Almost Everything I've Learned About Teaching Band

Have a question for the podcast? Need a presenter for professional development? Contact me here:  [email protected] or 719-238-4193. List of Speaking Topics.  www.jamesdivine.net

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Are you going to Midwest? Here are some tips for how to dress, where to eat, what to do with your luggage, and a few places you might visit while there.

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This episode is a little different. I chat with fellow podcaster and band director Kyle Smith of The Growing Band Director podcast. We discuss several topics that can be of help to band directors. S…

I burned out at 2 schools. I really struggled with learning balance. I finally discovered it at my 3rd school! In this episode I share 7 tips to help you find life balance. Avoid doing what I did!

Li…

Don’t be afraid of incorporating string players into your band program. I’m not talking about starting kids on strings. This episode provides helpful hints when a string player moves in - with experi…

Do you have problems with kids writing on the music stands? This episode can help.

Have a question for the podcast? Need a presenter for professional development? Contact me here:  jamesthedivine@gma…

You hear one of your colleagues is leaving, or a student has quit band and chose another class. How do you treat them? The short of it…the same.

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Balance and Blend can seem difficult to teach, but these 5 tips will get you going in the right direction. And you’ll be surprised at how much fixing balance and blend also fixes intonation.

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Deciding if it is time to leave is a very personal decision and not one to be taken lightly. Beware of receiving advice regarding this from people you don’t know on social media. Best to talk to some…

I often had 5 groups perform 18 songs in less than 60 minutes. It can be done! This episode tells you how.

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Are there times in your career when it’s best to move forward without asking permission? Yes, but do it cautiously.

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Recently I competed in a triathlon. It consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, 17.2 mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run. I learned several lessons that also apply to teaching music:

Pace Yourself Take care of you…

There are things we learn by experience the hard way. You can be ahead of me and others by learning them through my experience.

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I like to tell my students that it's easy to get an A in band, but it's not an easy A. An easy A means you get it just for showing up. Easy to get an A means you will work for it, but there's no reas…

It takes just as much work to take a band from a 1 to a 7 as it does to take a band from a 9 to a 9.2, but the director of the latter will probably get more recognition. That’s just a fact of life. D…

It’s so easy to become jealous of other directors. I struggled with this for many years. I finally stopped (mostly) about 5 years ago. Here’s hoping this will help you stop now.

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Having both beginners and intermediate students in the same class at the same time is not ideal, but it can be done. In this epiosde I share some tips on how you can make it work.

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When suggesting reeds for sax and clarinet players, should you choose Vandoren, Rico, some other brand? What strength reed should you start students on? What reed should you avoid?

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Do you struggle with staying organized? In this episode, I share some strategies that may be helpful...

• Creat a Beginning of Year Task List
• Aim for inbox zero
• Binders and clipboards are your friend
• …

Remember Nancy Reagan’s theme from the 1980s to Just Say No to drugs? She was made fun of, but it is an effective strategy. You may not struggle with drugs, but I bet you do struggle with saying no!

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