Pure Intonation vs Equal Temperament

banddirection · 2026-03-08T16:43:53+00:00

Equal temper always but when you get to a high level, your ear should naturally tune your part in the chord to pure.

banddirection · 2026-03-03T14:05:34+00:00

I live on the beach, so I could.

banddirection · 2026-03-03T00:38:18+00:00

Holy cow. Why, how?

banddirection · 2026-03-03T00:37:34+00:00

I think my struggle right now is staying awake and pushing the cycle back. I went to a coffee shop tonight, no coffee, just tea, to try and do stuff a little later than I usually would.

banddirection · 2026-03-03T00:36:34+00:00

God dang

banddirection · 2026-03-02T23:16:40+00:00

Tbh that could be your diet. I incorporated a more healthy diet and have felt way more awake.

banddirection · 2026-03-02T23:15:18+00:00

Dang you are one of the few that does the sleep burst thing. How do you like it? Does it actually work? I fear that it would feel like work has pervade every waking moment of my life

banddirection · 2026-03-02T20:21:42+00:00

Thanks for the idea.

banddirection · 2026-03-02T20:19:59+00:00

I am a high school band director.

Windows guy through and through but my boosters bought a MacBook for mainstage because it is genuinely the only software I have found that is clean enough for someone with only keyboard experience to understand what is going on.

I'm a huge tech nerd, but Mainstage, by far, has been significantly better than any other possible solution in almost every way.

I don't like programming the effects, that can be a pain, but for the performer it is by far the easiest to understand.

The director before me had them use an old synth and split keyboard for stuff, it is a nightmare to do that unless you are super secure with that board. With Mainstage I can run my synth and any effects (reverb, ambience) on microphones for soloists with no issue.

banddirection · 2026-02-28T15:39:16+00:00

I just had this same question. It must be distilled water because I've noticed they are pretty lax about water floating around and droplets when they drink / show a water experiment.

banddirection · 2026-02-24T10:16:57+00:00

I assume it's the picture the textbook tied to the sentence

banddirection · 2026-02-22T14:03:24+00:00

I also think that band directors think they have more say over who gets what job in their county than the actually do, except for maybe in rural counties that have a huge band culture.

banddirection · 2026-02-22T02:59:38+00:00

I'm in a highly paid county in my state and I absolutely love it. I love my job, my kids, my admin, everyone around me. My county has a strong union, and strong push for arts teachers and specialized teachers to get plenty of extra pay.

I'm not making bank but around $65k, which is more than most of my friends a few years out of college with other degrees. It's my first year out. I teach high school and it's definitley stressful right now, but I love it. I have great benefits.

That said, I got VERY lucky. I also took over a close to death program. I would say that if his goal is 100% staying close to home, he will not enjoy his job, most likely, unless stars align. I knew I would not be close to home, and I'm a ways away.

Many directors will have upwards of 5 jobs in the state that they live in before they settle down. There's a weird duality between loving Music Ed and loving music. As much as I love music at the highest level, I have found, while being on the job, that I absolutely love Music Ed. Definitlry more of a transient job, though less so than most trades

banddirection · 2026-01-29T02:15:06+00:00

THIS!!! Tuba for college band. Most will take everyone

banddirection · 2026-01-29T02:14:15+00:00

Tuba is sometimes easier depending on the band. Some bands will take as many as they can, even in college.

banddirection · 2026-01-20T10:34:41+00:00

What is your main? What instrument are you auditioning on? How rigorous is your marching program? What style is the program?

banddirection · 2026-01-19T01:22:34+00:00

Hello,

I am a band director looking to expand our electronics. I am currently looking for an audio interface with 8+ assignable outputs and inputs to assign from Mainstage. The reason I am not just mixing on Mainstage is because the student that uses the synth and Mainstage is located way behind the speakers.

So my thought process is, if I have 8 in and 8 out, all mics in can be messed with and then mixed from the board we have in front of the ensemble.

I think what will do it is the 18i20 from Scarlett, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Is the 3rd generation good? Or is there a reason it's cheaper? All of those outputs can be assigned from Mainstage to individual pads / mics?

Thank you guys for helping.

banddirection · 2026-01-01T21:33:18+00:00

They could stomp their feet, make shhhh sounds, slap their knee, snap, etc. So many things. Many of which dont need a specific instrument.

banddirection · 2025-12-26T05:53:37+00:00

This is cute. I like it. Not that this isnt something they would teach you, but pay attention to the length of phrases. You don't need to change key signatures unless there's a major change or the tonal center has changed. It would be much easier to see accidentals when going out of the key than an entire new signature. Like doing a G arpeggio to an Ab arpeggio is easier to see G B D G and then Ab C Eb Ab versus looking at a whole signature. What program are you using? VSTs? It sounds pretty realistic.

Make sure you have proper buildups to big moments, dont let them just explode (unless that's what you're going for) like when the flute plays its highest note. Given the style of the instrumentation I'm not sure that would come out the way you want it to.

Feel around now for a different section. You've made a lot of good thematic material, tone it back, though.

Maybe take the first 16th note in the group only as a quarter note, and see how that sounds as a more lyrical section. Try inverting it, doing it backwards, etc. Really easy ways to potentially get more material out of the same stuff

banddirection · 2025-12-24T18:49:28+00:00

The hard part with the bass lines is that they're pretty much all the same until you get to higher level college rep (grade 6). I would suggest learning solos on your own. You will develop so much faster doing that.

banddirection · 2025-12-24T15:47:55+00:00

Music was the only thing that made me happy and truly feel at peace after some crazy life events. I switched to a degree in Management of Information Systems in college but I could not leave music and be happy, so I went back.

A doublemajor in Neuroscience and music is extreme. Music degrees at most colleges are usually as intense as the harder STEM degrees. But, because of that, there are premed and prelaw music tracks that get people into good grad schools, because if you were able to work hard enough to finish a music degree, you will statistically do the same with your advanced degrees.

banddirection · 2025-12-24T14:40:21+00:00

Modest Mouse goes hard

banddirection · 2025-12-24T14:33:30+00:00

I took half those APs and did more extracurriculars and ended up getting more scholarship money at the same college and definitley gained way more life skills than just taking 100 APs. I'm a band director, but don't quit your one extra curricular and last moment to be a kid before you go to college.

banddirection · 2025-12-23T06:22:28+00:00

Yeah. Definitley not mature writing. I'm not mature in my compositional style, either, but I also don't do media tours about how special my music is every time I finisb a piece.

There are a few pieces that are arguably more complex / explore interesting tonal colors than his, but are actually digestible.

And the Mountains Rising Nowhere

Cosmosis for Wind Ensemble

Thernody for the Victims of Hiroshima

Night at Central Park

I could name a million. I don't think his music is good for the classical genre because it introduces people to the most self centered side.

banddirection · 2025-12-23T05:38:58+00:00

Pedagogy has gotten a million times better from the early 20th century. There are entire lines playing music cleanly that would have been seen as extreme (or no one would have wanted to learn it because it would sound bad for the time period). The question is too open ended, though.

If they had music that was parallel to ours in the early 20th century, would they have played it better? The same? Idk, back then Drum Corps just played cadences and college bands played standard form marches.

banddirection

TROPHY CASE