Bandroom Tips
Using the Five Variables of Headjoint Placement with Beginning Flute Students
“How in the world do you make a sound on this thing?” I asked my parents as we opened the case of my rented student flute in the fall of my 6th grade year. I knew enough to wait...
Essential Guidelines for Composing in the Orff-Schulwerk Style
To support you in creating impactful Orff-Schulwerk compositions, here are key insights from some of the judges who helped develop our Sonor Orff Composition Contest evaluation...
Improve Your Clarinet Tone | Play & Learn with Jupiter
Welcome to Episode 1 of Play & Learn with Jupiter! Join Jupiter artist Amy Chambers as she dives into the essentials of producing a rich, beautiful clarinet tone. Whether you’re...
Beginning Percussion: Should You Start On Mallets Or Pad?
One of the biggest questions in beginning percussion pedagogy is when to start mallets vs when to start drumming on a practice pad. This is an important question that is inspired...
Preventing Disruptive Behaviors in Our Rehearsals
As most of us understand, we have few behavior problems in our classes with bands. The students are, by in large, among the best students in our schools. They are involved in a...
Listening Skills That Improve Your Ensemble
You may think listening is an innate skill that improves with time—it’s not. From the early days of learning their instrument, a clear priority must be for each student to listen...
Beginning Trombone with Jeffrey Phillips
Join XO Artist and Educator Dr Jeff Phillips as he discusses the steps to assemble, hold, care for and create the first pitch on the trombone in this series of 4 videos created...
Ideas for Better Ensemble Warm-Ups
Though working on pieces in a rehearsal can be extraordinarily beneficial, time spent doing warm-up and ensemble development exercises at the beginning and scattered throughout a...
Intonation Training – Developing a Lifetime Skill
In our lives, we thrill in finding the answers to mysteries, solving riddles, or discovering secrets. Teaching students to be sensitive and accurate with pitch and intonation can...