Music

Middle School Band is open to students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 who play band instruments. This ensemble performs a standard repertoire for Middle School wind/band ensembles. Students interested in performing in an Upper School instrumental ensemble are strongly encouraged to select this course.

This ensemble is for tenor, baritone, and cambiata (changing voices) students in Grades 6, 7 and 8 who enjoy singing and would like to develop their vocal and musical ability. Grades 6 and 7 are scheduled for a trimester of regular classes. All forms rehearse together on Friday afternoons throughout the year. Students who anticipate auditioning for Buttondowns in the Upper School are strongly encouraged to select this ensemble.

This ensemble is for soprano and alto students in Grades 6, 7 and 8 who enjoy singing and would like to develop their vocal and musical ability. Grades 6 and 7 are scheduled for a trimester of regular classes. All forms rehearse together on Friday afternoons throughout the year. Students who anticipate auditioning for Balladeers in the Upper School are strongly encouraged to select this ensemble.

Middle School String Orchestra is for string players in Grades 6, 7, and 8. All forms rehearse together on Friday afternoons throughout the year. Students who anticipate participating in the string orchestra in the Upper School are strongly encouraged to select this ensemble

Students enrolled in the percussion ensemble will get to play anything they can strike, scrape, or slap. Basic to intermediate rhythmic notation is taught at the beginning of the trimester as well as how to construct several basic hand held percussion instruments. Students work together as a large ensemble as well as in smaller groups for collaborations and concerts with the Chorus, Band, and String Orchestra. Mastering proper technique on all instruments will be strongly stressed. Students will get to play many percussion instruments, including drum-set, congas, bongos, marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, triangle, finger cymbals, tambourine, etc. Students get the chance to immerse themselves in and perform many different genres of music including jazz-fusion, rock, Latin, and classical.

The Grade 8 Jazz Band provides the opportunity for students to learn and perform in a jazz ensemble setting. Students will learn to play in three major stylistic genres: Swing, Ballads, and Latin/Afro-Cuban. Members are also introduced to jazz improvisation and chord/scale relationships. Focus is on development of the “Swing” style of jazz and the required rhythmic and melodic phrasing to play in that style. Listening is a key component to assimilating the jazz style and is encouraged by hearing recordings of jazz masters in class and providing information for listening to jazz outside of the classroom.

Handbells is an elective music class offered to 8th grade students.  It is a trimester length class that counts towards 8th grade students' mandatory music requirement.  Any student, regardless of musical experience or level is able to sign up for Handbells. Handbells is truly an ensemble activity. In handbells, each individual person and each individual bell is one very small part of the whole. Listening, counting, watching, and paying attention to one’s own parts while simultaneously doing the same to everyone else’s and the director result in true collaboration and teamwork.  The course covers the basics of music theory, musicianship, handbell care and maintenance, as well as performance in a school concert.

The eighth grade strings elective will provide a space for students to develop their musicality and instrumental technique in preparation for advanced work in the Upper School orchestra and chamber music club. This course will be open to eighth grade violinists, violists, cellists, bassists, guitarists, and harpists looking to participate in musical groups both within and outside of Pingry.

The course will cover the theory, technique, and musicianship necessary to fully understand, interpret, and perform a piece of music. Students will be assigned scales, arpeggios, and exercises in order to bolster their physical technique. In addition to ensuring that students are fluent in reading both rhythms and notation, we will cover the basics of music theory, such as keys and scales, form, and chord analysis, which will in turn inform students’ interpretation. While musicianship is a less quantitative aspect of music-making, we will cover the basic tenets of interpreting music, such as phrasing, dynamics, and tone production.

As the trimester progresses, we will begin to synthesize the above concepts and think about what constitutes a strong musical performance. We will discuss performance techniques and common problems that musicians (and string players in specific) face both in practice and on the stage, placing a heavy emphasis on developing a disciplined yet healthy practice routine, managing performance anxiety, and collaborating within a musical ensemble. Students will develop and implement their theoretical comprehension, technical abilities, and overall musicianship by working in small chamber groups and in orchestra, and the course will culminate in a final performance project. Students will learn about the extracurricular options available to them for pursuing music once they are Upper School students, and will leave the course prepared to make orchestral and chamber music on a higher level.