Tyson Reiter
2025-26 School Year
Welcome to the Helena Middle School Music Department! Mr. Reiter is the director for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Bands and one 7th grade Choir at HMS.
2025-2026 AB Day Calendar
Helpful Classroom Links
Schedule
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A Day
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Period 1 (A) 6th Grade Band
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Period 2 (A) 6th Grade Band
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Period 3 (A) 7th Grade Band
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Period 4 (A) 7th Grade Choir
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Period 5 (A) 8th Grade Band
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Period 6 (A) PREP
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B Day
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Period 1 (B) 6th Grade Band
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Period 2 (B) 6th Grade Band
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Period 3 (B) 7th Grade Band
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Period 4 (B) 7th Grade Band
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Period 5 (B) PREP
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Period 6 (B) 8th Grade Band
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Period 7 (A/B) 8th Grade Advisor
2025-26 Concert Schedule
BAND CONCERT DATES
- November 11 – 7th Grade, 8th Grade, and Jazz Band at 6:00 pm
- December 11 – 6th Grade at 6:00 pm
- March 4 – 7th Grade Band Festival
- Helena Civic Center – Concert Time 4:00 pm
- March 17 – 8th/9th Grade Bands Combined Concert
- Helena High Gym – 7:00 pm
- May 21 – 6th Grade at 6:00 pm and 7th Grade, 8th Grade, Jazz Band at 7:00 pm
CHOIR CONCERT DATES
- October 30 – All Grades at 6:00 pm
- December 19 – 6th Grade and 7th Grade at 10:00 am
- February 26 – 6th and 7th Grade Choirs at 6:00 pm
- May 29 – All Grades Concert Time During the School Day TBD
6th Grade Band
Click Here for HMS Band Weekly Plans
6th Grade Band students will need their own copy of Essential Elements Book 1 for their respective instrument.
“I Can” Statements
These collected statements summarize the skills all music students should acquire throughout the course of their middle school music career. Please note that this sequence of skills is cumulative—what you learn in 6th grade will be needed in 7th and 8th grade and will continue to be honed and refined.
6th Grade Music
Rhythm
- Identify half and quarter notes (and their equivalent rest values) in a piece of music.
- Identify whole notes (and their equivalent rest value) in a piece of music.
- Identify eighth notes (and their equivalent rest value) in a piece of music.
- Perform half and quarter notes (and their equivalent rest values) in a piece of music.
- Perform whole notes (and their equivalent rest value) in a piece of music.
- Perform eighth notes (and their equivalent rest value) in a piece of music.
- Identify dotted note values in a piece of music.
- Explain how the dot changes a note value in a piece of music.
- Explain the relationships between note values (whole, half, quarter, and eighth) in a note hierarchy.
- Perform dotted half note values in a piece of music.
Meter
- Explain the meaning of the top number in a time signature.
- Explain the meaning of the bottom number in a time signature.
- Perform music in time signatures in which the quarter note gets one beat.
- Explain how music is organized into measures in a piece of music.
Tempo
- Identify Italian and English musical terms related to speed.
- Perform music set at different speeds.
Pitch
- Identify note names based on their position on a staff.
- Hear the difference between high and low pitches as they are performed.
- Perform an ascending and descending scale.
- Produce a tone using proper posture and breath support.
- Identify the location of a key signature in a piece of music.
- Identify the difference between steps, skips, and repeated notes in a piece of music.
Rehearsal/Performance Techniques
- Demonstrate rehearsal etiquette, including preparing to perform and focusing on director expectations.
- Respond to conducting gestures, including preparatory beats, attacks, and cut offs.
- Demonstrate posture that will support good performance techniques.
- Perform your musical part accurately while two or more different parts are being performed simultaneously.
- Perform a piece of music with a large ensemble.
- Perform a piece of music with a small ensemble.
Dynamics
- Identify four Italian musical terms that relate to volume.
- Perform music set at different volumes.
Style
- Explain the difference between and tie and a slur.
- Define the musical meaning of a phrase.
- Recognize a fermata in a piece of music.
- Explain the function of a fermata in a piece of music.
- Follow a conductor’s direction before, during, and after a fermata in a piece of music.
- Differentiate between two articulation styles according to markings in the music.
- Perform two articulation styles according to markings in the music.
Structure
- Identify basic repeats in a piece of music.
- Identify first and second endings in a piece of music.
- Identify D.C. al Fine in a piece of music.
- Perform a variety of repeat markings in different pieces of music.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the thematic organization of binary form (AB).
- Demonstrate an understanding of the thematic organization of ternary form (ABA).
Musical Connections
- Explain differences and similarities between music from cultures other than my own.
- Comment about successes and areas needing improvement in my own performance.
- Visually differentiate instruments from the different instrument families (strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion).
7th Grade Band
Click Here for HMS Band Weekly Plans
7th Grade Band students will need their own copy of Essential Elements Book 2 for their respective instrument. We will review book 1 at the beginning of the school year.
“I Can” Statements
These collected statements summarize the skills all music students should acquire throughout the course of their middle school music career. Please note that this sequence of skills is cumulative—what you learn in 6th grade will be needed in 7th and 8th grade and will continue to be honed and refined.
7th Grade Music
Rhythm
- Identify sixteenth notes (and their equivalent rest value) in a piece of music.
- Perform sixteenth notes (and their equivalent rest value) in a piece of music.
- Perform dotted quarter note values in a piece of music.
- Explain the relationships between note values (whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth) in a note hierarchy.
Meter
- Explain the meaning of the top number in a time signature.
- Explain the meaning of the bottom number in a time signature.
- Perform music in time signatures in which the half note or quarter note gets one beat.
- Perform music written with multiple time signatures (mixed meter).
Tempo
- Demonstrate an understanding of Italian and English musical terms related to speed in a performance setting.
- Perform different pieces of music set at different speeds.
Pitch
- Identify note names based on their position on a staff (including ledger lines).
- Hear the difference between high and low pitches–intervals between a third and an octave–as they are performed.
- Perform more than one ascending and descending scale.
Dynamics
- Identify six Italian musical terms that relate to volume.
Style
- Differentiate between four articulation styles according to markings in the music.
- Perform four articulation styles according to markings in the music.
- Explain the function of an accent in a piece of music.
Structure
- Identify D.C. al Coda in a piece of music.
- Identify D.S. al Coda in a piece of music.
- Identify D.S. al Fine in a piece of music.
8th Grade Band
Click Here for HMS Band Weekly Plans
8th Grade Band students will need their own copy of Habits of a Successful Middle School Musician for their respective instrument.
“I Can” Statements
These collected statements summarize the skills all music students should acquire throughout the course of their middle school music career. Please note that this sequence of skills is cumulative—what you learn in 6th grade will be needed in 7th and 8th grade and will continue to be honed and refined.
8th Grade Music
Rhythm
- Perform dotted eighth note values in a piece of music.
- Identify triplet note values in a piece of music.
- Perform triplet note values in a piece of music.
Meter
- Perform music in time signatures in which the half note, quarter note, or eighth note gets one beat.
Tempo
- Perform pieces of music that contain tempo changes.
Pitch
- Explain basic pitch relationships that exist within the notes of every major scale.
- Hear the difference between high and low pitches–intervals between a minor second and an octave–as they are performed.
- Perform major and minor ascending and descending scales.
Rehearsal/Performance Techniques
- Identify the steps to take when preparing to sight-read a piece of music.
- Perform music in a rehearsal that hasn’t been practiced in advance (sight reading).
Dynamics
- Identify eight Italian musical terms that relate to volume.