at absolute earliest IMO.

As JMad03 and Hyper said, Drum Corps would be a great activity for him, but when he is older (around 14). JMU's Summer Band Camp is for students who just finished 7th Grade and older, so that will have to wait as well. What I would do is to look around for community music schools or other organizations that have ensembles geared for middle school students. Being surrounded by peers who want to be there and have the drive to be better musicians can make a huge difference to a student. Enthusiasm can be very contagious.

(01-07-2018 09:52 PM)NH/JMU Saxkow Wrote:  As JMad03 and Hyper said, Drum Corps would be a great activity for him, but when he is older (around 14). JMU's Summer Band Camp is for students who just finished 7th Grade and older, so that will have to wait as well. What I would do is to look around for community music schools or other organizations that have ensembles geared for middle school students. Being surrounded by peers who want to be there and have the drive to be better musicians can make a huge difference to a student. Enthusiasm can be very contagious.

Thanks yeah. You do need to be at minimum a rising 8th grader to be in the marching camp at JMU, so will need to wait on that. (I'm on the staff at that camp.)

Dukester, I'll shoot you a PM with some options I know of for that area. At his age, getting fundamentally proficient & having fun is the secret combo for success. Cool that you have him in lessons. That new director at B-field is no joke! His bands at North Penn were always very good, so good to hear he's taking lessons.

**gotta get home first, still sitting on a runway in chicago**

(01-07-2018 09:25 PM)HyperDuke Wrote:  

(01-07-2018 07:26 PM)Dukester Wrote:  I've got a son (DJ 2) who has just started playing Baritone in the 6th grade. I've got him in private lessons with the Battlefield HS band director. We remind him to practice daily. He likes it, but I would not say he's driven to be the next Bach. He was never much of an athlete, so I want to give him every opportunity to really excel at this. I played Baritone for 5th - 12th grade, and DJ played Baritone for a few years. Is there anything you can suggest?

Do they have things such as travel bands?

Do they have band camps during the summer?

I'd love some day for him to be a MRD, but at this point just an opportunity to excel at a hobby. He played piano for a few years, and viola last year so he's had a decent music foundation. I wish he had the drive for music he has for video games.

Any suggestions?

The marching band camp JMU Bands puts on in July is quite good. Last year there were 240 kids in that camp & it's a great experience for kids to play in a band that big. Marching drum corps is great, but no reason to even consider that until 16/17 at absolute earliest IMO.

I get the "16-17" age range, but I think that really applies to the world class corps, or even some of the better open class corps. There are a LOT of smaller corps that have kids much younger than that. There was a group (not sure if they are still active) that had kids ranging from 10-21. I believe they may have been from Maryland. For many of those kids it's not about placing, but about learning, getting experience and getting a chance to perform.
Just saying I wouldn't let age be a factor not looking at drum corps, because there really is a group for almost any age/experience level.

If the Drum Corps is performing close by, then I would suggest taking him just to show him what it is like. Hopefully it gives him the drive to keep up with the instrument. You can also gently remind him that being a part of the MRDs gets him into every game for free, a chance to travel to the championship games, per diem for trips/exhibition performances, etc. Still the highlight of my college career.

Not an MRD, just advise from an "experienced" parent. Careful how hard you push, young teens need to feel they are making choices on their own and not forced to do something their parents want them to do. (pretend it was their idea) If there is one place to push (insist) it would be getting them to join their HS band as soon as they are able. It's like an addiction, once you start, you can't stop. If he gets tired of the horn, get him some drum lessons.

With most sports playing 12 months out of the year these days, some athletes that have the talent to play beyond HS burn out and choose to just be a normal college kid. The same can happen to young musicians.

Careful with Drum Corps at too early of an age. A kid may the top dog in his HS and she tries out for a Corp, she can suddenly realize that they are not near as good as they thought they were. "I worked so hard for a year and didn't even make the first cut (I have personal experience with this)

Most every college has programs that involves HS students. Pep bands do "fun" days but some also have more serious programs where you spend time with music department profs. My son did one two years in a row at VCU where the kids need to be nominated by their HS director. I would think JMU does something similar.

If you haven't done so...take him to a "big" DCI show where you will experience 1500 of the best musicians/marchers in the country. The closest one I know of is in Allentown PA in early August, just before the championships. Any kid that is somewhat serious about his music will suddenly have a dream.

When we get older, our bodies may no longer allow us to play basketball, football, soccer, ect...however we are never too old to play music.

(01-08-2018 10:43 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  If the Drum Corps is performing close by, then I would suggest taking him just to show him what it is like. Hopefully it gives him the drive to keep up with the instrument. You can also gently remind him that being a part of the MRDs gets him into every game for free, a chance to travel to the championship games, per diem for trips/exhibition performances, etc. Still the highlight of my college career.

While I highly recommend that, he really wouldn't have to wait that long. If you look on youtube, you can definitely find the top drum corps.. there are music license issues so they do tend to be taken down.
If he's into marching band, this will blow him away.
For a diverse look at the top of drum corps, check out Blue Devils (from CA- no affiliation to Duke), Carolina Crown (SC), Bluecoats (OH), The Cadets (PA), Boston Crusaders (MA), and Cavaliers (IL- no affiliation to UVA) for a start. Just search the name and a either "DCI" (Drum corps international) or a selected year.
I got into drum corps from watching them on TV. In the 80s-90s part pf the finals (top 5) were televised live on PBS. ESPN picked it up in the 2000 a few times but didn't do drum corps any justice.
One last thing. If you want to see some behind the scenes, check out the series "Clash of the Corps". It was a TV series produced by The Rock that either aired in 2016 or early '17. It's only a few episodes long and was made with the audience of people that know nothing about it.

(01-07-2018 07:26 PM)Dukester Wrote:  I've got a son (DJ 2) who has just started playing Baritone in the 6th grade. I've got him in private lessons with the Battlefield HS band director. We remind him to practice daily. He likes it, but I would not say he's driven to be the next Bach. ...

Well, Bach sucked at baritone, so I wouldn't worry. Seriously, if you're getting him lessons in 6th grade, you're already giving him a pretty big advantage.

I think one of the big things is to expose him to other kids who take band somewhat seriously - which isn't that easy in the typical MS band, IMO. So encouraging him to do all-county band, age-appropriate camps, etc. is a good thing.

My sons didn't take band that seriously (despite having two band geek parents) the first couple of years. My oldest suddenly started taking band (and school generally) more seriously when he got to HS, and my youngest really took off in 8th grade when he switched (his decision) instruments. My oldest got to march in the Macy's parade and take 4 all-expense paid trips to the NCAA Tourny, so I think he's glad he stuck with it. My youngest talks about possibly majoring in music at JMU.

(01-08-2018 10:59 AM)RamDawg Wrote:  ...

When we get older, our bodies may no longer allow us to play basketball, football, soccer, ect...however we are never too old to play music.

I don't know, man. For years I could pick up my old instrument once a year and sound pretty decent. Then suddenly at age 40 I had no chops whatsoever and could barely play, although I suppose if I played regularly the chops might come back.

My mom made me take music lessons as a kid. It basically was something I didn't have a choice in. At some point I think I "got out" of multiple music lessons by promising to focus on one instrument. By focus I mean focus as a high school kid, not a professional... actually practice once in a while, progress through lesson books in school, etc. My high school band wasn't amazing, but they were pretty large and decent in competition. I didn't know anything about football or marching band, again it was something I 'had to do'. I didn't "like" band until late in high school. I had never heard of or seen the Marching Royal Dukes (or anything JMU) until I applied and toured. I figured I'd give it a try for something to be involved in at college. I didn't "love" band until my first year in the MRDs. That's when it hit me about what it meant to be small part of that big picture.

I don't have advice here I guess... but I'd say keep on him, positive reinforcement, when he's ready to give up remind him that it's ok but keep after that horn. And have fun. You have to have fun or you'll hate it. Don't be so serious. Be glad he's not the next Bach. The guys who thought they were the next Bach were pretty much tools. Don't push too hard, but keep on him. If he enjoys the MRDs, you've got hope. But MRDs are a long way from 6th grade.

I'm not Arturo Sandoval, but give me a trumpet and some whiskey and by God I'll act like I am.

(01-08-2018 10:48 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  My mom made me take music lessons as a kid. It basically was something I didn't have a choice in. At some point I think I "got out" of multiple music lessons by promising to focus on one instrument. By focus I mean focus as a high school kid, not a professional... actually practice once in a while, progress through lesson books in school, etc. My high school band wasn't amazing, but they were pretty large and decent in competition. I didn't know anything about football or marching band, again it was something I 'had to do'. I didn't "like" band until late in high school. I had never heard of or seen the Marching Royal Dukes (or anything JMU) until I applied and toured. I figured I'd give it a try for something to be involved in at college. I didn't "love" band until my first year in the MRDs. That's when it hit me about what it meant to be small part of that big picture.

I don't have advice here I guess... but I'd say keep on him, positive reinforcement, when he's ready to give up remind him that it's ok but keep after that horn. And have fun. You have to have fun or you'll hate it. Don't be so serious. Be glad he's not the next Bach. The guys who thought they were the next Bach were pretty much tools. Don't push too hard, but keep on him. If he enjoys the MRDs, you've got hope. But MRDs are a long way from 6th grade.

I'm not Arturo Sandoval, but give me a trumpet and some whiskey and by God I'll act like I am.

"GIVE ME A TRUMPET!!" Hahaha!

Agreed with Deez on this, but I did actually really enjoy middle school band, I think because I was not an athlete and it was something I could practice and excel in, and participating in the all county bands and (trying) to make the all-state bands were awesome. I loved marching band in high school since we were a competition band, and really geared my college applications toward schools with bands so I could watch all the home games (and some away) for free.

Just keep up with positive reinforcement and don't push too hard, band isn't for everyone, but I agree that the MRDs were definitely the best and my favorite experience in college because of the opportunities it presented and friendships I made (including meeting my wife)!!