by Peter Boonshaft | Oct 18, 2022 | Boonshaft's Blog
While watching television, I heard a line that made me stop and think. “I’m responsible for what I say, not what you hear.” On the surface, those words are quite powerful, seem somewhat logical, and could be used to shut down a conversation pretty...
by Peter Boonshaft | Oct 11, 2022 | Boonshaft's Blog
A few months ago, a teacher sent me a copy of a note she had received from one of her students. The teacher shared with me that the student was often on the verge of quitting school, was in trouble much of the time, had an unimaginably sad home situation, had few...
by Peter Boonshaft | Oct 10, 2022 | Bandroom Tips
Rehearsal time is precious. As music teachers, it can be some of our most rewarding and exciting moments. But, I think we can all agree that rehearsal time can also be some of our most frustrating and challenging. Here are a few thoughts on how we can make...
by Peter Boonshaft | Oct 4, 2022 | Boonshaft's Blog
When we stand in front of a group of beginners (or not beginners for that matter!) we know that we can start by assessing many things that are shared by everyone before we start assessing those aspects of specific instrument sections. Basic things like whether they...
by Peter Boonshaft | Sep 27, 2022 | Boonshaft's Blog
Picture taking your first flying lesson and being asked by your flight instructor to land the plane by yourself. Or that during your first driving lesson you were asked to parallel park the car. Crazy, right? Absolutely! But to a beginner, some of the very challenging...