Should I Join Band?
If you are parent or student wondering about joining band, below are answers to a few questions you might have. If you have additional questions, please feel free to email the Director at [email protected]
How Much Does Band Cost?
The 2024-25 Marching Band fees are:
$200 -1st installment due May 15th
$200 -2nd installment due June 28th
$200 - Final installment due July 31st
Fundraisers are available for those experiencing financial hardships.
What’s the Summer Schedule?
Schedule for Summer of 2024
July 15 – 18 Rookie Camp
July 19 – 21 Leadership Camp (Overnight)
July 22 - 26 Band Camp
July 29 Band Practice Begin
What’s a Typical “Week in the Life” During Marching Season?
Usually, afternoon practices are as follows:
Mondays 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm Practice (Study Hall 3:30-4:15)
Tuesdays 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm Practice
Wednesdays 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm Practice (Study Hall 3:30-4:15)
Thursdays 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm Practice
Fridays 5:30 pm Call Time for Home Games
Sectionals In addition to band practice, each instrument section will meet one day a week, either before or after school.
Top 12 Reasons to Join MLK Band – More Than Just Music
While learning the skill of playing an instrument is valuable on its own merit, there are many other benefits to joining band. Read on…
Get Active
Weather permitting, kids who participate in marching band will spend at least 8 hours a week outdoors, during marching season. Studies have shown that kids who spend time outdoors are smarter, happier, and more attentive than kids who spend time indoors. Spending time outdoors activates more senses – students see, hear, smell, and touch outdoor environments, expanding the richness of the human experience. Getting kids off screens and outdoors gets their blood pumping. Even mild exercise can help kids focus and relieve stress.
Brain Boost
Students who regularly participate in music-rich experiences receive benefits beyond the ability to play a musical instrument. Students involved in music have larger growth of neural activity than people not in music training. Playing an instrument requires using more of your brain. One specific benefit research has found involves spatial intelligence, which translates into improved skills in solving multistep problems. In addition, recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language. Therefore, musical experience strengthens language competence, which in turn can strengthen social competence.
Time Management
Without a doubt, marching band involves a large time commitment. As a result, students must learn the skills to plan and use their time wisely in order to accomplish their personal and academic goals.
Teamwork
Students learn the value of working together and come to understand how their individual effort impacts the group as a whole.
Friendship
Ask almost any student in band what they like best about band, and inevitably they will tell you it’s their friends. Starting with band camp in the summer, students begin to make new friends before school even starts. By the time the first day of school rolls around, students already feel at home at MLK, and probably will even have a few familiar band faces in some of their classes. Not only will they make friends within their own grade, having friendships with older students can help make the transition from middle school to high school a little smoother.
Leadership
Band provides leadership training to all interested students, with opportunities for more in-depth training for selected students. Opportunities for leadership include Drum Majors, Section Leaders, Student President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, and Librarian.
Quality Musical Instruction
MLK Band strives to provide a high-quality, rigorous musical instruction experience for all of its students. In addition to the full time director, MLK Band includes additional directors, instructors, and staff throughout the school year.
Esprit de Corp
Students who join band form a special bond with one another. Among band members there is a common spirit of pride, enthusiasm and devotion to the band that extends far beyond their four years of high school.
Competition
The MLK Band program seeks to encourage habits and choices that move students towards excellence. This progress allows students to see a continuous improvement in their own personal performance. By providing a rich and diverse range of opportunities in and out of the classroom, the goal is for each student to strive in each performance to be the best version of themselves.
Opportunity to Serve
MLK Band is the largest organization at MLK High School with many outstanding and dedicated parent volunteers. Not only do parents volunteer, but students are also given on occasion opportunities to serve.
Confidence
With each new skill or habit that is mastered, students gain increased confidence. In addition, numerous opportunities to perform on the field and on stage, showcasing their ever-improving performance, gives students a sense of pride and self-confidence – a quality so important to one’s success.
Fun
The MLK Band is far from all work and no play! During band camp, students get to break up the rehearsals with activities such as movie day, skit night, and the band Kick-back. Band members also get to enjoy themselves in the stands during football games, playing their instruments with their friends, right next to the student section. Not only do students have fun locally, often students travel to other states, either for competitions or to march in parades such as the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, or the Tournament of Roses Parade. Past trips to Florida, California, New York, and Washington D.C. have included fun visits to Busch Gardens, The Smithsonian, Universal Studios, and Disney, to name a few.
If you are parent or student wondering about joining band, below are answers to a few questions you might have. If you have additional questions, please feel free to email the Director at [email protected]
How Much Does Band Cost?
The 2024-25 Marching Band fees are:
$200 -1st installment due May 15th
$200 -2nd installment due June 28th
$200 - Final installment due July 31st
Fundraisers are available for those experiencing financial hardships.
What’s the Summer Schedule?
Schedule for Summer of 2024
July 15 – 18 Rookie Camp
July 19 – 21 Leadership Camp (Overnight)
July 22 - 26 Band Camp
July 29 Band Practice Begin
What’s a Typical “Week in the Life” During Marching Season?
Usually, afternoon practices are as follows:
Mondays 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm Practice (Study Hall 3:30-4:15)
Tuesdays 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm Practice
Wednesdays 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm Practice (Study Hall 3:30-4:15)
Thursdays 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm Practice
Fridays 5:30 pm Call Time for Home Games
- Away Games may include full band, or pep band only (upperclassmen)
Sectionals In addition to band practice, each instrument section will meet one day a week, either before or after school.
Top 12 Reasons to Join MLK Band – More Than Just Music
While learning the skill of playing an instrument is valuable on its own merit, there are many other benefits to joining band. Read on…
Get Active
Weather permitting, kids who participate in marching band will spend at least 8 hours a week outdoors, during marching season. Studies have shown that kids who spend time outdoors are smarter, happier, and more attentive than kids who spend time indoors. Spending time outdoors activates more senses – students see, hear, smell, and touch outdoor environments, expanding the richness of the human experience. Getting kids off screens and outdoors gets their blood pumping. Even mild exercise can help kids focus and relieve stress.
Brain Boost
Students who regularly participate in music-rich experiences receive benefits beyond the ability to play a musical instrument. Students involved in music have larger growth of neural activity than people not in music training. Playing an instrument requires using more of your brain. One specific benefit research has found involves spatial intelligence, which translates into improved skills in solving multistep problems. In addition, recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language. Therefore, musical experience strengthens language competence, which in turn can strengthen social competence.
Time Management
Without a doubt, marching band involves a large time commitment. As a result, students must learn the skills to plan and use their time wisely in order to accomplish their personal and academic goals.
Teamwork
Students learn the value of working together and come to understand how their individual effort impacts the group as a whole.
Friendship
Ask almost any student in band what they like best about band, and inevitably they will tell you it’s their friends. Starting with band camp in the summer, students begin to make new friends before school even starts. By the time the first day of school rolls around, students already feel at home at MLK, and probably will even have a few familiar band faces in some of their classes. Not only will they make friends within their own grade, having friendships with older students can help make the transition from middle school to high school a little smoother.
Leadership
Band provides leadership training to all interested students, with opportunities for more in-depth training for selected students. Opportunities for leadership include Drum Majors, Section Leaders, Student President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, and Librarian.
Quality Musical Instruction
MLK Band strives to provide a high-quality, rigorous musical instruction experience for all of its students. In addition to the full time director, MLK Band includes additional directors, instructors, and staff throughout the school year.
Esprit de Corp
Students who join band form a special bond with one another. Among band members there is a common spirit of pride, enthusiasm and devotion to the band that extends far beyond their four years of high school.
Competition
The MLK Band program seeks to encourage habits and choices that move students towards excellence. This progress allows students to see a continuous improvement in their own personal performance. By providing a rich and diverse range of opportunities in and out of the classroom, the goal is for each student to strive in each performance to be the best version of themselves.
Opportunity to Serve
MLK Band is the largest organization at MLK High School with many outstanding and dedicated parent volunteers. Not only do parents volunteer, but students are also given on occasion opportunities to serve.
Confidence
With each new skill or habit that is mastered, students gain increased confidence. In addition, numerous opportunities to perform on the field and on stage, showcasing their ever-improving performance, gives students a sense of pride and self-confidence – a quality so important to one’s success.
Fun
The MLK Band is far from all work and no play! During band camp, students get to break up the rehearsals with activities such as movie day, skit night, and the band Kick-back. Band members also get to enjoy themselves in the stands during football games, playing their instruments with their friends, right next to the student section. Not only do students have fun locally, often students travel to other states, either for competitions or to march in parades such as the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, or the Tournament of Roses Parade. Past trips to Florida, California, New York, and Washington D.C. have included fun visits to Busch Gardens, The Smithsonian, Universal Studios, and Disney, to name a few.
