
Almost Everything I've Learned About Teaching Band
Quick and easy tips to help you be a better band teacher.
Latest episodes

Mar 20, 2019 • 7min
Episode 127 - 11 Movies Every Band Kid Should See
Disclaimer: View movies yourself before showing them to your students. Check your school or district's policy on showing movies. In my opinion, movies are best reserved for bus trips or special viewing events rather than replacing a rehearsal, Also, I think they work best when combined with discussion and reflection. I have included some of those ideas in the podcast.

Mar 13, 2019 • 6min
Episode 126 - 7 Tips for Great Concert Behavior
In this episode, I share 7 tips for how you can get your students to be a GREAT audience. In tip #1 - my story - I share a tip that has been extremely successful for over a decade for me.

Feb 13, 2019 • 8min
Episode 125 - 7 Tips For Making Band Fun
We know that band is fun, but our students don't always know that. We know that fun is achieved by aiming for and reaching excellence, but our students don't always know that. How can we make band fun while still focusing on excellence? Listen to these 7 tips for help.

Feb 6, 2019 • 6min
Episode 124 - Should Practice Outside of School be Required
We all wish that each and every one of our students practiced two hours a day every day, but is this possible or even realistic? It depends. In my 21 years of teaching I've tried it all. Surprisingly I have found success by trying something different. Perhaps it will work for you.

Jan 30, 2019 • 9min
Episode 123 - Six Responses When Students Say "I Want To Switch To Drums"
I've been teaching for 21 years, but I still HATE it when a student asks me if he can switch to drums. Why doesn't anyone want to switch to tuba? Can we control the number of drummers in our bands (yes, we can)? Can we shape the culture of our band to minimize this (yes, we can)? Will some students quit over this (yes, some will, but not as many as you think)? Six tips to minimize students wanting to switch. Percussive Arts Society page for rudiment download, www.pas.org

Jan 23, 2019 • 13min
Episode 122 - How To Properly Use Your Festival Warm-up Time
Believe it or not, in my early days of teaching I did not know how to use this time properly. I actually ran out of things to do! Now I know better. This is a repost from an episode several years ago in which I share tips on how to use your warm-up time, what to do, what NOT to do, and even preparing yourself mentally. And remember, performing at a festival is all about getting FEEDBACK. Don't be overly concerned about your score (be a little concerned, but that's not your main focus).

Jan 16, 2019 • 25min
Episode 121 - Prepare To Be Judged
In this episode, I bring back Lori Schwartz Reichl from last week. With contest season coming up, we discuss the how to prepare your band to be adjudicated. What are the goals with adjudication? How can directors prepare themselves in the weeks, days and hours beforehand? How can we prepare our students for the experience? As a music educator, Lori is an active adjudicator, clinician, guest conductor, private instructor, speaker, and writer. She is the author of the series “Key Changes: Refreshing Your Music Program” published monthly in the teacher edition of In Tune Magazine where she provides resources to enhance the music classroom/rehearsal space. She is also a journalist for Teaching Music Magazine. Visit her at www.makingkeychanges.com

Jan 9, 2019 • 20min
Episode 120 - How To Get Admin On Your Side
In this episode, I interview Lori Schwartz Reichl on getting administrators on our side. We discuss what's important to admin, the biggest challenge young and old directors face with admin, and some tips on how to handle the relationship if it becomes adversarial. We also discuss the importance of the three Ps... Preparedness Positivity Persistence As a music educator, Lori is an active adjudicator, clinician, guest conductor, private instructor, speaker, and writer. She is the author of the series “Key Changes: Refreshing Your Music Program” published monthly in the teacher edition of In Tune Magazine where she provides resources to enhance the music classroom/rehearsal space. She is also a journalist for Teaching Music Magazine. Visit her at www.makingkeychanges.com

Dec 5, 2018 • 8min
Episode 119 - 12 Band Room Hacks
We all develop those ideas - those hacks - that make our jobs much easier. In this episode I share 12 of them - most that I have used myself and a few I'm going to try soon. See the pictures of some of the hacks at www.jamesdivine.net.

Nov 28, 2018 • 6min
Episode 118 - Ways To Mix Up The Method Book
The students get bored. I get bored. But we need to review the exercises we've worked on. Here are some tips to make the review a little more interesting.