Open letter to percussion students and families.
Dear Percussion Students and Families,
The pad, book and sticks allow your student to participate in some, but not all of the AACPS Percussion Curriculum. Middle and High School auditions for Band, All County, All State and Solo Ensemble include all of the instruments in the kit plus many others. Having taught middle school for 14 years with AACPS, I often faced 6th graders literally shocked that they were now expected to somehow catch up to other students who had at least 2 previous years of instruction on note reading. The majority quit playing in band, which is terribly sad.
This piece of the Percussion Curriculum puzzle presents a quandary for students, parents, and teachers alike. The idea of the complete set is so that a student not only learns to play non-pitched rhythms that can be played on a drum or pad, but also how to play pitched (“pitch”. i.e., the note names) of the scales to play melody on the xylophone and other “keyboard” style percussion instruments.
The world of percussion is the largest, widest and in my opinion the most difficult to master of all band choices…..but it has been winnowed down over the years due to cost, logistics, and public perception of just “whacking” on things to be perceived as one of the easiest.
Follow this link to get a better insight from one of the best Percussion Education sites on the web that shows what the percussion family really does.
http://www.vicfirth.com/education/percussion101.php
For the past 20+ years I have faced this problem with mixed emotions. On one hand it is a lot cheaper and easier for all involved to just get minimum gear, on the other, it is not possible to deliver the full instruction of the AACPS Percussion curriculum to the student, which is my charge as an educator and proud AACPS teacher.
" I guess it would be like a baseball player having a bat to hit the ball, but no glove to catch it. They will get some benefits of play, but not fully participate in all aspects of the game and learning possibilities."
I will back up your decisions and support your students regardless of your choice.
All the best,
Mr. R.J. Maglocci
www.mrmaglocci.com
The pad, book and sticks allow your student to participate in some, but not all of the AACPS Percussion Curriculum. Middle and High School auditions for Band, All County, All State and Solo Ensemble include all of the instruments in the kit plus many others. Having taught middle school for 14 years with AACPS, I often faced 6th graders literally shocked that they were now expected to somehow catch up to other students who had at least 2 previous years of instruction on note reading. The majority quit playing in band, which is terribly sad.
This piece of the Percussion Curriculum puzzle presents a quandary for students, parents, and teachers alike. The idea of the complete set is so that a student not only learns to play non-pitched rhythms that can be played on a drum or pad, but also how to play pitched (“pitch”. i.e., the note names) of the scales to play melody on the xylophone and other “keyboard” style percussion instruments.
The world of percussion is the largest, widest and in my opinion the most difficult to master of all band choices…..but it has been winnowed down over the years due to cost, logistics, and public perception of just “whacking” on things to be perceived as one of the easiest.
Follow this link to get a better insight from one of the best Percussion Education sites on the web that shows what the percussion family really does.
http://www.vicfirth.com/education/percussion101.php
For the past 20+ years I have faced this problem with mixed emotions. On one hand it is a lot cheaper and easier for all involved to just get minimum gear, on the other, it is not possible to deliver the full instruction of the AACPS Percussion curriculum to the student, which is my charge as an educator and proud AACPS teacher.
" I guess it would be like a baseball player having a bat to hit the ball, but no glove to catch it. They will get some benefits of play, but not fully participate in all aspects of the game and learning possibilities."
I will back up your decisions and support your students regardless of your choice.
All the best,
Mr. R.J. Maglocci
www.mrmaglocci.com