Your Opinion Matters

In today’s high stakes testing climate, advocacy efforts on behalf of music education have become paramount to the success of our programs. To that end, the better we understand what organizations and programs are having the greatest impact in this area, the greaterer the gains we can make.

Two weeks ago, we “teased" this issue by asking what you would do to help music education if we gave you one million dollars. The answers were as diverse as they were impressive. It was evident in reading the responses how important you believe advocacy is, and made us want to hear more from you. To that end, we have put together a brief survey to get a “wide-angle” look at this important issue and are hoping you will share your thoughts with us.

We recognize that their are many dedicated and AMAZING educators and organizations doing incredible work; however, in the interests of clarity and brevity, we have tried to limit the response choices to organizations that are widely recognized and operate on a national level. Since our email database is primarily made up of instrumental music teachers, we have not included organizations affiliated with choral music as the results would not be statistically valid.

You owe us nothing and have no reason to participate other than professional kindness. However, the more responses we get, the more valuable the information becomes. As was promised with the “million-dollar” question, we promise to share the data with you in the coming weeks.

This survey is not meant to stand the scrutiny of a doctoral dissertation or question the work of the many dedicated people who believe in the power of music in our schools. We are merely trying to better understand what works and what is having an impact that we can develop and modify programs to have the greatest impact possible.

Please share this with all of your colleagues/assistants/friends/music supervisors/etc. All responses are completely anonymous.

Take the survey now.

No, really…

Please take the survey now.

Thanks to all of you who work tirelessly to teach your students and advocate for this activity. You do make a difference and you are having an impact.

With great sincerity,

I LOVE Halloween!

As a teacher, one of my favorite events of the year was our annual sectional pumpkin carving contest. If you have never done one of these, you should try it. It was a ton of fun and gave the kids a creative outlet during the last part of the season. I would award caption prizes and let my administrators serve as judges. 

However, this usually meant having to explain that abstract piece of “art” that was the trombone entry, and that they were not a danger to themselves, the school, or society in general.

Don't contact me next Saturday, I will be pillaging my son’s Halloween haul for Butterfingers. Don’t judge, he’s four and I changed his diapers, so I'm taking what I want.

I may need to go to Butterfinger rehab.  What’s your drug of choice?

I Am No Tom Cruise

Disclaimer: As I write this, I under the the influence of Nyquil. Please attribute any nonsensicleness you read to my drug induced stupor. Better yet, grab a bottle of your own and join me. Trust me, my newsletters are much funnier this way.)

As is my custom, when my seven month road tour ends, I get sick. It's an annual tradition I would rather not participate in, but I have no say in the matter. It’s as if my body has been politely waiting for a less hectic, more convenient time to breakdown. My body, much like myself, is nothing if not polite.

This morning, in an effort to expedite the recovery process, I slipped on my "sickee" outfit of choice, a plain white tee shirt and my favorite pair of jeans. It’s amazing the difference comfortable clothes can make. 

A trip to the drug store was in order as the last of the Nyquil was gone. I grabbed my faux aviator sunglasses, the car keys, and headed for the door. Concerned about my driving skills, appearance, or both, my wife asked me where I was headed. I pulled my shades down my nose, gave her my best sexy look and said, “I feel the need…the need for speed.” 

Trust me, when you are high on cold medicine, this is much funnier.

She laughed out loud and said, “Ok Maverick, but let's be clear, you are no Tom Cruise.”

“Come on," I said. "I got the white tee shirt, the jeans, the aviators, and we are both 5’6. All I need is a motorcycle and my wing man Goose.”

“Think what you want,” she giggled, “but if you start dancing around in your tighty whitees, I’m taking away the cold medicine.”

I guess you could say that she’s lost that lovin’ feeling. (See what I did there?)

She has a point though. Just rocking the outfit (and I was rocking it) doesn't turn me into a sexy film star or heartthrob. If only it was that easy. My sweet wife had a point, I am much closer to Lawrence Welk than I am to Tom Cruise.

Like a movie star, this weekend, your students will be involved in a production of their own. They will don a costume, and play their part on a stage of grass. They will expend all of their musical and physical energies in an effort to take their audience to another place, even if it is just for for a brief time. Oh the magic of it all.

And like a movie set, the production crew will be on hand as gaffers, costume managers, roadies and a food truck stand ready to serve in whatever capacity needed. It may not be as lavish production, but this unlike Tom's last movie, we are on a budget and can't just show you the money (is it the Nyquil, or am I on FIRE today?)

In just a few short days, entire organization will come together in a Herculean effort to create nine minutes of magic. But in order to truly enjoy it, you have to pay attention and know what you are looking for because just as quickly as it begins, it ends. 

The uniforms will come off while the performance props are returned. The food and equipment trucks will be loaded and the set will be cleared. Yes, the performance is over, but for the students and parents, the magic remains. 

That nine minutes on a stage represents months of work, and countless hours on a practice field. It represents early morning rehearsals and late night bus rides. It represents hot summer days and cool fall mornings. It represents parents knowing their children are safe and students knowing they have a safe place to be. It represents frustrations and failures, but more important, it represents the people who helped students work through them. That nine minutes represents an entire community of people coming together to help young people succeed in music and in life. 

This weekend's performance is so much more than the nine minutes the audience sees.

Tom Cruise never won an Academy Award, but his performances will always be remembered.  And similarly, the entirety of your efforts can not be represented with an award or plaque. That would be demeaning to the performance and performers alike. They don't give awards for what that nine minutes truly represents.

So as the director, be sure to sit back and enjoy the performance for what it is, MAGIC!

Be Part of the Band Survey Results

Hey everyone:

As promised a year ago, we have undertaken a study of the effects of Be Part of the Band. Last week we administered a nation wide survey to determine the efficacy and impact of Be Part of the Band. The survey concluded last Friday and the results are nothing short of AMAZING!

Our goal twelve months ago was to add 350,000 new students by providing high quality recruitment materials to every school in America for free. We believed that by adding five new students per school, we could make a substantial impact on every band room in America.

We not only met that goal of 5 additional students per school, but more than DOUBLED it.  Directors that utilized our materials showed a 20% greater enrollment in 2014 than in 2013 with an average growth of ELEVEN additional band students per school. Needless to say, we are ecstatic.

To see the highlights from the complete survey in an info-graphic, click here.  

If you know of any music educator that is not aware of the materials, please forward this on. The more people that are utilizing these free resources, the more students we can get to Be Part of the Band!

Thanks for your support, feedback, and continued efforts on this very special project.

Have a great week everyone!

p.s.  Our newsletters typically arrive on Wednesday, but the last month of travel and project deadlines have put us behind some weeks. We are sorry, and promise to do better.

If I Had a Million Dollars

BNL is one of my favorite rock bands. I would list their entire name, but it would likely trigger your spam filter and create a firewall issue that would make the Great Wall of China seem like my son’s Lego project. So let’s just leave it at BNL. I love this band as much for their catchy melodies as their snarky and amusing lyrics. Still stumped? Try Googling “Be My Yoko Ono.” That should solve the mystery for you, and explain why I can’t type the band's name.

One of BNL’s greatest hits is “If I Had $1,000,000.” Their answer to the timeless question of ”What would you do if you won the lottery?" will leave you laughing out loud. Don’t believe me? Click here.

Lately I have been thinking about the big picture of music education and how to ensure its viability for future generations. As a part of this process I asked myself, “If I had a million dollars to use towards making music education better, how would I spend it efficiently to get the greatest impact for every dollar spent?"

Do you know what you would do with the money? Would you lobby Washington? Would you hand out free instruments to disadvantaged youth? Would you invest in teacher training? How would you spend your million dollars on music education? What if I upped the ante to ten million? Would it change your answer?

For ten years I have been writing to you, now it is your turn to write to me. Click here and tell me how you would spend your ten million dollars. I might publish some of the answers in next week's e-zine.