Boonshaft’s Blog
#71. Biography
The word biography is often defined as an account of someone's life written by someone else. For us as teachers, our biography, in great measure, will be...
#70. 5 Minutes
At your next rehearsal, try saying nothing but positive things for 5 minutes straight. It sounds easy, but once you try it, you realize just how hard it...
#69. Challenge Them With The Easiest Piece You Can
I spent a week not too long ago working with a remarkable band. A truly remarkable band. They were performing an extremely difficult program so incredibly well. But I found them...
#68. He Is No Fool
Jim Elliot once wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” As teachers, we can “give” as much energy, enthusiasm,...
#67. An Essential Ingredient
When our students start to feel frustrated by that which doesn’t come easy, by that which is a profound challenge, by that which makes them question their...
#66 …To Awaken…
When you think of what we do, and remember the words of Albert Einstein when he stated: “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative...
#65. Let Them Hear The Difference
I am convinced that half the problem with teaching students in a band is that many of them have a very distorted vantage point from which they hear the...
#64. Start A Good Habit
As I look out at my students while rehearsing, I so often see bad habits reveal themselves. And what gets me is that I have mentioned those bad habits...
#63. Pacing
I like a fast-paced rehearsal. No, I love a fast-paced rehearsal. I think I can keep my students awake and energized better, and get more done in less...