Almost Everything I've Learned About Teaching Band

Repertoire selection can be one of the most difficult decisions you can make, and one that requires a lot of thought to. In this episode I share tips for selecting music for your ensemble.

Jazz From…

When I first started teaching high school, I didn’t know when to play at football games (and when to stop playing). I learned the hard way over the years. Eventually I trained my leaders to be bold a…

In this episode I share a Marching Band Drill Rehearsal Technique.I stole this idea from a colleague of mine and used it for many years to teach Marching Band drill to my students. Upon completion of…

Bonus Episode  - Big Announcement. The book is here. So many have poured into my life. I look forward to helping new band directors learn from my mistakes. The book Almost Everything I’ve Learned Abo…

Episode 295 - Eating Healthy - How I Lost 40 pounds I was just 40 years old. The doctor said he had never seen triglyceride levels that high. My glucose levels were very high, as was my cholesterol. …

Episode 294 - When Students Misbehave For The Sub When I was in school, I hated it when the whole class was subject to punishment when only a few misbehaved. And to be honest, some subs are terrible …

Episode 293 - 8 Tips For Dealing With Students Wanting To Switch Instruments There are sometimes legitimate reasons for a student to switch instruments, but often that desire is due to hitting a plat…

Episode 292 - Demanding Great Concert Behavior From The Audience and Your Students Is your audience rude and out of control? You can change that culture. Are your students rambunctious and inattentiv…

Episode 291 - What To Say At The Concert In short, keep it short. Much will depend on the culture and climate already at the school. Remember that you can help to change that culture. 

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Episode 290 - How Much Time Should You Spend On Fundamentals When I first started teaching, I thought I didn’t have time for fundamentals. Maybe I spent ten minutes of a 45 minute rehearsal on techni…

Episode 289 - Helping Students Play In Tune One of my biggest pet peeves is watching a director individually tune 80 band members on stage using the tuner! It doesn’t help! Maybe it makes that one no…

Episode 288 - 6 Tips For Engaging Percussionists Often our percussion section can be our biggest headache, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Have you thought through some of the things that frustra…

Episode 287 - 13 Top Mistakes Directors Make Not planning enough - Lack of classroom management - Too lax (or too rigid) - Bringing Work Home - Taking Things Personally - Trying to be someone else - …

Episode 286 - 16 Things I Wish I Knew About Festival Prep How do I use my time properly? When do I start my second song? What if the percussion equipment is not in the same place as in my room? What …

Episode 285 - Marching Band Is Needed Now More Than Ever Before Controversial statement…I think every school should have a marching band. When I started one at a previous school, every single one of …

Episode 284 - Add Some Spice To Your Rehearsal I learned in the army that you can’t make bad food taste good simply by seasoning it (although you could sometimes cover over the bad taste with enough …

Episode 283 - Eight Strategies For Surviving The Stress Bubble of Teaching From setting boundaries to reflecting on your priorities, in this episode I cover 8 tips that will help you avoid burnout. L…

My first teaching job landed in my lap! It was easy to get. My neighbor was the principal for a small private school. They needed a band teacher, he asked me, I interviewed and was hired. The next th…

Episode 281 - When A Life Is Lost We lost three community members in a two month period! It was hard! It was difficult! The normal lesson plan went out the window. And one summer we tragically lost a…