South Effingham Band Family

We want YOU to be a part of it!

https://forms.gle/ZKE3PNrbCCo5TbTg6

SIGN UP TODAY!

JOIN THE BAND FAMILY BY FILLING OUT THIS GOOGLE FORM, HERE.

JOIN THE SEMS BAND PROGRAM!

The SEMS Band Program has a proven track record of outstanding performance. Every year, our band students receive superior and excellent ratings at performance evaluations. The band has students who not only make the GMEA District Band but place in the top of the section. SEMS also has students routinely make the Georgia All-State band, the highest honor a middle school band student can achieve!

Why should your child participate in band?

They will have the opportunity to learn to play a band instrument proficiently, learn about the rich musical heritage of our country, be introduced to other languages and become more musically and culturally literate.

Studies have shown that students who study instrumental music perform better in academic classes and on standardized tests since participation in music develop higher brain functions that are responsible for math and language. It’s fun exercise for your brain and studying music makes you smarter!

Your child will participate fully, all the time, in a positive learning environment where they will have the opportunity to reach their musical potential, develop self-discipline, self-control, goal setting, positive team work and achieve outstanding personal fulfillment!

Band is a very positive social experience and students in band form life-long friendships with each other. It’s a place where they can belong while doing something meaningful. It also makes the transition to high school much easier as they start 9th grade with 150 friends from before the first day of school.

Everyone is welcome to join band and no prior musical experience is required or needed! Students can be in band and still participate in athletics and other clubs and a high percentage of our students make honor roll every year.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: When does band meet?

A: Band classes meet during the school day for about 50 minutes. This class will be one of your Connections classes (kind of like Specials). For class, students will need to have an instrument, a pencil, and an band method book for their instrument.

Q: Does band have homework?

A: To be good at anything, you need to practice. Students will be expected to practice their instrument every day at home for 15-20 minutes.

Q: Are there conflicts between band and other school activities?

A: Band is a curricular subject that happens during the school day. FFA, athletics, and other events after-school are activities that do NOT interfere with band. If a schedule conflict arises, the advisors/coaches and us find ways to allow students to do all the things they want to do. In fact, we encourage students to get involved in several different activities. You will also be expected to participate in every concert. There are five main concerts throughout the year.

Q: How do I know which instrument I will play?

A: After introducing the instruments, we will have an instrument “fitting” day during class where you can try out all the instruments. We would like for you to play what you want, but we want to make sure you don’t get stuck on an instrument you can’t make a sound on.

Q: When do I need to have an instrument?

A: When school starts back up in the fall, we will have an “Instrument Rental Night” at SEMS where a music company, Pladd Dot, will be present to rent out instruments. Buying an instrument is just like anything else – there are many good instruments, but there is also plenty of junk out there. And, as usual, cheaper is usually not better. Please speak with Mr. Agan or Ms. Thompson prior to purchasing or renting an instrument so that you can get a professional opinion and not make an investment that you will later regret.

Q: How much do instruments cost?

A: The average rental fee is $35 per month. This is a transaction between the parents and the music company. Our main company will be Pladd Dot in Statesboro, which comes to the school twice a week to service instruments and help with any equipment needs the band may have. Feel free to give them a call for accurate prices on instruments. Instruments such as Tuba, Bassoon, (French) Horn and Baritone/Euphonium are provided at a very nominal fee by the band, not Pladd Dot. If finances are the only issue keeping them from participating, please don’t hesitate to contact us as well.

Q: Can I join band in 7th Grade?

A: Per Effingham County policy, students must join band in 6th grade to participate in band at all in middle and high school.

Q: How do I join band?

A: Fill out the Google Form link above. If you have any other questions, please contact Mr. Agan or Ms. Thompson.

Instruments offered at SEMS

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Flute

Flute Beatboxing

Mozart

The flute is a narrow metal tube about two feet long, with a row of holes covered by keys. (Early flutes were often made of wood.) The player blows air across the small hole in the mouthpiece to produce a sound that can be either soft and mellow or high and piercing. The flute may often carry the melody line as it is easy to hear above the other instruments.

Gwen Stefani (singer) played the flute!

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Oboe

Oboe with Chicken Accompaniment

Swan Lake

The oboe does not have a mouthpiece like the flute. It is a double-reed instrument, with two reeds tied together for the mouthpiece. When the player places the reeds between her or his lips and blows air through them into the oboe, the reeds vibrate and produce the sound. The oboe is made of wood. It has a more mellow sound than the flute, but still has a bright treble sound and is often expected to carry the melody.

Julia Roberts (actress) played the oboe!

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Bassoon

Sorcerer Apprentice

Disney Princess Party

The bassoon is a large double-reed instrument with a sound that is deeper than the other woodwind instruments. When the player blows air between the reeds, the vibrating column of air inside the instrument travels over nine feet to the bottom of the instrument, then up to the top where the sound comes out! Luckily, the bassoon comes apart into pieces for easy transport.

Rainn Wilson (actor) played the bassoon!

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Clarinet

Benny Goodman

Clarinet Ensemble

The clarinet, produces a fluid sound when air is blown between a single reed and the mouthpiece. As air passes through, the reed vibrates and creates sound. It has a large range of nearly four octaves.

Steven Spielberg (movie director) played the clarinet!

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Saxophone

Locked out of Haven

Bach Saxophone Quartet

The saxophone, while made of brass, is actually a woodwind instrument! It uses a single-reed mouthpiece much like the clarinet. The saxophone (“sax” for short) was invented in 1846 by Adolphe Sax to try to bridge the gap between brass and woodwind instruments.

Jennifer Garner (actress) played the saxophone!

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Trumpet

Flight of the Bumble Bee

One Finger Trumpet Solo

The trumpet has been around since about 1500 years BCE! It is the highest-sounding member of the brass family. Air travels through six and a half feet of tubing bent into an oblong shape. The modern trumpet has three valves to change pitches, added in the early 19th century.

Prince Charles (future King of England) played the trumpet!

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Horn

Back to the Future

Sleigh Ride

The horn (often called the French horn but it really isn’t French at all!) consists of about twenty feet of narrow tubing wound into a circle with a large flared bell at the end. It has a clear, mellow sound, and is played with the bell pointing away from the audience, providing contrast to the other brass instruments. The player produces different notes on the horn by pressing valves with the left hand and by moving the right hand inside of the bell.

Samuel L. Jackson (actor) played the horn!

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Trombone

Star Wars

U.S. Naval Academy Band-Trombone Quartet

The trombone has a more mellow sound than the trumpet. Instead of valves or keys, the trombone uses a slide with seven positions to change the length of its approximately nine feet of tubing in order to reach different pitches. The longer the column of air, the lower the pitch.

Tony Stewart (NASCAR Driver) played the trombone!

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Euphonium

Pirates of the Caribbean

President's Own Marine Band

The euphonium was invented in 1843 by Sommer of Weimar. It is constructed in the way that it looks like a miniature tuba. It contains a conical bell and a flared bell, with three to four valves.

Neil Armstrong (Astronaut/first man on the moon) played the euphonium!

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Tuba

Canadian Brass

Mnozil Brass

Made of about sixteen feet of tubing, the tuba is the lowest-sounding member of the brass family. It is one of the newest instruments in the orchestra, having first appeared in the mid-19th century. The concert tuba generally has four or five valves and is held upright in the player’s lap.

Aretha Franklin ("Queen of Soul", singer) played the tuba!

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Percussion

Percussion Ensemble

Under the Sea

The percussion section provides a variety of rhythms, textures and tone colors to orchestral music. Instruments in the percussion family make sound in one of three ways, by striking, shaking, or scraping. Percussion instruments can also be tuned or untuned. Tuned instruments play specific pitches or notes, just like the woodwind and brass. Untuned instruments produce a sound with no definite pitch, like the sound of hitting two pieces of wood or metal together.

Walter Payton (NFL Hall of Fame running back) played percussion.

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String Bass

Pink Panther

Bass Solo

The string bass, (pronounced “base” as in first base) is the largest and lowest-pitched stringed instrument. While it looks similar to the other members of the string family, it has more sloping “shoulders” so that the player can reach and move around on the strings more easily despite its large size. Because of its size (taller than the performer), the bassist stands or sits on a tall stool to play the instrument, which rests on the floor.

Hear from former SEMS band members

"Band has helped me with more aspects in life than just playing an instrument. A brief way to go over it would be that I have more self discipline, I don't give up on a task because it is "to hard", and I just have more of an appreciation for music and those who make it. Since I started band I picked up guitar, our classroom discussions on basic music theory has helped me greatly."-Gavin Gerrald (Percussion)

"Band for me has been the highlight of middle school. It’s my favorite class. Doing band is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made."-Madalyn Sloan (Horn)

"Band has given me the opportunity to strive for goals."-Jacey Cheng (Clarinet)

"Band/Music is one of the most important parts of my life! A lot of my friends are in band and band allows me to experience things I never would have."-Nate Wicker (Euphonium)

I joined band "to get out of my comfort zone, learn a new skill, meet new people, and make more memories."-Cassidy Padgett (Flute)

One of my favorite thing about band is "the feeling after we’ve completed a concert, or the chills I get when we play a piece. I get really into the songs we play. -Briana Coffee (Euphonium)