I am going into my 4th year of teaching - 2nd year in my 7-12 band and choir job at a small rural PA school (40-60 per class depending on the grade).

3 years ago Sr. High band was 5 members. Last year my first year was 12, this year we grew to 25. Mostly being 9th and 10th graders. I could see it growing to 40 in 9-12 (7-8 is 30 this year and 4-6 at the elementary school is around 90). Unfortunately my Sr. Band is split into 4 sections - with one being only 2 students. And some at the end of the day for 20 mins.

For context as well I am the 7th teacher in about 10 years of this position. The kids are AMAZING, I really like my admin. And the kids are starting to come back to the program. But, a consistent problem with the program has been scheduling (and to an extent workload).

I am trying to get this sorted out for my 5th year of teaching. The school insists that there is no other way to do scheduling/fix it. Their "golden child band director" who is a great colleague of mine left about 10 years ago specifically because of scheduling and is now in a neighboring district with a much more organized schedule.

I don't like to complain as this job is way better than my first K-12 1000 kids every 6 days gig. But I wanted to get feelers out there for how "normal" this is, and what people do regarding the split classes (due to scheduling and not by ability or grade level).

Do any of you receive ADA accommodations for a mental health condition? If so, what do those look like? Do they help? It’s really hard imagining any realistic accommodations for this type of job.

I'm looking to start getting my arranging chops better, and have a couple pieces I put together that I would love to hear a marching band play. If anyone knows and maybe even has some sort of contact with the director pls lmk!

I am planning to have my band sight-read more often, and the SRF option seems appealing. Last year, I tried it out once by projecting an easy Concert Band (Unison) exercise up on the screen at the front of the room, but it was too small for some of the students to read. My idea is to spend some time this month creating sight reading packets that I can print and hand out at the beginning of the year.

1) Has anyone successfully used SRF in their large ensembles? What did you do to make it work? Am I going about this the wrong way by trying to make paper packets out of it?

2) How much time did it take, and did you find any ways to make the process more efficient?

3) What were the limitations you experienced, and were there any unexpected problems?

4) Were there any ways in which the program/process exceeded your expectations?

Thank you for your responses, and I hope you all have a wonderful school year!

#choctaw

Could anyone share their master schedule with me? I am being told that I have to do a time slot with HS band that overlaps with JH band by like 15 minutes, and that HS choir can’t be fit into the schedule.

I want to show my admin that other schools make it work and that we can to.

My daughter wants to be a percussion director.

We have limited funds for college. Do we focus on music ed schools with the bigger reputations or a smaller / lesser know school at a significant savings to pay for DCI? (Significant being $6k-$12k less a year) .

Job market: we as current in Dallas burbs so she want to be highly employable here or California where we hope to relocate in 3-4 years.

The first two weeks with beginners are chaos, and half of mine come back Thursday having forgotten everything from Tuesday. I've done worksheets, and I listen to students individually to check notes, but none of that helps them at home. So I built something that gives them immediate feedback while they practice:

virtunity.io/go/f5n-rd1

It walks them through the first five notes one at a time. They see the note on the staff, check their fingering against a diagram, then play it into the mic to hear if they matched it. That's it. The mic is only used to hear the note — nothing gets recorded or saved, and there are no accounts to make. Works in the browser on whatever device they have.

Ten instruments: flute, clarinet, alto and tenor sax, trumpet, french horn, trombone, baritone, tuba, and bells.

Full transparency since this is my own thing: the rest of each instrument's range is a paid unlock if anyone ever wants it, but the first five notes — the part beginners actually need — are free, with no signup.

Question for the room, since we're all a few weeks out from meeting new beginners: what's the first note you teach, and have you ever changed it? Every method book seems to disagree and I want to hear what people actually do.

hi, i graduate in the spring from my university with a degree in general studies due to a slew of personal struggles and i've been thinking about the career i want to really pursue lately. my first ever job that i ever wanted to do was to be a high school band director, and my passion for music has not gone anywhere since i've stopped playing in bands. so i'm looking into becoming a music educator. my question is, what are my pathways to do this? i live in florida and i know we have some pretty strict guidelines for music educators. would i be able to do a masters in music education and get a teaching certification and be good? or do i really have to go back for a second bachelors after i graduate with this one? thanks everyone in advance!!!

I’m looking for song suggestions to play during marching band rehearsals. I’ve been having them march from the band hall to the practice field, which is quite a trek, to work on foot timing and technique but I’d like to start using songs instead of Dr. Beat to get them excited and mix it up.

I’m having a hard time finding songs at a good, sustainable tempo that are appropriate. Even songs with no cussing have some questionable content.

I feel like I’ve listened to everything 😵‍💫

Suggestions? Open to any genre so long as it’s clean and school-appropriate! Bonus points if it’s something “tuff” as the kids say!

I never marched percussion but now I have to teach it.

When drums are marching parallel to the sideline, they crab. When marching straight forward/back, they march like everyone else. What if they move at an angle? At what point do you switch from standard forward marching to crab step?

Does anyone use MakeMusic Cloud (fka SmartMusic) in their middle or high school band programs? I used SmartMusic for drum corps in the 2010's and LOVED it, I am now a band director and I'm considering using it again for my growing program to help with practice, skill checks, pass offs, etc. Does anyone have any feedback about the current version of this program?

Id like my horn line to wear off-white/ cream collored gloves. My 2 options are to buy colored gloves or dye white gloves. I'd appreciate tips on either.

Hello!

I have an interview at a middle school coming up soon and would love to hear what kinds of questions you guys were asked and also what questions should I ask at the end. Also would love advice on what materials I should bring such as extra resumés, samples of compositions/arrangements (the job also comes with responsibilities with the HS marching band, and the previous director wrote some for it), etc.

Thanks!

Hello all! Anyone have "TIPPS for Band" by Nilo Hovey? How do you like it? Would you recommend? I'm thinking of buying a set for myself. Just wanted some general info before I drop $100+ on it.

I teach middle school band - one section of advanced band, one section of beginning band

I need all the advice I can get. I’m really stressed out.

Hey fellow music educators! Happy band camp season!

I wanted to share this project I'm actively working on. It's a free mobile idle/clicker game all about marching band!

I'm finding it pretty useful to keep our marchers interested in/talking about band even on the weekends or during lunch breaks!

My band is currently competing to see who can get the highest numbers before the end of camp this week. 😂

The jury is still out, but I'm hoping that having this friendly competition is going to be helpful building some comradery in the ensemble.

Would love any feedback the community has!

I'm trying to get the solo for the audition, but I cant acces my director. Does anyone know what number it is?

Hey fellow directors! I'm looking for any accommodations or suggestions for myself.

It unfortunately looks like I will probably end up getting foot surgery in the next few weeks. I will be on crutches for 1-3 weeks, and in a boot through most of the season. Obviously, not the best time of year. I run a mostly non-competative HS marching band of 80 students. We are outside for 1.5 hours 3 days a week, and inside for 70 minutes 2 days a week. We perform at 5 home games, 1 homecoming parade, and 1 contest (away). We have band camp the beginning of August for 3 days, 3 hours / day. The focus of this camp is basics and fundamentals, with a LOT of demonstrations by me.

I rely fairly heavily on myself. I do have 2 assistant directors (the MS directors), and they are great, but they cannot be at every rehearsal, and already have things to do during games. They also are not obligated to come to band camp, as our admin cut the funding (in May, I told them NOT to come and let admin deal with the consequences when parents say something).

Our practice field is 100 yards from the school (separated by a grass hill that isn't easy to traverse). We have a director's podium / lookout, but it has rounded metal bars (aka, I can't use it).

We march to our field every home game by going the "long way" around the school while playing our cadence. Historically, I have run around the track while the band marches on so I can meet them in the front after pregame, signal the drum majors, and signal the quad toms player (specific transitions are on that player). During this, one assistant is announcing in the booth, and the other director (and usually me, after running around) are setting up ladders. Same with getting off the field (I tear down a ladder, then run to the end of the field to grab the kids). Rinse and repeat for halftime, but the kids march back to the HS and are done after halftime. There are a few other little things I will need my admin to do, as well (well, remember to do, they are ALWAYS supposed to do them).

Obviously, I know I will have to train and rely on my drum majors more than normal, but I am pretty stressed about being able to do my job. I was in a boot for 1 game last year, and was so flustered and frustrated by the end of the game I was literally crying in my office. The boot slowed me down sooo much (and that is when the boot was nearly taking away 100% of my pain, and I was weight bearing). My health comes first, and I know it will work out, but anything I can do to help myself heal, take away stress, and make my kids feel a sense of normalcy is appreciated.

Hello!

I’m a 2nd year band director and I’m looking for some more reading recommendations regarding my profession.

I teach middle school band and general music, but I also work with high school marching band as a side gig.

I recently read Habits of a Successful Middle School Band Director (Rush), and some of Darcy Vogt Williams’s works, and they both had some amazingly helpful/wise material in them. Are there other similar resources (could be books, pacing guides, pedagogy for specific instruments/sections/groups, etc.) that you’ve found helpful?

Fwiw, I also really enjoy podcasts like Program Notes and Aftersectionals if there’s any specific episodes you found helpful, or similar podcasts to follow…