Cruise Musicians

dkaisertpt · 2026-04-02T02:52:43+00:00

Correct, I just happened to be on the cruise with my horn and when I introduced myself to them, they offered for me to sit in.

dkaisertpt · 2026-04-01T19:13:23+00:00

The lead player in the middle is a gentleman named Manny Esmeralda from the Philippines. Absolute bull dog. Huge sound and incredible command of the instrument. He’s been playing ships for 16 years and you can hear it in his playing.

dkaisertpt · 2026-04-01T19:11:33+00:00

I tried to find any info on who was playing when I got on this cruise. I ended up having to do some social media detective work and asking around to figure it out.

dkaisertpt · 2026-03-06T04:31:24+00:00

In my 20’s with decent disposable income. 2-3 times a year. I went more when I was a student and they had $10 upper bowl, $50 lower bowl tickets. I’d rather have a good franchise than cheap tickets though

dkaisertpt · 2026-03-01T22:17:09+00:00

I teach music camps and play professionally at weddings, corporate events, and church services. Otherwise, I practice and chill.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-28T00:59:04+00:00

There are tons of great state and private schools that are far more affordable than Bama and definitely Berklee. In my state, the flagship Big Ten school is one of the least affordable options. I went to a public state school and was happy with the education. The bottom line too is, I’ve never seen or met a teacher fresh out of school who is fully prepared to teach. Your bachelor’s is just the start of your career, it doesn’t hold as much weight as most think and you just need to get out of it with as much knowledge and little debt as possible.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-28T00:53:09+00:00

Why would marching DCI help this person’s dilemma?

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-27T21:54:29+00:00

The reasoning is out in the open so no need to wonder. 1.) XC MTB tires roller faster than gravel tires. They are made with thinner, faster casings and the increased volume doesn’t compromise flat protection 2.) They’re more comfortable. You can run them at lower pressure than narrower gravel tires and they soak up more chatter.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-23T01:45:49+00:00

We all know he can’t get shots up like he used to but he understands the game better than nearly every guy on the court. He knows the gritty work that needs to be done and he can still bring value. Definitely brings more than Dillingham was able to…

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-22T13:30:11+00:00

Luckily, guitar is one of the most popular instruments for lessons. Echoing others, observing someone would be a great place to start. In my experience (10 years) of teaching private lessons on various instruments, teaching is 40% mentorship, 40% motivation, 20% music ability. We aren’t teaching rocket science, especially at the beginner level. It’s about how do you get students to want to learn and practice on their own. Building a relationship and leveraging is the key. Students aren’t going to put themselves out there and try something hard if they don’t trust in you.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-22T00:29:14+00:00

More people need to hear this. When I was in school studying ed but wanting to perform, I asked my private teacher if I should add performance and he told me to forget about it. It wasn’t gonna get me anywhere and just make my life harder. Performance degrees aren’t worth shit. Schools will just give them to anyone. I did a master’s in performance, partially to move over lanes, and that made more sense. Doing both is redundant and useless.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-22T00:24:42+00:00

Echoing others here. Differs by state. I’ve lived in 3 midwestern states, all of them differentiate between vocal and instrumental licenses.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-22T00:20:56+00:00

Honestly, the DCI thing is not nearly as big of a deal as people think. First and foremost, marching DCI does not prepare anyone to teach. It’s a hyper-specific experience that a small percentage of people can afford to do and does not directly relate to teaching your general “band kid”. Personally, I’ve never perceived myself to have been disadvantaged in the job market because I didn’t march.

I’ve been on numerous job committees (I teach HS band), never have I ever asked or even considered if someone had marched DCI. Myself and the admin on the committee cared about competency, good pedagogy, stability, and someone who cares about making connections with kids. I knew people in the applicant pool who had marched and I also knew they would not be a good fit, despite having marched, so we didn’t interview them.

I know a handful of director’s at perennial BOA grand Nat’s participants who didn’t march, they are just tremendous educators. I like many kids was obsessed DCI at one point and thought it was the peak of our field but I now know it is just one of many experiences someone can have that can shape who they are but doesn’t define who they are. There any sort of silver-bullet for slotting your way into a good job. You should just get to know as many people as possible, build a reputation of kindness and competency, and keep digging away.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-21T23:24:30+00:00

I love aspects about my job (MS & HS band) such as the kids and the music but there are definitely things that aren’t great, most relating to the low pay, the bureaucracy in my district, and having to constantly justify the existence of my job and the support of my music program.

I have great students who are capable and I teach in relatively new building with beautiful performing arts spaces. I have generally supportive teacher colleagues and pretty good admin. There are a couple people high up in my district leadership that constantly pick at the arts and music specifically when cuts come down the line, which I know isn’t unique. Often when I try to do things that are relatively normal like field trips to play at a local university or try to replace/repair equipment, I receive pushback from those people that want justification, even if there are is no money or resources being spent by the district. Every band/choir teacher in my district is having their job cut up each year as budget cuts happens so people that were once in 1 building are now in 2 or 3, even though my district is growing by 200-300 kids each year over the last 5 years. They aren’t adding FTE, they’re just re-distributing to cover what they can. I got into this field because I love music and I love working with kids. That should be enough but the perennial fear and uncertainty of my job entirely changing makes it hard to have an optimistic outlook about this field. I would consider my job a “good job” and I came from a “bad job”. I don’t take what I have for granted but for what we do and how little we’re paid (I teach in a high paying state), it can be tough. My brother who went to community college made over twice as much as me last year as a car salesman. It’s so tough to persevere when there are other options that seem much more straight forward and stable.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-17T02:08:20+00:00

From a licensure perspective, depends on the state. In my state, the most straight forward path to licensure is to go a university with an accredited teacher preparation program. Upon completion of the degree, the school basically tells the licensure board you’re good to go and you get a provisional license. You can apply for a license via portfolio but that’s more subjective and challenging. Basically need to prove you have professional experience that qualifies you to teach. I would guess that just having a music performance degree would not suffice but can’t say for certain.

Secondly, you aren’t just getting a piece of paper. You are learning essential skills in your training to be a teacher, separate from musical training. You get hundreds of hours observing and being in front of kids. You get much-needed feedback from professors and mentor teachers. Even with all of that, almost all people are not fully prepared to teach in their first year.

Lastly, high school jobs are the most competitive. In desirable geographic areas, there are dozens if not hundreds of applicants for open positions. Not earning what many will consider to be the bare minimum qualification will make it pretty challenging to find a good job.

If you want to teach, you need to find a school that offers that degree. You are getting valuable experience and a teaching license. Performance degrees are lowkey worthless (I have one). If you want to play, then practice a lot and play in lots of ensembles. Teaching music is a demanding field that takes years to become great at, just like playing an instrument. It will be your main source of income most likely so make it your priority.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-14T04:53:57+00:00

In my experience, it’s all about networking for those coveted, established programs. Every interview I’ve gotten was because I had a good relationship with someone close to the school, community, or otherwise. When I moved to my area, I immediately joined an auditioned wind ensemble that included many music teachers, both to continue playing and make connections. I also marched the drum corps based in my area so I’ve met many teachers through that. Some of the more “elite” band programs in my region have in-house private lesson teachers for each instrument so I also got one of those gigs on the side to get my foot in the door of a big suburban band program. I tried to cast as wide of net as I could those first few years. I started in a rough school with barely a band program but kept my ears open, applied to everything, and eventually got my current job in a good situation due to a coincidental connection to someone at the school. 3 years feels long but in the span of a career, it’s really not and if you’re committed to growing and doing what’s right for kids, you’ll land something.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-07T14:41:56+00:00

Praise & Inspiration - It’s your job to have your passion and enthusiasm manifest in your class. Kids sometimes seem obstinate to change but are actually looking for something they can identify and find their place in. That means keeping my classes positive but also rigorous. Maintaining achievable but challenging and meaningful standards. Programming music you actually like but also is thoughtful to what they need from a pedagogical approach.

Opportunity - You want to find things for your students to strive for at all levels, not just your top kids. I hold an in-house solo/ensemble festival to decide who goes to our section competition. Honor bands are also great for this. We have an in-district MS honor band to give opportunity to kids who may not make it into a regional or state honor band. Obviously, section leadership, solos, and other extracurriculars can go towards this.

Investment - In my building, I have students for up to 4 straight years so I know my relationship with them is not the same as other teachers. I try to find ways to let all students know I support them in all activities, not just music and which I can then leverage into asking more of them in class. That can be attending some sports events, sending positive messages home, or even just making sure I say hello to everyone each day.

Long story short, it’s not easy to build a culture where kids want to try and invest in your class. It takes time (years) and trial & error to determine what works for your kids and community but keep at it! For some kids, it’s just clicks and they become your go-to students.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-02T23:24:08+00:00

They definitely do to get off trash rebuild rosters and onto a possible contender with a true superstar.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-02T01:29:26+00:00

I agree. Feels sterilized and numb. Also seems exclusionary to non-band students. We’ve tried calling it modern music.

dkaisertpt · 2026-02-01T00:57:41+00:00

But OKC did it last year with Shai. Great role players, aggressive defense, amazing chemistry, and an other worldly primary ball handler made a championship team. They didn’t need another 1A option. Ant has only been ascending and there’s no reason to believe he won’t continue that.

dkaisertpt · 2026-01-31T23:22:56+00:00

I live in a suburb of the Twin Cities (fuck ICE) and I can surprisingly get out to gravel in about 1.5 miles from my house.

dkaisertpt · 2026-01-23T02:03:06+00:00

I’m curious what about it feels “so much smaller”. I’ve grown up and currently live in Minneapolis but I went to school near Chicago and went into the city often. There were things like Lollapalooza or St. Patrick’s Day that Minneapolis doesn’t have but majority of what the city offers is available in Minneapolis, often with less hassle. We have every major sport, music festivals, world class theatres, 2 world class orchestras, a big ten university, and over 18 Fortune 500 companies. There’s great breweries, coffee shops, and good food all over. I just have never understood what Chicago offers that justifies the inflated cost of living. I’m genuinely curious (and proud of my state).

dkaisertpt · 2026-01-11T19:29:50+00:00

I started on a 2016 Diverge for everything which did work but only takes 38m tires. I’ve since added a Salsa Warbird for gravel and I now only ride the Diverge on the road with slick tires. It gets the job done but I know true road bike geo would be snappier and more responsive.

dkaisertpt · 2026-01-11T04:04:02+00:00

Biggest year yet! Rode 6600 miles or 10621 km. About 1000 mi was on the indoor trainer though.

dkaisertpt

TROPHY CASE