Helping Your Flute Students Play in Tune

It is extremely common for young flute players to play with the flute placed too high on their bottom lip. Playing this way causes the sound to be thin, shrill and sharp. Another common problem is covering too much, i.e. more than half, of the blow hole with the...

Tuning a Flute

A flute, with proper design, is made to produce a particular scale with the headjoint set in only one optimum location. Deviating from this ideal location will require the player to adjust their performance to play notes in-tune. As the deviation from the ideal...

Tell Them HOW to Practice!

This tip for new music educators comes time proven based on my many years experience as a middle and high school band director, and fine arts administrator. Imagine the setting: you have just prepared your band room for what you expect to be a fantastic rehearsal....

Students Not Playing Their Instrument in Class?

As a band director, I am sure you are aware that sometimes students don’t play their instrument in band class. There can be a myriad of reasons for this: 1) they forget to bring their instrument, 2) they are too ill to play, 3) they don’t have a good reed, 4) their...

Quick Percussion Clips: Fixing Stick Heights

The smallest details make all the difference. Help your percussionists equalize their stick heights and create continuity within your percussion line. About the Author JOHN DUNLAP has over 30 years of experience composing, arranging, and teaching in the percussion...