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1420 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11226Tuesday to Thursday: 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.Fall session begins in September(718) 555-0107
Timbre
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Try a class

The ensembles

Ensembles by level

Four ensembles, each with its own teacher and its own tunes. Every one plays on the school's pans.

  1. First strokes

    Ages 8 and up
    Skills

    • Hold the sticks and find the notes on a tenor pan

    • Play a one-line tune with the group

    • Count in and stop together

    Moving up

    Your teacher moves you up when you can keep your line steady while the group plays around you.

  2. Playing together

    Ages 10 and up
    Skills

    • Play harmony on the double seconds or the guitar pans

    • Keep time with the rhythm section

    • Learn a tune by ear and from a chart

    Moving up

    You move up when you can play your part without watching your teacher's sticks.

  3. Section player

    Ages 12 and up
    Skills

    • Lead a small section of the band

    • Play rolls and runs with the whole band at tempo

    • Rehearse a parade tune from first note to last

    Moving up

    You move up when your section can rehearse without a teacher in front of it.

  4. Full band

    Ages 14 and up, and adults
    Skills

    • Play a part in the full band on any pan

    • Help arrange a tune for the season

    • Play in the carnival-season parade

    Moving up

    The full band is where players stay: each season brings new tunes and a new part to learn.

Where to startTry a class

Sample levels.

Class size is up to 12 players, and every player has a pan from the school.

A class night

What an ensemble night is like

A class opens with a warm-up of scales played in a circle, then new material for the season's tunes, then a plan for the week. Teachers play along and stop to fix one thing at a time. Nobody is graded, and a parent is welcome to sit in at the back of the room.

  • A warm-up together

  • New material, a line at a time

  • A plan for the week

See the weekly schedule
A group of small children seen from behind clapping a rhythm in a circle with their teacher, a window behind them

Moving up

How a player moves up

  • Your teacher listens

    At the end of each session, your teacher listens to you play with the group and says what to work on.

  • You choose with them

    Moving up is a conversation. Some players stay in an ensemble for several sessions because they like it there.

  • You join the next band

    The new ensemble's teacher brings you in at a rehearsal before your first full class.

Come in

Start where you are

Almost everyone starts in First strokes, whatever their age. A teacher listens at your first class and suggests a level.

Try a classCall the school