The Enloe Band Program prides itself on maintaining balance and excellence in its musical offerings. To that end students have opportunities to participate in Concert Band, Marching Band, and Jazz Combos. Additionally, students have opportunities to learn about arranging, music technology, and conducting.
CONCERT BANDS
The benefits of learning to play musical instruments are recognized in schools throughout the United States. Therefore, such opportunities have become curricular. At Enloe, the primary focus of the band program is curricular (concert) band. That is, the study of wind and percussion instrument playing as outlined in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.
We are fortunate to have so much interest in band that we are able to offer three levels of study: Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble. The terms “Concert,” “Symphonic,” and “Wind Ensemble” are simply different ways to describe the same thing………BAND. However, students are assigned to these classes based on their current ability, which is assessed in band placement auditions each Spring.
Each band class performs concerts, and the preparation for these concerts is an integral part of learning to play in an ensemble. However, the primary focus in each class must be on the individual. If the ensemble is to perform well in concert then each member of the ensemble must be musically literate. To that end many tests, formal and informal, are administered to assess individual learning.
At the beginning of the school year each of the three band classes begin with a review of the basic elements of playing their instruments. Typically, the class with the most freshmen is the Concert Band, and it moves relatively slowly through the review process until the majority of the class is “on the same page.” Each class moves at its own pace and the proportion of emphasis on the individual over the ensemble eventually shifts. Initially all classes begin with all the emphasis on the individual and none on the ensemble. As the individuals develop a common set of skills increasing emphasis is transferred to the ensemble. When a class is able to focus on ensemble they have reached a level in which music can be made collectively. This is what hooks the kids on being “in the band.” The do not wish to spend the entire year focusing only on individual skills, but long to arrive into the realm of real ensemble music making. This “summit experience” of true music making in an ensemble is our goal through the concert/curricular course offerings.
Concert Band – 1st period
Symphonic Band – 2nd period
Wind Ensemble – 6th period
Solo/Ensemble – 3rd & 8th periods
JAZZ AT ENLOE
Jazz is America’s musical contribution to the world! At Enloe we offer students the opportunity to study jazz during the school day. Our study is focused on the elements that make jazz special: communication and improvisation. While reading music is absolutely essential to our endeavors, the primary focus is on eye-to-eye and ear-to-ear communication within a small group, or combo.
Students enrolled in the “Jazz Ensemble” course are divided into small combos, which rehearse independently. Interest in the class has boomed and in order to keep the combos to manageable numbers it has been necessary to divide the class into four combos. Space only allows for two combos to rehearse each day, so we alter rehearsal days with listening days.
Through their combo students learn many jazz tunes, but more importantly, they learn to communicate non-verbally in meaningful and musical ways within their combo. In order to excel at improvisation students must learn basic music theory. Students learn to read chord symbols (Dmi 7, G7, Cmaj7) and learn how to improvise melodies based on these symbols. This requires intense individual study. Once a certain level of study has been accomplished students are able to tryout their discoveries within their combo. When each member of the group is prepared they are able to experience synergetic rehearsals. This is what keeps them interested in jazz!