Band Directors Talk Shop https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/ Learn. Share. Inspire. Tue, 20 Oct 2026 22:03:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2-2-150x150.png Band Directors Talk Shop https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/ 32 32 Tips for Organizing Your Physical, Digital, and Mental Environment https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/tips-for-organizing-your-physical-digital-and-mental-environment/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/tips-for-organizing-your-physical-digital-and-mental-environment/#respond Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:40:11 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14251 In our recent survey, we asked Band Directors Talk Shop readers to share a tip for organizing your physical, digital or mental environment. With many responses to the survey, we came up with this list of your answers. Thanks so much to all of our readers who took time to fill out the survey. Keep an eye out ... Read More about Tips for Organizing Your Physical, Digital, and Mental Environment

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]]> https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/tips-for-organizing-your-physical-digital-and-mental-environment/feed/ 0 You Are What You LISTEN To! https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/you-are-what-you-listen-to/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/you-are-what-you-listen-to/#respond Sat, 10 Oct 2026 22:55:16 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14383 One of the most powerful tools available to every musician does not come in an instrument case. It is imagination. Before we play a note, we hear it internally. Composer Bruce Adolphe calls this ability the mind’s ear: our capacity to imagine, remember, and audiate music without the aid of an instrument. Think about what ... Read More about You Are What You LISTEN To!

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]]> https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/you-are-what-you-listen-to/feed/ 0 My Very First Full Band Songs (Accompanied Unison Band Songs with 3, 4, 5, and 6 Note Range) https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/my-very-first-full-band-songs-accompanied-unison-band-songs-with-3-4-5-and-6-note-range/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/my-very-first-full-band-songs-accompanied-unison-band-songs-with-3-4-5-and-6-note-range/#respond Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:00:14 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14334 We are so excited about our new “My Very First Full Band Songs” Series! Unison band music with fun accompaniment tracks! This series is being created for very early beginners. We have in mind programs that see their beginners only a couple times a week or start with younger students and need to move at ... Read More about My Very First Full Band Songs (Accompanied Unison Band Songs with 3, 4, 5, and 6 Note Range)

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]]> https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/my-very-first-full-band-songs-accompanied-unison-band-songs-with-3-4-5-and-6-note-range/feed/ 0 A Rudiment Activity Your Percussionists Will Love! https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/a-rudiment-activity-your-percussionists-will-love/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/a-rudiment-activity-your-percussionists-will-love/#respond Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:45:04 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14297 On my very last day of teaching lessons before my retirement, I came up with a fun, high energy rudiment activity that my 4th and 5th grade percussionists loved. (I only wish I had thought of it sooner so I could have used it more!) I set up enough drum pads in a circle for ... Read More about A Rudiment Activity Your Percussionists Will Love!

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]]> https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/a-rudiment-activity-your-percussionists-will-love/feed/ 0 Low Brass Scale Warm-up and Scale Memorization https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/low-brass-scale-warm-up-and-scale-memorization/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/low-brass-scale-warm-up-and-scale-memorization/#respond Mon, 21 Sep 2026 19:23:35 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14266 I have used these exercises for over 50 years during my teaching career with great success. They are designed for players from high school through university and beyond. These exercises are not designed for large ensemble rehearsals (though they work well with brass sectionals), but for individual study and memorization of major scales, without the ... Read More about Low Brass Scale Warm-up and Scale Memorization

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]]> https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/low-brass-scale-warm-up-and-scale-memorization/feed/ 0 Building Musical Independence Through Small Ensemble Work https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/building-musical-independence-through-small-ensemble-work/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/building-musical-independence-through-small-ensemble-work/#respond Wed, 02 Sep 2026 21:10:18 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14294 One of the challenges I have found in teaching band is giving students opportunities to actually make musical choices. In most of the repertoire we perform, many of those decisions have already been made. Dynamics, articulations, tempo, and style are printed on the page, and as the conductor, I make many of the remaining decisions ... Read More about Building Musical Independence Through Small Ensemble Work

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]]> https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/building-musical-independence-through-small-ensemble-work/feed/ 0 Advice for a Director Taking Over a Band Program https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/advice-for-a-director-taking-over-a-band-program/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/advice-for-a-director-taking-over-a-band-program/#respond Sun, 30 Aug 2026 23:33:50 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14249 In our recent survey, we asked Band Directors Talk Shop readers to share “What advice do you have for a director taking over a program?”  With many responses to the survey, we came up with this list of your answers. Thanks so much to all of our readers who took time to fill out the survey. Keep an ... Read More about Advice for a Director Taking Over a Band Program

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]]> https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/advice-for-a-director-taking-over-a-band-program/feed/ 0 Beginning Band Music Theory: What Should I Include in a Student Theory Book? https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/beginning-band-music-theory-what-should-i-include-in-a-student-theory-book/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/beginning-band-music-theory-what-should-i-include-in-a-student-theory-book/#respond Sun, 30 Aug 2026 16:01:16 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14282 What should beginning band students learn in music theory? Note names? Rhythms? Music symbols and terms? Key signatures? There are a lot of music theory concepts we want our beginning band students to understand, but deciding what to teach and when to teach it can be overwhelming. We use a beginning band music theory book ... Read More about Beginning Band Music Theory: What Should I Include in a Student Theory Book?

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]]> https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/beginning-band-music-theory-what-should-i-include-in-a-student-theory-book/feed/ 0 Selecting a Classical Saxophone Mouthpiece for Band Performance https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/selecting-a-classical-saxophone-mouthpiece-for-band-performance/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/selecting-a-classical-saxophone-mouthpiece-for-band-performance/#respond Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:46:54 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14231 When striving to produce a good saxophone tone, one of the most crucial pieces of equipment is the mouthpiece. There are many brands of saxophone mouthpieces being manufactured using a variety of materials, encompassing a wide price range and designed for performers at all levels of development. Beginning saxophonists usually play the stock mouthpieces sold ... Read More about Selecting a Classical Saxophone Mouthpiece for Band Performance

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]]> https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/selecting-a-classical-saxophone-mouthpiece-for-band-performance/feed/ 0 A Band Trip To China Would Be Crazy…Right? https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/a-band-trip-to-china-would-be-crazy-right/ https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/a-band-trip-to-china-would-be-crazy-right/#respond Thu, 20 Aug 2026 19:54:48 +0000 https://banddirectorstalkshop.com/?p=14209 As a band director, you know a tradition of travel is important to your program. It helps with recruiting and retention and gives your students something to look forward to. Normally this means simple in-state trips and the occasional out-of-state trip. But once every four years we recommend your band program go big- and by ... Read More about A Band Trip To China Would Be Crazy…Right?

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