Guide your students in their search for the best place to further their education. Click here for the full directory. (Photo above courtesy of Concordia University Wisconsin, post image courtesy of Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University.)

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It’s possible to have a well-rounded program at any size school. It’s also easy to look at a bigger school and think they have it easier. Running a good program is going to be difficult in any size school. If the school and program are a good fit for you, spend the time to develop it into something that makes you proud. This will never be easy but will always be worth it.

Show people that you are having fun. The job is stressful, difficult, and sometimes it is impossible for a director not to show it. Don’t be afraid to also show how much fun you are having. Laugh with your kids, it is therapeutic.

Play music with students in the classroom and in public. It is the first reason we fell in love with what we do. Don’t be afraid to show the emotion of our art – being human is being relatable. Make a fool out of yourself, dance while everyone is watching, sing when no one wants to listen, tell bad jokes for the 100th time during the hour. It’s one thing to say you are doing fun things with your students and program. It’s completely different when you show them how fun music is.

Support your students in everything they do. Music isn’t the only important thing to them nor should it be. Share your non-musical interests with them. They may not say it’s cool but will probably think it is anyway.

My students know that I’m a dreamer. They also know I have failed more than I’ve succeeded. I share both failures and accomplishments with them. I graduated from the same program where I now teach. I think it is essential for students to know that great things come from hard work, dedication, and consistency. If you ask students for my catchphrase is they will tell you it is “Dream Big.” Achievements don’t come from towns, schools, or programs, they come from people, and anyone can dream.

Steven Browne has taught the last 18 years of his 22-year teaching career at Nashville Community High School. During his career, he has always taught both instrumental and vocal music. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and earned a Masters in Music Education from the University of Florida.

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Some directors often think that bigger is better. What are some advantages that you have found while teaching in a small school setting?

Steven Browne: I know my students well because I have taught or coached most of them before they attended high school. Having grown up and lived in this community, I also know their parents well. This community supports our kids in everything. – sports, art, music, 4H, and more. The small community to me means better communication, closer relationships, and ties to the community.

Steven Browne has taught the last 18 years of his 22-year teaching career at Nashville Community High School. During his career, he has always taught both instrumental and vocal music. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and earned a Masters in Music Education from the University of Florida.

Karen Gregg: In most small school settings, the school is often the only feeder system in the community. Using this to your advantage can create a powerful connection between the school and its community because it isn’t sharing students with other schools.

Local events make the program visible and build support for music. Our band regularly appears at local restaurants, ribbon-cutting ceremonies, parades, and even funerals, where our contribution is deeply valued. Additionally, these performances are easy recruitment opportunities. Band students in our town are celebrities, and students feel special as members of the only school band in town.

Karen Gregg has been the Director of Bands at Lyons Middle Senior High School (Colorado) for the past 23 years. Lyons Middle Senior has a total of 380 students (in 7 grades), and 150 of those participate in the band program. She has presented at Midwest, Colorado MEA, Ohio MEA, and Texas MEA in recent years, and is the current President of the Colorado Bandmasters Association.

Melissa Jmaeff: Often small school music teachers teach multiple subjects at multiple levels, and I love this aspect of the job. For example, I am the only music teacher in my school district at the middle school and high school levels. I teach 6th-12th grade bands and choirs. It was a steep learning curve to become an effective choir teacher, but teaching choir has made me a better band director and vice versa.

There is never a dull moment in the small school environment. Part of that is because you are often the person who runs nearly every aspect of your department. While this can sometimes feel overwhelming, I personally love being able to see the big picture, to be my own feeder, and to make decisions that I feel are in the best interest of my students – students who I have typically gotten to know over a long period of time.

I feel that students in small programs often have the opportunity to have a great deal of personal responsibility when it comes to their ensembles. After all, students who play one or two per part have nowhere to hide. I have found this both challenging for students and incredibly rewarding. When students overcome feelings of anxiety by developing musical skill and and trust with their peers, they often wind up better, more confident players and musicians. This level of personal responsibility is unique to small school programs and is a part of the job that I really appreciate.

Melissa Jmaeff has taught music in small public schools in Douglas County, Oregon, since 2006. She currently teaches 6th-12th grade bands and choirs for the Sutherlin School District which has about 1,300 students in grades K-12. In addition to her duties as a public school music teacher, she is also the chair of her local Oregon Music Education Association’s district and is the OMEA Small Schools Advocacy Chair. When she is not teaching, Melissa is a performing musician, having self-produced four albums of original Americana music.

Cindy Swan-Eagan: For me, the autonomy in being the only director was such a blessing. While it is also limiting, because we are only one person, there is a powerful feeling in creating and implementing the vision for the program by yourself. I could constantly have student growth at the forefront. If I needed to shift gears and tweak some aspect of the program, it was easy. Plus, constant introspection and evaluation meant that I could shift away from doing things that did not work for my students without asking for permission.

Cindy Swan Eagan taught for 36 years, all of it in small schools, including 34 years teaching 5th-12th grade band in Manistee, Michigan. She is now retired.

Dr. J.R. Carlisle: I particularly enjoy developing great relationships with the students, staff, and community. When the staff feels invested in the program, they will do more to help foster its development. Teaching 7th and 8th grade general music allows a good connection with every student in the building and the opportunity to recruit them for band. Even if these students do not join band, because of my relationship with them, they are more supportive to the band than any student body I have seen.

Dr. John R. Carlisle is the Principal and former Director of Bands, at Hannan Junior Senior High School in Ashton, West Virginia, and owner of Carlisle Educational Services. He has 37 years of experience as a teacher, principal, and educational consultant.

Thinking outside the box is essential when leading smaller programs. What advice do you have for other directors?

Steven Browne: Know your core values and stay true to those. Past that, be willing to change, evolve, and sometimes mutate. Kids like variety. It creates excitement and forms bonds.

Karen Gregg: Small school directors are usually stretched thin from teaching a wide variety of music classes. Finding a niche that reflects what is important to the school and community-at-large is key to making this manageable. For example, our community is thrilled that we do parades and pep band, so we don’t do a formal marching show. Our musicals have pre-recorded background music rather than a pit orchestra with tremendous success. While these might be seen as concessions to larger programs, these decisions allow me and our choir director to focus on the elements that matter the most to our programs. We also try to do the same fundraiser every year (holiday wreaths and poinsettias) so that the community knows that they can depend on us yearly for the same products.

Melissa Jmaeff: Do what is in the best interest of your students. Many of us came up in programs that viewed contests, marching programs, and high stakes performances as the gold standard of achievement. Teaching in small schools requires a re-examination of those standards. While it may feel counterintuitive, festivals may not be the best venue for a band with seven players. Perhaps writing or arranging their own song to perform for parents at an informal event would be a better use of student time and energy. Learning how to teach to the students in your room and not to some nebulous set of standards designed with large programs in mind, is our most important task as music educators. Uplifting and shining a light on each student on their terms is our job. We do it with creativity, a willingness to take risks, and heart. Remake the standards, and redefine success!

Cindy Swan-Eagen: Do not feel the need to mold your program to match everyone else’s. Your students and community are unique – the program can be just as unique. Keeping student musical growth as the focus and not following the crowd means that you can create a program that fits your students and your community. Finding creative solutions to problems helps to ensure your program can thrive and strengthens the perception that you are a team player. However, the focus of every creative solution must be the students, never yourself.

Dr. J.R. Carlisle: A big part of your job, especially in a small school, is to educate the community about your program and music as much as you do your students. Never complain that the community does not care. Talk to them and sell your program. If they see you doing great things for kids, they will care.

How have you addressed class scheduling issues and sharing students with other activities?

Steven Browne: Build relationships with the people you work with. They are colleagues not enemies. If you create positive relationships with other professionals in your building, they will also be willing to share. This is a two-way road and requires compromise. This also applies to the coaches who work with your students. Some other suggestions include:

• Never schedule anything without consulting the master calendar and schedule first.
• Make sure guidance counselors know you and your program.
• Volunteer for other programs, classes, offices, and tournaments in your building. If you help others, they will likely help you.
• Keep parents informed. We have better and easier ways to communicate with parents than ever before. Utilize everything.

Karen Gregg: I have worked hard to establish a positive rapport with my colleagues at school. Like other small schools, we have many singleton classes (AP Spanish, choir, etc.) that create scheduling nightmares when scheduled opposite band. However, because I work on building good relationships with the other teachers, they are more willing to share students. It’s not uncommon for me to share jazz band students with an AP class at the same time because those teachers know that they are valued and respected by me and the band students.

Melissa Jmaeff: It is important to see the big picture. Small school kids are involved in a lot of different activities, which is a great thing. I love having well-rounded and involved students. I have always found it important to avoid scheduling concerts on game days or other important dates for students involved in numerous activities and extra/co-curriculars. I don’t want students to choose between activities. Because I am conscientious of other activities, the coaches and advisors tend to be more aware of the music program, too.

With class schedules, I communicate with the school counselor to ensure that students have the best chance of taking the music classes that they want. If I don’t get every music kid in the class that they want, I remember that I teach whoever walks in my door. We make music with who is there and hope that the Algebra class gets moved next semester.

Cindy Swan-Eagen: I never asked a student to choose. We worked with the counseling staff to ensure that students could take band for four full years during high school, and most did just that. In addition, when students needed to take tests in other classes, I worked to be flexible. When students had sports meets or games that conflicted with band events, I found ways to share the students, and it often worked well. Concerts were scheduled a year in advance to avoid those kinds of conflicts.

Often, private lesson teachers are not available to students in small programs. Have you found any creative ways to help students develop musically outside of the traditional band class?

Steven Browne: I have a private lesson/mentor program that uses former students to teach lessons during the summer. During the past four summers up to seven former students studying music in college have taught lessons. This isn’t possible during the school year because Nashville is not close to a university.

I have created multiple videos and folders of links to trusted YouTube videos for each instrument, and have a developing curriculum of solos used for solo and ensemble contests for each instrument. These folders include friends and former students playing solos and talking about the challenges of the solo. I also have a free website called equipped with short drum set videos I have recorded that takes student drummers through jazz band songs their directors choose.

Karen Gregg: Because we are relatively close to a university, I recruit music education students to help whenever possible. I also rely heavily on peer tutoring. Working in a 6-12 school, I have created opportunities for older students to mentor younger musicians. Because of healthy relationships with colleagues, I often can ask for high school band students to visit my middle school classes and assist with beginners. This works well for both 1:1 and section work. The trick is to be precise with mentors about the educational goals and how to achieve them.

Melissa Jmaeff: In Oregon, solo and ensemble events happen in the spring. Every year I have about 25 students who participate. These students tend to be leaders in their ensembles. Each student who participates in solo and ensemble is given music to learn and is scheduled for a weekly 20 to 30-minute lesson after school with me during the spring. While this takes dedication from both me and the students, they make wonderful progress on their solo pieces as well as their chops. They then bring this knowledge back to the band and choir rooms and share it with the other kids. Solo and ensemble season tends to be a shot in the arm for my program.

Bringing in guest directors or musicians to have clinics for students is also incredibly helpful. Finally, getting as many students as possible into regional honor bands, All State, and other musical activities outside of school increases the knowledge of all students because again they come back and demonstrate what they’ve learned.

Cindy Swan-Eagen: We developed a band buddy program with older students helping younger students. This worked really well, and often, long-term friendships developed. We held sectionals led by the oldest and most proficient student, which encouraged leadership and skill building. I offered lunch time and before and after school mini-lessons for students, especially for those attending solo and ensemble (we often had up to 60 attending) and auditioning for All-State. I encouraged student participation in solo and ensemble as a priority, and as a way of having students get valuable feedback from an outside source. I developed a robust chamber music program at the high school level, often having 5 or 6 large chamber groups and several quartets or quintets yearly. These helped to develop soloistic playing in participants.

Dr. J.R. Carlisle: I spend many hours after school working with students and have also asked retired colleagues to come in and help with new students. As I developed students from their formative years to juniors and seniors, I spent considerable time developing leadership skills for when they got older. Now they serve as great mentors for younger students.

Building support for any size program is important. What have you done to promote the students and the program?

Steven Browne: We support others. When asked to play or sing to play for others, we try to do it. This creates a hectic schedule but also strengthens the relationship with our community. We have also run an annual haunted wood in a wooded acre on our campus. Hundreds of community members go through it over two days. It is run by my music honor society and has been a 10-year tradition.
Let students help design your program. When something is a success, give them credit because they earned it. I put pictures of my students’ success in the local paper and on social media. We all know we work with the best students in the school. I want to make sure everyone else knows, too.

Karen Gregg: Being visible in a small community is absolutely key to a program success. We use social media to promote our band and make sure that we advertise and celebrate all of our events. Because we aren’t competing with other local bands, we get wonderful support from local residents who aren’t necessarily affiliated with the band or school but who love supporting live music.

One really important aspect of this is longevity. It’s difficult to drum up support for a program if directors only stay for a couple of years. For the first 15 years of my career, I didn’t live in the same community where I taught, but because I was there for so long, I established a solid program that became beloved and respected. After more than two decades, I don’t have to work that hard to recruit for the program because the band’s reputation speaks for itself. Additionally, I’ve now crossed over multiple generations and former students of the program want to see their own children join.

Melissa Jmaeff: Our band program has built support within the school and community by taking part in events outside of the band room. We typically play at home football games, the annual FFA banquet, the annual veteran’s assembly, and high school graduation. We also play at various elementary school assemblies. Because we support our community, they reciprocate by supporting us, which lifts up everyone.

A number of my band and choir students have earned spots in Oregon All State ensembles as well in community ensembles and state solo and ensemble contests. These student achievements are a source of pride for our community so folks love to attend school concerts to support all of our music students.

Cindy Swan-Eagen: I created a Patron of Instrumental Music program so parents and businesses could donate to the program. These patrons were listed in every program, and I verbally recognized them at concerts. Parades are huge in our town, so I made sure our group looked and sounded good for them. We always played patriotic music for parades. (I made the mistake early on of playing pop tunes in the parades, which was not well received. We changed.) We played the Armed Forces Medley once a year at concerts and recognized active and retired military. The best thing I did was to write press releases for the local paper, along with photographs showing kids. I had an English teacher friend look them over to make sure they were well written. Soon I was known at our local paper for writing articles that did not need editing. They loved that and often featured our students on the front page.

Dr. J.R. Carlisle: As I mentioned earlier, community connection is crucial. I still get our name in the newspaper as much as I can. I also work social media hard. Money and instruments have been donated from around the country without me asking for a dime.

What other thoughts and words of wisdom might inspire and help directors in similar size schools?

Karen Gregg: Small school programs are so often seen as stepping stones to bigger and better programs. However, there are wonderful and powerful benefits to establishing strong programs and traditions in smaller schools/communities. Many times, you can have more autonomy and influence in small programs than in the larger school programs. The first few years can be tough in any program but the rewards are so worth it, and the impact on students is far-reaching in these unique small communities.

Melissa Jmaeff: Often in small schools, our classes are the only opportunity for students to experience a guided journey through music and self-expression. Therefore, our jobs are vital to the health and vibrancy of our schools and communities. Our jobs can be challenging. Often our needs go unmet in our school communities, and our stories go untold within the context of our profession. However, what we do matters deeply to those we are teaching so it’s vital to put our students at the heart of every decision that we make. What we do takes creativity and courage. There is no road map for these jobs, and that’s part of the fun. Some of our profession’s greatest teachers are teaching in small schools, dreaming up innovative new ways to teach music to students, and having a blast while doing it. I say, keep going. I’m proud to call myself a small school music teacher alongside all of you!

Cindy Swan-Eagen: Having the autonomy created by a small school, one-person program is a wonderful thing. Know that you are not alone, and that there are resources and people who would love to help you.

Dr. J.R. Carlisle: Never accept no for an answer. Go to your administrator with solutions and not problems. Never judge a book by its cover. In other words, do not look at a kid and think they could not be an asset to the band. Always be selling and recruiting. Remember, not every kid is going to be a professional player or super serious about music. This does not make them a bad student, and you still should hold them to a standard.

Never count a kid out. Just because they leave the program, it does not change how well you treat them. You never know who they are talking to or if they will come back. For example, I am starting my 38th year in education. Three years back, I kicked two kids out of elementary beginning band for the first time in my career. Now they both are rising 9th graders, who rejoined in middle school and are becoming strong leaders in the program.

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Philip Edelman is Associate Professor of Music Education and Director of the University of Maine School of Performing Arts. He is a strong advocate for lifelong learning in music, community bands, and teacher preparation that meets the post-pandemic needs of students.

As a young student, how did you become interested in music?
I came to music through jealousy! My older sister began playing piano at a young age, and I was jealous of her accolades and attention. I am not proud of that fact, but that’s what happened. My early musical education began at age eight or nine as fantastic teachers guided me in choral and instrumental music. I was a small kid, so naturally I picked the tuba.

Those first teachers were everything a beginner needs: rigorous, kind, encouraging, engaging, and supportive. They gave me the foundation to progress in my technical and musical skill set. Most notably to my career trajectory, they modeled what educators should be: content knowledge experts with the pedagogical skills to deliver instruction with patience. I was not the most well-behaved kid, but they stuck with me.

Who were your key early influences?
I didn’t realize it then, but our teachers created an environment where we kindly pushed each other to achieve as much as possible. It wasn’t competitive but a community effort through positive peer pressure. Musically, my influences were my peers at school and the various honor bands and choirs that my teachers arranged for me to play in. I didn’t grow up in a family that always played classical music, but my parents ensured that I had what I wanted when it came to music.

If my teachers suggested a piece of music to listen to, my parents allowed me to get a cassette tape or CD when at the store or the library. I was also fortunate to go to music camps when I was in high school, which cemented my love for the content.

How did your musical education continue in college?
I attended the University of New Hampshire as a tuba-playing music major with much to learn. I never had to practice much before college, so it was a new skill. My tuba instructor, Nic Orovich, helped me learn what I needed to succeed. I didn’t realize it then, but his high standards and insistence that I could achieve them gave me confidence. It also helped that I failed in many auditions during my first few years.

Similar to my experiences in middle and high school, a strong cohort of musicians surrounded me during my undergraduate studies. My mentor, Andrew Boysen, gave me and a few other students extra opportunities to hone conducting and ensemble administration skills. This solidified my love of making music and conducting. My student teaching experience strengthened this interest, which remains my greatest love.

After completing my undergraduate degree, I took a risk and moved to the middle of the country to pursue my Master of Music degree at Kansas State. It was a rich experience where I learned from some of the best role models out there – Frank Tracz, Scott Lubaroff, Lindsey Williams, and Fred Burrack. Each gave me gifts of their time and compassion. I was young and didn’t know what I didn’t know.

I was a headstrong and naive student, but each teacher took me under their wing and taught me anyway. I still think about the lessons that I learned during those years such as, “Even when you think you’re organized, there’s still more work to do” and, “Each student matters every single day.”

After teaching in public schools for seven years, I pursued a Ph.D at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. My teachers there showed me the patience that I hope to show my students – often meeting with me individually to work on complex concepts or to help me mold my research projects into meaningful, statistically sound projects. I could not have learned from better people than the ones who taught me during my Ph.D program, especially Charles Robinson and Joe Parisi.

Where and when was your first experience teaching in a school system?
My first full-time experience teaching in a school system was in the Goddard school system, near Wichita, Kansas. I began there in 2004 as a middle school band and orchestra teacher, with additional responsibilities assisting the high school instrumental music director with the high school groups.

These duties shifted over the years. I am not sure I ever taught the same course load twice. It was a wonderful program for a new teacher. The parents had high expectations, and the students worked hard. I had a variety of experiences in those formative years of my career. At a certain point, I knew that I was going to teach for the rest of my life.

What led to your decision to become a music educator?
My parents recalled that in sixth grade, I exclaimed that I would become a music teacher. I was in awe of my middle school music teachers then. I still am. My decision was reinforced time and time again throughout my school years because I was lucky enough to have some of the best teachers on the planet. I imagine that my decision was solidified through ongoing exposure to one of the best teachers I have known, Jennifer Greene.

What was your experience in public education like?
Like all teaching jobs, it had highs and lows. The highs were always about the students. Those first few years in the field allowed me to learn from an incredible mentor, Marla Weber.

I also witnessed some of the systemic issues that continue to plague us. It was not unusual for us to travel on a weekend for a marching band trip to a festival or competition, so I was able to learn from the positives and have my eyes opened to some of the inherent problems of those systems. I embraced the competitiveness and competition at the time, but my philosophy has evolved since then.

Unfortunately, at that time, I also learned what challenges some of our colleagues face in this field. We have a long way to go, and I hope I’m making a difference in the lives of my students. I can’t tell you how many times well- meaning festival workers walked past Marla (my boss) to talk to me because they thought I was the head director simply due to my gender. I could have and should have done more in the moment to ensure it didn’t continue to happen.

How did you get started in college teaching?
After earning my Ph.D I looked for positions where I could continue to make music while teaching future teachers. I knew I wouldn’t be happy as a full-time researcher or ensemble director. I wanted a job where I could teach a variety of courses and still direct an ensemble. When the University of Maine job was posted, it felt like the right fit for me.

Of course, I had never been to the University or traveled that far into Maine – so it was a scary leap. However, the community here has been incredible. The faculty welcomed me with open arms, and the band directors throughout Maine have never said no when I ask to visit them.

When I began at the University of Maine, I taught conducting and instrumental music methods and also was an ensemble director. Now, as Director of the School of Performing Arts, I generally teach one or two courses per semester, including my spring semester concert band.

Who have been your major influences?
Everyone I meet on this journey has shaped me in ways large and small. Lately, my greatest influences have been my husband and kids. They often remind me not to take myself too seriously and that taking a breath before reacting to anything can make a world of difference. My kids see the best in people, and my husband is one of the most patient people I have ever met.

As someone who trains teachers, what is your view of the impact of the pandemic on the profession?
The negative effects of the pandemic are clear – learning loss, lack of fundamentals in many students coming out of high schools, especially those who were in high school in 2020. They just lost so much of the technique that they had developed. Teachers tried hard to reach their students, but after months of Zoom lessons, the number of students making music in our state fell off a cliff.

We’re seeing the results at the university. About 30% of the students who were juniors and seniors in high school in 2020 just stopped playing, and the numbers were even higher for students in 7th-10th grades. The students we get now still can play well, but they lack awareness about how a large ensemble works.

Even if they went to a large school, many no longer had large ensembles. Playing in chamber ensembles, which a lot of them were doing, is a different way to train the ear. Getting students to listen across a big ensemble at college has been a challenge that we have embraced. We are now doing a lot more rhythm reading exercises and listening exercises. I don’t see that as a bad thing; it’s just what our students need.

Do you sometimes feel like a high school band director all over again?
Yes, and I love it! Middle school was always my wheelhouse. I’ve noticed that my current students need much more personal connection than before, which makes a lot of sense. We haven’t done a good job of teaching that to our in-service music education students in the past, and it’s something that we work on now. I hope all colleagues across the country are working on it, too.

We can teach the mechanics of playing instruments, but it is really hard to teach undergraduates to hold empathy in their heart and express it to students in class when they need it the most. It’s a real challenge, but it’s worth it.

Coming out of the pandemic, I appreciate that teachers treat their students more as human beings and not so much as cogs in a machine. When I visit teachers in the field, I see them connecting with their students as people first and musicians second.

We are handling that here with far more field experience than we ever had before. Then we ask targeted questions to our students when they get back. These might include:
• What did you notice about the student who was sitting there quietly?
• What did you notice about the student who was sitting there looking frustrated?
• What did you notice about that student that was celebrating the first time they hit a high C?
• What did you see happen to them as a human?

How can we make sure that continues to happen?
There are some teachers, particularly pre-pandemic, for whom compliance was the measure of success. A student sitting quietly is not causing a problem. I see more care now being taken by teachers not just to address the squeaky wheels but to figure out what every student needs.

What philosophy drives you as a teacher of teachers?
My favorite thing is when students can play something that they couldn’t play a week or a month ago. I love pointing out, “That’s new. How did you do that?” Transfer has to be taught and has to be explicit. We can have that conversation.“That’s great. You’re playing the Poulenc Sonata now. You could never have played that high before. What did you do?” Then we can have a deeper conversation about how to transfer this breakthrough to other musical challenges as a performer and teacher.

My philosophy of higher education isn’t terribly different from my philosophy of music education. While my goals may differ, the core tenets remain the same. First and foremost, I focus on connecting with the humanity of my students and trying hard to understand their unique perspectives and challenges. I also prioritize giving students ample opportunities to master a concept through repeated attempts. Finally, I believe in providing fair and accurate feedback to help them grow. Whether in a classroom or a rehearsal, these principles guide my approach to teaching and learning.

My goals now are to make sure my students are competent in content knowledge, so they have to know where the fifth position on trombone is. They have to know the difference between the forked F fingering on the oboe and the standard fingering. They have to know how to tune, what it means to be sharp or flat, how to communicate that information to students, and how to get students to take ownership of those musical concepts themselves.

They have to know that the G# key on the alto sax is the one that gets stuck every single time. They have to know how to apply their knowledge with actual students. Some in our field see themselves as all-powerful conductors making decisions for the entire ensemble. I am not offended by this approach but I try to lead in a democratic and caring way.

The band members, both at UMaine and in the Bangor community band that I conduct, have agency and voice when decisions are made on literature, as well as during rehearsals and in performances. We put on these benefit concerts every year, and students decide who the beneficiary is. My students send me lists and lists of music that they want us to consider programming. They vote on the music after I’ve screened it. They are the ones making logical noise in a way that is beautiful. The baton makes no music. It is just there to guide everyone.

To me, making music is intensely personal. Collaborative music making cannot happen if you don’t trust the people you are working with. If students don’t trust that I have their best interests at heart, we’re not going to have a strong performance at the end of it.

How did you get started working with the Bangor Band?
The Bangor Band was a regimental band active in the Civil War. After the war, the group started putting on concerts for the town and never stopped. We really do stand on the shoulders of giants. RB Hall was a conductor of the Bangor Band a long time ago. I have always been interested in other ways to enter the band world. When I was in Kansas City working on my Ph.D, I was the conductor of a New Horizons band. These bands are generally made up of adults who put away their instruments years ago or who want to start playing an instrument later on in life. When I came to Maine in 2016, the group needed an associate conductor to help out, and I quickly agreed.

How do you approach conducting an adult group?
In the Bangor Band we have a large chunk of members who are in their 60s, 70s and 80s, as well as a pretty sizable group who are in their 20s, 30s and 40s. One of the things that I’ve noticed over time is that our older members are not afraid to tell you when you’ve screwed up or that they disagree with your perspective on things. That has been hard to deal with at times.

One of my core values as a conductor is uplifting marginalized voices. Last spring we put on an entire concert of music by women, minority composers, and LGBT composers, highlighting such themes as women’s suffrage and the Stonewall Riots. We did a great piece by Omar Thomas called A Mother of a Revolution! I had some tough conversations and even lost a couple of members who felt our band should perform classic works from the 1950s through the 1980s and shouldn’t worry about equity or representation in our music. I couldn’t shift their perspective and wasn’t willing to shift mine. I have compromised many times, but not on this topic. Overall, the band largely understood and agreed with my perspective. Those who disagree freely speak their mind, which I have come to look forward to.

How has your teaching evolved over time?
I was a terrible teacher in my first couple of years because I focused on the music, not the students. By the third year I changed my view because students were quitting. The music sounded great but I didn’t have a strong personal connection with students. I started giving students more autonomy, even as a school director in Kansas.

I began meeting with them individually when they needed help. I started an ensemble before school. All of my students played chamber ensembles where I could hear them individually. That additional effort, along with positive and corrective feedback, led to better connections with the players. It made me a much better teacher. The program changed, and grew dramatically. I still have the same approach now.

What legacy do you want to leave in this profession?
I will feel successful if the teachers I have taught treat their students as human beings. If their students all push the right buttons at the right time, that’s a bonus. Don’t underestimate how powerful it is for students to look at their teacher and think “That teacher cares about me.” Once you win the hearts and minds of your students, the music will come along naturally if you have the content knowledge to back it up. Caring about students doesn’t always happen in other school classes. If you treat it like a two-way street, there is no limit to what you can accomplish.

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Preliminaries
From the beginning, I encourage players to form the embouchure just prior to inserting the clarinet mouthpiece. Many students insert the mouthpiece first and then form an embouchure around it, which is problematic for several reasons. By inserting the mouthpiece first, a student ends up with an aperture that is much too big. This encourages players to assert control with the jaw (biting) instead of using the lips, and prevents them from properly focusing the airstream into the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece first approach also frequently leads to having too much splayed lip (especially the lower lip), which diffuses lip contact and control points on the mouthpiece. A splayed lip also leads to biting and slightly shrinks the vertical space in the oral cavity, decreasing total resonance. Many players find that taking in increased lower lip results in a much more homogenous sound, and large leaps become more seamless.

It is also essential to emphasize the concept of Breathe, Set, Play. The embouchure and support must be set in place prior to beginning to play. Many students begin playing while the embouchure and support are still stabilizing, producing wild fluctuations in tone quality and pitch. An easy way to teach this feeling is to have students play a note, and then snap your fingers to have them stop the tone with their tongue. Freeze everything in place, including the air and abdominal engagement. This feeling of embouchure and air engagement set in place is necessary prior to playing any note. Ask them to memorize and establish this feeling prior to retracting the tongue to begin the note.

Beginning Embouchure Development
A double lip embouchure is a good place to start with beginners. If students are able, I ask them to flatten their chin first, keeping it in place as they proceed. Once the chin is flattened, simply have them open the jaws slightly, wrap the lower lip over the lower teeth, wrap the upper lip over the upper teeth, and then insert the mouthpiece. For most players, the lips should wrap over the teeth right up until where the lip turns into skin, although this can vary depending on the size of their lips.

While some professionals use double lip, most do not. The benefit of starting with double lip is primarily that the lips are mirror images of each other, and it typically prevents students from biting to control the instrument. A double lip embouchure also puts a player’s tongue in a good default position without having to discuss it. Ask students to notice what position the tongue goes to when forming a double lip embouchure. It should feel like a ski slope where the back of the tongue is raised higher than the rest of the tongue. Double lip also encourages students to create maximum vertical space in the oral cavity as the extra lip forces the jaws slightly further apart.

After the embouchure has stabilized, you can switch students to the single lip, explaining that the single lip embouchure should mimic the double lip as closely as possible. In fact, when I am teaching, I will form a double lip embouchure with the clarinet in my mouth, and then, without removing the clarinet, switch to single lip to emphasize how similar they look. The only difference is that the upper lip moves from under the top teeth to curling under itself and pushing down along the front teeth.

When students switch from double lip to single lip, they will need to train the upper lip and learn to activate the depressor septi nasi muscle that runs from the base of the nose to the upper lip. It should feel as if they are pressing the top lip down onto the mouthpiece.

One good strategy for practicing upper lip placement is to form an embouchure, insert the clarinet mouthpiece, and then, with a free hand, pick up the top lip, dry off the front teeth with a finger, allow the lip to stick to the teeth, and slowly allow the lip to slide down to the mouthpiece. This forces the bottom part of the lip to curl up and under slightly. When correctly done, the single lip embouchure should now look the same as the double lip – with the only difference being that the upper lip is curled up and in against the teeth rather than splayed over the top of the mouthpiece.

Another useful concept to introduce early is the idea that the lips should grip the mouthpiece evenly all the way around it. Ask students to form their embouchure (single or double lip) and then insert their thumb into the embouchure as if it were a mouthpiece. Ask them to seal the lips around it as if preparing to play and then check if they feel the lips gripping the thumb with even pressure all the way around. Imagine that the center of the lips are saying oo to help emphasize the even circular pressure around the mouthpiece. Most people will feel more pressure on the top and bottom portion than the sides. This is a simple way to introduce the concept of bringing lip corners in and that the lips should provide the bulk of the grip, not the jaws.

At this point in their development, students should be playing daily long tones. (An example of one is given below.) The specific exercise is less important than making sure students complete the daily study with a clear goal. Typically, I start them on the low E as a reference point, go to F, back to E, then F#, continuing the pattern of reference note followed by ascending chromatic note. I do this typically in forte whole notes at a speed where they can play four notes (sixteen beats) prior to needing to breathe until they reach the octave. I take this at quarter=50 but younger students may need to do this much faster. When breathing, take an entire beat, don’t try to sneak it in.

When introducing this exercise, I explain that it takes five minutes daily, and that even if they stop after this, they can say they practiced that day. However, if they skip this and practice other items, they can’t claim to have practiced. After establishing the importance and brevity of this exercise, I tell them to practice it in front of a full-length mirror. After learning the basic exercise, I add different skills every other week and eventually extend the duration. To keep them focused, I ask students to write the week’s instruction on a notecard and tape it to the mirror next to where their face is. A few examples (in order) include:

• Watch the mirror and make sure your chin is pointed/flat the whole time.
• Steady embouchure, nothing moves, pretend to be a ventriloquist.
• Keep the clarinet and clarinet mouthpiece centered.
• Press your top lip down onto the mouthpiece the entire time.
• Aim the air to your “mustache.”
• Grip the mouthpiece with your lips evenly all the way around.
• Make sure that each note matches the first note.

At this point the embouchure should be pretty stable, and teachers can add such variables as different octaves and dynamics. Students should keep and reuse their cards as a refresher on various concepts. This method helps to stay focused and work on one specific task rather than juggling multiple instructions at once. I begin with items that they can see in black and white and then move on to concepts that require more discernment.

To evaluate whether students are in a good basic position and potentially ready to advance in their development, try the following test. Have them play a C4 at a healthy mf volume. While they continue to hold C4, reach over and press the register key, and a moment or two later, add the side G# key without telling them exactly when you will press either key.

If the resultant notes come out right away without any issues (other than a bright tone) that tells you that the student has a good fundamental embouchure, tongue position, air direction, and air consistency. If the notes don’t speak right away, review consistent mf air, ski slope tongue position, and aiming the air towards the mustache.

Further Development
Once a student has a stable basic embouchure, I introduce Yehuda Gilad’s five step embouchure formation, although I like to switch the order of the first two steps from what he teaches. I find it unhelpful to start beginners with this teaching because it requires a sense of what the individual steps are adding up to and involves using muscles umfamiliar to many younger players. Five separate steps for people who are new to using these small facial muscles is too confusing. Once they have sufficient playing experience, we can delve under the hood to refine the embouchure. As students work through this list, make sure that once a step is completed it is glued into place and remains unaltered as they layer the further steps on.

In front of a mirror, with the lower jaw dropped open slightly:

1. Flatten chin
2. Bottom lip over teeth
3. Lip corners back
4. Cheeks in
5. Top lip down

Step three should feel almost like a smile, where the lower lip draws taut along and against the lower teeth as if it were plastic wrap. Step four feels similar to someone coming up and squeezing the two sides of the embouchure inwards with their fingers. When students initiate step four, it should not undo step three at all (no bunched lower lip). Many advanced players have been told corners in and it can help to clarify the difference between step three and four. If you ignore or downplay step 3, you end up with a bunched lower lip protruding. If you ignore or downplay step four, you end up with biting.

To maintain a fast and focused airstream, students should next learn how to control the horizontal axis of the oral cavity. Drawing the cheeks in just behind the orbicularis oris muscle helps them keep more of a point to the airstream. In order to find this sensation, have students make a fish face in front of a mirror, and then with one hand press in the dimples that are formed immediately behind the orbicularis oris. These dimple spots should engage while playing.

The primary control for the vertical axis in the mouth is the tongue. While the double lip embouchure puts the tongue in a good basic position, the best position is a little higher and further forward. The ideal tongue position is automatically formed when saying eu, as you might do when speaking French. This moves the tongue up, primarily the center of the tongue, and also forward slightly. Have students say eu with confidence, hold the tongue in the resulting position, and then insert the clarinet and play a forte F major scale. Frequently, you will notice significant improvement in focus and robustness of tone. I have found that eu is so foreign for some students that they cannot satisfactorily find the position. For these students, I recommend using heee, or hissing like a cat as a starting point. This will at least help them find a higher tongue position which will result in faster and more consistent air.

Finally, there is an exercise ties this together while refining the size of the embouchure aperture. Students will need a new wooden pencil with an unused eraser. When I first introduce this exercise, I tell students that I am unable to speak while demonstrating but will indicate with my fingers which step I am on. After demonstrating, I will verbally guide them through step by step.

1. After forming a double lip embouchure, place the eraser in the center of the embouchure, as if it was a clarinet mouthpiece.
2. Try to suck in the eraser for several seconds, as if sucking a really thick milkshake. This will draw the lips inward.
3. While holding the lips in the resultant position, breathe in through the nose.
4. Blow vigorously against the eraser, holding for three seconds while maintaining the lip position.
5. Pull the pencil out of the embouchure, blowing the air with as much strength as possible without the lips collapsing.

There are a few things to keep in mind while doing this exercise. Only put the eraser part in the mouth and none of the silver portion. During steps 2 through 4, no air should actually enter or exit the mouth – let the eraser act as a plug.

Once this unorthodox series of movements is understood, ask students to hold the embouchure after blowing out all of the air in step five. Then, breathing through the nose, they should insert the clarinet, and play a forte F Major scale. It is critical that as they insert the mouthpiece, the embouchure stays exactly as it was formed from the pencil exercise. Nothing should move. This is frequently the hardest thing for students to get right. It can feel as if the embouchure aperture is so small that the clarinet won’t fit. This is not true, and they need to just trust it. This exercise is critical for developing strong lips with a small aperture that operate independently from the air stream. Typically, a student’s sound will be significantly more homogenous, focused and robust after successfully finishing this exercise.

Conclusion
The development of embouchure and oral cavity shaping can be one of the most challenging techniques to master for clarinetists. It can be all too easy for students to be confused even with clear instructions due to a lack of kinesthetic awareness. While these instructions are laid out in a sequence that I think makes the most sense, it can occasionally help to go slightly out of order to give students a win if they are having a hard time grasping a particular concept. Nothing is more frustrating than being unable to figure out how to move one’s body in a certain way or being unable to tell whether you are doing something correctly.

Though I begin with instructions that are more readily evaluated visually, students do need to quickly learn how to refine their kinesthetic sense. As frequently as I can, I provide clear reference points (such as double lip, fish face, and the pencil exercise) for students to check in with rather than relying exclusively on descriptive language. Students need to be able to self-direct and evaluate.

Remember that these instructions are not in fact the goal. I too often see students doing everything right according to their understanding of the instructions yet remain unaware of their undesirable tone. It should be clear from the start what these instructions are in service of, and that the instructions are always secondary to the ears. After all, the audience doesn’t know where your tongue is; they only care whether you have a beautiful tone that is resonant, even, focused, and in tune.

The post Embouchure and Oral Cavity Development – A Sequential Approach for Teaching Clarinetists appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

National Anthem in 6/4

Once the students can play chunking by beat followed by a rest, then chunk by two beats followed by a rest. Since the National Anthem is in 3, then I would also chunk by 3 beats. Chunking like this also improves the phrasing if you remind students of the strength of the beat rule which when playing in three, the strongest beat is one, two is less, and three is least, and pick-ups are played softer than what they lead into. One of my colleagues teaches the strength of the beat in time signatures of three by saying STEP, Tip, toe.

If there is a consistent mistake on one count, then examine the notation of that count and teach how the subdivision works. For example, if the pick-up is not accurate, have students fill in the dotted eighth with three sixteenths and play the following reminding that this beat is a subdivision of 4s rather than 3s.

At least for one time through, in the case of the National Anthem, have students fill in each beat with four sixteenths. Understanding the subdivision of a beat is something that the best musicians do for a rhythmically accurate performance and to ensure that all ensemble attacks are synchronized. While playing 2/4 in 4/8, 3/4 in 6/8 etc. is rare in the wind literature, many slow movements in orchestral works are subdivided. This is a skill that wind players need when playing in orchestra and chamber works. When filling in, varying the articulation patterns alters the placement of the tongue in the mouth which may result in a better sound. First practice with T and follow with the K and Hah (breath attack/no tongue). Practicing the T and then the K improves the double tongue stroke also.

Intonation is vastly improved if each ensemble member plays on the ictus or beat-point. Unfortunately, weaker or less experienced instrumentalists play early on the beat while the most experienced ones will play on the beat. What this means for intonation is that the weaker players are setting where the intonation will be instead of the stronger players. One of the by products of this type of chunking practice is that it helps each player play on the ictus. Demonstrate in your conducting patterns where the ictus is and show students how to do this themselves.

Another type of plucking is to play only certain notes in a beat. This is another subdividing tool to play rhythmically and also to develop the art of recognizing note-patterns. In the following example play only the first sixteenth of each beat. Notice that all but two have an accent or little diminuendo above them. Since this excerpt was written in the Romantic era, this accent is realized as a little diminuendo. Lingering on these notes brings the melodic line forward. The other notes are played as an accompaniment.

Next play the first two notes of each beat. Notice that all of the second notes are E. On the next play through play the first three notes of each beat. Then start from the ending of the beat playing the third and fourth sixteenths and then the second, third, and fourth sixteenths. Obviously, the second, third, and fourth notes are accompaniment notes, and all have the same two pitches – E and G. Usually after practicing plucking these notes, students readily see the pattern and can play the entire passage easily and with skill.

Chunking Grouping Patterns
Pedagogues Marcel Tabuteau, legendary oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and William Kincaid, legendary flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra taught that notes lead to one so in the above Andersen example, the phrasing is 1, 2341, 2341. When chunking by fours, explore other patterns such as 3412, 4123, and 1234 followed by a silence. This puts the stress and coordination of the fingers in different places, and when playing what is written, the quality of the performance is always better.

The following etude offers challenges because it is written in F# minor.

Playing an F# minor scale before beginning work on the section is beneficial. Next, employ a practice technique called breaking down, where each note is repeated several times by tonguing each note four times followed by three times and two times. When it is time to tongue each note once only, employ other syllables besides T (K, Hah, TK/TKT). This slows the passage down so students have time to think about the pitch and each fingering. This is especially good to do with a section of the ensemble to check that all are reading and fingering the correct notes.

Change the Meter
With any etude that is written in compound meter (background beat is divisible by 3’s), it is possible to change the meter to simple meter. In this case changing 3/8 to 2/4 allows us to regroup the sixteenths into two triplets. When applying this technique in measures 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7, the middle note of this group is an upper neighboring tone, and the last three notes are a palindrome – meaning that the notes are the same going forward as backwards except for measure 8, which is a broken arpeggio.

Bonus Idea
While this is not a chunking practice technique, try to find some way to make a slurred exercise into a tongued exercise. Beginning and intermediate level students should single tongue, and high intermediate and advanced students should double tongue. This may be done with tonguing each note one or more times. Tonguing exercises should be done with the metronome to ensure development of speed.

My students enjoy exploring these techniques because they work. When progress can be seen and felt, students are apt to continue these practice techniques on their own, and they soon develop a fluid technique.

The post Pluck and Play appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Repetition can be monotonous or entertaining, boring or dynamic. How teachers approach repetition with students determines whether we are developing engaged performers or robotic-like musical reflexes. Any artistic endeavor requires extraordinary patience with repetition, but how do you get middle school students to buy in? The answer is to create a dynamic environment, have set goals in mind, mix in some student choice, reward, and play some games.

The following activities can improve students attitudes about repetition and performance and create enjoyable classroom experiences. I have used them successfully with students of a wide range of abilities. To make the most of these games, you can adapt them to fit your students.

Clear The Board
For this game you will need a board (digital or physical to list your musical objectives), an oversized die, and a small plinko board. This game can be used to target any musical or technical objective. For example, you could ask students to play particular sections a certain number of times with 100% accurate notes and rhythms. Other goals could focus on dynamic expression or articulation such as whether they are doing the crescendo at measure 34 or separating the staccatos in a phrase. The beauty of this game is that it permits flexibility to meet students’ needs based on their current performance ability.

Set Up
This is one of my favorite games because the set up is so easy. The only step that requires time is writing out a prioritized list of musical goals for rehearsal. The picture below shows how I organize and present a list to the class.



This is a bare-bones version so you can get the idea. I alter the number of musical priorities and put additional details for each based on my students’ abilities, class time, and attention spans. Make sure that you have a good mixture of challenge levels. Some should be easily attained while others might take some work. Nothing on the list should be something that they cannot accomplish in ten minutes. If students spend too long on the same objective, their attention and motivation will wane. Tailoring games to students’ abilities will increase their enjoyment of the game and improve your success in meeting musical objectives.

For the other items, you just need to set up the plinko board and puck that you drop in the board and label the bottom of the board with the student groups that you will create. If there is an uneven number for groups you can always add an everyone label that allows all students to get a point. The teacher passes out the dice to students when needed and keeps track of points during the game on the board.

Although you split the class into groups to distribute points, I try to avoid having groups competing against one another for the points. The way I use the plinko board creates a challenging game but avoids negative competition. I want to foster a positive team culture within the classroom that emphasizes improvement for all players. Everyone is on the same team, and all students should be able to enjoy the process regardless of ability. For my full band practices, I split the class into woodwinds, brass, and percussion. For divided classes (woodwind/brass and percussion), I place them into groups based on instrument.

How To Play
I select one student from a group to start the game. As the game progresses, we rotate around the groups allowing for equal representation. Students from each group can raise their hand to volunteer for a task whenever they feel comfortable. Some prefer picking objectives from the board, while others prefer to roll the die or drop the puck. The goal is for all students to participate at their comfort levels.

The first student selected picks an objective from the board. Then, I ask for another volunteer to roll the die. This volunteer does not have to come from the group that chose the objective; it can be anyone. I favor choosing a new person for each step in the game to get more students involved, but you could have the same student pick an objective and roll the die. Whatever number the student rolled is the number of repetitions the group needs to successfully play in order to get a puck to drop.

When students accomplish the objective from the list, I ask for a volunteer to drop the puck. I pick a student from the same group that selected the objective to make it a fair rotation as the game progresses. It also helps to keep track of which group’s turn you are on. The student drops the puck and wherever it lands, that group receives the point. I love that the point is awarded by random drop so none of the students perceive the point in a negative manner. It lands where it lands, and this eliminates arguing and bickering. It also motivates students to keep the game moving so more pucks are dropped and more points are earned.

After we have been playing for a while, my students usually need an interest boost. One way to do this is to vary the number of puck drops for each successful objective, although each puck is always one point. The goal is for students to never lose hope that they can come back from low scores. This maintains their interest and positive attitude toward the game. We play until the end of the class period, and the group with the most points receives a prize like small pieces of candy or stickers. If the class can clear the board and successfully complete all of the objectives, then they get a bigger reward. At the end of the game, everyone has enjoyed some personal and group success along the way, leaving them ready to come back excited for the next day.

Alterations & Modifications
If you do not have a plinko board, you can cut out six pieces of paper and make a mark on one of those six. Then put it in a small container and have a student from each group draw one of the pieces of paper. The group of the student who pulls out the piece of paper with the mark receives the point.

Another modification to the game you can make is to the list itself. The example I included was based on phrases within a piece of music, but a list might have only one measure on it or even just going between two notes. Start where your students are. More success equals more enjoyment which will build their confidence.

Another modification that makes it more challenging is to only award a puck drop when students play the objective the rolled number of times correctly in a row. For example, if a student rolls a five, and the band plays it successfully four times in a row but makes a mistake on the fifth time, they would restart at one again. This modification works best for classes that like to be challenged and have a higher level of maturity. Younger or less mature students may get frustrated by the restart, and the accomplishment of the task may feel too far away for them. This can lead to a diminished effort.

Challenge The Spinner
For this game you need a spinner (either physical or digital) and a pop-it dice. (This is when the dice is in a small plastic container that you press to make it roll and that keeps it from flying around the room).


Digital spinners are prevalent online. I like to use the free website that allows you to type in your objectives and create as many options as you need. Once you spin, the program keeps track of everything you have landed on in the result section and also allows you to delete and keep objectives as you keep spinning. This is great if you want to let the students see the list narrowing down as they progress. I also use a physical spinner in my classroom.

Once again the objective of this game is the musical goal that you are trying to accomplish. Like the previous game, tailor this to your students’ needs and create a fun environment for improvement. The more careful thought you put into the musical objective, the better the outcome for your students.

Set Up
This game has a fairly easy set up as well. I put the pop-it dice on a tall stool so students have something to push down on that is not my podium. I also have a location for the physical spinner so that students can easily access it. If I am using a digital spinner I make sure that everything is set up so students can click to spin. I find engagement grows if they have a chance to click the spinner.

The most important part of the set up for this game is your list of musical objectives. These are typed into the digital spinner or written on the physical one. An advantage of a digital spinner is that it allows you to easily play the game multiple times in a day with different groups by having different spinners ready to go.

How To Play
For this game, I do not divide students into groups, and we play as a whole class. The way to win is to clear the spinner. On a physical spinner you cannot change how many ways it is divided but you can put the same sections on it multiple times as a way to modify for student success. Digital spinners let you put however many sections you want to attempt. You can also modify it by saying the class wins if there are three or fewer objectives remaining on the spinner as well.

A student spins the device to land on a musical objective. Then, another student pops the dice to get the number of repetitions they need to do successfully. If students do not meet the objective, another student comes up to spin again.

We play until the end of class or until all of the objectives are completed. Using small rewards (I use candy) helps future motivation. It is better for students to complete the game with some time left over in the class period than for them to not complete it at all. Remember that less is more. You want them to feel great about their successes and energized for the next class.

Alterations & Modifications
If you do not have a pop-it dice you could create two digital spinners – one for the objective list and another one for the number of repetitions. You could also just number pieces of paper with the number of repetitions you are going to use and put them in a bag and have students draw the number.

Another modification you can make is to the number of each roll. To challenge an advanced group, you can put a multiplier on it. I usually multiply the number by two or three when I do this.

You also can divide into groups and keep track of the points as in the previous game. I often ask students to come up with variations or their own games or ways of keeping points. They always have great ideas.

Summary
When rehearsals follow identical patterns day after day, drudgery can follow, and students often develop negative attitudes that diminish improvement. Games and activities have a remarkable ability to engage attention. Students are much more willing to partake in repetitive experiences when they are having fun. These games are a starting point for developing creative positive experiences with repetition and engaging rehearsals for your students.

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