Teaching Philosophy, Student Retention, and Getting Young Students Hooked on Band

Where and what grade levels/subjects do you teach? 

I teach 6th-12th-grade beginning band and multiple jazz programs in Wagoner, OK. 

How long have you been a band director for? 

I've been a band director for 18 years. 

What is your teaching philosophy when approaching beginning clarinet and saxophone?

I start them out on the mouthpiece and barrel. If they can zero a tuner out, then their pitch won't be flat once they put the clarinet together. That's the biggest struggle for me: to not get them to play below the pitch. I do also do things where I get a 3x5 index card and I slide the card in between the reed and the mouthpiece to show them where their teeth and bottom jaw has to be to provide a good vibration of the reed. 

I also do the "soda straw" method. If they're trying to drink a strawberry shake, they can imagine their hand covering the bottom of the barrel to create suction, then reverse the airflow and maintain the facial structure. It's hard to drink a milkshake with your cheeks puffed out...

For saxophone, I still use the index card routine. But with the saxophone mouthpiece going straight in, you have to make sure that they're the boss, not the saxophone. The saxophone is coming to them, they're not reaching down towards the saxophone as they play it. As far as tone production, I'll make them play on the neck and mouthpiece in the beginning. 

How do you get young students hooked on band right from the start? 

I'm a firm believer in that they have to have heroes. So much of band directing that I've seen deals with the written page - there's so much more beyond that. With the technology students have today at their fingertips, they have to have a hero and finding some people that are making it in music professionally. 

I get the kids hooked on more contemporary items that will help them understand horns are in some of the popular music they listen to. I will show my clarinet players Anat Cohen, Eddit Daniels, and Pete Fountain. A little less to the classical side, and a little more to the jazz and popular music. I also like to show them Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, Dick Oatts, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Brad Leali, and Will Campbell from Harry Connick's Big Band. I think it's a must because everyone that's shooting a basketball or throwing a football has a hero. I think that has to happen in music. 

Have you ever heard of/used JUNO reeds? If so, what did you think of them? 

The kids loved them. I think they're great. I'm a definite Vandoren person. 

What is the greatest challenge you've faced as a band director and how have you addressed it? 

Some of the challenges that we're faced with today is instant gratification. Kids can access all the answers they need in seconds, but there's a lot of work that used to go into finding information. Instant gratification is hurting the band program because there's nothing instant about it! It takes a while. 

What are some method books you would recommend to your clarinet and saxophone students? 

At a young level, we use Standard of Excellence for 3 years and then graduate to Hal Leonard or other solo books. The Stand of Excellence has a little more music theory than the Essential Elements I believe.  

What can be done to encourage students to continue with band as they're transitioning from Middle school to high school transition?

We try to talk to them about how many activities they're instantly going to be on because they're backing up the football team and they get to travel a lot more than if they were in middle school. Sometimes rehearsing for band contest and such puts a damper on music education. I believe contests are essential to kids’ progress and drive to continue to be a better musician, but it also takes away from the learning of new music and new theory concepts.

Could you talk a little bit more about retention and what steps you take to keep students interested? 

We do some things throughout the year to keep it fun. We hold a dance where we crank up music and kids just dance around, have a good time, and bring snacks. We take middle school kids bowling and we try to do a lot of community building activities to keep them excited. 

I think traveling is key. When you get to do things you don't normally do in the classroom, that tends to keep them on a path with band. 

What are you proud about with your band program? 

We keep quite a few kids from whenever they start band until high school. We're able to have a large band for a school our size. In my middle school, it's about 75-80. In our high school it's around 100. Also, our jazz program has taken off. I started it in 2004 and they've won several state championships and I'm very proud of the musicians that graduate from our school and are able to understand music theory, jazz improvisation, and other music concepts. 

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