I have noticed with my own kids, who have outwardly been adapting quite well to at-home instruction, that when they have to record themselves to upload for an assignment (music or other class), things change. Their demeanor changes. They go from happily sharing their exciting thoughts and comments about what they are learning, to a more concerned and worried feeling, not sharing their real selves. When the ‘record’ button is pushed their inner perfectionist shines through and the cycle of “do it again” begins. The cycle consists of deciding if this recording was better than the last one, or if it is just, good enough. Sometimes, these assignments turn into a true source of frustration for them and they sometimes feel defeated by a seemingly innocuous assignment. Actually, the assignments are fantastic and given with the best of intentions and many of them go off without a hitch. But then there are those few that make me remember, this isn’t easy. 

Video assignments are a relatively new way of learning. Something we all need to keep in mind is how our students (and our own children) are feeling as they approach this type of learning. If they were nervous before about class presentations or public speaking, remember this form of public speaking may heighten those feelings. We have to remember that for the student who wants to get it right, the word or note they fumbled on might truly ruin their day or bring them to tears. Just like before, teachers and parents are partners and a team in educating the whole child. I will continue to support our teachers in their amazing work and I will support my children as they go through the ups and downs, successes, and defeats of their learning. We talk through these challenges with our kids and make video assignments a learning experience to grow from where they can learn how to accept imperfection as well as understanding the content of the assignment itself. That sounds a lot like what we teach kids through music, doesn’t it? Yes, we teach them notes, rhythms, musicality, beauty, and humanity. But we also teach them how to learn and grow as people who have to learn to navigate ‘life.’

I want to applaud all of the teachers in our local school district—they have been amazing in their preparation and delivery of meaningful instruction. It is incredible to witness and they will forever have our support and thankfulness. With almost no notice they moved all online and have truly kept in close contact with our kids through their thoughtful messages, notes, video chats, and even a teacher parade of cars passing by the house. Yes, we all cried together. I know that my own community is just a snapshot of the greater picture of all educators far and wide. Now, more than ever, I hope you feel appreciated—because you are. To all teachers, on behalf of parents everywhere, I say THANK YOU. I am very hopeful that your feeling of support continues to grow and that the partnership in learning becomes even stronger as parents support the hard work you do every single day.

The post A New Way of Learning: Appreciation for Teachers During Remote Instruction appeared first on SmartMusic.

So, what can students do at home while they are deeply missing performing together and rehearsing in your ensemble? Well….they can PRACTICE! Are you kidding me? For real? Sure, why not put in some good old fashioned elbow grease and improve individual skills so that when they are back in the rehearsal room they can apply their new level of abilities in the ensemble?

I truly believe that strong individuals make for a strong team. Sure, the Yankee-great Derek Jeter was an incredible player, but it sure didn’t hurt for him to be surrounded by other players of equal ability, dedication, and passion. Every one of his teammates spent countless hours developing their individual skills along with developing team skills on the field as a group, or ensemble. Deliberate practice includes identifying areas needing improvement, and working to overcome those obstacles. As you know, SmartMusic is now available to you and your students and can be a fantastic tool—now and in the future. SmartMusic can be a great help to guide students with immediate feedback on their progress. Let’s talk a little about why so many students (and adults) often struggle with it, and some possible solutions.

Practice Is Fun

Practice is FUN! Have you ever heard a student say that out loud? Have you ever said that out loud? The reality of practice—music, or anything else—is that it isn’t always fun. The act of practicing is often filled with struggle, challenge, and defeat. This is why most students often only practice music they know. It feels good and it is fun. The music that is unfamiliar, or that presents technical challenges that are just beyond their reach (for now), is much less fun. Can you blame them for wanting to have fun and enjoy making music? Of course not! Music teachers need to help students understand that hard work, meeting goals (personal and musical), and improving their skills will ultimately lead them to the fun they appropriately desire.

We all have students that willingly practice on their own. They will take an assignment and go to a practice room, at home, or with a private teacher and work hard until they can perform beautifully and with confidence. They are intrinsically motivated. They possess the inner drive that pushes them across the finish line successfully confronting a task that may have seemed insurmountable. Not every student will approach personal practice with this natural intrinsic motivation. I hope some of the following ideas will help as you foster your student’s ability to succeed in musical enjoyment through effective practice.

Develop a Practice Plan

The first challenge is that students often don’t know how to practice. It is extremely effective to help students develop a practice plan. For your students at home now, this is an even more important step as distance learning is often more challenging because there is not a teacher sitting nearby to guide them. Students have to be self-directed, so an outline like this can help them maintain focus.

Here are some ideas to consider when designing a practice plan:

1. Set a specific time and day for practice. For example, Monday 3:45- 4:15.
2. Set specific goals. Goals help students focus on the task at hand and avoid non-productive practice time.
3. Break down the practice session into approximate timed segments:

Warm-up (5-10 minutes): For example, for string players: Sustained scales with long, slow bows while listening for tone and adjusting the bow-weight, speed, and contact point in order to create the best sound. For wind players: Major scale in whole notes concentrating on air support, listening to tone quality and intonation. For percussionists: Play sustained open and closed rolls listening for a clean and clear sound while focusing on the proper grip, stick height, and control. Rhythm Patterns with scales

Literature (10-15 minutes) or Technique Study/Etude: Focus on a passage that presents a challenge. Work through it slowly, applying skills taught in the band or orchestra classroom (counting rhythms, checking finger placement, articulation patterns, etc.). Break the phrase down into smaller segments, one measure at a time, or even 2-3 notes at a time if it is a particularly difficult passage. The key is to focus on a specific challenge. Isolate and repeat. At first, the ‘tricky fingering’ will be awkward, or uncomfortable. After repeating it (correctly) the discomfort will lessen, and the technical challenge of the passage will become easier to play, resulting in a more enjoyable experience for the student and actually fun! Once these smaller segments become more comfortable, add them together to create longer segments, and eventually a whole phrase.

Celebration (10-15 minutes): Once the hard part is over, be sure to celebrate by performing, and reinforcing, the music you practiced today, and other days, ensuring that you retain that love of music, realizing that the hard work you put in helps make this celebration of the fun in music come to life.

Notice the outline of this practice session goes through a cycle. It starts with simple warm-up exercises (comfortable and familiar with a simple and clear focus), moves to a challenge (working through the more difficult, or less familiar techniques or musical passages), then back to something easier to accomplish, which I called the “Celebration” part of the practice session. Bookending a practice session with feel-good moments can help students learn to balance their challenges and not be facing a wall of impossible tasks for the whole time they are practicing. Success, challenge, success is the overall thought.

Setting Practice Goals

One last thought about practicing: Through my years in the classroom, I have often found that students misunderstand the concept of practicing. They either focus on the music they already know, or they repeat a difficult passage, over and over, until it is correctly played only once and then move onto something else. With my students I found it effective to give them a specific goal—once you play it correctly, play it 5 more times correctly! This way, they reinforce getting it right, as opposed to the 10 times they reinforced getting it wrong. When students realize they can do it, the old challenge becomes the new “Celebration.” Perhaps you can make a practice session chart for students to follow with the outline you feel is appropriate. Adding a checkmark on a list can often help support the feeling of accomplishment (see the sample practice plan below).

Students begin their musical life because it is fun, engaging, and exciting. One of our primary goals, as educators, should be to retain those initial motivators of musical study throughout all of their school years and beyond. One way we can do so is by encouraging the love of effective practice!

Sample Practice Plan

Warm-Up Checklist:

____ Long tones
____ Sustain each note of your __ scale for 10 seconds
____ Was it a good sound?
____ Was it a supported sound?
____ What was one thing you thought was particularly good about your sound?
____ What is one thing you can improve on with the quality of your sound?
____ Can you come up with your own exercise focused on improving your tone?

Literature/Etude:

• Find 2 passages that need special attention.
• Isolate the specific areas of the passages that need practice.
• Do you need to work on the rhythm? Notes? Expression? Something else?
• Practice each section slowly and use your critical thinking skills to figure out a solution to what the problem is.
• Now, repeat the section 5 times correctly (put a checkmark for each successful performance):
  1. ____
  2. ____
  3. ____
  4. ____
  5. ____
  6. (Bonus time!) ____

Celebration:

• What was your favorite part of the piece you practiced today?
• Play it for a family member, or just for your own fun!
• What is your favorite piece you are playing in band or orchestra? Find it in SmartMusic and play along with it!
• What is your favorite pop song? Can you figure out the melody and play along with it?
• Do you remember that piece you played last year in band or orchestra? Can you play it from memory?

And remember—have fun!

The post Developing a Student Practice Plan for Remote Learning appeared first on SmartMusic.

Begin the Transition with Fundamentals

One way to make the adjustment from summer fun to musical rehearsal fun is to revisit the fundamentals. When thinking about all of the complexities of creating a meaningful musical performance I think it is important to boil things down to their basic concepts and isolate them. For example, when performing a gorgeous, heart-wrenching lyrical passage, you want students to sound incredible. You want to hear dynamic contour and emotion to the point that you can feel it in your bones. How can we help students create that kind of moment for themselves and the audience? Start by isolating each concept and working on those skills as needed. 

Think about the example of the beautiful lyrical section. Do you notice what the first thing I said about it was? We want students to sound incredible. Here is the thinking part…what does that mean? What is it to sound incredible? A discussion on that singular concept can yield a variety of answers! 

In my opinion, the very first, most important concept in making something beautiful is tone. It doesn’t matter what instrument we are talking about (trumpet, snare drum, violin, or the voice), the tone is essential. What does a beautiful tone sound like on trumpet? How about a rich, full, and gorgeous sound on timpani? Here are a couple of quick tips on helping your students connect, or reconnect to the most fundamental of fundamentals!

You Are a Model

While we all know that every band director has a highly-developed fashion sense, and always wears priceless clothes from the world’s top designers, here I’m talking about modeling tone. Play your instrument for your students. Let them hear your amazing sound! 

Let’s face it, you work hard not only as a music teacher, but also as a performer of music. You spent countless hours in practice rooms, in rehearsal studios, and on stage. Show your students this part of you as well. 

Provide Other Models

Play recordings of performers who have a sound you want students to emulate. Our students may not be listening to music or performers we would choose for them. This is fine, they need to find their own musical expression. However, we need to augment their listening choices.

Consider playing a short recording of a different performer each day. Maybe on Monday you take two minutes from rehearsal to listen to a breathtaking oboe solo, Tuesday share two minutes of a powerful brass fanfare, and so on. Having students experience a few examples of the sound we try to explain in words through listening can be eye opening for them (and us). 

With so many incredible performances available online for listening and watching, it is easy and amazing to share with students. Remember, you may have watched that video, or listened to that recording 100 times, but your students likely have not. Share that joy!

SmartMusic’s professional reference recordings provide excellent models, too. Try it for free.

Work on Tone

Now that your students are gaining an understanding of your expectations in regard to the kind of sounds (characteristic tone) you want them to make, it is time to get to work making them. Remember the idea of isolating these skills? Yes, you can most definitely work on characteristic tone within your musical literature. It is a fantastic and appropriate thing to do. 

Another very effective way to work on this skill is simplifying an exercise so students can solely focus only on the skill you are directing them to work on. Playing in unison is incredibly effective in helping ensembles learn to play in tone, in tune, with clear articulation, with audible dynamics, and so on. In Sound Innovations Ensemble Development, there are many, many exercises written in parallel octaves that teachers can use to help students improve by focusing on any of these concepts. 

How about tone? A ‘Passing the Tonic’ exercise can easily fit the bill. You will notice that all three levels of SIED have these exercises. This is because every ensemble skill can be taught from the very first day they sit and play together as a group. In this type of exercise, students pass the root note of the given key all around the room (yes, through the percussion section as well!). 

During the passing of the note, teachers can help direct students by encouraging them to listen to the sound they are making. As those rhetorical questions, “Are you making a beautiful sound? Are you making a rich sound? Does your sound match what we heard on today’s recording?” Encourage your students to take action. Encourage your students to be the decision-makers in the room. It starts with YOU, and then you give them the gift of…control. Scary, right? 

Transfer that Knowledge

This example is about characteristic tone; we identified the concept, isolated the skill, and focused our exercises on improving the performance. Now, you take that leap. Apply it to your music. 

As you rehearse your literature you can remind students of those questions you posed in the warm-up. Are they using the same kind of tone that you worked on? Remind them of their achievement. Remind them of the sound that was modeled by you, or in your demonstration video/audio recording. This connection is essential. 

The last thing we want students to do is to compartmentalize their performance skills. When we identify, isolate, and rehearse ensemble skills in the warm-up, we do so in order for students to gain experience to be able to apply to their literature. It is up to us to help them connect the dots. Sharing the “WHY” of what we do is important. Tell them why you are working on the ‘Passing the Tonic’ exercise, “In a few minutes when we play XYZ, I want you to make the same beautiful sound you are making now…” Remind them when they are playing XYZ, “When we worked on #1, you had such a rich tone, let’s get that same sound here at letter B.” Those kinds of reminders help students understand why we spend time honing their skills.

Getting Back on the Bike

When you create this kind of experience for students they will get back on that musical bicycle very quickly! When you provide musical examples, and are a role model, they will know what to do. When you share the goals of your warmup and connect them to the music they create, they will express themselves more authentically through the music. 

Eventually, those “Sunday jitters” will become “Sunday excitement.”

Okay, maybe not.

But you will certainly be excited when you see (and hear) those magical, musical light bulbs go on in your classroom. Have a wonderful school year!

The post Back to School and Music: It’s Like Riding a Bike! appeared first on SmartMusic.

Skipping tuning wasn’t a conscious decision, I didn’t wake up one day and decide, “You know what? No more tuning. It’s over. Done.” It is just something that has happened over the course of time.

That isn’t to say my students do not focus on tuning. Instead, they always focus on tuning. We talk about it throughout rehearsal, it comes up with the first note of the day, and often times with the last note. There is a tuning awareness that is part of their subconscious when playing.

My Philosophy

I believe that developing a subconscious sense of tuning (and other elements of musicianship) is the goal of our warm ups. We have students focus on the fundamentals of music to make their awareness and performance of ensemble skills automatic. I want to encourage students to play with excellent tone, in tune, with attention to articulation, dynamics, and phrasing while playing the right notes with the proper balance. And I want them to do this automatically, without thinking about it.

Reflections on Tuning During Class

When I realized that I turned away from “tuning” as part of the warm-up, I thought deeply about why this occurred. I mean, all the cool band directors tune. Right? The fact is, as I have developed the warm-up program with my ensembles, I have experienced fewer instances when I have found it necessary to stop the rehearsal momentum to tune.

I also realized that defining part of the rehearsal as “tuning” might suggest to students that tuning was a task we could complete during that time.  As if we were saying; “This is it. This is when we tune. Ok, that’s done, let’s move on to something else.” Clearly the last thing I want is for students to think we no longer need to focus on tuning.

Here’s Where I Backpedal – a Little

I don’t mean to say that it is wrong to have a student sound a pitch, add in the ensemble to compare pitch, and get them relatively close. I still do that from time to time. It is good practice and sometimes the quickest way to get students focused. But it’s important that students learn that part of their job as an ensemble member is to always have an awareness of their relative pitch compared with those around them. It’s my goal that through our deliberate and consistent practice of fundamentals, their attention to tuning (and many other ensemble concepts) are becoming part of their musical fabric.

How to Make It Automatic

For an example of how you can help your students become more automatic with their tuning, take a peek at an exercise called Passing the Tonic. This is a technique used in all three levels of Sound Innovations Ensemble Development.

While this specific exercise is not duplicated in the books (every exercise is different), the concept remains the same. We simply pass the tonic pitch of the given key around the band. This could mean high voices to low voices, or first parts to second parts, or all through the families of instruments. It means listening to, and then comparing your pitch, as it occurs all around the ensemble.

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Students use a few different skills with this kind of exercise. First, they have to listen to the sound they are producing and ask themselves, “Is this a good sound?” Then they have to compare their pitch to what they just heard, decide if they are the same or different, adjust as needed by using their critical listening skills, and check again to see if their change is better.

Why It Works

The beauty of this is that this type of exercise is so simple but the goals are so complex. Students are responsible for s making the decisions and they get practice playing in tune. They are in charge, not me. I’m not yelling, “Flat, Sharp, Good, Flat, Sharp, SUPER Sharp…” from the podium. There is a great sense of accomplishment, for everyone, when students go from out-of-tune to in tune. You can see their faces light up when the pitch locks in. You can see they get it!

As a teacher it is gratifying to hear their progress, knowing that soon we are going to translate their new-found skill to their music, because that is truly our goal, right? Having our warm-up come to life through the music?

More Philosophy

We work diligently through our warm-ups to prepare students so they play their fundamentals instinctively. Our warm-up goal is to help students practice musical intuition as much as it is to prepare their minds and bodies for performance. Ultimately, the warm-up is a training ground so we can get to the true goal of our ensemble which is to facilitate our students in making a personal connection with music as they perform as a group.

The post Rethinking Your Warm Up: Never Tune Again appeared first on SmartMusic.

Culture Change

Think about the question they are asking, “What is the purpose of class after the spring concert?” The answer to motivating students post-performance is right there within that very question; “What is the purpose of class?” If students do not know that answer then perhaps we aren’t communicating enough before the concert.

If there is one thing we can agree on, it is that we are goal driven by nature. A concert is certainly one of the goals of a performance ensemble, but it is only one goal. I believe each day in our classroom should be special. There should be some spark, some amazing and wonderful moment that serves as positive motivation for students. A concert as a goal is fine and appropriate but when student “light bulbs” go off every day they will soon realize that we are not just there for the big show. We are not teaching to the test. The music room needs to be a culture of learning, for the love of learning.

I often tell students that our concert is like any other day, we just happen to take the wall down and let other people (parents and community members) see what we do in class every day. This concept and idea needs to be introduced to students in the beginning of the year and reinforced often. When students understand that we teach kids, not concerts, they will ask, “Are we playing today?” less often.

This kind of culture takes time to instill, but it is well worth the effort. Does it end the questioning? No, sometimes a student will still ask, “what are we doing for the rest of the year?” after the spring concert, but maybe it will be with a tone of excited curiosity. It is sure nice to say, “We are doing all of the same, awesome kinds of things we have been doing all year, isn’t that great?”

Special Events

Another strategy that is helpful with the post-concert blues is to plan some extra special lessons after a performance. There is merit to sprinkling some “out of the ordinary” days throughout the year, but I find them especially helpful in keeping students on the learning train after a concert.

Here are a couple of ideas you might want to consider:

Sight-Reading Mania!

Sight-reading is a year-long focus. If you don’t sight-read every day, you can find some resources to help in this article. Nevertheless, it is always fun to pass out new music on the spot and see how things go! If your library is like mine, there are some hidden gems that remain untouched.

Our music library is organized by number and during our sight-reading mania days I have a student pick a number between 1 and 900. The one rule is, they can not change numbers and neither can I. I go to the library, get the piece and THAT is what we read. I am sight-reading, they are sight-reading and because a student picked the number, they are always excited for that class.

Conducting Class

After the post-concert reflection, consider focusing on a different aspect of being in the ensemble. Let’s assume students look up from time to time from their music. What? It can happen! Anyway, while most students know, others might wonder why you flap your arms in that that special way, or why you are often looking at them and pointing during the music. This is the perfect time to give a group conducting lesson.

Project the first page of a score on a screen and show them how it is organized by instrument, then teach them a couple of basic conducting patterns. Using a piece that was just performed in the concert, rotate student conductors. Let them conduct a couple of phrases. This is often a win-win because students enjoy performing the music again and they also get a whole new experience as the conductor. Students also often gain another level of respect for what you do each day.

Look and Listen

How many super cool videos do you come across in your musical life? There are so many amazingly talented musicians in our world and there are incredible performance videos that float around the internet all the time. Sharing some of these videos for part of a class period can be a wonderful way to expose students to incredible performances they may never see. It can be a technically dazzling performance, interesting and informative, or something funny or cute. It is just another simple way of engaging your students and maintaining their excitement of learning.

Share a Story

Students love to chat, don’t they? This is their chance! This activity can be great any time of the year, but especially after a concert or performance. Have your students come up with their own story about a piece of music, either one you just performed, or any other in their folder. What do they hear in the music? What story does their mind come up with? Let them imagine and share. If they are shy, invite them to write their story.

Whaddaya call it?

Play your students a recording of a piece of music without telling them the title. Have them listen for a minute or two, then ask them to come up with a title! This can be a lot of fun for both you and your students. Again, they are sharing their thoughts which helps them connect with each other and with you. In my opinion, some titles are subjective. My piece, Dancing Kites, might be some student’s Dragon Mountain or Happy River and that is OK! Kids love to talk and this might be an appropriate time to let them.

Compose Yourself

We always want to find ways to encourage students to try their hand at composition. A great way to start is to have students write unison rhythms, then have the ensemble perform them. Give them some parameters, for example: Write 2-4 measures of rhythm using quarter notes and quarter note rests on the whiteboard. Then you can lead the class in the performance of those rhythms. You can have students clap, stomp, tap pencils, play in unison, play in rounds, any way you would like! You are a creative teacher – design a couple of simple compositional activities for your students that can be used for a portion of your class period. Your activity may be the one that sparks the next composer in our world!

The end of the concert is not the end of our students’ music education. If students understand and believe the purpose of being in band, choir, or orchestra is to learn, connect with, and share musical experiences (as opposed to simply practicing music for a concert) they will realize that every single day in your class is meaningful, right up until the last lesson of the school year.

What is something you and your students love to do that helps to effectively engage students after the concert? In the Facebook comments, consider sharing your success story. I know you have some great resources to share, too.

The post Engaging Students after the Spring Concert – and Every Day appeared first on SmartMusic.

Learning to make sound and progress in a logical way through the introduction of new notes and new rhythms and a whole new language of musical notation are all incredibly wonderful reasons to use a beginning method book.

How about after that first year? How many of you start book 2 and never finish? It’s ok, you can tell me. I bet the reason you might stop is stated above, namely a lack of time and the fact that you are using your music as the instructional material.

Taking Methods Further

It is no secret, (at least I hope it isn’t!) that I am a co-author of three method books focused on ensemble development, so I have a biased opinion. With that said, I believe using a method book as part of your curriculum throughout elementary, middle, and high school can truly unlock hours of rehearsal time. I believe using the right method book can help you teach your students to become self-corrective, understand the “how-to” questions and allow you to get to the dream of musical content much faster and more effectively.

In no way am I suggesting you buy a book, start with number 1 and go through number 412 (yes, one of the books I am part of has 412 exercises!) and voilà you’re done. To facilitate an amazing band, one that goes far beyond the basic understanding of the notes and rhythms, students need to experience introspective, deep, and meaningful performances.

The fact is YOU are the key to making those meaningful moments come to life. Using a resource book can help you deliver instructional concepts to your students by providing exercises designed to help you focus on musical concepts/skills, so you are better able to spend rehearsal time focused on making a connection between music and our souls.

What If?

Think about it, if you didn’t have to spend as much of your rehearsal talking about matching pitch, how much class time would you gain on the literature? For an example of how a method can reduce this time, check out this “Passing the Tonic” lesson plan from Sound Innovations Ensemble Development for Young Concert Band.

Similarly, what if you didn’t have to take as much time talking about scale patterns of a run? Or about making dynamics heard and how to achieve a balanced ensemble sound?

Think about how many minutes of each class you gain back to focus on musical nuance and emotional content. If we were to spend the first ten minutes of each class focused on developing your students’ ensemble skills, you will gain that time back tenfold when you are rehearsing your literature.

When your students are more fluent with how to perform in tune, with great tone and with technical facility, you can engage them in the deep and artistic concepts present in the literature. You could even rehearse ensemble skill exercises in between selections of literature for the day. The key is to isolate and work on specific ensemble skills, then apply them in the literature making a direct connection with the skills they are developing.

Playing the Percentages

If you use a resource that supports teaching beginning students ensemble skills (like Sound Innovations Ensemble Development for Young Concert Band), and continue using appropriate resources in middle and secondary schools, think how far they will go when they graduate high school or college! Think about how fulfilling it would be as a teacher to be able to explore emotion through music with your students 80%-90% of the year, rather than hanging on for dear life getting them to perform close to the right notes at close to the right time at close to the right volumes for 80%-90% of the year and really only feeling the exhilaration of performance and connection maybe twice a year at a concert.

I would suggest you and your students can experience that excitement, connection and accomplishment with the inverse ratio – 80%-90% of the time you are able to help students connect with their music and achieve the intangible feeling live music performance gives us. Using a method book that supports student learning of specific ensemble skills, like Sound Innovations Ensemble Development, and using lesson plans like “Listening vs. Hearing,” you will be able to focus many more of those precious minutes in your class helping students make a deep connection with their music. Students will be quicker to recognize playing ‘in tune’ and with balance, with technical precision, while accurately performing articulations and audible dynamics, because you have prepared them for it.

In our rehearsal rooms, every day, we have an opportunity to make magic happen. And yes, using a method book appropriately (as you determine) can unlock hidden time, by having your students learn to be responsible for fixing the things that you (and I) spend so much time on. That kind of instruction goes far beyond year one, or year two, or year three.

How to Pick a Method

Ok, ok but there are so many! How do I choose? By studying them. Get a copy. Talk to other directors. Talk to the authors (we are available) for some insight – hundreds and hundreds of hours go into designing, planning, writing, and editing just one book.

Most importantly, believe in your decision and plan, plan, plan on how to use it. Method books are a starting point and can absolutely provide you with guidance, however only you know what will work with your particular teaching situation.

Just like picking literature for your band, choosing a method is very personal. You are the professional. Evaluate your program, your students’ needs, your needs, your plan/curriculum and go from there. Using a method book from the opening of the case until the day of graduation (high school and/or college!) can truly help you gain hours of rehearsal time where you can focus on making music together!

EDITORS NOTE: Check out this related post, “3 Ways to Include Your Method Book in Lesson Plans.”

The post Getting the Most from Instrumental Method Books appeared first on SmartMusic.

We, as directors of ensembles, are charged with the amazingly challenging task of predicting the future. What is the band/orchestra/chorus going to be like this year? What music is going to challenge my students yet not overwhelm them? What music is going to be achievable yet not bore them to tears? What musical choices will engage them? What music will my students like? Do I really care what they like?

Let’s face it, often the pieces students do not like in the beginning somehow morph into their favorite when the concert is over!

How about the other challenges we all face? It would be wonderful if we had the perfect instrumentation and ability level every year. There are, however, those years where you may have 3 trumpets, 1 flute, 8 alto saxophones 1 trombone, 12 percussionists and a partridge in a pear tree.

Given these challenges we do not give up. We embrace each and every student. We program music that will highlight their talents and strengths as well as challenge them to grow and connect with music in their lives. 

So the question is how do we go about choosing the appropriate music for our ensemble?

Trust Yourself

My best piece of advice is for you to not choose music with worry of judgment by others. Only you as the professional can choose what is most appropriate for your students. You have to deeply reflect upon the students you are serving and provide them with music that will push and pull them in every direction, both technically and emotionally. You have to commit to spending the time necessary and essentially make an individualized lesson plan for your students.

Those 12 freshmen percussionists need to be as engaged and challenged as your 1 flute player. This is no easy task, but it is one that we gladly put upon our shoulders. We do this because we are dedicated teachers who constantly strive to give our students the very best musical education we can. Every. Single. Day.  

What’s the Score?

The age of computers, MP3’s, PDF’s, and digital delivery have changed the face of music research and selection. I’ve had many conversations with friends and colleagues about how music used to be chosen in the old days. Directors would spend hours flipping through bins of scores, looking for something to catch their eye; the ‘hook.’ Then, they would have to read through the music in their heads, without the aid of an incredible ensemble on a recording.

I love flipping through the bins of music in stores; there is something nostalgic about it. My take-away from this story?

There’s no substitute for sitting with a score, either online or on paper, and absorbing what is there. Use all that you have studied and practiced in ear training, music theory, and educational theory and determine if the piece is the right fit for your band.

The Art of Conversation

I love going to band performances at conferences. They energize me, excite me and inspire me to be better at what I do. I love something even more about conferences. Conversation. Actual face-to-face conversations. Discussing ‘all things band’ with other directors, composers and students can give amazing insight about whatever the topic du jour is. If that topic is repertoire selection, not only will you get a recommendation about a piece, but also insight into the joys and/or challenges of learning, teaching and/or performing the piece(s).

The information you receive from a colleague will be greatly helpful in guiding you to finding the right music. This kind of dialogue isn’t exclusive to a state or national conference. We all are part of a smaller community of directors and have a network of musical friends. A quick phone call or email asking for a recommendation for a lyrical piece or concert opener can be incredibly enlightening. Try it – make a call, not only will you receive pertinent information, but you will also make another band director very happy. We love to share!

Play Every Part!

One of my college professors gave me a piece of advice that has stuck with me throughout my career: when you get a new piece of music – or are seriously considering one – play through every part on your primary instrument.

Think about that.

You learn so much by doing this! You really firm up your sight transposition. You see the musical involvement (or lack of) from the student side of the band room. You learn the ranges required and the technical challenges awaiting your students. You learn the score from a different angle.

This advice has been a piece of gold for me and I am so appreciative to have had it in my pocket for all these years. Go ahead. Try it with a piece you have in your students folders today, it is eye opening.

Band Yoga: Be Flexible

The ‘unknowns’ of the year to come are both terrifying and exciting all at the same time. Even with all of your hard work researching and choosing the right music, be prepared to go off course. Maybe the piece isn’t the right fit after all, for whatever reason. Maybe something has changed. Sometimes the best course of action is to select a different course. Also, however, do not react too early. Remember, the pieces they say they do not like, they often end up loving – it is a fine line.

Our bands are unique. Year to year all things are new. One of the first pieces I had written for band had student names on their parts instead of standard part labels. Think of each of your pieces with student names…how would that change your selection? My “Julia” that played xylophone on Pony Express, might be your “James.” One thing you can count on for sure is your students will feed off of you. Be prepared. Be committed. Be confident. Be realistic. Be flexible. Be passionate and most of all, Be YOU.

Composer, conductor, clinician, and educator Chris M. Bernotas has been an instrumental music teacher at New Jersey’s Mountain Lakes High School for more than 20 years. An active composer and arranger of concert band music, Mr. Bernotas is published with Alfred Music Publishing, Daehn Publications, TRN Music Publishing, Northeastern Music Publications, Carl Fischer Music and Bandworks Publications. His music has been performed at the Midwest Clinic and has appeared on J.W. Pepper’s Editor’s Choice list and numerous state lists. Mr. Bernotas is co-author of the third and fourth books in Alfred’s Sound Innovations series, called Sound Innovations: Ensemble Development, along with Peter Boonshaft. Mr. Bernotas is also an active guest conductor and presenter at clinics and conferences throughout the United States. Please visit his website or facebook page for more info.

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Where We Live Today

We live in a time where the tide is turning. Instead of giving everyone a trophy, we’re beginning to teach students how best to deal with both the ups AND downs of life. We’re moving away from helicopter parenting/teaching. Instead we’re allowing students to take calculated risks and see the benefit from both success and failure – giving them a longer leash by which they can engage in self exploration and discovery. Today there is a shift from giving students the answers to guiding them to discover the answers for themselves. If we are not making those shifts in philosophy, I think it is time we do so, and there is no better place to model that shift than the music room.

Think about it – the music room (band, choir, orchestra, classroom music) is a safe haven for most kids. It is a place where they come and are supported by passionate, dedicated teachers that care about them as human beings, not just as students or musicians. We want to foster and preserve their creativity and love of learning so it reaches far beyond their school years and translates to their adult lives. Although giving music students the answers (i.e. singing their part to them, etc.) and holding their hand may yield short term success (and a fine public performance) I do not believe this approach teaches them the core values that we all believe are most important.

Life Skills We Teach

We want our students to learn life skills through music. In our classrooms students learn skills that are applicable to their entire future. Isn’t that an awesome responsibility? We will teach them how to be a manager, a member of a team, and to work with a diverse group of people with varying skill sets and talents. We will teach them how to be a leader, how to be a follower, how to give direction, and how to take direction. We will teach them ways to come up with multiple solutions to problems and test them. We will teach them to evaluate the results of their experiment and revise their ideas. We will give them opportunities to become self-directed and self-corrective. We will allow them to experience the excitement of achievement and sometimes (even more importantly) we will allow them to experience the discomfort of not achieving excellence on the first try.

Critical Thinking Defined

Our charge as teachers is to guide students to develop their own skills and help them apply those skills as they practice for “real life.“ Our use of critical thinking helps students as they discover and experience learning. So what is this critical thinking I speak of? According to dictionary.com, critical thinking is, “the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.” Isn’t it beautiful? Doesn’t it read like poetry?

Think about what is happening when you are teaching a lesson or rehearsal and stop to address an issue you heard. Imagine this scenario: You are working on a beautiful legato section and your students played all the right notes, but the tuning of the last chord was a little off. You stop the band. Then what? You have so many options of how you can handle the tuning issue. One way would be to listen to them play the chord and simply say, “Johnny, your A is sharp. Play it flatter.” Done. Problem solved. While there are definitely times to teach with this kind of pointed direction, I would suggest trying to lead Johnny to the answer and let him discover the feeling of discomfort (out of tune) to comfort (in tune). How? It is fairly simple.

Provide Guidance, Not Answers

The first thing to do is ensure that you are consistent in relaying information about how to solve problems in their musical performance. In class and in lessons, share with your students the many ways to solve common performance issues. For example, in the scenario of tuning the chord, I would have students perform the chord and then I would describe all of the possible problems. “Everyone listen to the chord. Something isn’t matching in it. Maybe it is the tuning, some people may be sharp or flat or flarp! Some students may be spot on with their pitch. Listen around you and think about your pitch. If you think you are sharp, lower the pitch using your embouchure or air speed. Experiment! If you think you are flat, try to raise the pitch, again by experimenting. See if it sounds better. If you think your pitch is right, leave it alone!”

This is the beauty of implementing a critical thinking approach. You are guiding them, and helping them, but letting them find the answer. You will achieve the same result – an “in tune” chord – however, your students will become more willing to make a decision, try something new, test it out, and re-evaluate. It may take a little longer to get that chord in tune, and you will have to be creative in how you approach musical concepts and engage all of your students in the process, but that is another reason teaching this way is so exciting! When they do get that chord in tune you should most definitely celebrate it and let them know that THEY were the ones that made it work.

You are an incredibly important role model in the lives of your music students. If they see you experiment and see you get excited about their musical discovery, they will be willing to do things for themselves. By giving your students the power to make decisions about their musical performance you will be helping them to build true confidence, not inflated confidence. You will be helping them to deal with both the challenges of life and the exciting successes of life. You will be doing what we all set out to do; to help students love learning, stay excited, and remain curious. You will be helping to support students by maintaining their childhood excitement and creativity as they grow into adulthood.

Never forget that you truly make a difference!

Composer, conductor, clinician, and educator Chris M. Bernotas has been an instrumental music teacher at New Jersey’s Mountain Lakes High School for more than 20 years. An active composer and arranger of concert band music, Mr. Bernotas is published with Alfred Music Publishing, Daehn Publications, TRN Music Publishing, Northeastern Music Publications, Carl Fischer Music and Bandworks Publications. His music has been performed at the Midwest Clinic and has appeared on J.W. Pepper’s Editor’s Choice list and numerous state lists. Mr. Bernotas is co-author of the third and fourth books in Alfred’s Sound Innovations series, called Sound Innovations: Ensemble Development, along with Peter Boonshaft. Mr. Bernotas is also an active guest conductor and presenter at clinics and conferences throughout the United States. Please visit his website or facebook page for more info.

Featured photo is of the 2016 Sobrato High School Band from Morgan Hill, CA; Greg Chambers, director.

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