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
Search Results for: teaching strategies
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!
So I Teach at a Low SES School…Language and Delivery.
After working with students in low socioeconomic schools for 16 years, I have found that the label “low-SES” is very misleading. This really doesn’t tell us anything about the students. Here are the more helpful questions: What is their family background? What are living arrangements ... Read More about So I Teach at a Low SES School…Language and Delivery.
Color in the Bandroom
For a long time, I underestimated the effect color could have on my students and their ability to read and perform music accurately and with musical understanding. Once I did begin to use color, I was amazed at the difference. Now, my students regularly purchase colored pencils or erasable colored ... Read More about Color in the Bandroom
Motivate Your Band – The Band Puzzle
Share this story of the "Band Puzzle" with your students to help them understand how their individual piece fits into the big picture... Have you ever put together a 1,000 piece puzzle with a group of people? My family loves puzzles. When we first start we dump out all the pieces and flip them ... Read More about Motivate Your Band – The Band Puzzle
