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Educator's View Point by Donald DeRoche, Ph.D. "Only a few of our students will pursue music as a career, but all of them will be well served if we can help them achieve a feeling of self-confidence." Help your students learn not only music but a sense of accomplishment. “Only a few of our students will pursue music as a career, but all ...

Great Teaching: Something We All Should Aspire To by David Branson To be a great teacher is a gift that continues to be received by students for a life time. The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William Arthur Ward The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. ~Ma ...

Define Excellence – What Is Great? Norlan Bewley When learning to play a musical instrument, it is important to define excellence – what is great? How do you know what better is? It is easier to progress when you are able to measure your improvements by a set of established standards. The best musicians on your instrument provide the best stand ...

Performance Attributes of Band by Oliver Boone Is performance important? You bet it is. Your job will depend on it. Try surviving on a handful of lousy performances and see how difficult it is to overcome the community’s opinion of your band. I often tell my students that our reputation is somewhat like that of a painter. Try painting the wall of a ...

Understanding the “Mozart Effect How it Impacts the Academic Performance of Discipline Children (A Research Study of Secondary School Students in an Alternative School Environment) Oliver C. Boone, Ph.D. Having grown up in the generation of the popular television show, M.A.S.H., I am continually intrigued by the phrase often used by the character, ...

Nebraska Music Educators ConferenceBroadcasted live on Banddirector.com November 16,  2007Keynote Address - Thomas WilkinsNebraska Music Educators Association Thomas Wilkins was appointed as Music Director of the Omaha Symphony in 2005, and 2007/2008 marks his second season with the orchestra.    The 2007/2008 season also marks his ...

Defining Performance Standards William L. Berz With the continued growth of NJMEA’s Concert Band Festival, the debate of what constitutes a high level performance seems to be on the rise in the state. While this is certainly not a new argument, the topic might benefit from continued thought and discussion given recent interest. This is the first yea ...

John Whitwell Director of Bands, Michigan State University Ret.   A PERSONAL CREDO FOR THE PROFESSIONAL MUSIC EDUCATOR: Suggestions to help manage the many demands we place on ourselves as well as those we perceive to placed on us by others.   A CREDO or CREED has several definitions ranging from religious in nature to "a set of fundament ...

Organizing Your Information Banddirector.com As the new school year gears up it comes time to review the methods in which we as band directors gather and organize the massive amount of information needed to successfully get the year rolling. This can include anything from preparing for band camp and getting mailings out to verifying your inventory and inst ...

Be Creative - Get Results! By Johanna Beth Sennett Band Directors have the wonderful, yet, difficult task of harnessing the energy, inspiring the talent and disciplining the skills of their students. The wide-range of desire, ability and experience that come together in their ensembles make this uniquely challenging. With the pressure of upcoming performan ...

Freedom Through Control or Control Through Freedom John Rommel When studying the playing and teaching of music today, it seems there are two main approaches which are taken, although the goal of both approaches is no doubt the same. All musicians want to play musically, with great accuracy and control, but there are two distinctly different avenues taken t ...

Student Leadership by EMU Marching Band Watch how the Eastern Michigan University Marching Eagles achieve success through the use of student leadership and comradery.The EMU Marching Band is under the direction of Mr. Scott Boerma and Mr. Mark Waymire. ...

I Can DO This! Deborah A. Sheldon There are many ways we give others insights into how we view ourselves. For example, many e-mail programs allow users to create a personalized signature that appears after the text. Some use the signature to provide information such as title, address, phone and fax numbers, and other e-mail addresses. Others use the si ...

A test article by Ed From Ed Nolan Ed sez hello. That is all. ...

Mentoring the Leaders of Tommorow: The NBA Composer/Conductor Mentor Project Composer Roy Magnuson got more than he bargained for when he applied and was accepted for the NBA Young Composer/Conductor Mentor project this summer. Because he grew up near the campus of Illinois State University, where the conference was held, he also became the personal "tour gu ...

Blazing a Trail Donald DeRoche The path that leads from drummer to percussionist and on to musician is a vital oneIn many of the school-band rehearsals I attend, I see a real disconnect between the percussion players and the rest of the band. It is true that there are bands in which the members of the percussion section are focused and really feel a part o ...

Avoiding Band Burnout - Seeking Inspiration Burnout is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Like fire, motivation gets stronger and burns hotter, or diminishes and burns out. There is no constant state. On any particular day, enthusiasm for work is increasing or decreasing, but it does not remain the same. Even the hottest fires will burn out, so we tend th ...

A Music Director's Perspective on Leadership: Abandoning the Dictator Model By Michael Gielniak I have been studying the characteristics of effective leaders as far back as I can remember. When I became the drum major of my high school marching band, I also became interested in how the great classical "dictator-directors" such as Toscanini, Reiner, and Kara ...

A Music Director's Perspective on Leadership Abandoning the Dictator Model Michael Gielniak I have been studying the characteristics of effective leaders as far back as I can remember. When I became the drum major of my high school marching band, I also became interested in how the great classical "dictator-directors" such as Toscanini, Reiner, and Karajian ...