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Frequently Asked Questions If you don't see a question you think should be included, please contact the webmaster. I. About the Band 1. Can I take Band as an elective? Yes. All band students coming to LHS that have been
members of their Middle School Band are encouraged to continue with their music
experience. Studies have shown that students who participate in music related
courses generally score higher on the SAT and ACT than non-musicians. Band
should be a continuation of what was learned at the Middle School level.
Without these trained musicians, there is no High School Band and music will
end. 2. Is it possible to have two music electives? Yes. Other music courses suggested for Band members are Jazz Ensemble or another concert band. It is our policy that Jazz participants are first and foremost members of one of the concert ensembles. In other words, you cannot just be in Jazz Ensemble alone. 3. How can I fit two music electives into my schedule when I am told I need to take Critical Thinking Skills/Homework Strategies/PE as a freshman? These are elective courses, and not required for graduation. Period. PE is not required as a Freshman course. You need 1.5 credits in PE/Health before you graduate...this can be done at any time over the 4 years you will be at LHS. Many incoming freshmen are able to and have taken Jazz Ensemble and a concert ensemble during the same year. Please remember that many efforts have been made to retain our 7-period schedule so that students are able to take their elective choices. It is important to keep a balance of elective and academic studies during your high school career. 4. Are there any other ways to meet my P.E. requirement? Yes. As a member and participant of the Marching Band, you can be exempt from the 1/2 credit for P.E. You are still required to take the Personal Fitness and Health credits. 5. Does participating in a sport prevent me from taking band? No. Band is a class that earns an elective credit toward graduation and meets on a daily basis. Only varsity football conflicts directly with the Marching Band season. Many band students participate in other school sport activities having very little to no conflict with band activities. When they do occur, we find a way to make it work out. 6. Do I have to participate in the Marching Band? Yes. Marching Band is a part of the class curriculum. The Leesburg program has gone to great lengths to keep obligations for Marching Band to a minimum. Marching Band only lasts for 14 weeks, up to and including the required Marching Band Evaluation, held during the first week in November. Only two nights per week are used to prepare the Band for performance, with additional rehearsals kept to a minimum. The Marching Band is only a small part of the big picture that makes up the Leesburg Band Program, but it is an important part. 7. Do I have to audition to become a member? No. Auditions will only be held for placement within the band classes, the Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band. Anyone at all, from the most advanced to absolute beginners is welcome to join the band. 8. How much does the Band rehearse after school? Little. As was said earlier, the Marching Band (which is a combination of all band classes) rehearses 2 nights per week (on some weeks, an extra rehearsal may be added) from the beginning of school until the first week of November. During the Spring Semester, each performing concert ensemble will have only 1 rehearsals each per week prior to the District Concert Band Festival in March. If an ensemble qualifies for the State Festival, it will have 1-2 rehearsals to prepare for that. A very few extra rehearsals may be called in addition to the above. We try to accomplish our musical goals during class time, using minimal time after school. After all...band directors want to get home too. 9. How are grades determined in Band? Band grades are based on your class participation, outside of school rehearsals and performances, and any written quizzes that may pop up from time to time. Rehearsals are like your homework assignment in any other class, and the performances are the exam. Extra credit opportunities are also offered, such as the home practice record, working at Festivals, music library work, etc. At times we may request an audio tape of specific music being prepared for Festival Evaluation. 10. What type of costs are associated with the Band? Each band member is asked to contribute an amount called a "Fair Share." This Fair Share represents each student's total contribution to the whole program and is a fundraising obligation, not an out-of-pocket expense. Optional fundraisers will generate most of the money needed to meet the financial needs of the program. Each member also has a band fee. 11. What type of trips does the band take?
12. Can we rent instruments?
13. What are the differences between middle school and high school band? Many. You have spent the last two or three years learning how to play an instrument and working together as a group. High School Band now gives you the opportunity to expand your knowledge and share your talent with a wider range of audiences. You will learn and experience a larger range of music literature. All of these experiences are not just to train future music teachers, but to provide you with skills that can be used not only during your four years in High School, but in college and later on in life. 14. Can I be in Jazz Ensemble only? No. The policy of the Band Department is that a regular concert band class must be taken before enrolling in Jazz Ensemble. You must use two elective credits to take both. It is done each year, don't be left out. Jazz Ensemble can help improve your musicianship dramatically. 15. I was first chair at ABC Middle School? Why have I been put in the bottom band? We don't have any "bottom" bands here at Leesburg HS, and both the directors and the members take insult when this is suggested. We place students in all three of our ensembles with the following goals in mind: 1. How can we maintain the highest level of performance
for ALL ENSEMBLES? If we have nine All-State oboe players, can we in good conscience put them all into one ensemble? Absolutely not. We distribute membership throughout the ensembles with the above in mind. We strive to match each ensemble with a certain level of music and size...the Wind Ensemble strives to retain a one-to-a-part concept (resulting in about 42-46 players), the Symphonic Band strives to maintain one-to-a-part for most sections (resulting in about 48-58 players), and the Concert Band strives to achieve the generous sound of the "concert bands" of old, such as the Northshore Concert Band and the famed University of Illinois Concert Bands under Harry Begian. Students (and especially parents) who cannot understand that there is no such thing as a "top" or "bottom" band here at LHS would likely be more comfortable somewhere else. Please do not call us demanding that your son or daughter be placed in a different ensemble. Our decisions are final. II. About the Ensembles 1. What is a Wind Ensemble? The concept of the modern wind ensemble was born when Frederick Fennell created the Eastman Wind Ensemble in 1952. Fennell's new instrumentation used the instruments generally found in symphonic or concert bands, but reduced the size of certain sections to feature one player on each part. This allowed players who often got buried in large sections in the concert band to rise to the challenges of playing as soloists in an ensemble context. Fennell also encouraged contemporary composers to write for this new instrumentation, which was similar to an expanded orchestral winds/percussion section but included characteristic color instruments from the concert band, such as saxophones and euphonium. A lot of high school and college band directors misuse the name, calling their advanced group a Wind Ensemble even if it consists of 50-80 players, but the actual term "Wind Ensemble" denotes something very specific: Namely, the one-to-a-part mentality. The typical orchestration of a true wind ensemble is something like this: 2 Flutes (doubling Piccolo) Total Members: 40 2. What is a Wind Symphony/Wind Orchestra? As the name suggests, a wind orchestra or wind symphony is a large musical ensemble consisting of brass, woodwind, and percussion. It has sometimes become synonymous with the term "Wind Ensemble," but Wind Orchestras and Wind Symphonies do NOT necessarily have to be one-to-a-part situations. Generally, it is assumed that a Wind Orchestra or Wind Symphony falls somewhere between the size of a Wind Ensemble and a Symphonic Band. 3. What is a Symphonic/Concert Band? A Concert or Symphonic Band is a musical ensemble made up of woodwinds, brass and percussion instruments and may include a string bass. Although the roots in the tradition of military bands, a concert band does not march. Generally, a true Concert/Symphonic Band is much bigger than a Wind Ensemble, with several parts doubled, and memberships can range from 60 to 100 members, sometimes even more! A Jazz Ensemble is a small group that performs jazz music, although to break it down further, it can also perform rock, funk, fusion, swing, shuffle, blues, and many other styles that typically fall under the category of jazz. Typical instrumentation is: 2 Alto Saxophones In the past, there were Jazz Orchestras and the so-called "Big Bands" that had expanded instrumentation, some of which even included string sections, most of which included a vocalist. Examples of these are the Count Basie Orchestra, the Buddy Rich Big Band, and the Glen Miller Band. A marching band is a group of woodwind, brass, and percussion players, often augmented by an auxiliary typically referred to as a "color guard" or a "drill team." Marching Bands perform at half time of most high school and college football games. A Marching Band is not to be confused with a Drum and Bugle Corps, which is similar in concept but has many key differences. 6. What are Drum and Bugle Corps? Drum and bugle corps is very difficult to explain to the
uninitiated. At first glance, many comparisons can be made to a marching band,
but if you look deeper, you will find significant differences. One of the
biggest differences is that Drum Corps (for short) do not march woodwinds, only
brass, percussion, and guard. For more information on Drum and Bugle Corps,
click this link.
7. What is a Color Guard? Colorguard is a performing art. A Colorguard is a performing ensemble in which dance is incorporated with the spinning of equipment such as flag, rifle, and sabre. has two seasons in a year, field (marching) and winterguard season. Eccentric costumes and dimensional props are also used to enhance the visual presentation of the said show. The number of members, style of dancing, and type of music can vary from each different performance group. It is not ROTC, it is not a drill team...it's a dance team combined with the technique of choreographed flag and weapon work. Music is the base of a show and performers combine their bodies, facial expression, equipment, and props to tell a story. III. About Music in General... 1. What does it mean for a piece to be in a key? (e.g., the key of G, the key of D minor, etc.) When a piece is in C Minor, let's say, it means that a chord based on the note C serves as the music's harmonic home base, its center of gravity. (A harmony is defined by several notes sounding at once; by a chord, in other words.) A piece in C Minor will usually start with the C Minor harmony - with the notes of the C Minor chord - and end with it. In between, it will include a variety of other chords and harmonies, too, but the other harmonies are chosen so that no matter how far from "home" they wander, eventually they give the sense of "wanting" to come back to C Minor. 2. Why do composers choose certain keys for their pieces? Composers choose keys the way abstract painters choose colors. Some composers associate certain moods or characters with certain keys, but the associations vary from composer to composer. Sometimes a musical idea just happens to occur to a composer in a particular key. The fact that certain instruments sound better in some keys can also influence the choice. 3. What is perfect pitch? For a person with perfect pitch - also called absolute pitch - all notes come with their names attached, with specific identities. Say the note B-flat is sounded: what a person without perfect pitch hears is a note. What a person with perfect pitch hears is a B-flat. Some musicians have it, some don't. It can be very helpful in a number of ways, but good ears come in all varieties. You can be an excellent musician - or an excellent listener - without perfect pitch. 4. What is the significance of opus numbers? Opus is the Latin word for "work," and is abbreviated Op. Opus numbers give an indication of the chronological order of a composer's works, although they often reflect the order of publication rather than the exact order of composition. Sometimes a group of related pieces is published as a set with one opus number, in which case each piece is given an additional number. Beethoven's string quartet Op. 59, No. 3, for example, is the third of three string quartets published as Op. 59. Beethoven was in fact the first major composer to assign opus numbers to his own works. The works of some composers are identified by catalog numbers rather than opus numbers. Mozart's works, were catalogued by a man named Ludwig Kochel, and so they all bear "K" numbers. 5. Are violin bows really made with horsehair? Yes. The hair on violin bows - and viola, cello, and double bass bows - comes from the tail of a horse. But, it's replaced every few months or so, and it's not the most important - or most valuable - part of the bow. The stick is what really counts, its weight, balance, strength, flexibility, and responsiveness, all of which are determined by the quality of the wood and the artistry of the bow maker, and all of which in turn determine what quality of sound the bow will draw from an instrument. The sticks of all fine bows are made from one kind of wood, a brazilwood called Pernambuco, which is the name of its region of origin in Brazil. It is an extremely strong and dense wood, so dense that it does not float. An interesting note: the country, Brazil, got its name from the wood, and not the other way around. 6. Are violin strings really made from cats' intestines? Nope. Sheep's intestines. The material known as catgut, used for the strings of stringed instruments, is actually made from the dried intestines of sheep. Nowadays, however, many strings are made with synthetic materials, which last longer and aren't as sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity. 7. Why is a conductor really needed? Newcomers to the music scene often attend their first concert and spend much of their time looking in bewilderment at that person standing on the podium, "waving their arms around," and getting a great deal of adulation. Even those who are regular concert-goers may be unaware of exactly how much the conductor does. This is because much of what transpires to create a performance takes place long before an audience is involved. Here are a few of the tasks that face the conductor: Before the performance, the conductor: 1. plans the upcoming season: chooses music, soloists etc.
(in many cases, this is the task of the "artistic director" or "music director:"
usually this is the primary conductor) During the performance (and in rehearsal), the conductor must achieve unity in the following: dynamics 8. What are the major periods of "classical" music? What the public generally calls "classical" music is actually many different styles of music that come from many historical periods. The usual classifications are: Medieval music, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern. The precise dates of the beginning and end of each period are a source of major academic debate, and many argue (and perhaps correctly) that there is no precise date but rather a long overlap. It is also quite accurate to say that styles changed in different places at different rates, so one date isn't necessarily valid for every region of Europe. With that disclaimer, here are *approximate* dates that distinguish each period. Some of them overlap, as you can see, since certain composers adopted the new styles before others. Early: 1100-1300 8. What is Jazz? Jazz is a kind of music in which improvisation is typically an important part. In most jazz performances, players play solos which they make up on the spot, which requires considerable skill. There is tremendous variety in jazz, but most jazz is very rhythmic, has a forward momentum called "swing," and uses "bent" or "blue" notes. You can often hear "call-and-response" patterns in jazz, in which one instrument, voice, or part of the band answers another. Jazz developed in the United States in the very early part of the 20th century. New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, played a key role in this development. The city's population was more diverse than anywhere else in the South, and people of African, French, Caribbean, Italian, German, Mexican, and American Indian, as well as English, descent interacted with one another. African-American musical traditions mixed with others and gradually jazz emerged from a blend of ragtime, marches, blues, and other kinds of music. At the same time, jazz spread from the United States to many parts of the world, and today jazz musicians--and jazz festivals--can be found in dozens of nations. Jazz is one of the United States greatest exports to the world, and is a truly American art form. For more information on different styles of jazz, visit this web page. IV. Miscellaneous Questions 1. How can I donate to the Program? Donating to the LHS Band Program is easy to do. You can: a. Send in a check or carefully concealed cash to the following address: Leesburg High School Bands b. Attend one of our functions (concert, etc.) and make a donation in person. c. You can donate money to us via Paypal. You don't even have to be a member, you can simply use your credit card! Every little bit counts, whether it is $1 or $1000, so make your donation today and help the wonderful kids of the LHS Band, Guard, and Orchestra program. |
