It’s not uncommon for band directors to focus on counting with their students during their beginner year, then struggle to keep the momentum going in the following years. It can also be easy to fall into the trap of counting the same rhythm page over and over and simply “going through the ... Read More about “Out of the Box” Rhythm Exercises
Search Results for: teaching strategies
Band Registration Day
Do you feel like you spend the first week of school dealing with paperwork, t-shirts, assigning lockers and updating information? Wouldn’t it be great if you could start teaching on day 1? Try having a band registration day a few days before school starts. Here are some pictures from our recent ... Read More about Band Registration Day
Using Student Assistants in Beginner Band
Inspire Beginners, Create Mentors, and Promote a Culture of Can-Do Learning Starting heterogeneous classes of beginner band students can be tough for even the most veteran of teachers. On average, I start one beginner class of about 65 students at the beginning of the year. Each different ... Read More about Using Student Assistants in Beginner Band
6 Books for Band Directors to Read
Have you ever heard the saying that in 5 years you'll be the same person you are except for the people you meet and the books you read? Change who you'll be in 5 years - hey, change you you'll be in 1 month - by checking out one or more of these books. These 'books for band directors' cover a ... Read More about 6 Books for Band Directors to Read
Social Media for Your Ensembles
The life of a band director is a busy one. Planning, sectionals, concerts, paperwork, parent conferences, administration, putting out fires, and the list goes on. Fortunately, we’ve all got publicists that follow us around to keep our band families up to date on coming events and share great news ... Read More about Social Media for Your Ensembles
Diagnosing Brass Tension and Helping Students Achieve a Better Sound.
This is the 2nd part of a post about brass tension - read part 1 here. Diagnosing the Real Cause First, you must figure out where the tension is truly coming from. When working with students, I have found there are three main sources of most tense sounds: Face/Head Body Air Since ... Read More about Diagnosing Brass Tension and Helping Students Achieve a Better Sound.
Avoiding the Most Common Pitfall – TENSION!
The most common problem that teachers come across when working with brass players is tension. Tension is, unfortunately, very natural for a young musician. However, to make a beautiful sound on a brass instrument there has to be a complete lack of tension. For this reason, I repeat a phrase to my ... Read More about Avoiding the Most Common Pitfall – TENSION!
