Many thanks to NAfME for publishing this article. You can find it here! #band #rehearsal #techniques #tips

My colleagues and I attended some district-wide professional development this past spring where we discussed the uniqueness of the adolescent learner. In discussing the emotional characteristics of this age group, we read that students revert most easily to the emotional state where they "spend" the most time. In other words, a student who is frequently angry becomes angered more readily. Conversely, those who tend to be happy a lot of the time slip into that emotion with

Music is an aural art form. We all know that. We are trained to listen to our bands and provide instruction based on what we hear. So what do our eyes have to do with teaching music? Watching our students can give band directors, especially those who are responsible for setting the foundation with our youngest students, a great deal of information. What do you see when you look at your students' faces? Do you see tension? Are their embouchures natural looking? What abou

Like many of you, I will be be keeping busy over the summer. I will be doing some teaching, attending workshops and staff retreats, performing on my instrument, and planning for the upcoming school year. But with summer comes a more relaxed schedule and a welcome break from things that drain time and energy during the school year like email, paperwork and constant demands from students, parents and administration. During the school year, there is never enough time. It's te