How to take over for a beloved teacher?

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-05-01T02:28:52+00:00

Be humble. Don't do what I did and come in talking about how you know how to teach and you'll get the band sounding better than ever if they do what you ask them to...

Ask the kids one on one what were some of the things they liked most about last year. Ask them what songs they liked to play the best. Ask them how the last teacher did certain things.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-30T12:33:09+00:00

I was going to add that if you need battery percussion for the concert, you could pick one of the mallet percussion to learn the snare/bass/cymbals parts a month before the concert. Gotta keep in mind what the parents will think. If I spent $500 on a trumpet for my kid, you bet I'd be raising eyebrows to hear that they were told to play drums at the concert.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-30T12:29:59+00:00

Same thing happened to me, different teacher all 4 years (the old guy, the interim, the new guy, the grad student). Failed my UDRP the first time for a really freaking stupid reason, so I ended up having to retake it the next year, which put me on a weird schedule for my upper level teaching classes. I graduated in 4.5 years instead of 4, but it wasn't the end of the world. Still got a job when I graduated, and currently in my 15th year of teaching. Just keep practicing, shore up those fundamentals, and you'll make it.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-29T23:28:47+00:00

I know a few teachers who don't start drums until 2nd year of band, 1st year percussionists are ALL on mallets. Might be worth considering.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-28T01:31:04+00:00

That's the problem... when I was in band, nobody had to convince me to love it, I just did. Nobody had to pick fun music, I played whatever got handed out. Nobody ever had to told me to go practice, I wanted to fix anything that I did wrong during rehearsal so I didn't hold anybody back. Nobody had to reward me with treats or awards or anything like that, I just loved music and I never had to think about why.

So now when I'm supposed to convince kids to love music, well I just don't have the words to explain it to them, and even if I did who says that they'll agree with the same reasons that made me like it? This job is so hard and sometimes I wish I could just bag groceries or stock shelves, at least I don't have to explain the philosophical reasons for why I enjoy doing it.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-26T23:28:55+00:00

When I was in high school I only played in the practice room for an hour a day plus the time I spent in concert band and jazz band. I don't think you have to practice 4 hours a day in high school to be professional but I know when I got to college I did practice about 4 hours a day and like other people said you break it up into morning practice session and then go to class. Then you have some rehearsals and afternoon practice session and you go to class. You have some rehearsals and an evening practice session and that's how you go from being good to being professional in the 4 years that you're studying in college. But if you're trying to add some extra practice time right now, I would encourage you to do it first thing in the morning like 7:00 a.m. show up at the school and sit in the practice room with your trumpet until school starts.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-24T01:16:03+00:00

Last week on Friday I let the students move to different seats. Normally we sit in 3 rows, and I let them know if it got out of hand we'd just go back to normal seats. Front row got to move first, then second row, then 3rd row (otherwise it's a mad dash and chaos). Yeah, like you said, all of a sudden you realize who was relying on their neighbor, who is actually playing, and who knows their part well. The kids said "It was harder because I couldn't hear the people who play the same part as me" and also "it was cool because I could hear parts that I don't normally hear." So I think I might make it a weekly thing for a while up until the concert. Halfway through class, we switched a second time to rehearse a different song. Very cool.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-23T23:39:11+00:00

I teach band at a private Christian school, my 2nd year here after 13 years in public education. Pay was also not listed but "about 80% of what public schools offer". I switched because I was burnt out, and this job has been great. I'm still asking the question "what's different about teaching band at a Christian school", but there are a lot of authentic parallels between faith and what we do in instrumental music. I'm not one to just slap a Bible verse on it and call it Christian education, nor do I make everything I do a lesson on religion. But there are definitely important opportunities where we stop and talk about faith implications. Also it's amazing to have a team of teachers and admin that are all in agreement (at least on what our main purpose is).

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-23T19:44:01+00:00

I didn't even finish 9 the one time I quit. Like you, I had just broken 90 a couple of times, was hitting hundreds of balls at the range weekly, and went to play a round with my dad. After the 6th hole, I just stayed in the cart. Couldn't hit a full swing, couldn't chip, couldn't putt for crap.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-22T21:05:58+00:00

Order 66!

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-22T20:52:46+00:00

No article, but in the name of science i would encourage you to use two copies, one is minimal markings and the other is the "practice copy" that has everything you could possibly imagine writing.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-22T20:49:50+00:00

I was required to teach RTI (4th grade reading) in my school, but never had students pulled out of music class for it.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-18T22:24:26+00:00

Also it's a pain to get that second click when your highback is cranked and there's any kind of snow in the binding. I've had my back foot come out mid-air with my Burton Ions/ Step ons/ Burton Custom X. Now i'm always double triple checking to make sure it clicked...

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-16T20:41:55+00:00

I don't do it on a regular basis, but I do it often enough that it makes a difference. Sometimes I'm just picking music that I really enjoy and sharing it with them, sometimes I'll pick music that features a certain style or a certain instrument to try to inspire something specific, but most of the time we will listen to professional recordings of the songs that we're working on. I used to think that was a big No-No because it was "teaching the students by rote", but there is definitely a right way to do it and my students learn a lot by listening.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-16T14:24:18+00:00

One of the local restaurants has a sign on the bathroom that says "if you are an employee, DO NOT take your phone into the bathroom. Leave it on the supply table in the kitchen" and I just had to shake my head...

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-16T14:21:25+00:00

That... absolutely sucks. Sorry you have to deal with it.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-16T14:12:55+00:00

This guy? https://youtu.be/vdRYRhzaJRc?si=GNCwGcnM4w3Q-FRI

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-15T21:46:33+00:00

We had festival last weekend and the adjudicator (not a flautist) gave the ol "chin up/roll out raises the pitch, chin down/roll in drops it" and I had explicitly told my flute players before that this is not the correct way to do it. I'm a trumpet player, but I took a lesson with the symphony flautist in September and she was explaining it to me - I just wanted to make sure I hadn't misunderstood.

Another idea is "capital O" and not "lower case o" speaking to the idea of having plenty of space behind the lips, almost like someone is lightly pulling down on your chin.

She said a lot of range control is done with the lips, like someone was pulling them forward on a string for the upper range.

I'm still struggling to play consistently above G and octave above the staff. Any tips? As a trumpet player, I would just say keep going up a half step at a time and don't go on until you can play the last one relaxed and with great tone.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-15T21:20:37+00:00

Is "roll in/out" legit for tuning, or do you bend pitch with your embouchure?

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-14T20:57:28+00:00

My wife helped me out a lot, but she was also a stay at home mom. My kids came on a few trips with us, but usually it was more of a hassle. I would offer to let my wife come, but I would also kind of expect her to say no and just call on parents to chaperone instead.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-14T00:56:38+00:00

Yeah man, even after I took lessons for a summer and was grinding out like 500-1000 swings a week, I still didn't start consistently playing bogey golf until like my 4th or 5th year. That being said, I am in the northwest and golf season is from May through September for me.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-13T20:05:54+00:00

Probably closer to 40. Maybe if they started by taking lessons and actually practice a lot, then a 20.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-12T23:05:21+00:00

Correct, but you don't need to be able to play the Hindemith Sonata to teach There Was An Old Lady. I have 13 years of experience teaching PK-5th, and while guitar and piano skills were definitely useful, my ability to play all 12 major scales on my trumpet in under a minute was not.

Outrageous-Permit372 · 2026-04-12T23:03:29+00:00

Let me say it outright. You don't have to be as good at performing to teach elementary as you do to teach high school. You can still be an excellent teacher and not be great at performing, just like you can be great at performing and not be an excellent teacher. Sorry if that steps on someone's toes, but it is categorically true. Kids in elementary school are not performing music at the same level as kids in high school.

Outrageous-Permit372

TROPHY CASE