The Growing Band Director Ten Deadly Sins of Music Making
Mar 31, 2022
Tom Lizotte, award-winning band director and clinician, shares his take on the Ten Deadly Sins of music making. He discusses lifelong learning, purposeful yearlong programming, choosing repertoire that truly fits your group, teaching tough works gradually, leveraging parents positively, and why the concert is a snapshot not the goal.
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Never Stop Being A Learner
- Thinking you are 'fully cooked' kills growth and models the wrong behavior for students.
- Tom Lizotte says lifelong learning must be visible to students so they see learning as continual.
Plan The Year, Not Each Concert
- Program the entire year and order scores early so you can do meaningful summer score study.
- Plan backwards from a target 'piece of the year' so learning sequences and transitions make sense.
Trust Your Early-Stage Instincts
- If a piece consistently feels wrong after honest tries, pivot and choose a better fit instead of forcing it.
- Use initial reactions and early progress to decide whether to persist or change repertoire.
