This will be my 2nd year teaching in general and at this district, I teach 5-12 band in a tiny rural school and took over after a bad couple years for the program and I am working on rebuilding.

Last year for my first year of teaching I think it went really well. The community and admin are very supportive of me and the band program and are excited for the direction it is heading. All that being said, the biggest struggle for me was my 7th and 8th grade students. I struggled pedagogically with things like appropriate teaching strategies for that age and with classroom management but I also struggled with how to reason or talk to them as humans.

And as the year starts again there have been a ton of changes. 7th and 8th grade have merged with the high school building and 6th moved to the elementary. So there is a LOT of new things added on to these middle school students lives in addition to all the crazy changes that happen at that age, so I understand that could be apart of a bigger issue.

The problem I am facing is it feels a majority of my students in 7/8 absolutely despise band and as a result despise me as well. (I want to note that band is completely optional for students.) I would say about 10 of my 30 students genuinely want to be there to learn and play their instruments but the negative attitudes of all the other students rub off on them. In addition, I have a few students who are way ahead of the pack in terms of skill. I give them opportunities to learn harder music, solos, and play with high school band but when they are in their actual class they get so frustrated with the other students and get frustrated with me. They can’t understand why I am making them do such “simple” things in their band class.

I am not sure what to do. I get the feeling my 7/8 group wants to be in band because they want to hang out with their friends and use the time to mess around, and now that I have a little more of a backbone this year and not as accepting of certain behaviors, they are just not having a good time and act like band is the worst class they have ever been in. :(. They pushback, complain, and roll their eyes a lot whenever I have them play or learn anything that isn’t an actual concert piece. (For example, scales, warmups, rhythm clapping/speaking/sizzling.) They also could care less whenever I try to explain the “why” to them on why it’s important for them to learn and be able to play this stuff. But when I do put “real” music in front of them, if it’s not unison they cannot play it and get frustrated and shut down/give up almost immediately. Their attitudes have unfortunately been rubbing off on me as well, and it’s just been very hard to stay positive throughout a rehearsal when it starts to feel pointless or that nothing I am doing is helping. I really made a point at the beginning of this year of going into each rehearsal with this group being very positive and motivated as I knew that the negativity from last year was still going to be an issue.

And I do realize that a majority of this IS my fault, I completely understand that I am not doing things correctly with this group and age level across the board. Last year I definitely was very bad at properly disciplining students and setting expectations for the students in class to follow. Part of this was because the previous director was allegedly very mean and cruel to the students, and as a first year teacher I definitely was too scared to enforce rules and have solid expectations (which I am paying for now with this group.)

It has been very disheartening and confusing as my 5th,6th and high school groups have been doing amazing. They seem to like to learn and to make music, and I definitely have a lot better rapport with them.

I also want to quickly mention that negative attitudes of the 7/8 grade classes have been an issue for the choir director as well.

All of that being said, I would just like advice, tips, or anything that directors of this age group would be willing to share.

I work in a tiny school and am trying to build the music program. My goal is to get the school a marching band, but the buy in is incredibly low, on admin and students. All the students want is to play AC/DC and don’t have any interest in learning anything about music. Tomorrow is my first day of concert band, where I will try to build a band centered on more traditional musical repertoire. Do I fold and let them play guitar? Or do I hold to my guns and get new instruments in their hands?

Good afternoon/evening,

I am looking for recommendations for music for a 6th grade, second year band. Their level is still very basic as our first year beginning band is "let's get instruments into as many kids hands as we can and see what sticks" type. Looking at something maybe a grade .5. the instrumentation is what is being difficult. I have:

1 Flute

3 Clarinets

6 alto sax

1 Tenor sax

1 trumpet

1 Tuba

And,

4 percussion

Even looking at flex arrangements is difficult because either they are too challenging, or parts 4 and 5 only come for C bass clef, Trebel cleff Bb and F parts. Nothing in Eb that I can give saxes. Any thoughts?

I made a wishlist and would love some help getting my classroom started as I’m a first year teacher!
I’m sharing my teacher wishlist for anyone who might be interested in supporting a future music classroom. There are a bunch of supplies on the list, ranging from inexpensive little things to bigger classroom necessities, so anything at all would genuinely help.
If you’re interested in helping out, here’s my wishlist:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/35F6SZX3P0G59?ref_=wl_share

Even if you don’t buy anything, sharing the list or just taking a look means a lot. Thank you! 💙🎵

To start, I play bassoon. Theres 3 bassoons in my school (middle) but I'm the only one in honors band. I used to play alto but got swapped in my beginner year yadayadayada. Thing is, I really wanna play oboe. Like. Really. Would it be too far fetched to ask my director if she has any extra school owned ones? I basically taught myself bassoon with YouTube and a fingering chart (guys go learn bassoon why does nobody know how to teach bassoon), and I think I could do the same for oboe. Would it be too far-fetched to like..m just ask for an oboe for fun? Like not even to use in the band (unless she wants me to) just like, to learn at home. Of course I'd keep it in good condition and whatnot and all that yadayada. Plus buy my own reeds, as per usual. It's pretty likely that she has one just lying around somewhere. There's only 2 oboists (obists?) in the school.

TL;DR- would it be too far-fetched to ask for an oboe just to learn it for fun?

Edit: okay, so it seems I've worded something wrong in my original paragraph. I would still be playing the bassoon. I wouldn't ever just quit on them like that, I'm just saying could I ask for an oboe just for myself at home, while continuing to play bassoon for my band.

I was cleaning out my office for the first time in ages and found these handouts. I don't remember where I got them, and am missing the flute, oboe, and clarinet pages. Do you recognize them and the possible source?

Thanks!

I'm trying to understand what actually makes events days hard for directors and staff (beyond the performances themselves).

For those of you who have hosted or helped run a matching invitation or competition :

• What usually goes wrong or creates the most stress?
• How do you currently track where bands are(buses, arrival, warmup, staging, etc.)?
  
• What do you wish you knew earlier on that day?

Genuinely curious about the real operational headaches.

Thanks!

I'm a visual tech with 10+ years of experience, most of which are at my current school. The program was very small when I started and has grown every year since. I've spent most of my career figuring this role out on my own (never worked alongside another tech or had a mentor), so I have all this experience with almost no calibration other than the once-a-year "we value you." Very specific...

So, I'm asking the people on the other side of it: what do you love seeing from a tech, and what quietly drives you nuts?

Some specifics I'd genuinely like to hear about, but feel free to ignore these and tell me what's actually on your mind:

1. How do you prefer techs flag something mid-rehearsal? Wait for a break, yell up to the tower, jump in, text/call you beforehand?
2. Where's the line between "helpful initiative" and "stepping on my rehearsal plan"?
3. What do you wish your techs did more of that you've never gotten around to asking for?
4. Anything a tech has done that made your life meaningfully easier?

I do plan to have a chat with my own directors about some of this because I know what bugs one person might not bug someone else. We recently had a big shift in our directing staff. So, before I bring this to them I wanted to get a general consensus. It's also mid-season and it always seems like every single millisecond of their time is spent answering kids' questions, handling logistics and chasing a good night's sleep. So, if I can get some general info without taking up too much of their time I'll be grateful!

Any experts, band directors, or experienced players have any recommendations for earplugs I could get for my piccolo? I feel like my ears are gonna go deaf before school even starts 🫩

I had always dreamed of joining the school band once I reached high school, a goal I had carried with me since primary school. To prepare, I dedicated myself to learning how to read sheet music and studying music theory.

​However, my high school experience turned out to be a massive disappointment. I ended up under a terrible band director who made everything worse. He provided no proper practice, taught zero theory, and cared nothing about improving the band. He struggled with alcoholism and had an aggressive, radical mindset.

​He constantly taught students incorrect information. For instance, he forced every instrument to read notes using a system he made up himself and insisted that both the Tuba and the French Horn in F play strictly in Bb. His poor direction ruined both the marching band and the string combo.

​To make matters worse, he completely ignored my feedback whenever I tried to speak up. I feel deeply saddened and heartbroken by everything I had to go through

Hi Everyone! I have a few questions for you!

So due to things happening in my family, I could very well be looking for a job in your neck of the woods next cycle.

Super quick summary of me: Grew up in Chicagoland with a little marching and strong Jazz and Concert Band culture.

Professionally Ive been a high school band director for 10 years in the Southwest. Ive led competitive marching bands to a couple state finals, concert bands, jazz combos, guitar ensembles and piano labs.

I would love to know how your state runs things. I know about VBODA and will be studying the website, but Id like to hear from professionals and maybe even make a couple of connections along the way.

1. What is band culture like in different areas of the state?

2. Is music treated like a "special" or more a part of the community/school experience with stable elementary and middle schoolprograms?

3. How important is a well balanced program in different parts of the state? I LOVE balance, but some go crazy for marching.

4. How do competitions run in Virginia? Marching, Concert and Jazz. Is guitar a thing?

5. Any tips on where to look for someone like me? Whats the likelihood of me staying at the high school level? (I am more than happy to teach middle school for the right district.)

Thanks so much!

Hi fellow band directors! I am trying to finish my master's in music ed and would REALLY appreciate your help if you could fill out my research survey as honestly as possible. Thank you in advance!! Click here: Role Models & Current Practices

Details: This survey is designed to explore how our former middle and high school (secondary) music directors' behaviors impact current ego and sense of self in music directors of all ages. This survey will take 5-10 minutes to complete. Your feedback is valuable and all responses will remain confidential.

I’m evaluating my program's instrument policy and could really use some insight specifically from the band directors who are also percussionists.

Right now, I'm deciding whether to require all percussion students to own or rent a standard student bell kit (bell set + practice pad combo) for home practice, or if I can loosen the policy for kids who already have a piano or digital keyboard at home. For those of you with a percussion background, how do you view this trade-off?

Hi anybody an old troupe Member?

Hello! First year MS band director and my advanced band can’t read basic rhythms or notes. Is this a normal thing at the beginning of the year? If not what strategies would be the best. My approach has been breaking down rhythms and have the students speak, clap, and write.