Almost Everything I've Learned About Teaching Band

Tu-Ning - that great Chinese song that nobody seems to play right. Tuning is not an act - it's a lifestyle. Join me as I share some tips and strategies to help you with tuning your ensembles, no matter what their age. www.jamesdivine.net

We all have the same 168 hours per week. The key is NOT to spend more time at work, but to use your time more wisely. These tips helped me gain 5-8 hours of my week back! www.jamesdivine.net

It's normal - after achieving a goal or spending a lot of time in an activity - to feel some post-season blues. www.jamesdivine.net

When percussionists get bored, they tend to get in trouble. Plus we have the most active students placed in the back of the room - and we give them sticks! These tips can help keep them engaged and actively doing great things. Support the podcast on patreon. www.jamesdivine.net

Oh the mistakes - so many - I made as a young director going to festival. I share 16 things I learned the way, tips that can help you do better. Support the podcast at patreon. www.jamesdivine.net

Repertoire selection can MAKE or BREAK your band's performance! Focus on musicianship, not those gems you played in college. In this episode I share some tips and huge MISTAKES I made. Support us on patreon. www.jamesdivine.net

Do you struggle with what to say - or not say - at the concert. There's a fine line between being informative and helpful, and just rambling. Here are some tips to help. Support us at www.patreon.com/themusicedpodcast www.jamesdivine.net

Dare I say that a positive student teacher relationship is even MORE important than teaching music skills? You may not agree totally with that statement, but you have to agree it is an important piece in the puzzle. In this episode I share 5 strategies that have worked for me, several for over 20 years. As a music teacher, you have a great opportunity to influence a student's life (for the good or bad). Choose good. I would love it if you would consider supporting this work of love at www.patreon.com/themusicedpodcast. Your support would help take this podcast to the next level. I highly recommend Harry Wong's The First Days of School.

When beginner trumpets have a hard time changing partials, it's almost always about the air. We as music educators know what we want the students to do, but they often don't understand what we are asking. In this episode I share more than six tips to help your trumpet players change partials. It's also effective with other brass players. Has this podcast been a help? It's a labor of love for me. I've been doing it for seven years for free. There are some costs involved. Would you consider supporting the podcast for as little as $5/month? Go to www.patreon.com/themusicedpodcast.

This was my first year back teaching beginning band after a 14 year hiatus while I taught at a suburban high school. My first experience 14 years ago was at a prestigious private school where the students and parents all seemed to care and were on their best behavior. Now I'm at an urban school. My how things are different! It took persistence and consistency over a six week period, but the students are finally where I want them to be (well, 42 of the 43 are). You're often going to have an outlier on whom nothing seems to work. He spends most of his time in the hallway. We have a conference scheduled with his guardians. Not saying it as an excuse, but he has had a difficult life thus far. In this episode I share some strategies that have worked for me. Try them. They may work for you. Just remember, each situation is different. I saw a post on a media site about this same problem. Some teachers answered "All I have to do is threaten to call home." That was my same strategy when I was at the private school. It helps if you have a very supportive admin, which I do. If this podcast has been a blessing to you, would you consider supporting us at www.patreon.com/themusicedpodcast?