Sorry, no April Fools Day jokes from me this year. But I am actually posting a little bit. Last night, I took my band to the UIL Concert and Sight-Reading contest and we got a Sweepstakes trophy. This means that at least two of the three judges for our concert program and two of the … Read more
This evening, I decided to do something I’ve been toying around with since the summer. I finally deleted comments from my blog entirely. Where it all began I began this blog as a hobby back in the spring of 2007, shortly after I began to learn more about the potential that blogs held. Life was … Read more
Here is a brief summary of the last 19 months of my life. In December of 2007, I was getting ready for work one Friday morning. I got a phone call from one of the high school assistant band directors. He told me that the other middle school director I work with had a stroke … Read more
This Thursday, I will be taking my Middle School band to our UIL Concert & Sight Reading contest. For those who don’t understand how the band world works (and even for those who don’t understand Texas UIL), here’s sort of how it works. How UIL works I will be taking them to perform a concert … Read more
This article is the first in a series of “life lessons” exploring some of the things that I have learned over the years. In this one, we explore the concept that experience is the best teacher. Life has with it certain milestones that we reach and we stop briefly to analyze where we are going and … Read more
For an updated list of iPhone apps I actually use in band class after over year of use, check out 20 Ways I Really Use My iPhone To Teach Band Class I haven’t gotten a new cell phone in the last two years, so I am excited about this opportunity to upgrade. My decision to … Read more
As we begin the summer vacation, I am looking back on what went really well this year, what didn’t work so well, and what needs to change for next year. Below are some of the changes that I intend to implement next year: Change the focus – Winning is not the only thing that matters. … Read more
Have you noticed that People really don’t like As I prepare my bands for the UIL Concert & Sight Reading contest that is now less than a month away, I have noticed that they seem to have a big problem with rests. For the uninitiated, rests in music represent silence. … Read more
Get your commenting skills ready, there’s lots of material to be discussed here. I will be offline for most of this coming week and would love to hear the thoughts of my readers on these subjects. This week, I will be traveling to San Antonio for the annual Texas Music Educators Association clinic and convention. … Read more
Even if you ignore the majority of this article, check out the last sentence. I am absolutely loving school since coming back from Christmas Break. Even so, I am beginning to get burned out. If you want to know why, go read this. He’s still not back yet and it’s all but certain that he … Read more