We Got The Beat

Funded Nov 13, 2018

Thank you all so much in helping me get a bass drum for my band program. It is the one instrument that makes us feel complete as an ensemble. Although my school had some instruments already, they did not have many percussion instruments. I firmly believe that a good band has a solid heartbeat and the bass drum did just that.

When the students saw the bass drum, they were beyond excited. Most of them had never seen one before and all wanted to play it; percussionist or not. When the percussionists played it, the band finally understood what it meant to stay together as an ensemble. They would get really excited when the musical instruments played in time with the percussionists. My students had a much easier time playing together. The bass drum has impacted about 40 students in my program. Some of these students believed they had no musical talent but with some instruction, they felt like they served an important purpose to our music playing.

The next steps for my students is to grow my instrument inventory. For percussion in particular, I would like to get bell kits or small xylophones on stands for them to play on instead of putting them on desks. Percussion is a very popular section and I would like to give them the opportunity to play on quality instruments. I would also like to provide my students with crash cymbals to add to the band pieces that we play.

Thank you all so much for your contributions and helping me build an enriching band program for my students.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Dookie