Additional “Teacher Tips” 

for Habits of a Successful Beginner Band Musician

  • Between Sequence 6 and 7 in the front of the Conductor’s Edition, we begin teaching students the “Alphabet Game” found on the Resources page

  • All supplemental Rhythm Charts should be counted with a metronome or (our preference) with the Percussion Grooves found on the Resources page at q=60

     

  • Once students master exercise #15, they should go to the resources page and play the “Three Note Songs;” They should also learn to sing them using solfege (optional)

     

  • Before exercise #19, ask the trombone players to go to the trombone clinic videos and watch the video titled “Pro Tip: Slurring” (video 22)

     

  • After students master exercise #35, we send them to page 47 in the student book to learn #1 in the Supplemental Page Warm-up Drills

     

  • After students master exercise #42, we send them to page 47 in the student book to learn #2 in the Supplemental Page Warm-up Drills

     

  • Once students master exercise #45 (The Bb Concert Penta-scale) and exercise #51 (The C Concert Penta-scale), we spend at least two weeks (once per day) playing both exercises as part of their beginning of class warm-up to reinforce the understanding of keys and key signatures and the discovery of new notes

     

  • When teaching exercise #48, “An Accident Ready to Happen,” use Sequence Teaching to teach students the various components

a. Explain accidentals and the note coming back in the measure

b. Review the NEW NOTE

c. Count the exercise, then tizzle it and finger it

d. Perform the exercise with full note values first

e. Review the staccato articulation – we teach this “Sound and Space”

f. Review the dynamics and isolate the playing of piano(p) with a supported sound

g. Then, put it all together addressing Timing, Rhythm, Articulation, and Dynamics

  • If you start with the CLARINETS ONLY pages after exercise #27 (as suggested) and do one line per week with your clarinet students (not full band), by about exercise #50, the clarinets should all be able to play over the break using the exercises on the clarinets only pages

     

  • After students master exercise #53, we send them to page 47 in the student book to learn #3 in the Supplemental Page Warm-up Drills

     

  • Once students master exercise #55, start using page 23 “Basic Daily Warm-up”

     

  • After students master exercise #62, we send them to page 47 in the student book to learn #4 in the Supplemental Page Warm-up Drills

     

  • Before exercise #74, ask the bassoon players to go to the Bassoon Clinic Videos and watch the Pro Tip on “Flicking” for bassoon
     
  • After students master exercise #74, we send them to page 47 in the student book to learn #5 in the Supplemental Page Warm-up Drills; At this point, we review exercises #1 thru #5 on a very regular basis

     

  • Once clarinets master exercise #89, send them to the resources page to begin the supplemental “Clarinet Register Break Exercises;” This is also the time they should go to Clarinet Clinic Videos and work on the “Pro Tip” exercise for going over the break with “fingers down,” doing the trill exercise from A to B
The following statements are true if you meet your students every day

About halfway through the beginner school year, a typical class would look something like this:

    • Each class starts with one or two lines of RHYTHM VOCABULARY using the supplemental rhythm charts; this should be done with a metronome or percussion grooves 
    • Students should then do some basic stretching and one breathing exercise 
    • Woodwinds: should play long tones of 8 counts each on every note they know to date – this should be done using a sound source and metronome 
    • Brass: should start with sirens on their mouthpiece, then play long tones of 8 counts each on every note they know to date – this should be done using a sound source (Harmony Director/Tonal Energy app, etc.) and should be alternated between mouthpiece only and the instrument 
    • Work should be done on page 23 – “Basic Daily Warm-ups” 
    • Students should play the Supplemental Warm-up Drills on page 47 of the student book based on the prompts mentioned above
    • Clarinets should continue to do work on the CLARINETS ONLY pages; this can be done at the beginning of class (for 3 minutes) while other students are doing “note naming” exercises on their devices using www.musictheory.net

       

    • All students should play/ review exercises #45 and #51 to remediate key signature recognition

We wrote Habits of a Successful Beginner Band Musician to be a year 1.5 book, meaning, the sequence and pacing is for year one, plus the next half-year; this is if you see your students every day for band class.

If not, this is easily a two-year sequence of material.