#244. Involve The Whole School

#244. Involve The Whole School

The more we can include other subject areas in our performances, the more we solidify our importance in the school as a whole. How about finding a piece that features authentic African drumming, and instead of just having the band perform it, you enlist the talents of...
#243. Integral To The Community

#243. Integral To The Community

We must overtly prove that our music program is an integral, indispensable, and important part of the community. Whether that is by performing for the PTA, the Lion’s Club, at the start of a School Board Meeting, or for a local children’s hospital or...
#242. Play Easier Music More Often

#242. Play Easier Music More Often

So often, I walk into a rehearsal and the ensemble is working on four pieces, each of which is at the outer limits of their collective technical ability. For many students, that may feel like a relentless struggle that leaves them with the feeling they simply aren’t...
#241. Wasting Time?

#241. Wasting Time?

“You must aim high, not in what you are going to do at some future date, but in what you are going to make yourself do today. Otherwise working is just a waste of time.” Those remarkable words by the renowned French Impressionist artist Edgar Degas are as insightful...
#240. Perform More Often

#240. Perform More Often

Why do students quit music? Well, I think we can all agree there are as many answers to that question as there are students who quit.  But I am confident that the bottom line is that they just don’t think they are very good at it. Let’s face it: how rarely does...