American High School Music Department

The Marching Band is an award-winning musical ensemble consisting of students from grades 9 through 12. The Band performs frequently in the community, at football and basketball games, and at band reviews/parades and field show competitions.

This class is designed for students who play a band instrument and are interested in the total range of band music and activities. Students will improve instrumental skills as well as acquire skills in precision teamwork, body carriage, musicianship, and showmanship. This course counts as P.E. credit towards graduation. Members selected for color guard and majorette must enroll. Attendance at rehearsals and performances is required.

1. We march, we play music, we have a great time performing and making friends
2. We are active in the summer with rehearsals, performances, and band camp (August). Band camp attendance is essential for the success of the band.
3. We compete throughout northern California in parade and field shows and have gone to music festivals at Disneyland, Marine World, Hawaii, and New York.
4. We raise money to travel and be able to purchase necessary music and instruments (One bus leaving Fremont will cost us $48 an hour, plus $4 per mile. A typical all-day trip will cost over $1,000.)

• Marching Band is 7th period in the Fall (5 units P.E. credit), followed by Jazz Ensemble 7th period in the Spring (5 units V&P Arts credit). Classes meet W/F, for 2 hour-blocks.
• Concert Band (also known as Band 1) is a full-year course, recommended for grade 9 (10 units V&P Arts credit). Students should sign up for both Concert and Marching Band.
• More experienced students, grade 10 and above, will be placed in Symphonic Band, after passing an audition. This is a full-year course (10 units V&P Arts credit). Students who pass the audition should sign up for both Symphonic and Marching Band.
• Students will automatically be enrolled in Jazz Ensemble in the spring. If there are schedule changes at the semester, the most recent district & school policy is to allow students to drop 7th period Jazz Ensemble only if they have 7 classes. This would reduce their schedule to 6 classes. Students who only have 6 classes and plan on dropping Jazz Ensemble would need to go into another music class, such as choir, at the beginning of the second semester.
• Current policy allows students to take 7 periods if one class is marching band and another is either concert or symphonic band. (Spring 2010)

No one is turned away from band as we welcome everyone. A placement audition is held for the percussion section. A clinic and audition is used for the Color Guard.

No, not at all! Marching experience is not required of anyone interested in becoming a member of the band. We understand that there is no marching in junior high school. We train you on marching technique at band camp.

As an organized booster club, the parents in the American High School Band Parents Organization serve as responsible adults on band trips, plan and implement concert setup and logistics, distribute uniforms, and provide much-needed financial assistance for music and equipment purchase, just to name a few duties. The Band Parents Organization provides support for the entire music program at American High. Membership is free and open to all. Meetings start at 7:30pm, the 2nd Tuesday of each month, in the Faculty Commons. For more information, visit the BPO page.

Band Camp at American is the time when all the members, old and new, of the band and color guard get together to learn how to march, play, and perform the music for the upcoming season’s field show and parade.

At camp, students meet new friends, learn marching and playing fundamentals, start learning the field show and parade routine, and have a concentrated time for music, with no outside distractions. The students form friendships with each other, at all grade levels, making them feel welcome before summer ends and high school starts.

Students go home at the end of each day.

The class lasts the entire fall semester, but the marching season starts with band camp in August and typically lasts until the last field show competition, typically  mid-November.

Class meets Wednesdays and Fridays, for a little over 2 hours per session. In addition, there are hour-long sectionals, ranging from at least once to three times per month, depending on the progress of the section. Football game performances are typically in the evening. We usually perform at three home football games, including Homecoming. Saturdays are devoted to performances and competitions. See the calendar for the latest information.
 
Although marching band is a time-consuming activity, students can also balance music with other academic subjects by budgeting their time. The most successful students have been the ones who developed the ability to prioritize and plan ahead, so that they can finish all of their necessary schoolwork and contribute uniquely to the band and guard.

Early communication with the band director is essential to work out possible schedule conflicts. Students in the past have been able to participate in both band and outside activities such as scouts, Chinese school, outside bands, drum corps, and sports such as soccer, freshmen football, swimming, water polo, track and field, badminton, basketball, cross country, etc. Schedule a meeting with the director to go over the calendar, so that scheduling conflicts can be resolved early.

A positive attitude and willingness to learn are always welcome. Larger instruments and equipment are provided by the music department. The marching uniform is also provided. Marching shoes and gloves can be purchased separately. Typically, this is a one-time cost. Students will have the opportunity to try on marching shoes at the uniform fitting in August so that the correct size can be ordered for them.

A positive attitude and willingness to learn are always welcome. Color Guard uniforms will be purchased, depending on the field show and parade music selected for the season. Uniform shoes and accessories will also need to be purchased.

Typically, the Marching Band performs in local parades, high school band days at local college football games, home football games, and all-day-long band reviews and field show competitions. In the past, the band has been asked to perform at community events, such as the 50th & 60th anniversary of Fremont, the annual Candlelighters Halloween Parade, Niles Festival of Lights Parade, Holiday Boutique, Fremont Education Foundation Gala Night, grand openings of various local businesses, and even a memorial for a well-loved administrator.

A typical competition day begins in the 6am hour. All members meet at the school, dressed for parade competition. The truck and busses are loaded, and the caravan heads to the competition destination. Once at the competition site, the truck and busses are unloaded and last-minute preparations take place. The band and color guard warms up and then competes in parade. After the parade, students change out of uniform, relax, eat food prepared by the BPO, rehearse for field show competition, and then attend the parade awards ceremony. Afterwards, there is a recap, perhaps another rehearsal, and then preparation for the field show competition, which takes place in the evening. After the field competition, students change out of uniform and respectfully watch the remaining shows. At the end of the field competition, there is another awards ceremony and the return trip home.

Due to increases in bus costs, we carpool more often, to cut down on costs.

Parents, families, and friends (such as alumni) are encouraged to attend these events to support and cheer on the students.

Each schedule has a detailed list of what is needed for each competition. Besides their instrument and complete uniform (including black socks and marching shoes), it is helpful to bring along their band shirt, a change of pants or shorts, a light jacket, other shoes, musical accessories such as reeds or sticks, money for food or souvenirs, and a blanket for when the nights get chilly.

Classes meet Wednesdays, 2:50-5:21 and Fridays, 3:20-5:26pm. Sectionals are scheduled outside of these times, after school, on other days of the week.

Field rehearsals take place on the softball field adjacent to the parking lot. Parade rehearsal occurs in the parking lot or on the track. Music rehearsal can occur in the band room or in the rotunda, depending on the weather.

In The Arts: An Essential Ingredient in Education, J. Buchen Milley states that “research shows that when arts are included in the student’s curriculum, reading, writing, and math scores improve.” Like all arts, music has a profound effect on the academic success of the student. Band offers an understanding and practice of many disciplines other than the technique required to play the instrument. In An Evaluation of the Achievement in Reading and Arithmetic of Pupils in Elementary School Classes, author B. Friedman sates, “Music students always out-perform non-music students on achievement tests in reading and math. Because of their study of music, their skills are better at reading, anticipating, memory, listening, forecasting, recall, and concentration.”

The network of experienced students one meets in the band can help with other academic classes. The saying goes, “If you want the job to get done, give to a busy person.” Throughout life, we must juggle various activities, whether it is work, school, family, hobbies, or other interests. Students who learn to balance and prioritize their time commitments end up being more successful later in life. Time and again, we have seen students take themselves out of performances or entire seasons, only to hear later that they did not use their free time any more wisely than when they were in band. Band should not be the only or first reason grades suffer, if a student takes the time to get organized. Being in an active group gives the students the opportunity to learn how to balance school, extra-curricular activities, and other interests. 

The band receives no funding from the school or school district to cover transportation to performances, uniforms, entry fees, or instrument repair or purchases. Due to the rising costs in transportation, band expenses, unfortunately, include:

$30    band camp - for the band t-shirt (at American)
$40    water and meal money for the fall marching events
$35    band uniform use - due when students pick up their uniform
$32    marching band shoes (one time fee for new band students)
  $2    marching band gloves
$40    instructional staff
$50    transportation for busses to performances - due by October 31st
$50    transportation to be fundraised for busses to performances - due by December 1st
    
In order to cover these costs, students are encouraged to earn the money through various fund raisers such as car washes, pizza nights, candy sales, and the parade-a-thon, where students get pledges in order to raise money. We typically work at the Fremont Festival of the Arts in the summer, to help raise money for the music program and lower costs for the students. Other fund raisers will occur during the year. Donations are always welcome and gladly accepted.

Each marching band member is encouraged to help raise their fair share. There are many opportunities throughout the year to raise money to cover costs. Students are not forced to do fundraising, nor are they excluded from any activity, based on inability to pay.

The website (www.americanbandrocksit.com) is updated often, with schedules posted online, for the convenience of parents. Students receive the same information, in hardcopy form, along with permission slips, which are also scanned and posted online. Join the Yahoo group, by sending an e-mail to ahs_bpo-subscribe@yahoogroups.com