Welcome to the Chestatee Middle School Band Home Page! I hope that this website will be a useful tool for you and that you will find many resources here that will help you as a member of the CMS Band. Please check back often as it is my goal to keep this site updated as often as possible.
-Mr. S
Overview of Band Course Offerings
6th Grade Beginning Band
All students are welcome – no previous music experience is necessary. All students will try out all of the instruments in the band and will be placed on an instrument that is appropriate for them. Throughout the year, students will learn the fundamentals of music, including, but not limited to: performance techniques, music theory, composition, and music history.
7th Grade Intermediate Band
Previous experience in band or private lesson experience is necessary. Students will continue to develop the fundamentals of music introduced in sixth grade band. Extra performance opportunities are available.
8th Grade Advanced Band
Previous experience in band is necessary.
Students will continue to develop musical fundamentals, with an emphasis on
performance techniques. Extra performance opportunities are available.
Charms Music
The Charms Music website is an excellent tool that we use to better facilitate communication with parents about CMS Band events. Parents will be able to log on to the charms site and update your student's information as well as pay for band fees and make any payments for band trips by using PayPal. This is a new feature to our program and we are very excited about it. Please click on the link below use the following steps to access the Charms website.
Step 1. Click this link to access the parent portal. https://www.charmsmusic.com/charms/parents.asp
Step 2. Type "chestateemsband" as the school code and click the enter button.
Step 3. You will then use your child's CMS student number without the "0" on the front of it to log on to the site. This is the same number as their lunch number.
Once on the site, you can check to see if any forms are due, check student account balances, check the calendar for upcoming events and change any personal information that needs updating. I hope that you will use this service as a useful tool to help stay involved with your child's musical education at CMS.
SmartMusic
Students and parents will have the opportunity to use SmartMusic software at home and get the CMS school discount for the program. Please use the following link to purchase your 1 year subscription for $30. You will need to enter our school user code, which is: "CMSBAND07" in order to get the discount. It is well worth the money for your student to be able to use this program at home, so I encourage all parents to take advantage of this opportunity.
SmartMusic website:
http://www.smartmusic.com/default.aspx
Here is a video about SmartMusic from the Today Show.
The CMS Band uniform is required for all concerts and band performances. New band shirts will be available for purchase this fall for those students who need them. Please refer to the CMS Band Handbook for uniform requirements.
Pep Band is a great opportunity for any 7th and 8th grade band students to perform fun and challenging music and show off your school spirit at the same time. Sign up for Pep Band will be held the first full week of school and rehearsals will be held on Tuesdays after school from 4-5 pm shortly thereafter. The Pep Band will perform for any pep rallies as well as some football and basketball games this fall. Please check back for an updated pep band rehearsal schedule.
Starting after the winter break, Jazz Band will be offered once a week after school for 7th and 8th Grade band students. This is an excellent opportunity for students to learn different genres of music and have a lot of fun in the process! Students will be selected by audition for this ensemble and rehearsals will be on Tuesdays after school.
The Eagle Percussion Ensemble is available to any 7th or 8th Grade percussionist that wishes to participate. Beginning after winter break, it will meet on Thursdays after school and is an excellent opportunity for percussionists to improve their skills and play some challenging music that is written especially for percussion. I encourage all 7th and 8th grade percussionists to participate in this ensemble experience!
This website was designed for sole use by the students and parents of the Chestatee Middle School Band Program.