5 Ways To Make The Most
of Your Experience in LBHS Band!
While you probably already know that there are many great benefits to being a part of our Music Programs,
there are some important things you can do to get even more out of this experience!

For Students:

1. Be Present!
  • Be in class or at rehearsals as much as possible and be on time -  Class instruction and rehearsals are most effective when everyone is present. Time & progress are lost when not enough people are there to rehearse. If you miss something, it may be difficult to catch up!
2. Be Prepared!
  • Make sure you have the essentials - Instrument, Pencil, Music. For Marching Rehearsals be sure to have the right clothing, shoes & water.
  • Maintain your equipment - It's hard to perform well when you have sticking keys, bad reeds or are missing important accessories!
  • Make practice a priority - Treat Band like any other class; do your homework daily. You will need to memorize music for Marching Season. Regular practice will make that much easier. You'll see faster improvement in your performance and it's a nice change from academics!
  • Stay organized - Keep your music folder neat and essentials refilled. Go over the band calendar and make sure you note important dates for rehearsals, performances and deadlines for entrance form submissions. High school will keep you very busy and you will often have to find things quickly,  so knowing they are right where they should be will save you from a lot of stress!
3. Show Respect.
  • Give the Director, Guest Instructors and other students your full and quiet attention when they are speaking or performing. - Showing good manners demonstrates maturity and earns you respect from others.
  • Show respect for personal property. - If it's not yours, hands off unless you have permission! Treat the band room and its equipment kindly.
  • Encourage. - Acknowledging the efforts of others builds teamwork and helps motivate them to improve, resulting in success for everyone.
4. Take private lessons and/or attend camps & workshops.
  • Working with other instructors and seasoned performers provides you with new insights and techniques to improve your skills as well as the benefit of their many years of experience. You might even discover they know some really famous people or are famous themselves!
5. Participate!
  • Sign up for Solo & Ensemble and All-State Auditions. - This will help you become familiar and more comfortable with performing for instructors other than your band Director and what conditions you might expect at auditions for college scholarships and other ensembles you may want to participate in as an adult. Many times, adjudicators share great tips that can help you improve your performance or get past something you are stuck on. 
  • Join. - Participate in an ensemble. Whether it's for District S & E or performing at a community event, it gives you additional opportunity to hone your performance skills in front of an audience. If you want to take the lead, it's a great chance to work on your leadership skills.  It can also be a great bonding experience with your classmates!
  • Apply. Consider seeking a Band Leadership position. You will gain valuable experience in all the aspects of putting together a well-functioning team, setting up rehearsals, and creating a successful performance. It also gives you an opportunity to document your teamwork interests and abilities for college scholarship or future job applications.

For Parents:

1. Stay Informed!
  • Mr. Eyrich and the Band Booster Board relay information in several ways.  Please periodically check for new information via:
  1. Remind Text Alerts - This is a one-way communication from the Director. Used for student reminders and most urgent communications.
  2. Band Website - Be sure to check here for updates to the band calendar and events schedule, Booster Meeting Minutes, a monthly band news update, useful forms and for general information about the program.
  3. Charms Office Assistant - More detailed and confidential information on events, volunteer needs, band dues status, and ordering accessories is available here.
  4. Flyers - The Director sends home a printed flyer with students that includes specific needs and itinerary for events. The Booster Board will do the same for fundraising and major events.  Make sure to periodically ask your student if they have any new flyers you should see!
  5. Email Blasts - We use a limited number of emails to update everyone with especially important information.
  • Attend a Band Booster Meeting - This is a terrific way to keep up to date on everything that's coming up and up for discussion behind the scenes. Since event details and issues affecting our band and its students are usually discussed in depth, there is a lot of helpful information to be learned here!  If you can't attend every meeting, you can also obtain key information from our Booster Meeting Minutes, which are located under the Band Boosters tab on this website.
2. Be Prepared!
  •  Take a few minutes to go over the band calendars from the website, Charms or paper flyers and mark important dates down on your own personal calendar or planner. Don't forget to put down dates you signed up to volunteer!  This saves everyone involved a lot of stress.  It never hurts to give your student a helpful reminder that an event is coming up (maybe for yourself also, to make sure that uniform pieces are clean and ready to go)!
3. Reinforce.
  • Organizational skills - Not all students are very skilled at this and they may need gentle reminders about keeping their paperwork, supplies and calendars in order. Demands on student's time and attention are greater than ever in high school, so keeping tabs on how they are doing and offering suggestions on organizing strategies may help decrease their stress levels.
  • Practice Time - There are more time demands and distractions now than ever for your student! Help them as needed to keep this a priority.
  • Demonstrate good manners - Our students are still learning what it looks like to be a mature adult. Introduce yourself and friends to band parents you or they might not know. Even as an adult, it's always great to make a new friend! Give your full and quiet attention to the Director and performers at events. Applaud appropriately and for everyone performing. If you must leave the venue during a performance, please do so as discreetly as possible.
4. Show Respect.
  • Be objective - Sometimes the Director or Booster Board may make choices that you don't understand or agree with. There can be very good reasons behind these decisions that may not be obvious without having all of the facts. If it can be explained, it probably will be.
  • Be patient - Sometimes it may take a day or two before a question or concern can be addressed by the Director or Booster Board. Your concerns are important to us, so we want to make sure we address them with complete & accurate information.  Sometimes that means getting in touch with other involved individuals or a little bit of investigation on our part, before we can respond.
  • Encourage - Take the time to encourage effort and excellence in your student, other band students and the Band program as a whole.  It means more than you will probably ever realize!
5. Participate!
  • Come to - Concerts, football games, competitions and events. Band students need an audience to react to them so they can learn and grow more comfortable in their performance skills. It means a lot to the students and Director that you make the time to be there! 
  • Sign Up - Help out as a chaperone, build props, haul the band trailer or to help with a fundraiser event. Amazing things can be accomplished with many willing hands!
  • Donate  - Water  and supplies for events or money. Financial resources go much further when everyone contributes whatever they can and we understand that merchandise fundraisers are not always appealing to everyone!
  • Attend - A Band Booster Meeting. We can't emphasize enough how important it is for you to be informed and share your own special knowledge with our Board as we make plans and decisions throughout the year. More ideas = more possibilities = better results for all!
  • Volunteer! The Band Boosters can always use some extra hands to help out with the details of events or chaperone duties.