Beginning Band Building Blocks

One of my favorite parts about being a band director is that we are always learning ways to do things better. This is more than just throwing new ideas at the proverbial wall to see what sticks, it requires being detailed and methodical in EVERY step of instruction while holding students to the highest standards of performance and behavior. Each year that we teach, we have realized more and more just how crucial setting our beginning band students up well will lead to their success down the road. From the first day our students step foot in our band halls, we can show them that band is not only REALLY FUN, but will also help them be better musicians, better students, and better humans.

Just like building a house, building a band student starts from the ground up. The following are some of the ideas we have put into practice that have helped our students and program grow and improve. We hope that these will either help you define your expectations more clearly for yourself and your band kiddos, or give you some things to think about when it comes to setting priorities in your own band program.

🧱 Foundation

• Environment & Expectations
  • Are your students quiet when they enter your classroom or do you want them to decompress and talk but move with a purpose?
  • Set this expectation from DAY 1 and never waiver.
  • If they aren’t successful, that’s ok. Go outside and try again, but allow the second time to be a fresh start. 
• Seating
  • Do your students have assigned seats? Do they sit in arcs or rows?
  • Where do cases and backpacks need to be placed? What about the music stand?
  • Have a plan and be picky!
  • Our students sit in a grid with as much room as possible for a director to walk around and provide feedback. There are specific places the cases, chairs, and music stands should be arranged and our students know what these are.

• Posture – Simple steps to correct posture are all easily achievable from EVERY student in the room. Through consistent reminders on a daily basis, students will eventually be able to sustain this position for longer periods of time.
• Foot Tap – Steady beat is crucial for students before they attempt to read or perform rhythms or melodies.
  • The heel stays on the ground; the front part of the foot moves with a definite stop on the down and the up.
  • Specify which instruments will use which foot so the movement will not disturb steady sounds on the instrument. (Ex: bassoon, saxophone, and horn tap with the left foot because the right leg is involved in playing position)
• Music Theory – Don’t wait until these elements appear in music, begin teaching them from day 1.
  • Rhythm
    • If you know what counting system your students used before they came to you, build on their prior knowledge instead of reinventing the wheel. 
    • Do you want the students to be able to write in counts under rhythms? Count rhythms using a specific system? Count and clap?
    • We have our students do ALL of the above, including labeling rhythms with arrows so they understand subdivision and how it aligns with their (hopefully) steady foot tap.

• • Band Brain Builder
    • This is a document we created to take our students through all of the theory elements they need to learn their first year. As we progress through the year, they will be introduced to rhythm and rest patterns from whole notes through 16th notes, time signatures of 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, and 6/8, terminology and examples including tempo, dynamics, repeats, and more. By doing these exercises for the first 5 minutes of class, we start each class the same way and gradually and methodically progress through all terminology the students will need BEFORE they see it in a piece of music. By front-loading these skills before they are needed, students can focus on how to perform them on an instrument when they appear in music. We also incorporate weekly listening lessons to get our students thinking about how the music makes them feel and provide them with a chance to express themselves where there is no wrong answer.

• • Master of the Alphabet – Students not only need to know there is a music alphabet but must understand that music goes higher and lower, forwards and backwards.
    • Introduce the musical alphabet one line at a time.
    • Increase the tempo or change note values/duration as students get more comfortable with the exercise.
    • We show our students not only note names, but also where these notes appear on their staff in the ranges they will see for their instrument.

• • Musical Staff/Hand Chant 
    • The staff chant gives a shortcut to note recognition by using a “portable staff” that they carry with them wherever they go.
    • Practice lines give students a chance to test their knowledge.

• • Chromatic Keyboard
    • Students can easily see half-step and whole-step relationships on a keyboard as well as the structure of sharp and flat notes in relation to natural notes. 
    • Students who have a basic knowledge of how a piano keyboard works will better understand why their instrument and fingering chart work the way it does.

🧱 Framework

• Cases – Set students up for success the first time they open the case. Also teach students how to put the instrument back in the case and what other equipment should or should not live in the case.
• Parts of the instrument – Before students can assemble their instrument, they need to know what each part is called and what they should and should not touch.
• Embouchures – Provide students with a few simple steps, a visual example, and a mirror to properly form their embouchure, then wash/rinse/repeat. Spend more time on getting this right than anything else you do. Mix in rhythm and other theory practice and then go back to forming embouchures. Muscle memory takes time, but it is 100% worth the investment in the child’s band future to get this correct to set them up for long-term success.
• Hand position – Every finger (and sometimes every part of a finger) has its place. Just like correct embouchure formation, setting a high standard for hand placement at the beginning will set them up for more advanced skills down the road.
• First sounds – Start with mini or partial instruments before moving on to full instruments. 

🧱 Floor-Door-Wall-Ceiling

• Playing the instrument – Be picky and sequential with EVERY part of playing the instrument. Provide aural examples of what characteristic tone should sound like. 
• Reading music – Use the way you count rhythms as a starting point, then add note recognition, fingerings/positions, mouthpiece buzzing, and finally playing.
• Scales & Technique – Once students have learned a few notes, teach them about tetrachords or mini scales. As their range expands, you can learn new keys and accidentals until they are ready for full octave scales.

🧱 Home Inspection

• “Inspect what you expect”
  • If you want your students to put their feet flat on the floor, you must look for flat feet EVERY DAY. If you want your clarinet players to play on reeds that are not chipped, you must look for chipped reeds EVERY DAY. Move around the room while you teach and inspect the skills you expect the students to demonstrate.
• Hear each student every day
  • Catch the bad habits before they are permanent. Praise the good habits so all students know what to strive for.
• Playing tests/Chair tests
  • Use these to build students up and provide positive opportunities for feedback. Competition can be a good motivator or a means of humiliation if not used carefully.

🧱 Open House

• Host multiple performances during the year so that parents can see how hard their students are working and how much they are improving in a short amount of time.
• Our beginning band performances include Show and Tell, Winter Concert, 6th-12th Grade Percussion Concert, Spring Festival, Spring Concert, and Solo Contest.

🧱 The Sell/Closing

• “Next year in band…” – Don’t say “if you are in band,” say, “WHEN you are in band.” Give the students the mindset that this is not just a one-year class, it’s an ongoing opportunity!
• Host social events or section parties with older students to help bridge the gap between beginning band and advanced band.
• When auditioning students for the following year, make sure they know there is ALWAYS a place for them. Flowers bloom at different times and so do students.
• Share information about College Summer Band Camps or host your own Summer Camp. 

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. The same is true for band. How do you teach or learn any concept? One small step at a time. What worked for the astronauts on the moon can also work in your band hall. One small step for band will, in time, lead to giant leaps in music literacy, classroom management, and instrumental fluency.

Megan Czerwieski is in her 21st year of teaching and her 13th year as the head band director at Red Oak Middle School in Red Oak, TX. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Baylor University and a master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Texas at Arlington. Megan is also an active performer on horn. She lives in Waxahachie, TX with her husband, John (a trombone player), and their rescue dog, Dottie.

Chris Eaton is in his 16th year of teaching and his 15th year as a band director at Red Oak Middle School in Red Oak, TX. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a master’s degree in Music from Stephen F. Austin State University. Chris is also an active performer on trombone. He lives in Waxahachie, TX with his wife, Katie, their children, dog, and chickens.

Related Reading:
The Ringmaster: Programming, Rehearsing, and Conducting the Beginning Band
Kodály’s Prepare-Present-Practice Sequence Part I: Beginning Band
Fundamentals of Beginning Band
The First Four Weeks: Successfully Starting Your Beginning Band Students

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