Only elite seventh-graders are accepted to play with the eighth-graders in Carson Middle School's marching band.
Jonathan Singer, 12, wants to be one of them.
He's counting on the extra practice he got playing in a summer band camp to help him achieve his goal.
"I like how they challenge you to make you a better player," he said. "I'm better on my eighth notes -- everything just about."
This week, retired band teachers Richard and Carol Doede led 17 middle school students through a weeklong band camp sponsored by the Carson City Recreation Department.
"Kids want something to do during the summer," Richard Doede said. "It gets their lips going, and it gets them interested in playing."
Students will showcase what they've learned in a concert today at 11:30 at the Carson City Community Center. They will play a variety of music from blues and swing to marches.
"We have a good variety," said Carol Doede. "We've tried to keep a little bit of everything."
Band members began practicing Monday for two hours a day. They practice the first hour as a jazz band then another hour as a marching band.
"I like the jazz band more because I get to play bass guitar in that," said Anthony Pisani, 12. "I like how it sounds."
He also practiced the tuba, which he plays in the Eagle Valley Middle School band, where he will soon be in the seventh grade.
"Most kids don't practice over the summer, and when they get back, they don't know how to play anymore," Anthony said. "This is like a catch-up."
The Doedes taught band in the Carson City School District and now run an instrument repair business and teach private lessons.
They help organize the annual Band-O-Rama in March, in which all schools come together for a performance.
The Doedes said they plan to continue to teach the summer band camp.
Analisha Stephens, 12, came Thursday to watch her friend Teslah Callahan, 11, practice.
"They practice really hard, and I can see how hard they work," Analisha said. "They're trying to make it perfect so everybody will enjoy their music."
