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Band Directors Talk Shop

Motivate Your Band – Countdown to Contest

8 Dec
motivate your band

Looking for ways to motivate your band?  This series – Motivate Your Band – will feature ideas that you can put into practice immediately in under 5 minutes.  Here’s our first installment – a “Countdown to Contest” sign.  

motivate your band

Figure out how many days (rehearsals) until contest.  Figure out how many HOURS you are going to have to rehearse.  7 hours until contest has a different sense of urgency than 7 days until contest.  You want to emphasize how many rehearsal hours you have left.

Make a simple sign (or you can even just write it on the white board) like one of these.  Be sure to update it (or have a student in charge of updating it) daily.  

Motivate your band

Or you can make it a little fancier and put a quote on it to motivate your band even further.  One of my favorite “sense of urgency” quotes is:  

Caution: Dates on the calendar are closer than they appear.

Motivating your band

Another way to do this if you just don’t want to put hours is to say “12 Rehearsals Until Contest.” That still seems sooner than days and may help the kids realize how quickly the big day will be upon them.

Do you have another way you help countdown to contest (or concerts?)  If so, comment below.  If you have colleagues that are looking for new ways to motivate their band (or if you want to be sure you remember this when contest approaches, please share this link on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.  Thank you!

Related Reading:
Motivate Your Band – No Work. No Reward. (The Little Red Hen)
Motivate Your Band – They Crayon Analogy (Balance, Blend & Endurance)
Note Starts “Try This Quick Tip…”

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Filed Under: Concert Band, Contest, Motivation

Previous Post: « Teaching Beginning Band with Games – Jeopardy
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  1. Motivate Your Band - The Little Red Hen - Band Directors Talk Shop says:
    January 3, 2016 at 4:50 am

    […] For more ways to motivate your band, try these posts: Reach Higher Countdown to Contest […]

  2. 7 Benefits of Private Lessons - Band Directors Talk Shop says:
    January 4, 2016 at 4:35 am

    […] Related Post: Countdown To Contest […]

  3. Don't Have A Private Lesson Program? 11 Ideas for You! - Band Directors Talk Shop says:
    January 21, 2016 at 7:13 pm

    […] Posts: 7 Benefits of Private Lessons Countdown To Contest Cross-Curricular Applications in Band So I Teach Band at a Low SES School.  Now […]

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Band Directors Talk Shop is all about helping you be a better band director so your students can be better musicians.  It is a collaborative effort of band directors, former band directors, private lesson teachers and fine arts administrators. Learn.  Posts will strive to teach you something you can use in your classroom today. ... Read More about About Us

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