A Night of Firsts!

Admit it... There's a secret part of you that is excited that football is FINALLY here. Gone are the long days of band camp and basics. Gone is the smell of sunblock and teenage sweat. Gone is band camp and the all day rehearsals that came with it. It's time to ditch the tennis shoes and white t-shirt and see the kids in uniform!

• Friday night will be full of "firsts."
• First time loading the bus.
• First time putting on a uniform.
• First time performing in front of a crowd.
• First time under the stadium lights.
• First pep assembly.

Yes, your students will experience these memorable moments and more. They are also likely to experience their:

• First "time tear."
• First electronic malfunction.
• First time when the melody can't be heard because of the drum line.
• First panic attack.
• First time losing their flip folder under the bleachers.
• First time being out of step.

Yes, today will be full of firsts, but not "lasts," as all of these things will occur again (and again and again).

Knowing that the first performance is special, I encourage you to sit back, enjoy, and take it all in. There will be plenty of time for reflection and rehearsal next week, but this performance is different. It's special. It's the first one and THAT won't happen again.

This Friday, take the time to enjoy the look of terror on the face of your first time marchers. Look away from the field and enjoy the beaming smiles of their parents. Enjoy being under the lights instead of the burning hot sun. Enjoy the feel of fresh cut grass under your feet instead of hot asphalt. Enjoy the look of pride and excitement you see in your seniors' eyes. Enjoy watching the sophomores council the freshman with their newfound wisdom.

Enjoy watching friendships being forged while memories are made. Enjoy the lives you have touched and the impact you have made.

Friday night won't be perfect. It may not even be good. But it sure beats the alternative: kids with nothing to do, no friends to do it with, and no music in their lives!

ENJOY Friday night!

Things you should know AND feel good about!

At the end of last weeks e-zine (Split Test Marketing and the Teenage Mind), we asked whether you preferred to "feel something" or "learn something." The results were interesting with roughly 55% of you choosing "to feel" with the remaining 45% choosing "to learn."
But why can't we have both?

Several recent studies have correlated experiencing emotion while learning to deeper levels of learning. Specifically, Frank Thissen, a German a Intercultural Communication professor, stated that while negative emotions tend to make us clearly remember data including the minutest detail, positive emotions tend to help us remember more complex things. In short, feeling good helps to create learning, which is one of the many reasons music education is so important to our nation's schools.

It's not just the "what" we teach, but the "how" we teach it... With JOY. Sometimes in an effort to create great art, we sometimes forget the joy. Yes, our curricula and literature should be challenging and rigorous, but still joyful, for when the two occur simultaneously, true learning is taking place. The joy is part of the reason;

• Children who study music tend to have larger vocabularies and more advanced reading skills than their peers who do not participate in music lessons.
• Children who study a musical instrument are more likely to excel in all of their studies, work better in teams, have enhanced critical thinking skills, stay in school, and pursue further education.
• Secondary students who participated in a music group at school reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (tobacco, alcohol, and drugs).
• Schools with music programs have an estimated 90.2% graduation rate and 93.9% attendance rate compared to schools without music education, which average 72.9% graduation and 84.9% attendance.
• Regardless of socioeconomic status or school district, students (3rd graders) who participate in high-quality music programs score higher on reading and spelling tests.
• A Stanford study shows that music engages areas of the brain which are involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating events in our memory.
• Children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year, compared to those who do not receive musical training.
• Schools that have music programs have an attendance rate of 93.3% compared to 84.9% in schools without music programs.

source donors choose.org

These are but a few of the examples as to why music matters. It as much about the "how" we teach as it is the "what" we teach. It is about "feeling" AND "learning." It is about feeding the mind and the heart simultaneously to teach the WHOLE child.

Yes, the statistics above were meant to assuage those who chose to "learn" while affirming those who chose to "feel."

See, learning can make you feel good.
 
 

Split test marketing and the teenage mind

Split test marketing is a method used for figuring out what messages resonate the strongest with your clientele. It can be used to test everything from website copy to emails, creating ads, or anything else that is designed to grab people's attention.

Think of it as a randomized experiment in which the basic content is the same, but the subject line, headline, or graphics have been altered to resonate with a different audience. Before you poo poo this, trust me, it makes a difference.

Last Spring I wrote an e-zine entitled An Open Letter to My Son's Band Director in which my response rate shot through the roof. NAILED IT! Feeling quite proud and thinking myself to be somewhat of a "Hemingway-esque" writer, I mentioned my triumph to a buddy who snarkily remarked, "You do realize that the subject line made everyone think it was a letter from a parent... Right?"

It turns out I'm NOT Hemingway and that subject lines DO matter! If only I was purposeful and split tested all of my subject lines, maybe my readership would be more than my mother and my golden retriever. DOH!

Split test marketing helps us better understand what people respond to. In the case of this blog, it does not matter what I write if you are unwilling to read it. Similarly, it does not matter what we teach if the student is either unwilling or unengaged. In other words, the HOW we teach can be just as important as the WHAT we teach. So how do we assess the "how" of teaching? Split test marketing, of course! Try and experiment with the following things:

• Teach the same thing in the morning and again in the afternoon. Is it different?
• Teach the same thing on a Monday and again on Wednesday. Is it the same?
• Play a chorale twice, once with the lights off. What is the difference?
• Play a fast piece at the beginning and end of the same class. Which is better?
• Change the classroom setup and see how it affects rehearsal intensity?
• Give the same instruction to a freshman and a senior. Is the result the same?
• Do students behave differently if you dress more formally (tie/skirt)?
• How do boys respond differently than girls in different leadership roles?

The variables are as infinite as the results, as every child learns differently. So does every ensemble. Jazz band learns differently than marching band. Freshman learn differently than seniors. Orchestra learns differently than band. Students of Smith High School learn differently than the students of Jones High School. The question is, do you alter your teaching "style" to match the students, ensemble, or school? It's not enough to know WHAT to teach, we have to know HOW to teach our students.

This is where the "art" of teaching comes in. This is the part the pundits and politicians don't see. This is where teaching becomes learning!

For fun and amusement, next week, I will write two different e-zines to find out what resonates the best. Choose one of the two buttons below to determine which e-zine you want to receive. If you don't choose a button, I will choose for you! This should be interesting.

Until the next time, have a great week!

Is my 401-OK?

As someone who is (cough, cough) approaching the (ahem...) latter part of my career, more and more I find myself thinking about how I will afford to live in my "golden years." Honestly, at the rate I am going it may be something more like my tinfoil years. Why you ask? Because I have two young boys.

For the past fifty years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been tracking how much American's spend on their children, and the numbers are staggering. Yep, from birth to eighteen the U.S.D.A. estimates that, for a child born in 2009, an "average family" will spend $241,452 raising him, and that doesn't include in-app purchases (which based on my children would significantly raise that figure).

I've spent almost a quarter million on each kid? Right now, one is running around naked doing the "bootie dance" while the other is perfecting his well documented "eye rolling technique." Seriously, if there were Olympic events in attitude and ambivalence, my kids would be headed for Rio next week! Where's the value? Where's the ROI? I would have been better giving my money to Bernie Madoff than to my kids.

Honestly, no one can argue that the investment in my children represents a considerable sum that I would be wise to watch and protect. After all, the money spent on my boys far outweighs my 401K!

As my eldest approaches middle school, I find myself worrying more and more about what lies ahead: drugs, alcohol, dating, driving, and increased academic rigor. Stuff is starting to get real! For the first time, I am coming face to face with possibilities that I didn't fear when I taught teenagers, because... Well, I was always around the music kids!
I am scared and genuinely want to protect my greatest assets, my boys, Brayden and Evan. And music represents my best hope at:

• keeping them away from drugs and alcohol
• keeping them from being bullied
• having them be in a safe space
• helping them find academic success

But more than that, music also represents:

• more laughter
• more friends
• more memories
• more meaningful experiences
• more influential adults in their lives
• In short, music represents my best hopes for them!

Getting older means worrying about the future. So yes, more so than ever, I will be checking not on my 401K. But not my two biggest investments, they will be in music, so they will be 401 OK!

Hope you enjoyed this. Have a great week!

Who's the Yahoo now?

In what seems to be an aptly named company, as a part of Verizon's acquisition yesterday, YAHOO is preparing to offer Marissa Mayer a $57 million severance package for a four year failed tenure. And yes, this is on top of her compensation which totaled over $162 million.
Me? I got me a music degree! Yep, that's right. I negotiated a compensation package that included a salary equivalent to Mayer's clothing allowance, an uncovered parking space, unlimited weekend use of a not-so charter bus, and no paid vacation! Talk about the Art of the Deal... Nailed it!

Hey YAHOO, I will be your new CEO and I will do it on the cheap! Business experience is required? No problem!

Years ago, as an act of self indulgence and professional punishment, I analyzed my music program as if it were a business and the results were almost alarming. Treating my students as paid employees and the rehearsal/performance schedule as our work week, I created a spreadsheet that showed my program for what it was, a business!

 
New business cards were ordered with the title CEO under my name! Why not? My business had 203 employees and annual payroll liabilities in excess of $1.7 million! This didn't even include any costs associated with facilities, benefits, equipment, technology, or transportation. After consulting with my local chamber of commerce, I discovered that my 170 piece marching band would have been a top three employer in my city, with me as the CEO! Business classes, you ask? I didn't take any. In fact, I barely survived 20th century harmony (an oxymoron if there ever was one).

Yes, you run a business! Granted, the pay and perks may not quite measure up to other CEO's, but the ROI (return on investment) is off the charts!

So who's the YAHOO now?

Happy New Year!

Pop the champagne!
Launch the confetti.
Cue the Guy Lombardo Orchestra.
Close up on Dick Clark.
Kiss the person closest to you!
WAIT... DON'T DO ANY OF THAT!

You can't drink at work, and kissing your drum instructor is just a bad idea on many levels. Guy Lombardo and Dick Clark are gone and any confetti you launch is just another thing to clean up, so what do you say we celebrate quietly this year?
Yes, July 20th is our Happy New Year.

What, you say? January 1st is the New Year... Naaaahhhhhh! Think about it, nothing new happens in January. For teachers, it all happens six months later. In July we get new classes full of new students. We hand out new music and new drill. We assume our new budget and in some cases our new facilities. Yes, it's our New Year and a HAPPY one at that! In July, EVERYONE is happy. The staff, students, and parents are happy and brimming with optimism. July 20th truly is our HAPPY and New Year!

No matter where you are in the world, no New Year celebration would be complete without the singing of the traditional carol Auld Lang Syne. You know the tune, the one where everyone sings the first verse and mumbles the rest? Whether it is beverage induced or just waning interest, no one ever sings all the way until the end, and that's the best part.

And there's a hand my trusty friend, And give me a hand o' thine! And we'll take a right good-will cheer for auld lang syne.

The celebration of a new year isn't so much about the journey as it is about the people with whom we choose to journey. The people make the journey. So, as we begin this new year, let us all grab the hand of a trusty friend, and with right good cheer sing at the top of our lungs to Auld Lang Syne.

So, Happy New Year my dear friends and thank you for only taking this journey once again, but for allowing be to be a part of it. I can't imagine doing it without YOU!
 
p.s. Am I the only one who thinks learning drill would be faster if we could turn drill spots into Pokemon Go characters

p.p.s. Looking for a cool band camp activity? Have your students make a My Story and tell the world why music is important. Click here for more details. If your students are camera shy, just have them post a pic and write their story.

O Captain! My Captain!

Some newsletters are effortless and joyful to write. They practically write themselves in a stream of consciousness style that leads me to believe I could have, and perhaps should have, been a writer.

Other newsletters, well, they confound me and remind me of why I am not, and probably should not be, a writer. I will let you decide privately which one is the better choice.
Late last night, tired and worn out from the road, I went looking for inspiration for the year's final missive. I Googled "great teachers" and among plethora of responses that came up was a video clip of Robin Williams playing a mid-century English teacher in Dead Poets Society. If you have not seen this movie, you are missing out on one of the finest films about teaching ever made.
Never having taken a poetry class or having a natural disposition towards this art form, I had never read Walt Whitman's epic tome and decided to look it up. It turns out that this elegy was composed by Whitman after Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865. Despite never having met Lincoln in person, Whitman considered him to be a very influential person in his life, hence the title O Captain! My Captain!

Whitman's poem is in part a metaphor for what you do each and every day, serving as a Captain to a young crew and guiding them safely into port. I am confident that your ten month journey has not always been easy, nor always happy, but certainly more than worthwhile.
With that in mind and as yet another year comes to a close, I share Walt Whitman's words...
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;

The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!

It is not the journey your students will remember, but the one who guided them on it. For these young people and their families, you are:

O Captain! My Captain!

THANK YOU for your continued service to young people everywhere. Have a restful and relaxing summer break.

I am a LUCKY man!

So you've hit it big! You're a big deal and a self-made success story. You've played for the President and graced the stage of Carnegie Hall. You're a regular on the MEA speaking circuit and are in high demand as a clinician and expert in the field of music education. Yep, that's right. Good ole Freddie Fennell ain't got nothing on you! Clearly, you're the result of uncanny skill and a ridiculous work ethic.

Or maybe not. Maybe it's luck.

Recent studies are showing that's the most likely reality, that luck played a larger role in our success than we give it credit for. Think about all of the things that have affected your professional standing that were either out of your control or happenstance. Imagine yourself being born in a different country, or having gone to an elementary school where music was not offered. Imagine working for a principal who is unsupportive (I know, it's hard to imagine, but just try) or teaching in a school in New Orleans decimated by Hurricane Katrina.
Yes, hard work and talent are paramount, but are not the only elements to success.

Luck is a factor that's often hard for people to attribute as a part of their success. Call it cognitive dissonance or inner ego, the result is the same. We tend to fall victim to our self adulation and congratulations, when in reality, it's not just what we did, but when it happened and who helped us.

We all want to feel successful. We all want to feel special in a singular way. I am certainly no different. Lately, however, I am becoming more at peace with the idea that I am not special, remarkable, or singular in any way. Let's be honest, I am surfing in the wake created three decades ago by Dr. Tim, and doing a job that many of you could do just as well, if given the opportunity. I am happy and at peace with where I and am comfortably grounded in what I believe.

Yes I am very much "all in" in my pursuit of all things music education, but "all in" doesn't mean all alone. After all, I have YOU.

How lucky am I?

Time for an electronic cleanse...

This past weekend, way past his bedtime and on his way to bed, my six year-old son tried to sneak his iPad past me. I very sternly said, "What do you think you are doing young man?" He responded with, "Bubba (his brother) is building a cool (Minecraft) world and I want to be in it with him."

Frustrated that they were on technology instead of going to bed, I scolded them, took both devices away, and returned downstairs grumbling about kids and their electronic gadgets.

After texting my wife about it, I posted it on Twitter, and returned to watching television while responding to my emails. I thought to myself that my wife and I needed to video chat about this as I believe she is setting a bad example.

According to a recent survey about half of teens think they're addicted to their phones. They would prefer gaming and "Snapchatting" and "Instagraming" with their friends more than actually meeting up with them. I know this to be true because I read about it on Reddit while listening to a podcast.

Yes, young people are addicted to technology... Just not as addicted as we are.

Whenever you read or hear something about teenagers' obsession with Instagram, remember to compare it to our email addiction. Yep, I said addiction. According to a recent poll someone forwarded me from Facebook, nearly 60% of adults check their work email while on vacation, and 6% have checked their email while a spouse is in labor. Another 6% have checked email at a funeral and 10% at a child's school event (having just been at my son's band concert last week I think it's more like 10% DON'T check their email at school functions).

"No Brayden I wasn't surfing the net while you were playing, ehhhh, I was filming of course! Why was the camera pointed to the ground? ummmm... Let's got get some ice cream!

A recent Fortune Magazine study discovered that an average teacher receives close to 150 emails each and every day, spending as much as 28% of their work day in front of a computer screen of some sorts. And, that number is not likely to go down anytime in the near future. It makes me miss the good ole days of AOL. YOU'VE GOT MAIL!

Yes, you've got mail... And way too much of it.

There's no doubt that technology has made running a music program infinitely easier, but I'm not so sure it makes our lives better. I believe the reason we are so obsessed with technology is that we are longing for connection and validation. We don't just want to earn a Superior rating, we want everyone to know about it, and we want to know about everyone else's score. It's more about connection and validation than it is narcissism. It's one way of saying, I'M HERE, I MATTER and DO YOU SEE ME?

Speaking collectively, we miss each other. We miss being a part of something bigger than ourselves. We want to be connected to and share something with other human beings and that is one of the things your class does best!
So here's my thought...

This Friday, let's have an electronic cleanse and go old school! Let's put down our cell phones, turn off our tuners, and make some harmonies without the Harmony Director. No digital recorders, Powerpoints, or metronomes. Let's help the kids tune out the outside world by tuning in to them! Yes, on Friday, let's shut down our smart phones and put an autoresponder on our email...

Why Friday? I have another email to send to you tomorrow and I don't want you to miss it. After all, I need to be heard and validated.
Hang in there, only a few more weeks left!

An Open Letter to My Son's Band Director

The following is a conversation that I have had in my head on several occasions during the past couple of weeks. Why am I sharing it here? It's more for lack of courage than opportunity. I thought it best to test it with you before I try it with him.

This photo is from my son's band concert last Thursday.
 
(Phil Hatchner, my son's band director, enters the room and shakes my hand)

Hey Phil, that was a great concert last night. The kids played well, the house was packed, and it was only thirty minutes long. YO DA MAN PHIL!

Phil? Can I call you Phil?

(prolonged silence... I clear my throat)

I think it's time I shared something with you.
This is going to be an uncomfortable conversation for both of us... Well, more so for me than you. Well, actually, completely for me and not at all for you. Have a seat, I have something to tell you, er, confess, I guess.

(awkward pause ensues)

I am a total failure as a father... Brayden NEVER practices the trombone.

Okay, not as a father, but as a band parent. Okay, fair point... TOTAL failure may be a "little" strong, but a failure. Let's just settle on "failure as a band parent."

Don't blame him, he actually WANTS to practice the trombone, but I almost always make him practice piano instead. "What about those practice records?" you say. As long as we're coming clean, I mean, I 'm coming clean, you should know that I didn't even know about those until two weeks ago.

Do you hate me? Are you angry? Is Brayden going to fail band?

Please understand, as a music teacher, I want you to know that I understand the importance of practicing. These are formative years for my child, musically and otherwise, and I know that Brayden will never get these learning opportunities back.

I'm a band director for goodness sake. I should know better, and I do. And yet, I still failed. You must be so disappointed in me.

Listen... I know that you are tired. I know that you are frustrated by increasing demands and decreasing instructional time. I know I am supposed to be a role model for my son in all things musical. I know that you are concerned about budgets, job security, and the future of music education. I know that parents like me give you pause and have had you considering making a change to your career on more than one occasion.

Forgive me Phil, with football, karate, piano, homework, and family time... It's just hard. But that's no excuse.

I WILL do better Phil, I will work HARDER. I PROMISE.

But, in the likely event that this doesn't come to fruition, just know that I am thankful he has you as a teacher.

I am thankful that he wants to practice. I am thankful that he looks forward to band. I am thankful that you have been able to bring my dream to his life. I am thankful that you are doing the job that I left behind. I am thankful that you are helping him to pursue his dream of becoming the next Trombone Shorty, while I am just helping with the shorty part.

In short (no joke here Phil), I am thankful for YOU Phil.

You did say I could call you Phil, right?

Oooooh, Happy Teacher Appreciation Week Mr. Hatchner!