<p>Next year, my son will be starting HS. He can either take band or Art. He has taken band for 5 years now. He needs 1 credit(I think) in the Arts and band or traditional art qualify. </p>
<p>He is leaning toward art, but I am wondering if HS band will help him down the road getting into college? He is good at his instrument and could eventually make all state. He participates in Sports so he does have other ECs. </p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>will he have a chance to take band later, or outside of school? taking art might help him find a new passion or realize that he misses his instrument and wants to go back to it. but if you make him take band just in order to get into college, he might stop wanting to play - for the wrong reasons.
i dont see why he couldnt keep up with both. why is he leaning towards art? can you afford private music lessons? or maybe he could start a band with his friends - i dont know what instrument he plays but even if it's not guitar or drums, instruments like violin or saxophone can add a lot to a fun high school rock band.
i think your son - alone but with guidance from you - should make a pro/con chart about each class. it could end up not being a big deal; i'm sure he'd be happy in either one; but it could also end up affecting his hobbies and interests profoundly.
having an instrument might help him in the college game, but there are so many musicians, even all-state ones, applying to top schools that it might not make him stand out as much. your son should pursue the academic interests that he wants, he'll be happier and a better all-around candidate.</p>
<p>HS band and All-State (which may be more difficult to achieve than you think) will only really make a difference if he is planning on majoring in music or participate in ensembles while in college. The amount of scholarship money available for non-music majors varies by school, but is usually nothing or significantly less that for music majors.
Hs band is a big time commitment, esp. during marching season, and often conflicts with sports. It can be a great experience however, and many dedicated kids do both sports and band. In order to excel at both, esp. if he plays more than one sport, he would have to be very efficient with studying, practice, and homework. It takes a lot of practice to make All-State. It also takes cooperative coaches/band directors when there are conflicts between games/contests. I suggest you contact the directors and coaches at the HS and ask them how they deal with that. At our HS, it depends on the sport and the coach. We found, from personal experience, that it helps to have the student really excel at one or the other. Our D's coach was much more understanding about why she had to miss practice sometimes once she heard her play.
All that said, if he's only planning on taking one credit of fine art, it doesn't matter what he does. If he'd like to try art, let him do it. Intro Art is probably much less of a time commitment, and it would give him a "break" from the intensity of high school classes and sports.</p>
<p>About 25% of HS kids participate in some form of music. It takes a pretty high level of achievement to stand out and gain even a minimal advantage with college apps. Encourage your son to participate in the EC's that he enjoys.</p>
<p>Band is an amazing experience in and of itself. It's like being on a sports team all year round. It's a great way to make friends with people from different classes. Does his sport conflict with marching season? If it does, that could be a problem, but otherwise, there are lots of kids in band who play sports.</p>
<p>To answer your question HS band might not help get him into college, but can't hurt. He may want to stay in band in college. To add to what cal wrote, college marching band can be a huge time commitment, depends on how good the director and the band want to be.
D did music, art and two sports, so it can be done.</p>
<p>Band is more then just the music. The kids that do band are usually straight arrows and bond quickly, as you probably know from your son's experience so far. I'm glad my two older ones participated and look forward to my third doing in when he starts HS. Marching season is different in each school. In my son's HS there was two weeks of band camp each night for the last two weeks in August plus 10 other days in July and the beginning of August. There are a few kids that actually do fall sports at the same time as marching band but they are extremely organized, not something I would recommend.</p>
<p>I would not have your son pick one or the other with "which looks better for college" in mind. The most important thing is that he pursues areas of interest and sticks with these and achieves in those areas. Playing music and making All States doesn't get you into college but it is simply one EXAMPLE of devoting oneself to an area of passion and achieving in that area. But All States in music itself is not something that stands out that is a ticket into college. Surely, however, it is an example of the types of achievements one hopefully can attain in whatever area of interest one has. But music itself is not what schools are looking for...unless he is pursuing a related degree in which case that achievement truly connects to what he wants to do in college (I do have one kid who was in All States plus won two All State Scholarship Awards but those related to the area she was applying to in college...musical theater). </p>
<p>I'd have to hear why he wants Art and if he only plans to take one course in it or hopes to take Art as an elective through HS or just what. I'd be curious more about the giving up of Band because it appears he has an interest in it as he did it for five years already, unless it is a schedule issue. He could continue on his instrument even without band, and possibly still try for achievements like All States, if he truly enjoys playing music. At our HS, we don't have a marching band (nor football) but one of my kids was in band and jazz band and studied two instruments up through 12th grade (and yes, made All States) but was still able to do her three varsity sports. Occasionally, conflicts arose and some coaches are more willing to bend for a concert or recital than others, and same with that she also studied dance. I don't know how your class schedule works but she was in all the hardest academic classes including a language and band but was able to fit in four art courses while in HS. (I'm glad she did these as she is now pursuing an architecture major). So, perhaps your son can be in Band (IF he wants to) and fit in an art course at some point during his high school years. But more importantly, he should pursue whichever one of the arts that he WANTS to do. I don't think it matters one bit for college which one he picks...there will be a zillion other applicants who do either band or art.....what matters is that he explores his interests, commits to them and achieves in them. So, art or music....his choice. </p>
<p>Again, I'd have to hear his reasoning and pros/cons of each choice because he obviously liked music enough to do it for the past five years. But as kids get older, they often have to pick and choose and so this might be the time when he assesses which matters most to him and I'd go with whatever that is. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Thanks for the wonderful insight. at our school, we do have alot of HS students who do both band and sports. In fact, I know of 3 football players who run out on the field at half-time to perform in the half-time show. </p>
<p>I will have to talk to my son somemore to determine the real reason he wants to take art versus band. He said it was a time issue but I think he wants the time to chat on the computer which isn't bad some times but I can see his IM time increasing over the past few months which is not a good thing. </p>
<p>For art, he will have to take a half year of intro to art which is just a repeat of MS art. I'm not sure what his opinons are for the other half of the year. I do not think he will persue music in college, but I do not see him persuing an area of art either. </p>
<p>Since he hasn't shown an interest in art to this point, part of me would wishes he would stay with band even just of a year since it is something he is familliar with.</p>
<p>Can he do either one outside of school?</p>
<p>For example, if he takes private music lessons he can continue those and maintain his skill for a year while he checks out art?</p>
<p>Or vice versa, is there a reputable art center or teacher nearby?</p>
<p>IMO, being serious about music or serious about art are both great experiences. I suggest trying to make the choice only for next year. Then, for 10th grade, revisit this issue and have him consider how happy he is with whatever choice he made for 9th grade.</p>
<p>First off, I agree with those who say let him follow his interests. In most cases, it simply will not matter to a college whether he took band or art in ninth grade. However, there are a couple of things you should know:</p>
<p>1) What instrument does he play? Colleges rarely need another kid who plays clarinet, flute, trumpet, percussion or sax. There is not a lot to be gained in terms of admission chances with those instruments unless he is phenomenally good. Colleges sometimes will give a second look at someone who is merely very good at an instrument like contrabassoon, French horn or bass trombone if the music department happens to have told the admissions folks that those are needed. I know a young man who successfully used his string bass playing as a hook at NYU. He was one of the top two or three bass players in the state but did not want to pursue a music major.</p>
<p>2) You may want to check with the school to see if your son would be eligible for regions and all-state if he is not in the band. Most public schools here in NJ refuse to sign the paperwork unless the student is playing in the school ensembles. If honors ensembles are important to him, then that could be a deciding factor.</p>
<p>BassDad is right - in New Jersey, the registration forms for area/region/all-state bands that the band director and school principal must sign actually stipulate that a student must be something like a "fully-participating member of his school ensemble."</p>
<p>Competition for all-state band is intense in many states. Music is my main extracurricular activity and I certainly advocate music education, but your son shouldn't take band for the sake of opportunities he MIGHT have several years down the road. Things change - some of the most committed members of my middle school band are no longer involved in music at all, others take band but don't enjoy it. Your son could discover another passion
- he shouldn't take band unless he truly would prefer it to art. Motivation to practice for private lessons might be lost if he isn't performing with an ensemble.</p>
<p>Is there any possibility that your son might continue with art if he does take that?</p>
<p>Additionally, I seriously doubt that participation in a school band class is going to be a factor in college admissions. If he is heavily involved in musical activities outside of school, then that's a different story.</p>
<p>There are ways to stay involved in music without being in the school band. I don't know your son's instrument. I just interviewed a girl for a very selective college and she plays viola in the state youth orchestra as well as another regional youth orchestra, but not in school. She is able to audition for All States on viola, though also auditioned for voice (is in Chorus and lead in her school musical as well). A girl in our HS is a violinist in the state youth orchestra and our HS doesn't even have an orchestra, just a band, so no string instruments. Some kids at our high school who are admittedly in band and jazz band at school, have their own jazz ensemble that gets many paid gigs in our area. Conceivably, then, a student could study the instrument privately and find other ensembles.....rock bands, youth orchestras, combos to get gigs, recitals, etc. to pursue. </p>
<p>You can still take lessons outside of school. My kids did, on two instruments each. My older kid played clarinet and piano, with private lessons. She did stay in band on clarinet and played piano in jazz band. My other kid played flute and piano, again in private lessons. She played flute in band and piano in jazz band. However, in high school, she gave up flute as she could not fit band into her schedule as she was in Chorus and that was more important to her as she is a singer and her field is musical theater. She was able to work out a way to be in jazz band on piano (smaller amount of time but was special arrangement), and sang vocals eventually in jazz band. She then started private lessons on guitar. So, she was NOT in band. However, there are other music achievements outside of school....I already mentioned youth orchestras....but another is that in piano, my kids did something called National Piano Auditions which were judged at various levels. So, the achieved that outside of school. One of my kids even gets paid on occasion as a piano accompanist. While she was not in regular band, she was heavily involved in music. </p>
<p>That's why I'd have your son figure out if he simply doesn't want to do music anymore or if it is a schedule issue (like my younger D had with band) and if it is more to do with the schedule, then figure out other ways to continue with his music if it matters to him. </p>
<p>You write about wanting more free time for IMs or games and so that is an issue in itself. As mentioned previously, I had a kids who were able to juggle music with sports or other ECs, so it can be done. I'd have to ascertain if your son merely wants a lighter EC load or just what the issues are.</p>
<p>You mention he needs "I credit in the arts" --- is this a school requirement, a state requirement, or a requirement for your state college system? I know here in California, the UC system and the Cal. States do require a year of the SAME "art/music/performing arts" but not every class meets the UC requirements. Each school must get approval from the UC system for specific classes and, at some schools, band does not meet the UC requirement. If, by chance, you live inCalifornia and this is what you are referring to, check with your school (you can also check online for your school's approved classes at <a href="http://www.ucop.edu/doorways%5B/url%5D">www.ucop.edu/doorways</a>) to make sure the class he is considering will meet this requirement. If it is for another state system, do the same with them.</p>
<p>My feeling is that Extracurriculars should be done out of love, not because they will potentially look good on a college application.</p>
<p>If after 5 years of band, he's not even 'leaning toward' it, then it sounds like he's really not that into it. Especially if he's only trying to fulfill that one credit requirement. Band is a more of a long-term commitment thing (esp. if you're talking all-state - whoa). I vote for Art.</p>
<p>"If after 5 years of band, he's not even 'leaning toward' it, then it sounds like he's really not that into it."</p>
<p>I have to disagree. My son was on the verge of quitting band when he started HS. We insisted on continuing for one more year (to get the required fine arts credit, and to see if HS band is different from MS band). He ended up staying through HS, was in All State band for the last 2 years, sent an audition tape with his college app., even though he did not plan to pursue music in college. He is currently a junior, and he still plays in the wind ensemble, and is planning to go on tour to Europe with the group this summer.</p>
<p>If your son needs the credit, and does not particularly like the art, have him stay in the band and try it for a year.</p>
<p>nngmm, I'm glad it worked out for him, but I bet your son's case isn't the norm. </p>
<p>P.S. My son is going to Europe with a musical group too!</p>
<p>Rats! My D is staying stateside to travel to the conference hoops tournament.</p>
<p>I have to wonder how many concerts American students give in Europe each summer. I'm going on a tour as well.</p>