Membership
Students may enroll in beginning band or orchestra as they turn nine years old – turning nine in September is fine in most cases. Generally, students younger than nine years old have yet to develop enough physically to handle the full sized band instruments. Stringed instruments do come in ¼, ½, and ¾ sizes so a younger student may start orchestra.  Before enrolling, please discuss with Mr Hammond. Older students who have never played an instrument may also enroll in the beginner class. 

Experienced classes may be available for students who have at least one full calendar year or more of band or orchestra class or private instruction.

Classes
Students are taught in fifty-five minute classes once weekly with mixed instruments. Beginning classes are designed for students who have never played an instrument before. Students in this class will be taught as if they know nothing about a band or orchestra instrument. For band, the director will try out your child on instrument mouthpieces (sterilized, of course) to determine the best fit according to mouth structure, ability to produce a sound and student’s choice. For orchestra, the director will fit your child with the appropriate sized instrument. So, wait for information sent home from the director after testing and fitting before acquiring and instrument for your child.

Preparation for Class
It is the student's responsibility to have all materials at every band class. Materials include:

Instrument in good working condition: instruments available to rent at The Music hutch Studio.  Click here to get started.

Supplies:

Violin/Viola/Cello - Rosin and polishing cloth

Flute - Cotton Handkerchief

Clarinet and Alto Sax - 5 working reeds, swab, mouthpiece brush and protectors

Brass - Valve/Slide oil, mouthpiece brush, cleaning snake (bore brush)

1 inch 3-ring binder with pockets and 10-15 premium sheet protectors

All music and warm up exercises

Standard of Excellence Method Book (Band) Essential Elements for Strings (Orchestra)

Mechanical pencil

Students are expected to attend class even when instrument is forgotten.

Attendance
Students are expected to attend every lesson . Only personal illness or a family emergency is excused. If your child is ill and not able to attend class, please email Mr. Hutcherson or Mr. Hammond at least 24 hours ahead of the class at  Also email or text him if your child wakes up the morning of a class day ill and does not participate in hime school or becomes ill and has to stop during the school day. That will give them time to revise the class plan for the day.

Check our web site for band days and holidays.

Concerts
Concert performances are an integral part of band pedagogy. Each performer masters their individual parts through daily practice and integrates it with all of the other performers to form a cohesive and interdependent group. Any performer (student) not available to the band at a concert alters the sound of the band or orchestra and can affect that performance negatively. This is why it is critical that all students attend all band performances and why attendance is required. Concert dates will be published at the beginning of the session.

Acquiring an Instrument
The Music Hutch Studio offers quality name brand instruments for rent.  It is a month-to-month agreement with accumulation of rent equity towards the purchase of an upgraded instrument as long as payments are made (24 month maximum credit) Click here to get started.

It is from many years of experience that we can advise you that the safe thing to do in the early stages is to rent, not buy. Be sure to get all the accessories listed, as they will be necessary for proper maintenance of the instrument. Please do not buy an instrument from a department store or membership type store since the quality and design is almost always significantly inferior to the suggested brand instruments. Most music instrument repair facilities will refuse to repair these instruments because of their tendency to break during the repair process.

Beware of auction sites such as EBay and Craig’s List. Occasionally a good bargain can be found by trained musicians. However, to the inexperienced, a used instrument may need so many repairs it could end up costing more than purchasing a certified used, or even a new instrument outright.

After approximately the second year of study, thought should be given to “stepping up” the quality of instrument. Talk to the director about recommended brands and models for your child. 

Changing Instruments
Once a student has selected an instrument and begun the course, he may not switch to another instrument. In some very rare cases the director may suggest that a student change because of continued difficulty, but not without a Director/Parent conference.

Home Practice
Students are expected to practice outside of class, since the class only meets twice weekly. Beginner members are expected to practice fifteen (15) minutes daily. Experienced members should practice from 20 - 30 minutes each day. 

Withdrawal
We strongly recommend that a student stays in the program for the entire October to May session. It takes that length of time to determine if your child will be successful as a beginning student. Band and orchestra are sequential courses of study and should be continued from year to year for the greatest level of success. If a student wishes to withdraw, please communicate early to the director. In many cases a conversation with the student and parent can help with any issues that may be causing the desire to discontinue study.

Parent Supervision
Few of us have not said, “I wish my mother had made me practice the piano,” or other instrument. There may be times of “slump” in the child’s enthusiasm and it will be necessary to be firm regarding daily practice. A daily “routine” is helpful. Some parents have said they use “Homework, Practice, Dinner, TV” as a routine and found it successful.