When Chandler Copeland was going into seventh grade at Orem Junior High School, he went through the summer band camp. Now he is a recent high school graduate and teaching at the same camp.

"When I first went to the camp, I didn't have a very good experience," said Copeland. "I wasn't born with natural talent, we'll just say that. And I get those kids in my class. It makes me want to work really hard to get them to play, so I spend some time with them. I always make sure that they were better off than I was."

Copeland teaches beginning trumpet players, he said, who have no skills when they start out for the most part. He starts with the basics, like how to make noises with the trumpet and how to put together the instrument, Copeland said.

Copeland estimated that 100 kids come to the camp.

Many instruments are taught, including clarinet, flute and trumpet, Copeland said.

Curtis Winters, band director at Orem Junior High, said there are three teaching assistants like Copeland at the camp, each paid by the hour. The money comes from the $30 fee students pay for attending the three-and-a-half-week-long camp, he said.

The camp is a great deal, said Teaching Assistant Amy Gabbitas, who has a master's in clarinet performance.

"I don't think the parents realize what a good deal it is. It's like getting private lessons for a tenth of the price."

Teaching assistants teach beginning flute, trumpet and clarinet classes, Winters said, which are for students going into seventh grade.

Winters teaches the advanced band, jazz band and drum classes, he said, and he teaches the beginning classes a few times a week, too.

Attending the camp will make a huge difference for the student, Gabbitas said.

"The ones who don't go to band camp aren't going to get one-on-one attention. There is no way a band director can spend one-on-one time like we can in summer band."

Copeland also said one-on-one attention is important. It was one of the things that helped him improve, he said, along with a lot of practice.

At the beginning of his sophomore year he was the lowest seated trumpet in his jazz band, Copeland said, and he sometimes faked playing the music.

But about the middle of his sophomore year he started practicing more and took private lessons, Copeland said, which changed things.

For two years, Copeland was the lead trumpet, he said, in his high-school band and in a jazz ensemble at a private music school.

Students should ideally practice a half-hour every day, Copeland said.

"I've practiced a lot, made myself better," Copeland said. "It took a while though."

This story appeared in North County on page A4.