Almost Everything I've Learned About Teaching Band

  When I first started teaching at the high school level, I was afraid of starting a marching band. Many of my colleagues were suffering from burnout due to marching band.My wise mentor, Dr. Ed Cannava, encouraged me to go for it. He reminded me I was the one in control of the schedule.Starting a marching band was one of the best things I did for my program. Get some tips and advice on the show.Link to store where you can have shirts made   Link to used marching band uniforms  

Dr. Matt Talbert of Berea College shares insights on teaching, especially which battles are worth fighting. Should directors place emphasis on posture, long tones, fundamentals, and why.Berea college is one of about 6 work colleges that don't charge tuition. Find out more about the music program at Berea HERE.

Sometimes we are too hard on ourselves, and Jared is no exception. Hear about some of his journey as a teacher and leading up to his winning the Grammy Music Educator of the Year award.Find out why some people call him The Energizer Bunny.

  Today's podcast is short and to the point. Create a rhythm sheet to save precious rehearsal time. Sample Carnival of the Animals Worksheet score

In this episode, James shares a very personal story of seeing abuse and being abused and how this affected his teaching. His Forgiveness Journey helped him be a better teacher. Listen for the free book offer in the podcast.

In the music field, we are all striving for perfectionism...it's what makes us good at what we do. However, if we aren't careful, we can make this an all-consuming cycle that drags us down physically and emotionally. Five tips to help you not to succumb.

- Kevin Beaber teaches band, choir and guitar in Crowley County, Colorado. He has been in rural schools for his entire three decade career. - Not only does Kevin love teaching in a rural area, he is part of national organizations; in fact he's currently President of American School Band Director's Association. You can get free resources at their site, like a guide for Administrator's who are evaluating music teachers. - Have a question about teaching in a rural area? Kevin would like to hear from you. Email Kevin. - Link to the Hands on Training series (HOTS) Guitar Curriculum discussed on the show

- Stephen has 1,114 compositions (and counting) to his credit. He's not only a composer but a music educator too with 17 years of full time teaching experience. - www.stormworld.com - One of his tools, and one I have been using for over a year, is his Function Chorales. These are composed using numbers rather than written music so they can be played in any key. You can find a free sample on the site. - A tool I just recently purchased and am looking forward to using is Scaleworks. - There are a lot of free tools and music available. Try out the free stuff and then purchase something to help your students and to enable more great materials to be created.  - Tools like the Function Chorales are really affordable and Stephen gives you license to make as many copies as you need for the program they are purchased for. - You can read more about Stormworks and Stephen Melillo HERE. There are a ton of resources and teaching on his site. - www.stormworld.com

Classroom Discipline is the wrong way to describe what we do. Over 95% of discipline problems are resolved BEFORE they occur by having the right structure. - In this episode we talk about four specific strategies that you can incorporate today to improve your band class, and none of them have anything to do with music.

You may have read Trey's column in The Instrumentalist, "Life of Reely", where he shares funny stories from his music ed experiences.     Trey is in the trenches everyday just like you and me, and he's also a writer. Find out about the persistence it took for him to get into writing and his biggest triumph and biggest mistake as a teacher.     Get all of Trey's books HERE. I just ordered one of each! You can also check him out at GIA publications.     Trey is available as a speaker/clinician at your state conference, for your students or other events. You can reach him HERE.