Band Days

Once upon a time many, many years ago, there was band. Thee band. Thee marching band. Band was my life. It's where all my friends congregated and spent just about every waking hour apart from school. It was all that really mattered. It was full of drama and excitement; heartache and misery--and everyone who was in it, loved it. You just weren't in band if you didn't love it. There was band camp, band trips, band competitions. There were football games, state fair...but mostly practice. Practice, practice, practice! Practice marching, practice playing. Then there was practice twirling and practice throwing. That came after the instruments lost their glitter and shine and flags and rifles took their place. I have so many memories from band I could write a book. And what a book, THAT would be.


Though we all moved on from high school band, the joy that it brought remains (even over the misery!) and I find myself signing my son up for beginning band! Now, in many ways I've been waiting for this for years. My parents did own a music store, after all. My children could and would have their choice of ANY instrument in the joint.

Little did I know that the very week he was to choose an instrument, my father would begin the process of closing the music store after nearly 50 years in business. The sinking feeling set in. Now I would have to go through what every other band parent has ever endured: picking one instrument and sticking to it! So, he chose the trombone. It's a good fit. He is tall and has very long arms. His grandpa played the trombone. And if you went to high school with me, you know who ELSE played trombone! (And it wasn't me.)


Now, this is not his mother's band! This is a homeschool band. Much, much smaller. Way less drama! The band director is such a sweet gal. They'll be meeting once a week throughout the year. My son was very excited that the first handout spoke of playing music to the glory of God! He keeps asking me if he'll be good at playing the trombone. My days in the music store have taught me that no instrument is easy to learn, but the benefits are endless! With practice, he'll be a fine trombone player. I hope that he remembers that 1st handout and always plays for the glory of God. If he does, he can't possibly fail!

A Bit of Bach

We really enjoyed this video! As our study of Bach comes to an end, we watched this great video of a pipe organ being played. There are so few truly grand pipe organs like this left, especially in North America. We are so fortunate to have one at the Indiana University Auditorium. I've heard it played on Easter morning and it is an incredible experience live!

Classical Music Resources You Can't Do Without!

If you are interested in adding a little classical music to your day, you need to check out this great resource! It is brief radio broadcasts about composers and their music especially done for kids. There are usually 4-5, 8-10 min. programs per composer. You can sign up for the weekly podcast, or go online and download past programs by searching by composer. Neat, neat! Here is the teacher page, which includes an opportunity to register for a printable activity book, lesson plans and more. Here is the composer search link. Oh. And did I mention there are games?

You must check out "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" (part 1, part 2). There is also a great book, w/CD, for basic orchestra study called "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," by Anita Ganeri (narrated by Ben Kingsley). Lastly, Carnegie Hall presents "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" online game. Very cool!

I have to add our favorite, favorite resource--Classical Kids CD's (remember, son's an audio learner!). These are fun and informative and guaranteed to make you interested in classical composers and their music!

There are many, many fabulous resources. Among them, Story of the Orchestra-- great book and CD. Ambleside Online has a great deal of info available, and we can highly recommend the Opal Wheeler series, which Zeezok (Book Peddler) Publishers is making available again.

Hope you enjoy these resources as much as we do. I grew up with music, but rarely classical. I can't stress to you strongly enough, the effect that this music has had in our home. We LOVE it! The kids thoroughly enjoy it, though they PROMISED they would NOT! :) Just the listening is enough to inspire. That just takes the gathering of resources. Except for the "online" resources mentioned, most everything else should be available at your public library. Go for it!