Story and photos by Sam Taylor ’29
Walking into the band classroom during Winter Term, one feels welcomed by the musical chaos. This is from Mr. Berry’s Winter Term class How to Build a Drumbone.
Band Director Bernard Berry was motivated to start this class after watching Blue Man Group, a band of “three individuals performing at once…playing on PVC-type instruments that are tonal instruments, creating music.” In the Winter Term class, they focused on drumbones, an instrument similar to a trombone or a drum, with a slide and a part where students would use it like a drum.
Mr. Berry has immensely helped his students learn, with seventh grader Parker Winegrad ’30 commenting, “It helps us get our musical brains to start working.” Along with Parker, Ashton Constantine ’29 noted that Mr. Berry is a “very cool teacher and he made my learning experience very easy.”
However, this class isn’t all about drumbones. Student Henry Verdine ’29 found a lesson in teamwork, because it is an important part of using the drumbone. Additionally, Parker Winegrad ’30 said the class helped him learn to “look for music” when bored and has nothing else to do.
In summary, How to Build a Drumbone is a fun and enjoyable class for musical students to take in Winter Term. However, Mr. Berry has also taught students to be more collaborative and creative.
