Being a part of a student’s first year of music instruction is equal parts awesome responsibility and constant inspiration. Based on our combined experience, here are our top tips for making the year as rewarding as possible – for your students as well as yourself!
1. Expectations
The beginning determines the end and what you expect is what you will get from your students. Young students are capable of a very high level of performance and professionalism if they are taught explicitly how to demonstrate these characteristics. A high level of expectations must be consistently tied to the development of a process, grit and work ethic. Not only must every student (and teacher) believe they can achieve a high level of success but they must understand and believe that they can also work hard enough to make it happen when something is new or tricky.
2. Routines
Explain and show students how you expect every classroom routine to be executed. Model the correct way to perform even the most mundane tasks; opening cases, how to hold the instrument when carrying it, resting position for instruments while playing, etc. Have students demonstrate the correct way to perform routines until they are performed without reminders. When they slip or forget, go back to square one.
Consistently holding students to the daily routines and the behavior expectations you establish can be exhausting and sometimes frustrating but it is critical in training students in the correct way to be a musician and part of your ensemble.
3. Playing Position, Hand Positions and Embouchure
Correct posture, body position, hand position and embouchure are non-negotiable. There is one way to do things: the right way. Clearly teachers have differences in tips and tricks they use for these concepts but a student will not exceed the standard that a teacher sets. Model these concepts with your own set of instruments. Even if you are not strong on every secondary instrument a beginning band teacher should be capable of modeling the correct position, embouchure and tone on each instrument. If you cannot, then it is time to get busy and improve.
Modeling and playing along with students every day provides them with an exemplary model and builds their concept of skill and tone. When students become fatigued or resistant, explain the analogy of a sports trainer or coach. A trainer will push an athlete to do more work and reps than they would do alone. A coach will repeat a drill or skill until it is part of muscle memory and a skill set. You are their coach and trainer. Most young students have been on an athletic team and will understand this immediately.
4. Music Reading
After spending a considerable amount of time doing call-and-response exercises to establish tone production, articulation, rhythm and pulse, introduce music reading. We give students approximately 15 hours of instruction before we begin reading music.
Once it is time to start reading use a large screen or whiteboard to project music. When students begin to read music the majority of confusion comes from not knowing how to track across the music at the correct rate. Showing the students music symbols in one place on the board and making sure that each child is looking at the correct place in the music makes the process move quickly.
After spending several hours of instruction using a screen for their music we begin to use music books on their stands and we refer back and forth between the two sources. If students are having difficulty with the material we will direct them to look at the screen to review the note types, names, fingerings, etc. and will play several times before they return to looking at their books or music.
We also rehearse each piece or exercise in very small chunks, often measure by measure. If a measure does not sound good, DO NOT MOVE ON, repeat until students reach your set level of mastery. This will make putting together the entire piece/exercise much easier.
5. Quality Literature
Keep things simple. Literature selections should provide a beautiful melody or tune, give every instrument fairly equal playing opportunities, and enable you to teach the characteristics of musicianship and ensemble. Set aside the “cool” pieces until students are technically and developmentally ready. The stress of chasing notes and rhythms sucks the fun and excitement out of performances for kids and teachers. The Queenwood “Red Book” series is one example that meets all of these requirements, is well crafted, and provides ample selections in a variety of genres and styles. Develop a set of core repertoire that you can rotate and know will work well with your first year students.
Jessica Corry is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Music Education. A current member of he National Association of Music Education, she is classically trained on clarinet and enjoys playing jazz tenor saxophone.
Ms. Corry currently serves as a director of bands at Traughber Jr. High in Oswego and is excited to begin her third year of teaching as a Traughber Panther!
Rachel Maxwell currently serves as the director of bands at Traughber Jr. High School and as the Jr. High performing arts and band coordinator for the Oswego, IL School Dist. #308. She has taught music ed. courses at VanderCook College of Music and North Central College and has been a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator at many music camps and festivals.
Under her direction the bands at Traughber JHS have received national acclaim and have performed at The Midwest Clinic (as a clinic presentation and rehearsal lab group), the Illinois Music Educators Association All State Conference (1999, 2008, 2010, 2014), the University of Illinois Super-state Festival and at the ASBDA 2004 National Convention.