August 20, 2025 • 5 mins
So, your kid wants to join the band - we welcome Band Director at Catholic Central High School and partner schools Bill Bier to discuss everything from buying instruments to your kids being involved in many different activities.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The reason why David Sanborn is the lead in here
will become evident soon. This is West Michigan's Morning News, Steve, Kelly, Brett, Mekita,
Lawrence Smith, band director at Catholic Central High School and
Partner Schools.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Too.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Is Bill Byer in studio. Bill, thanks for doing this.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Today, absolutely, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
First question we asked, was the first ticketed concert that
you ever bought? And you said David Sanborn.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I did say, David Sanborn. It was at the Embassy
Theater in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was between my freshman
and sophomore year of high school and my first date.
She did not stick around. But I am a saxophone player,
so I guess the important things rise to the top
a lot of pressure.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
We were talking the other day.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
And I do want to say, by the way, I
teach with Genovan Oyen at Catholic Central. I'd hate for
her to hear this and say, well, where was my
name in this whole thing? So yeah, we're the dynamic
duo with all of these.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
The last thing we want to do is getting buddy
in trouble. That's right, and we mean that for parents too,
because there may be a lot of back to schoolers
and parents are thinking about a kid joining the band
for the first time, and we asked, well, how do
you know if you rent or buy an instrument? And
what if you don't know anything about instruments? And oh boy,
there's the internet and.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
You know, and you're right, and we get a lot
of all of those questions and all of those realities
are things we embrace every year. I think, first of all,
it is challenging for parents who haven't had the experience.
That's probably the worst because they're like, I have no idea,
how do I pick this thing? I hopefully the school,
(01:32):
whatever school it is, I know in the Catholic Diocese
and where we teach, we have fittings that are run
by professionals who help make those decisions and we oversee
that process. Oh good, there needs to be something like that,
because if mom and dad are just like what shiny,
that might be a problem, you know, And so there
(01:54):
is that. So once that fitting process takes place and
in conjunction with the music d program your school, then
the next step is go where they specialize in what
you're looking for. You know, I'm not going to try
not to endorse anyone company, But I am going to
say that if you go to a store that sells
(02:15):
tires and caskets, it's probably not where you want to
buy a trumpet or a clayernet. So so going to
a retail venue where school instruments are the primary focus
is absolutely a great idea. And hopefully that venue is
also working in conjunction with your directors so you can
(02:35):
make good choices.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Bill. I want to say this because I get a
chance to do in high school football to cover marching bands,
and we have some fantastic bands across West Biscuit. I'm
always amazed at that's talent and the music that they
do and the time invested. People don't realize. I mean,
I tell people the toughest thing to do, I think
is go to band camp where you have to learn
to march. It's compared to anything else. And I see
the kids that are out there in the parking lots
(02:57):
or wherever it is, you know Byron Centers where I live,
all painting. But I want you to speak on the
opportunities there because just like sports has expanded, we've added
boys volleyball this year as an MHSA sanction, there are
so many different options, whether it's jazz, orchestra or marching
band or whatever for kids these days that maybe weren't
the case fifteen or twenty years.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Sure, yeah, and that is a reality as well. I mean,
over the course of many years, I've experienced the development
of many offerings and attractions for kids. The thing that
I think is important is, first and foremost, you want
a well rounded education for your child. You don't want
to go into your high school or even middle school
(03:40):
in some cases with a mindset of this is what
my kid is going to be, this is what my
kid is going to do, because in some cases your kid,
even if they do that, it may not be for
their entire lives. And the cliche is you'll be a
musician your whole life. You're always going to be able
to make music, but you won't always have these to
(04:00):
play basketball, right, you know. I think another perspective is
that in most cases, and I know a lot of
band directors and programs, being committed to being in the
fine arts does not mean that you can't be in
the other things. Right if you have your kid in
(04:20):
banchoir orchestra, dance, they're still able to do drama, they're
still able to do academic decathlon, They're still able to
do volleyball team. There's still you know, those things are
still there. The thing that is probably paramount in all
of this is you have to learn time management. You
have to learn to look forward and figure out what
(04:43):
your weekday hour looks like and how how you fit
all of that together. And that's a that's a family move.
That's something that everybody sits down and does, because if
you're trusting your kid to just make those choices, they
probably don't have the experience points to really understand how
that works. Unlike the parents who are raising a family, working,
(05:03):
getting groceries, doing things, they're going to have more of
that understanding. And that's raising your kids.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Man, we could spend a half hour on this. Bill.
Byer is the band director at Catholic Central High School
and Partner schools as well as well. Thanks for coming in,
great conversation, Sally, Thank you for having me
The reason why David Sanborn is the lead in here
will become evident soon. This is West Michigan's Morning News, Steve, Kelly, Brett, Mekita,
Lawrence Smith, band director at Catholic Central High School and
Partner Schools.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Too.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Is Bill Byer in studio. Bill, thanks for doing this.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Today, absolutely, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
First question we asked, was the first ticketed concert that
you ever bought? And you said David Sanborn.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I did say, David Sanborn. It was at the Embassy
Theater in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was between my freshman
and sophomore year of high school and my first date.
She did not stick around. But I am a saxophone player,
so I guess the important things rise to the top
a lot of pressure.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
We were talking the other day.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
And I do want to say, by the way, I
teach with Genovan Oyen at Catholic Central. I'd hate for
her to hear this and say, well, where was my
name in this whole thing? So yeah, we're the dynamic
duo with all of these.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
The last thing we want to do is getting buddy
in trouble. That's right, and we mean that for parents too,
because there may be a lot of back to schoolers
and parents are thinking about a kid joining the band
for the first time, and we asked, well, how do
you know if you rent or buy an instrument? And
what if you don't know anything about instruments? And oh boy,
there's the internet and.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
You know, and you're right, and we get a lot
of all of those questions and all of those realities
are things we embrace every year. I think, first of all,
it is challenging for parents who haven't had the experience.
That's probably the worst because they're like, I have no idea,
how do I pick this thing? I hopefully the school,
(01:32):
whatever school it is, I know in the Catholic Diocese
and where we teach, we have fittings that are run
by professionals who help make those decisions and we oversee
that process. Oh good, there needs to be something like that,
because if mom and dad are just like what shiny,
that might be a problem, you know, And so there
(01:54):
is that. So once that fitting process takes place and
in conjunction with the music d program your school, then
the next step is go where they specialize in what
you're looking for. You know, I'm not going to try
not to endorse anyone company, But I am going to
say that if you go to a store that sells
(02:15):
tires and caskets, it's probably not where you want to
buy a trumpet or a clayernet. So so going to
a retail venue where school instruments are the primary focus
is absolutely a great idea. And hopefully that venue is
also working in conjunction with your directors so you can
(02:35):
make good choices.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Bill. I want to say this because I get a
chance to do in high school football to cover marching bands,
and we have some fantastic bands across West Biscuit. I'm
always amazed at that's talent and the music that they
do and the time invested. People don't realize. I mean,
I tell people the toughest thing to do, I think
is go to band camp where you have to learn
to march. It's compared to anything else. And I see
the kids that are out there in the parking lots
(02:57):
or wherever it is, you know Byron Centers where I live,
all painting. But I want you to speak on the
opportunities there because just like sports has expanded, we've added
boys volleyball this year as an MHSA sanction, there are
so many different options, whether it's jazz, orchestra or marching
band or whatever for kids these days that maybe weren't
the case fifteen or twenty years.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Sure, yeah, and that is a reality as well. I mean,
over the course of many years, I've experienced the development
of many offerings and attractions for kids. The thing that
I think is important is, first and foremost, you want
a well rounded education for your child. You don't want
to go into your high school or even middle school
(03:40):
in some cases with a mindset of this is what
my kid is going to be, this is what my
kid is going to do, because in some cases your kid,
even if they do that, it may not be for
their entire lives. And the cliche is you'll be a
musician your whole life. You're always going to be able
to make music, but you won't always have these to
(04:00):
play basketball, right, you know. I think another perspective is
that in most cases, and I know a lot of
band directors and programs, being committed to being in the
fine arts does not mean that you can't be in
the other things. Right if you have your kid in
(04:20):
banchoir orchestra, dance, they're still able to do drama, they're
still able to do academic decathlon, They're still able to
do volleyball team. There's still you know, those things are
still there. The thing that is probably paramount in all
of this is you have to learn time management. You
have to learn to look forward and figure out what
(04:43):
your weekday hour looks like and how how you fit
all of that together. And that's a that's a family move.
That's something that everybody sits down and does, because if
you're trusting your kid to just make those choices, they
probably don't have the experience points to really understand how
that works. Unlike the parents who are raising a family, working,
(05:03):
getting groceries, doing things, they're going to have more of
that understanding. And that's raising your kids.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Man, we could spend a half hour on this. Bill.
Byer is the band director at Catholic Central High School
and Partner schools as well as well. Thanks for coming in,
great conversation, Sally, Thank you for having me
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