UNION 7th Grade Band – Percussion Class 4th Hour – 11:13a-12:24p @ UNION HIGH SCHOOL

Mr. Pisarra, Percussion Instructor 918-357-7225 /// pisarra.charles@unionps.org

Office: Union High School, Room 1614 www.unionbands.com

General Info / Expectations Welcome back to the Band Program at Union, and welcome to a great year of learning and making music on percussion instruments! The band faculty of the Union Public Schools is excited to be teaching the BEST students in the area, and we know that each student will do his/her best to abide by the class/school rules for procedures and behavior, as well as put forth his/her best effort to become the best musician that he/she can be! Grading Grades will be earned based on multiple criteria as follows: 40% daily class participation & bringing all materials to class 25% playing & written tests / quizzes 25% band and percussion class performances / concerts 10% semester final exam

Chair Tests A ‘chair’ test is a playing test in which students engage in friendly competition, trying to earn the highest possible score on a given test, and also the highest ‘chair’ in the percussion class. These tests are scheduled occasionally throughout the school year.

Performances Performing is a vital component to the musical learning process; most performances will take place outside of regular school hours, and are mandatory. In addition to the two scheduled Union Seventh Grade Band concerts, seventh grade percussionists will also participate in the Union Percussion Spring Showcase Concert in either late April or early May, featuring Union Percussion Students in Grades 6-12. To assemble all elements for this terrific event, two special coordination rehearsals will be held after school during the month of April / early May; exact dates for the concert and coordination rehearsals will be provided as soon as they become available. A few extra after school rehearsals, for Seventh Grade Percussionists only, are likely to also be scheduled as well (with ample advance notice) and will be considered mandatory. Bus transportation from the U67 building to the high school may be available for these after school rehearsals; more info will be forthcoming. Extra Opportunities Students will have the opportunity to participate in two special extra activities this year. All-District Honor Band Auditions are held on Saturday, January 15; Solo and Ensemble Contest will be held on Saturday, March 5. Each of these activities will involve nominal fees, as well as preparation outside of class time. Students planning to audition for the district honor band should plan to be enrolled in private percussion lessons teacher to receive adequate guidance in auditions preparation. Bus transportation from the U67 building to the high school may be available for these after school rehearsals; more info will be forthcoming. Private Lessons Though not required, private percussion lessons are certainly encouraged for every Union percussionist, and may be attained many ways. Our recommended private percussion teacher is Mr. Bryan Snyder; he can be reached at: snyder.bryan@unionps.org for lesson scheduling.

www.UnionBands.com Please plan to make use of this excellent resource! You’ll find info on almost anything you’d need to know. There’s even a section of the website with info about upcoming assignments. In the navigation menu, select ‘students’ / ‘percussion’ / ‘7th grade percussion’, and browse from there. Also familiarize yourself with the 7th Grade Band portion of the website by selecting in the navigation menu: ‘students’ / ‘7th grade band’ .

Greetings Union 7th Grade Percussion Parents! I’m so excited to have your child, now a 7th Grader, as a student in the Percussion / Band class again this year! I’m planning to be more routine this year in my communication to you via email, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this information. The purpose of this email / print communication is to discuss equipment procedures, and will hopefully answer some “When?, What? & Where?” questions that you might have about your child’s percussion instruments. You are probably already aware that 7th grade band classes are held at Union High School. The obstacle with this class location is the transportation of the band instrument back and forth from home to school. Students are welcome to tote their instruments daily, but some families have chosen to purchase a second instrument, either from a local music retailer, or used from a garage sale, etc. to alleviate the need for transporting band equipment back and forth between home and school. Additionally, I have extra sets of ‘used’ bells available for checkout by students for the duration of the year . There is no obligation to use one of these extra instruments, but each student will be expected to practice at home regardless. I won’t be able to provide mallets, cases, and stands for all of these ‘loaner’ instruments, and all checked-out bells MUST be checked-in at the end of the school year. Please contact me if you have questions or would like to arrange a special time to pick up the loaner bell set at the high school. If you have already purchased or borrowed a second instrument for your child to use as a home instrument this year, please rest assured that it will still benefit him/her into the future; as eighth graders, Union percussionists will still use the bell kit at school and home on a regular basis. Please be aware that your child’s bells will need to be set on a table or other flat surface of appropriate practice height for effective playing, given that the stand will need to be at school everyday for use on the classroom bells. Mallets, pads, sticks, and music will still need to go back and forth from school and home, and you may even consider purchasing a second set of any of these to ease future transport issues; the smaller, round drum pad that was included with the instrument you initially purchased last year can certainly be used at home this year. Affordable sets of extra bells mallets are available at local music retailers; I can recommend particular makes/models if you need to contact me. Feel free to contact me should you have any questions about anything pertinent to this class, or the band experience in general. Thanks so much for continuing to play your role in helping to make your child a successful young percussionist! Regards, Mr. Pisarra pisarra.charles@unionps.org 357-7225