Latest / The Unconducted Curriculum / Episode 8: Guest, Jarred Dodd - Beginning Band Check-up
Transcript
- tina: Hi everyone. Welcome to episode eight about building better beginners with procedures, pacing, and culture. And we're so excited. We have a guest this week, and it's Jared Dodd. Jared is the head director at Rushing Middle School in Prosper. I had the privilege of working with him when I was still at Reynolds, and we had such a great time, and I learned so much from him, and just appreciate his love for music and the and the students. and everything that he does for a program to help every individual student be the best that they could be. Jared, would you like to add anything to that? Jarred Dodd: No, I think you nailed it. I'm in my fourteenth year of teaching and yeah, happy to be here today. tina: Yep. I also want to put Chris McLellan: Awesome. tina: in there that also you had a band that performed at Midwest, which was very exciting. And I loved watching yall's process of doing that. Jarred Dodd: Yeah, it was it was an incredible experience for the students and the directors and one that I'll never forget. And I think if you'd asked me a week or two before if I ever wanted to do it again, I'd probably have said no. But as soon as we got off the stage, I was like, Man, tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: that was incredible. Let's do that again. So it was it was definitely a moment I'll never forget. tina: that's great to hear. I'm sure the students say the same and it will last a lifetime for them with that experience Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: that y'all had, for sure. Well, this podcast is very much about the importance of Being a beginner and what you do in beginner band. So, when you think about a successful beginning band program, what are the things that need to happen during those first few weeks? So, what we're gonna talk about is why are the first few weeks of beginning band so important? What are the biggest mistakes you see directors make with beginners? How much of beginning band success is actually about procedures and routines versus playing the instrument? What does a director need to establish before they worry about making music? Just all of those little details and things that make your beginners love what they're doing. So let's go all the way back, Jarrett, to day one. What does that first week actually look like for you? Jarred Dodd: You know, I think at Russian we try to really dive in on day one. So many of the kids come to school on that first day of school, they are hearing the syllabus of the class, they're hearing the procedures of the school. But when they come to band that day, we introduce ourselves, we show them around the room a little bit, but then we start learning band stuff. and we really kind of hit the ground running with it. We cover things like procedures, what to do when they come in the room. real quick, and then by day two, they're practicing that. we cover learning how to count rhythms, we cover how to sit in your chair, how to tap your foot, where your foot goes, how to raise your hand, little silly things that you don't necessarily think about that that means you know what what a what a tina: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: successful band looks like, but those are all those procedural things set them up for what they're gonna do with their instrument later. If they're not gonna pay attention to the details of how they're gonna tap their foot or how they're Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: gonna raise their hand, tina: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: then how can you expect them to put their thumb straight in between valve number one and number two on a trumpet? So things like that, you know, we start real fast, but we make it fun, we we we try to hook them in to love coming to beginner class on day one. We tell them, welcome to your favorite class of the year whenever they walk in and we just make it a fun and exciting experience. But at the same time, we show them that like we're gonna work hard, you know, and we're gonna it's Chris McLellan: Thank you. Jarred Dodd: fun to be good at things. So those are all kind of things that we cover on day one and l leading into the end of the week, we try not to we try not to review a whole lot. We just try to feed them new material. and review as necessary. We might come back and ask a little question like, who remembers this? And at the same time we're checking for their hand raises that we had just talked about, or somebody standing at the door reminding students of where to put their backpacks. But usually they remember those procedures pretty quick because they want to get to the fun stuff. they want to get to seeing their supplies, seeing their instrument and Usually by the end of that first week, we're trying to open up lockers and pull instruments out of their lockers, maybe not out of the case yet, but we want them to see, my supplies are here. My my parents have already ordered my clarinet. we already have my book. And we want them to see that by the end of that first week because in week two, we're gonna get them out and we're gonna start using them. And we want the students over that first weekend to, you know, maybe. panic a little bit if they if they don't see it in there and go home and tell mom and dad, Hey, everybody else had their flute in their locker. Where's mine? tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: So those are all kind of the things that we cover over that first week. tina: Right. How do you do like incorporating like patting their foot during that first week? Like what gets them excited? Jarred Dodd: We yeah, so we we just after we cover posture we use a metronome and we turn it on and we make it silly and we're just like as soon as you hear this sound, your foot will know what to do and they look they look around the room and some kids get it and then it just slowly starts to merge and tina: Yeah, that's great. Jarred Dodd: to everybody kinda understands what to do and we have some rhythms up on a projector. we use Darcy vote Williams we use her tina: Logic. Jarred Dodd: teaching rhythm logically material and I think it's just great. for a long time I used to try and go by her script, but I've kinda mm gotten away from that and done it a little bit my own way, but we're still following her procedures tina: Got your own thing? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: and that and I think it's brilliant the way that she has that stuff paced out. But we set up rhythms at the at the beginning of the year and a lot of times it's I say you say, you know. So I'll be tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: demonstrate them for them and then I'll ask them to do it right back. And we do a a counting system where the students have to do a like a a pulse inflection with their voice. So they're doing one, Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: two, three, tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: four and things like that as they're tapping their foot. We don't really try to go too deep into the tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: explanation of like what the foot's doing when you're saying this and because most of them have caught on. And if I need to pull a student, to help them understand that a little bit better. You know, the directors were all roaming around, rovering around and and and looking for things like that. And we might take a student individually to to explain it, but the rest of the class just gets to keep rolling right along with those. tina: Yeah. That's great. So they all kind of watch each other too and you. So it's a lot of mimicking and things like that. But even like Chris, if you have like one director in the room, like suggestions for that, because you still can do what he's basically saying. Jarred Dodd: Yeah, no, absolutely. I I would say just don't be up on the podium. Just be tina: Yes. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: teaching from around the room, using proximity as your as a tool. you know, tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: especially over the first couple of days, you're starting to also get to know the kids and you notice who is locking in with you and locking eyes with you immediately, tina: Yeah. Jarred Dodd: and then who is wandering eyes and who is a little bit slower to pick up on things. And so I just use my proximity to to help with that. A lot of times at rushing right now we have a a really high move in rate. in Prosper. There's the this the town is growing so quickly that Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: at the start of the year, you know, my two colleagues, Brandon and Allie, they're they're not able to be in the room with me for the first couple of days because tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: they're they're helping forty, it was forty something kids this year that we didn't we fit all the kids on instruments back in the spring, but This year we got to school and there were 40 plus kids that we had never seen their name on the tina: Yay. Jarred Dodd: roster before. And it's a great problem to have, but they needed something to play and we needed to go through the process with them. So they were troopers, Brandon and Alley, and they got through a ton of those kids within two or three days. And then, you know, by that last day, they were out there roaming, and that's when we would start to like, you know, zero in on one kid and explain it as needed. But you know, if you're working by yourself. I think just using your proximity as as a tool for effectiveness and you just make sure that while the rest of the class is going, you can give individual instruction to one kid. Chris McLellan: Who? Jarred Dodd: Like, hey, make sure that your ankle's right underneath your knee or you don't even tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: have to say anything. Sometimes you can just walk over there and and and scoot it with your hand or something like that. tina: Point, yeah. Mm-hmm, yeah. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: I'm I'm not above crawling around on the floor and moving a kid's foot tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: out a little bit and And then give a thumbs up afterwards or something like that. So yeah. tina: Well, it also helps build relationships quickly when you're walking around and not staying up there on the podium. And like you're saying, if you know, you're in a program that has multiple directors, th they could be doing something else out of the room to help with everything else. But also if you are a single director walking around and doing all that and they watch Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: and just having them. I also like like that you're talking about nonverbal things, you know, like pointing to it or pushing the the foot out or thumbs up, or anything, even posture like pointing to your shoulders. All of those things work so well. And it you usually have like the metronome going as you're like doing that, right? Correct. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: yeah. For sure, yeah, it's going. tina: I really love to have the metronome start at the very first day, if it if you can, and keep it each day a little bit, just because it becomes part of, hey, this is banned and this is fun. And keeping the steady tempo is part of playing an instrument and doing what you're doing. I Chris McLellan: Thank tina: think that establishes the program to go even quicker too in what you're doing. For Jarred Dodd: Absolutely. tina: sure. So what about like I know you talked about rhythm. What about like theory? Like I know that's part of that, but like when do you start more of like just the counting and like what a whole note is and a half note and things like that? Is that part of that first week? Jarred Dodd: yeah, definitely. first day we're counting and we're just tina: Okay. Jarred Dodd: doing group counting. usually by the end of the first week, we're no longer looking at the screen and the students have their own binders. We used to tina: Okay. Jarred Dodd: be able to have all of those binders out, on the first day and they'd be in their lockers for them when we would start looking at supplies, but just because of the high move in rate and sometimes tina: Hm, Jarred Dodd: even move out rate. You know, there's just a lot of people coming and going right now. And so, we stopped putting them in there for day one, but we usually all have their vendors out to them by the end of that first week. tina: Okay. That makes sense. Jarred Dodd: Yeah. tina: But you have you have them made but not completely Jarred Dodd: Yes. tina: with names and instruments and things. Okay, that makes sense that you have to let a few days go by or whatever before you pass them out. But with Jarred Dodd: Yes. tina: technology now and you can put stuff on the screen, it's basically what's in their folder. Okay. I like that. Very mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: Yes, absolutely. So we have we have rhythms up on the screen and this year, my gosh, it seems so silly, but it's been life changing changing. We invested in a little pin laser pointer. And so I tina: yes, yes. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: will be in the back row with a couple of knuckleheads who, you know, maybe can't they're Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: playing footsies instead of whatever and tina: Yeah. Jarred Dodd: and I'll just be standing back there and I'm using my laser pointer to point up at the screen and show them, what quarter note we're talking about, what etc. tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: And it's been it's been a huge game changer for tina: Huge, yeah. Jarred Dodd: us. but the you know by doing it up on the screen, the kids are are learning by group by group activity. It doesn't necessarily have to be an individualized thing yet, but we will still have we'll call on individuals and say, hey, who who thinks that they can do line three by themselves? And we're just trying to build that confidence Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: Mm. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: in some of them. And then you're gonna have some kids that are just a little more reserved tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: and a little shy, and that's okay. I'm not gonna single them out yet. but I am looking for some of those leaders that feel really confident about doing it. And that's when we teach the band shuffle and you know how they have to how they applaud for students who do something good tina: Yes, I was gonna ask you, yeah. Yes. Jarred Dodd: because they're gonna have a tuba in their hands soon, so they can't clap their hands. So you know, we'll we'll talk about that. Yeah. Yeah. tina: Yes. Right. I love the shuffling so, so much. And even if they make a mistake a lot. I love it. Chris McLellan: Tina talks about the shuffling a lot. tina: Because even when they make a mistake, you still can shuffle, you know, to encourage Jarred Dodd: yeah. tina: them to try again or next time or whatever. I love it. I think it changes the whole atmosphere, you know, of the band. so yeah, doing that the very first week is is is phenomenal. 'Cause it's just like like you Jarred Dodd: Yeah. And tina: said, how they enter enter where they put their backpack. do you start grouping them by like instruments in the room? like do you if it's Jarred Dodd: Yes. tina: a flute and trumpet class, do you do how do you do that? Jarred Dodd: Yeah, so absolutely we we do. We even on the first day, they come in and they've got assigned seats. It's not tina: Mm mm. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: just come in and sit wherever. we want them to be comfortable in the room and so we make it kind of loose, but we also don't want them to run how things go. and sometimes tina: Mm-hmm, yeah. Jarred Dodd: they get they come in with some friends or something like that, and Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: that can that can really derail some of the procedural things that you're trying to establish and so they come in the first day and they have assigned seats, but it's within their sections. And so, yeah, first period, for example, for us, we've got trumpet, clarinet, and bassoon this year. And the trumpets all sit together and it's alpha by the first day. It's nothing crazy. tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: but then the clarinets all sit in like a pod and theirs is alpha, et cetera. And so they are coming in with assigned seats. But those usually change by the end of the first week as we're as we're noticing things. We might change it on the second day, you know, if we notice something. But yeah. tina: Right. yeah, I think it just really just makes them realize they're on a big team and small teams within the band team. Yeah. What Jarred Dodd: Absolutely. tina: is something like I know you're saying you're doing everything every day, but what is something that you would never skip each day at first? Like one of the main things? Is there anything that stands out to you besides everything? Jarred Dodd: You know, I I feel like I I feel like every year there's always something that I accidentally skip because there's just so many things. tina: Right. Right. Jarred Dodd: you know, and then I'll go back and look at my notes and be like, my gosh, we never talked about that. So I feel like one thing though that we're pretty good about always establishing on that first day is we do something band related and not just syllabus related. and Chris McLellan: Thank Jarred Dodd: and you know, usually I would say maybe like my second Here, like the very next one is established by the end of that first week. And we always have somebody do something individually. And I go until I have somebody who makes a mistake because we want to celebrate the mistake. tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: we want to make it like not a negative thing if someone made a mistake. just because that's our opportunity to explain to students that if they make like if they make a mistake, it needs to be a loud, confident sounding mistake. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: And not one where we're hiding. So we're promoting that individual confidence. and and and yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Chris McLellan: And mistakes is how we learn. mean, we can't be afraid to make mistakes or then we just... tina: Yes, exactly. Yeah. Well, Jarred Dodd: So I I I would say those two things, yeah. tina: well, one thing I know you were really good at and we used to have fun with that I always want to always make sure it's done every day is when they leave. tell can't wait to see can't wait to see him a band tomorrow. that kind of thing to get them excited and feel like they belong. because you know someone else in a different class might not say that to them, but as they're leaving is we're so glad you're a part of the of the band and we're so glad you're here. I know that you would always do that a lot. And I really, kind of love that and like kept doing it even more in my next years of teaching because of your example with that. But I think that's one thing, well, you do many good things, but that's one thing that I really got from you that needs to be done every single day as they walk out the door. So Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: so that's really just yeah. Jarred Dodd: Well, I appreciate I appreciate that. Well, I just real quick, I don't don't want to derail everything. There was no one who was a bigger cheerleader for the kids than you. I mean you were tina: well thank you. Jarred Dodd: you were you were up there championing everything that they did. So I think I think if you were noticing that about our staff, it was probably because of what you had in place already. But I do appreciate that. No. tina: well thank you, Jared. Yeah. well, let's see. with the instruments and supplies how do you really instill on what supplies they need to have? I'm talking about instruments and instrument supplies and all that. And then when they show up, like kind of go through that. Like what do they have to have? And what do you do if they have something that you wish they had something different or whatever? How do you kind of go about that? Jarred Dodd: You know, I'll I'll start by saying that I think sometimes people assume that in Prosper or in an affluent area that you can just send out the list and parents will have no issue and we'll just go and buy whatever is there. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: But you know, I we've really determined that that's not necessarily the case. And and I'll I don't want to beat around the bush. We do live in a in a do teach in teach in a very fluent area. And I know that some districts don't have this or some places don't have this, you know, ability to put certain things on their supply list. And tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: so I would say put as much quality material on your supply list as you think you can with tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: your families and then do your best to educate. There have been times where this year, this year had a had a student come in and I won't name the brand, but they had a tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: student come in and and th they had purchased their trumpet off of Amazon and it was not one of the approved brands or models that we put out and so I just very calmly called the parent that day and I said hey you know just letting you know that your student brought in an instrument today that's not one of our approved ones and I I want to kind of explain to you why that's important. Your student isn't going to sound like the s other students in the class, their instrument isn't going to operate like the other students in the class. And your student is going to realize that sooner than later. And once they realize that we've been building confidence up until this point, and once they realize that they don't sound and their instrument can't do the same things that everyone else is going to do, they're going to lose confidence. And as soon as they lose confidence, they're not going to want to do it in front of other people. As soon as they don't want to do it in front of other people anymore, they're not gonna wanna practice. And as soon as they don't want to practice, what are we doing here anymore? So Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: you know, I tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: just kinda explained that to the parent and I said, You are fortunate to where you just got this and you can send it right back. And then you tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: can lock in one of those for for the approved ones and they did. And we were really lucky with that. But we've tina: Yeah. You know, I think the key is communicating and you have to try to get them on the phone. And you know, nowadays it goes to voicemail. I like the new iPhone feature where you can say who you are, you know, and they'll pick Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: up because they don't recognize or whatever. I love that. But I I think it would be to your advantage nowadays because I didn't have that the last time I was teaching, but I just really think you just keep trying until you get them on the phone. But the other thing is like, do you have a spreadsheet or something that all of your directors have, to check off each kid has their trumpet and what brand it is and do they have the valve oil, do they have, clarinet reads or all of that? Do you have some kind of system like that that y'all kind of can communicate so the phone calls can Jarred Dodd: Yeah. tina: happen? Jarred Dodd: Absolutely we do. it starts by having a small approved list of supplies and equipment. And tina: Mm-hmm. Right. Jarred Dodd: the music stores, the local music stores know that our list, they know that rushing has a particular list, as well as some other schools in the district as well. and so they, you know, if a student calls and says we go to rushing, they know exactly what items are are Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: are going to be available for them. tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: And then they'll bring those items to the school over the summer. As soon tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: as a student gets fitted on an instrument at Rushing Middle School, they leave that day with the supply list and a QR code on where to go and get those supplies, what supplies are needed, etc. Most families will take that information and not really do anything with it. So we will can because we do our instrument fitting in February, we'll do a reminder. email in April and May and then they hear from me a lot over the summer. If you haven't done this, I schedule tina: Right. Yes. Jarred Dodd: weekly emails. now, full disclosure, I work more than I should over the summer, but I will tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: still schedule weekly emails to go out on a Sunday tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: so that parents see that when they get to work on Monday about reminders for their for their supplies. tina: You know, and I I think that's That's key again, like you say, communicating with parents because you know, just because the you ha give a handout or the music store, you know, or you email it once, it has to be done a lot. You know, and Jarred Dodd: It does, tina: people will say, Well, they're just gonna ignore it. Well, if they've done it, they can ignore it, I mean, or and if they Jarred Dodd: Yeah. Yeah. tina: haven't, you know, it there's an email trail that you have, but you have to keep doing it. And when school starts, same thing. I know that I used to have the handout of what they needed, brass was on. one side, wood ones the other, percussion had a totally different one. And if they were missing things, I would highlight and put the kid's name on it and hand it to them. And then also make the communication with the parents. You know, that kind of helps sometimes on that if they showed up, but I also know when you have 40 new kids, like you're saying, that whole process has to be in there with the communication. Yeah. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: Well they're their first grade is a supplies check and the directors will go through. Now you know, my colleagues, they're pretty good about over the summer as we're like the first couple of prep days and in service days, the supply kits that are delivered already, they'll go through tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: those, they'll get them labeled, they'll put them in the lockers with all the kids' names on them, tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: and then we go through that spreadsheet like you're talking about. It's just a real easy Excel sheet with every single supply and every single kid's name. tina: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. Jarred Dodd: And we'll check those off. So during that first I would say probably two weeks, usually by the end of the second week is when that grade is due. because we want the end of that first week when they get to open their lockers and pull their stuff out and bring it to their chair to be a moment tina: Mm-hmm. Yes. Jarred Dodd: where they are either super excited that they have their stuff for already or they're not panicked. I don't we're not causing students tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: to panic, but we we want them to be a little bit like you know, no, where's my stuff? And so that's when it kind Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: of helps grease the wheel a little bit for those parents as they come home and say, Hey, everybody got theirs today, where was mine? So tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: but the directors are absolutely going through that spreadsheet. they get a a document like you're saying over the first week or two and then that's their first tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: grade for us. tina: Well, and I'd like that you said that like the music stores deliver over the summer. And you know, a lot of people sometimes don't set up a date with the music school store. It's like you always have to like whatever music store you're using is set up a delivery date. You know, and things may come in after that because we know supplies can come in a little bit later. But if you set up specific time that you want delivery and you're going to be able to be there during the summer, even if it's one or two weeks before school starts, it really helps the process go quicker. and smoother because like you're saying you can put it in their locker. You can check that they have everything. and so even and then I think one of the biggest things that the kids have anxiety about about being in band that first couple days is where's my stuff? And so you can go, look, there's your locker. You have locker five and look your instruments in there in your book and you know all of that. And they'll go, yay. And and then like tell your parents it's in my locker, but I can't take it home yet. So I think that's a a big key. to that success too. And then also when you see the other kiddos going, ooh, mine's empty. You know, it kind of helps them have that incentive to go, hey, you know. And so I think that's really great. Jarred Dodd: Yeah. Chris McLellan: Do you have a date, a specific, we're going to start with mouthpieces or whatever kind of idea of when that's gonna be? Is that communicated to the parents? Like if they don't have it by this date, they're gonna be behind. How do you work that? Jarred Dodd: We always we always tell the par the families that by the second well, I always tell the kids on the first week that we're going to be using equipment by the second week of school. So usually the very first Monday that we start school on a Tuesday typically and then that Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: following Monday we are using the equipment in their in their supplies. now if a kid doesn't have their stuff, we've got extras of, you know, X, Y, and Z to make sure that the students have access to not not get behind, especially because music stores these days, there's a ton of people tina: Yeah. Jarred Dodd: up here in North Dallas and Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: music stores can only service so much. And so there are some things tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: that get back ordered. So the student we don't want them to to panic. We just want there to be a sense of urgency to get their stuff. but we do communicate with the parents that we use the equipment very soon. it's not necessarily communicated at a specific date with the parents but by the students know that by the second week, We're using stuff because they're excited about it. Like they are through the roof. when am I gonna get to see my trumpet? When am I gonna get to play my trumpet? When am I gonna do this and this? And we tina: Yes. Always. Jarred Dodd: want to use that excitement as much as we can early in in Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: the process because they want to take their mouthpiece home and say, Look, mom, this is what we did today, or several things like that. So as much as we wanna try and control. the atmosphere and and the circumstances in which they're holding their mouthpiece and assembling their trombone or assembling their clarinet. We also want to use their excitement to our advantage to make them want to go home and get that muscle memory and establish them practicing in front of a mirror to see if they're doing it right, et cetera. So Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: by the second week of school, we're usually on parts of instruments, parts mostly mouthpieces, the readed instruments, they're learning how to Their read on the mouthpiece. So they're actually using their supplies, even though they might they may not get to do things on a mouthpiece as quickly as like a brass instrument does. Chris McLellan: Sure. Jarred Dodd: But they do have assignments where they go home and your assignment is to put to put the read on and take the read off five times or show your parents this and Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: et cetera. And then usually pretty quickly after that, within that first or sorry, within that second week of school, students are using mouthpieces. They're putting air through instrument or through mouthpieces, they're making sounds, etc. tina: So I think that's a great plan with that to just like you said, like almost immediately just to get the urgency there when they don't have things and let the parents know and all of that. But yeah, that's great. Really good. Chris McLellan: And just one more follow-up question. When do you typically have students playing sounds on the full instrument for the first time? Jarred Dodd: I would say we have just now started to we did a a lot of that this past week. So it took us about three weeks. I would say we started on August eleventh, and then by about September fourth, the the week of September fourth this past week, we were we were making sounds on on actual instruments. So it takes a little bit of time. You know, I I want their first sounds, especially on like a brass instrument, to be on a partial instrument and not on the full instrument. So we spend a lot of time on like a s like a boba straw for a mouthpiece or just lead pipe playing, et cetera. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: So tina: Mm. Jarred Dodd: it is reinforcing, you know, the student can can think about when we're doing the straw, the student can think about what they're doing with their omburger, what they're doing with their aperture, what they're doing with their air. with their air. And then when we add just the lead pipe, it sounds just like the boba straw. But now they're not only thinking about what am I doing with my face, what am I doing with my air, they're also thinking, okay, what am I doing with my right thumb? What am I Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: doing with this? And and they're continuing to do their foot tap and their posture all at set all at the same time. So, you know, it everything is scaffolded in a way that they only had to think about their posture and their foot tap for a couple of days in the first in the first week and then a couple of days in the second week they had to start thinking about what their face was doing. and everything's just kind of built off of that. Chris McLellan: Right, right. that's kind of the... know Tina and I have talked about this a lot. I have a lot of student teachers that I mentor. And I also mentor a lot of young directors. And you see a lot of different situations. You see a lot of different, I guess, thought processes on how to start beginners and things like that. One of the things that I'm always trying to tell them is to do that. Just that. Scaffold it. add one little thing at a time and you know because I'll walk into to a band hall a beginning band room on the third week of school and the kids have just started either they just got their instrument last week and they're already making sounds on the full instrument you know and it's it's awful because they don't know how to go through that process so I think that's very important you know for everybody to kind of understand and I've seen I've seen extremes I've seen you know We got our instrument on Friday and on Monday, we're starting to make sounds on our instruments like, whoa. And I've also seen, you know, for the first six weeks, we don't put the horn fully together and play on the first horn fully. You know, we're making tina: Mm-hmm. Chris McLellan: sounds on mouthpieces and necks and head joints. And then we're putting, you know, baby instruments together, doing straws, doing all these different things until they can really, you know, buzz a certain pitch with a tuner and lock it in and they can buzz. or they can play the certain pitch on the mouthpiece and neck or mouthpiece and barrel head joint at a certain pitch and be consistent with that. I mean, I think that's wonderful because hopefully then when you put the instrument together, you're understanding what that's supposed to sound like and you're making a pretty good sound right off the bat when you first start with the full instrument. So I really like that that's the method that you're Jarred Dodd: Yeah. Chris McLellan: talking about. tina: Yeah. Jarred Dodd: I mean, honestly, tina: And you know. Jarred Dodd: I wish that I could do longer without full instrument. I really do. because there's so much that the students don't realize that they're learning in that in that stage. But I also we we can't let things get dull, you know. So if you're able to keep things exciting Chris McLellan: Right, that's the challenge. Jarred Dodd: longer on just a mouthpiece and straw, then Good for you. That was awesome and Chris McLellan: Great, yeah. Jarred Dodd: I'm so excited for you. but for us the it starts to lose its allure a little bit and the kids start wondering. Chris McLellan: Well, yeah, that's the challenge. I mean, and I've talked to that a lot with folks, because I was always kind of in the happy medium. We started, the first week was a lot of just basics, like you were talking about fundamentals. The second week, students are getting their instruments and we're starting to do some of those basic things, carrying that through the third week. But by that, that third full week of school, basically the fourth week of school, we're really kind of going strong from that point. even doing it that long was challenging to keep all kids motivated and keep all kids interested, because they're wanting to get on an instrument. I didn't come in here to buzz a mouthpiece. I came in here and play a trumpet, So, and same thing with percussion, I mean, we're just starting off with stroke and things like that. But we spend a lot of time, just on full rebound stroke, and just getting just getting that fundamental going and kids are like, okay, I'm tired of playing eight on a hand, So it's every every instrument kind of has that you've got to almost understand your your students, your community. their desires and things like that and how to keep that fun for them because that's the number one thing we've got to remember is we've got to keep it interesting and fun and and not like you said it get boring and them not wanting to continue with that so great tina: And I do think that it takes longer for woodwinds to take the whole instrument home. And that sometimes when they find out their brass friends are getting to, and trying to keep it interesting with the woodwinds, starting Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: with like just, you know, mouthpiece and barrel, like we're saying, or neck and mouthpiece for saxophone or head joint for flutes or even just reeds for oboe and bassoons or whatever, Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: that you're doing like that, it does take a little bit longer because you have to learn how to put the reed on. And that takes way longer than just holding a brass mouthpiece, So I I think there is kind of that art of trying to take baby steps and keep adding them and pushing the kids to do more and more and more so they're they don't lose interest, Chris McLellan: I think the key is to add something new every if you do two or three days in a row where you haven't added to what you're doing, that's tina: Yes. Chris McLellan: when it really starts to be a challenge. tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: You can teach the same and I'll you know, I'll mention, downstrokes that you were talking about. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: You can teach downstrokes while they're learning a new material. You can still go back Chris McLellan: yeah. tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: and review those downstrokes. You can still go back and review the ambush as they're learning how to do other things too. So and tina: Yeah. Jarred Dodd: I'll be the first to tell you, I lose sight of that sometimes too, because I will do I want to dwell and fix the thing before we move on, but Sometimes I just have to remember, okay, no, we can continue to work on that on the next page. So let's just go ahead and turn the page and keep the start moving. Chris McLellan: Yeah, because we have to continually reinforce everything. I mean, tina: Mm-hmm. Chris McLellan: just because we taught it once or twice or three times doesn't mean it's already a habit. it's like... tina: every step has to be reviewed every day and they have to do it and it's just part of it. Chris McLellan: I mean it's... Jarred Dodd: Yeah, I we had we were talking with another great band director, Rob Chilton, just a couple of weeks ago. And he he we were talking about our schedule and some similarities between his schedule when he was still teaching and at rushing we're on a modified block schedule. So Monday and Tuesday is eight period day, Friday is an eight period day, but then Wednesday and Thursday are block period days. So Wednesday we'll have odd blocks, Thursday we'll have even blocks. And so, we we really kind of got the structure of what we wanted our week to look like through talking with him. And it was okay, Monday and Tuesday are gonna be new material. And then Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: their their block day and Friday, that's their opportunity to prove to you that they mastered that skill. And so some students are going to move on to the next skill and they're gonna but that doesn't change that next week it's new, new, prove, prove. You know what I mean? So every every Monday tina: Yeah. Jarred Dodd: and Tuesday it's new material. It's new ideas and then your stars are showing you, hey, this is what I work I I went home and did exactly what you said. And now block day and Friday I can prove to you that I did it. And they're moving on in their little progress chart. while other students may not be moving on the progress chart, but they're moving on in the class. And so you're still reviewing steps from squeak week one with them, so to speak. So that's really kind of helped train my brain as to what I'm looking for each week. New, new, prove, prove. So tina: So since you're kind of talking Chris McLellan: Great. tina: about that and you're keeping track, so is it a pass off system with your beginners? and how are you building accountability? Do they have an objective weekly sheet? I mean, how do you how do you kind of do that? Jarred Dodd: So we will have a pass-off system for the beginners. It's just not yet. their pass-off system isn't really ready for them until they're able to start making music with the with the lines in the book, so to speak. So right Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: now it's just procedural type stuff, processes for how do you get set up? How many taps do you do so like we have a breathing sequence where the students have to freeze, freeze, and then do a two count breath, breathe, breeze. So freeze, freeze, breathe, breathe. And then they do out two, three, four. So they're doing little steps like that. and you're I'm I have sheets in their binders Chris McLellan: you Jarred Dodd: where I'll go through and I'll sign it or I'll stamp it or I'll put a sticker on it to let them know that they're moving on to the next one. And then, you know, on on the proved it on the prove it days, I'll go through and I'll I'll start all the way back from week one's content and I'll say, all right. Who still needs to show me their posture or something like that? Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: And I'll start from there and I'll go through and I'll give the kids who are missing this their sticker on that, their sticker on that, and we'll cover the new material from the previous weeks or things like that. So yeah, there is like a little bit of a pass-off system for that, but then the the real pass-off system that we have doesn't come until they start playing lines of literature on their on their instrument. tina: So they're kind of like objective pages, sort of, yeah, for that Jarred Dodd: Mm-hmm. tina: beginning part. And then there's another okay, got Chris McLellan: Yeah, that's kind of how I started it too, was we call it a tina: Mm-hmm. Chris McLellan: merit badge. You know, in these first few weeks, you know, you're earning your merit badges. So you have to show me your posture, your foot tap, your, how you hold your horn, you know, all the different things. And you're kind of adding to that each week, and even we had a five day week where we saw our kids every day, but I kind of followed that same process of new, new on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday was review day. we're not going to add anything new, but we're going to reinforce and review what we learned on Monday and Tuesday. And then Thursday, Friday is kind of like you said, those approved days, you know, and for me later in my career, Friday was kind of a mock play individually day, you know, this course later in the semester than we are right now. But Friday was, they would have on their objective sheet, three different lines out of their book or whatever that they could. record over the weekend for their pass off, so to speak. And so Friday it was, me what line you're going to record this weekend, And then we would kind of go through that and I would give them some individual feedback on what they were playing, what you still need to work on before you record and things like that. And over the weekend they would record, they would video, one of those lines and submit it on Google Classroom. And that was just my cheap way of getting them to take their horn home over the weekend, you know, and Jarred Dodd: Yeah, yeah. Chris McLellan: practice. But, you know, it was kind of that same Monday and Tuesday's new material, Wednesday's review that material, Thursday and Thursday is, a lot of checks, individual, prove this, prove that, doing those merit badge things, and then Friday is kind of going through their assessment for the week, that type of thing, giving them the opportunity to get some individual feedback before they go home over the weekend and submit that, so I like that. That's really good. tina: Yeah, I do too. like since we're talking about accountability, what about like practice records, practice charts? When do you kind of or how do you how do you kind of do that with your beginners to get them going on that? Jarred Dodd: Well, I'll be honest, for the first I guess this is year fifteen now. I said fift fourteen earlier, but for the first fourteen years of my career, it had all been minutes based. And tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: it was all, how many minute how many minutes per week? But tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: this year we've taken kind of a new approach and it's not necessarily minutes based. it has been more consistency-based. So like how many days a week. Did you do this? How many days this week did you do this? And you know, talking with Mr. Chilton again, you know, he has like this really cool experience chart that he uses where I think it's brilliant because it relates it to like a game. And these kids are Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: so they live in a video game culture. And so it just explains to them and their parents that, you know, if you only practice one day this week, well then you you lost six days, so one minus six, you lost five experience points this week. If you practice six days this week, well then you had six points and you missed one day. So six minus one is you gained five experience points this week. And so I'm not necessarily tracking that, but it's a good visual for the students to see how much progress they're making this week, or if they missed a lot of practice, how many how many points they lost this week. And so we're looking for consistency in terms of days practiced. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: And then we've always, always done a an individual sheet of like this is your practice log, your parents have to sign it on this day. You guys know as much as we know that some of the kids are gonna lie. And Brian Merrill years ago told me, he said, Well, you're not doing the practice log for the kids who are gonna lie, you're doing it for the kids who are going to be your stars. They're going to do everything you tell them to do. So if you tell them to practice 200 minutes, they're gonna practice 200 minutes. And so that kind of changed the way I looked at it. So we we used to do the way the practice records that way, and they would log how many minutes and their parents would sign it one one day each week and then it would be due on Tuesday. But this week we're doing practice journals, so it's kind of like an agenda and on one side tina: I'm sorry, we're laughing because Chris and I just did a podcast talking about this exact same thing. And Jarred Dodd: really? Chris McLellan: I love that you are affirming everything we talked about last week. tina: and yes, everything we just talked about because this is what Jarred Dodd: Yeah. Yeah. tina: we were saying, because the minute it's not really the minutes, it's what they're doing. And and teaching them like I was saying like at five bullet points that, they need to do this for warmup. They need to do, you know, whatever. And it if it took 10 minutes, 20 minutes, some kids would say, I didn't even Jarred Dodd: Yeah. tina: know it, but I practiced thirty and I was only supposed to do fifteen. But to take that frame of mind away, like you're saying, Jarred Dodd: Mm-hmm. tina: so we are loving this, so continue. I wanna keep hearing 'cause I I haven't Jarred Dodd: Yeah. tina: heard the Rob Chilton one. So it it really matches what Chris and I were talking about. So yes, I'd love to hear more. Jarred Dodd: Yeah. Well this this practice record was actually kind of you know, that experience chart we got from from Rob, but his practice record was the that he would use was was pretty similar to that other one. But this year we're doing that one where on the it they have like a little book and it's just a little eight inch brown, you know, eight by Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: Yep. Yeah, love. Jarred Dodd: three inch. It's not super big and it takes up almost zero space in their binder. but there's something around like forty weeks that are in that in that little binder. And so we go through and at the start of actually either at the end of one week or the start of the other week, we we go through and we label the things for that week. And we might be able to put on there like, hey, we've got a pepper alley on Friday for our advanced kids. So Friday they put on their Friday on one side of the journal. It lists all the days. And then on the other side of the journal it lists a bunch of checkpoints and checklists and things that objectives that we want them to do. And so right now at the beginning of the year, we're trying to be really specific with the items that we're giving them that are their objectives and their checklist things that they're going to pass off throughout the week. And then as they work on those items, their job is to journal on Monday, I did this one and this one and they tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: write in what they what they worked on. we still are having them go ahead and write their minutes in, but we have not stressed Adding up minutes at all. There's not even a place for them to add it up. It's really just a point for us to have a conversation with them. and then I went to a clinic at TBA where Rachel Johnstone and her husband Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: were talking about practice culture. And they she I thought it was brilliant, but she said she has a conversation with every one of her students each week. And she said, you know, a lot of people think that it takes up a ton of time, but It's one of the most valuable things that she she did. And so we said, all right, cool. We'll we'll have a conversation with our kids. And so starting this year, we've been the kids bring up their journal and you know they might be working on something else. They might be silently doing some rhythm charts while with the metronome on, but I'm talking to individual kids and I may not get them all in the same day, but that's okay. I'll get to I'll get to the others on another day. But I'm asking them like, hey, what'd you work on this week? And I'm looking at their thing, I'm like, hey. Yours is blank. You know, you didn't even fill it out this week. So, you know, I'll help them write in a few things and I'll say, All right, tonight I want you to write this and this when you practice. And I'm telling them, when you practice, you're gonna do this and this, not if you practice, you're gonna do this, or can you do this when you like tina: It yes. Jarred Dodd: I'm just saying, when you practice, I want you to do this and this tonight. And then that next day, if there's a blank, I check it again. And then it just be kind of becomes a topic of conversation where you know we say. I tell them, like, you know, when you go to the doctor, you don't feel better when you leave the doctor. Your doctor writes your prescription, you go to the hospital, you or the the pharmacy, you fill your prescription or your parents fill your prescription, you go home, you take your medicine, and after you do that for a few days, that's when you feel better. Well, here at school, it's like going to the doctor's office. I'm gonna write you a prescription. I'm gonna say this is exactly what you need to do to get better at your trombone. Then you take the prescription home, you work on that for a few days. And when you come to school in a few days, you're gonna feel better about it. And if you don't take your medicine, you're not gonna feel better, you're gonna feel worse. And so, Chris McLellan: Is Jarred Dodd: you know, we just we start that conversation with them about tina: like that analogy. Jarred Dodd: how they practice and not necessarily how long they practice, but what they're working on, tina: Right. Chris McLellan: Right. Jarred Dodd: how frequently. And then at a certain point, if there's too many blanks, then for it for their grade that week, it'll have to be signed by their parents. I've kind of tried to take the parent signature out of it. I know some other directors are doing the same thing because a Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: Mm mm, yes. Jarred Dodd: lot of times kids would get penalized because they forgot to have their mom sign their sheet and they were doing the work, they just forgot to get it signed. And I I get it, you know, I've I've got a six year old and I was supposed to sign one of his words things that he's reading words for us and he did it, but I didn't sign it and then next day he came home, he was all upset 'cause he didn't get to do his thing and I was just like, Okay, I So I'm I'm trying to take the parent homework out of it and put more of it on the kids to write what they're supposed to be doing down. Chris McLellan: Right. Right. tina: just more like real life too. Like, you know, training them, all of that. Yeah, definitely. Jarred Dodd: Yeah, hundred percent. You know, and the parents have been really receptive to it. They're they tina: Yeah. Jarred Dodd: like it because it's teaching the kids how to be responsible with their time, you know, and tina: What to do? Yes. Yes. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: I I think so far so good on it. We'll see. You know, it's kind of an experiment this year. tina: Yeah. No. Yeah, it's what we were just talking about. That's good. Chris McLellan: Well, and yeah, we were talking about that and, one of the practice sheets that I used with my beginners, it also gave them some, some options of how to practice, to kind of give them a little bit of ownership and what they were doing, so you can practice with a friend, can practice, you know, you can perform for your parents, you can make a video of what you're doing, you can do this and this and try to add some, creative ways of, giving them the option of, how to practice. wasn't what to practice necessarily. they had these things that they needed to do, but how do they want to do that? and give them some ownership in that too. And that really helped kids get excited about it. you mean I can go home and make a video of this? Yeah, absolutely. Or I can go home and, and can I, can I zoom with my friend? Sure. and just all kinds of different things as long as it got them doing it, and that was the biggest thing for me was during sixth grade was it's not about time. In fact, with my kids, we started off just, do 10 minutes. I don't care if you do 30 minutes, it's not about the time. Just get in the habit of doing it, And as they learn more and they get more down the line, then they kind of increase that time naturally because they have to, Just to be able to... play all the things that they're working on. But at the beginning, 10 minutes, go home and do what we did in class and just kind of repeat that, those types of things. So yeah, I love that. I mean, we did have that whole conversation last week and it's awesome to hear somebody else go, it's like, yay. Yeah. Yeah. tina: I know. And it's ex someone else agree, you know, that that's yes. And it's okay to try it. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: the beginners with the beginners we're real specific right now about what they're doing and we are a little Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: bit the advanced kids but with the advanced kids they have an option they well not an option they have a part of theirs where they're supposed to write down one of their goals for the week and you know the following week we check in with them on how that goal is going and most of the like varsity kids right now it has something to do with region or something like that tina: Uh-huh. Jarred Dodd: or memorizing X scale or whatever. So those those particular things, even though those aren't necessarily objectives up there. So it's been it's been tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: a cool experience so far. Chris McLellan: Yeah, great. I'm glad to hear that. tina: So you know, since we're in the month of September and about to close that month out. what is the checkpoint for September for where beginners should be? And kinda be a little bit more specific because the brass can be different than the woodwinds and percussion and all that. So where should the kiddos be by the end of September? Jarred Dodd: we're actually getting to that point. We have our September checkpoint for us will be September twenty-first, twenty-second, something like that. so we're getting pretty close to that. By that point, our goals are for the flutes, you know, those students are gonna be able to start placing things on their own consistently. head joint placement and alignment is all there. they've started to move fingers on the instrument and they're reading things out of their book. clarinet, mouthpiece, and barrel has all been going for a few weeks now. The students know that they're supposed to be hitting their F sharp on their tuner. So, which tina: Two, yeah. Jarred Dodd: by the way, at some point you also have to teach students how to use a tuner, which takes a tina: Yeah. Jarred Dodd: day or so to kind of explain to them as well. I would say our clarinet students are their left hand is walking down the instrument. I'm fairly confident that they still don't have their right hand yet. They're taking parts of their instrument home. Right now, their right hand, the bottom joint and the bell of the clarinet are all living labeled in a locker with a zip tie across the thing right now. So they don't even have access to that. But tina: Right, right. I like that. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: So the clarinets are moving down with their left hand. Obo and bassoon, they've been covering read placement. they are all walking down their instrument. I'll be honest, our oboes and bassoons have been in weekly lessons. It's part of playing the instrument for them. They've been in weekly lessons and they're already playing things in the book pretty consistently. so they're past their September checkpoint right now. But at least by September, they need to know where to place the read. they need to know what sound what pitch they're getting on their vocal or what pitch they're trying to get for just on the read. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: and then they're able to do some walking down on their instrument as well. Saxophones, mouthpiece, and neck assembly, they're all getting their they're all getting their A on tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: that pretty consistently. and they are doing full instrument walk downs. All of these I'm I'm fairly confident. I would want to check with my colleagues, but I'm fairly confident that they're still not doing articulation. We don't typically start doing tina: Right. I understand. Jarred Dodd: articulation until the beginning of October, which a lot Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: of band directors refer to as October because that's kind of the the new thing for people. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: Yes, yes, yes. And I love that because you you you've gotta get all your ombudsha, all your muscles set before you involve Jarred Dodd: Mm-hmm. tina: that. And it's okay that they're just holding out the notes or just, you know, moving their fingers like you're saying. Yeah. That's great. Jarred Dodd: Mm-hmm. Now, every day those those Woodman classes are starting on their head joints or their mouthpieces and they're checking for those things before they jump into the other instrument or the full parts of the instrument. But tina: Well, and I heard you mention tuner, because I'm a strong believer of starting beginners on tuners. And I know that that you have to have a day of teaching them how to do the tuners and what they're using, you know, and some people have just a class set and then they don't have one to bring home, you know, and they have to use like a like a free tuner app on their Chromebook or a phone or whatever, but they're still using tuners and know how to do that. and on mouthpieces and getting that pitch and knowing where that is before you really can go on. But kind of what do you do with all that? Jarred Dodd: Well, you know, just like just like students can learn so much just by watching someone else do something or by hearing someone else do something. That's why we model tone for them. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: students have gotten an entire education by watching somebody do something on YouTube before. To me, the the tuner is a visual tool for them. they don't know what a good trumpet sound is yet. You know, in week one, I could play something for them with a completely closed omburger and my aperture super pinched and tight, and they would think, that's what a trumpet's supposed to sound like. They don't they don't know. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: and so we have to teach them what sounds good, and this is a visual tool for that. And so I get the argument of having students use their ears as their tuner, but especially right now at the beginning, they don't know what sounds good, you know. So Chris McLellan: They don't know what it feels tina: Mm mm. Chris McLellan: like to play that way. What kind of air they need, the embouchure, the whole thing. Jarred Dodd: Yes. Yes. So we we use them. Mm-hmm. tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: you know, speaking of visual tools, I think it was Houghton Horn that had a thing a couple of years ago at a at TBA or TVA where somebody had a a buzzing tool with a little pinwheel on it, like a little spinning thing on it. They call it a VISI Viz air visualizer or something. Chris McLellan: Mm hmm. tina: Yeah, yeah, I remember that. Yeah. Almost like a Numo Pro, but it was for brass. Yeah, I remember that. Jarred Dodd: Yeah. Yes. Yeah. VisiAir or something like that. We bought a we bought a class set and so man, it's been great. It's been great. yes. Yes. tina: Mm-hmm. Really? I love yeah. Yeah, well it's like the Nummo Pro for flutes. They know, you know, because the different colors and going Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: up, they're amazing. It just because it's visual and they don't know. I love it. Jarred Dodd: Because I yeah, I had some brass kids who they thought they were making a buzz on the instrument or making vibrations on the instrument, but you plug that in and you can see they're just making their lips do all this work. And so their lips were doing the work and the air was doing none of the work, none of the air was getting through. But after a few minutes with the visualizer on there, they their buzz became airy and they had some fuzz in their Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: Yeah. I need to look into that. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: buzz and it was it was great. So I say that just to just in a sense that we're allowing students to learn some things with their eyes, but then some people get really been out of shape about learning pitch and tuning and characteristic tone with that with their eyes. So to me, it's just another visual tool. We do use tuners pretty regularly. tina: Yes. Yeah, and also at when you go home, when they go home, it's a good visual. Okay, this is what Mr. Dodd wanted me to sound like and you can see it visually. And it also Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. tina: trains their ear of what it sounds like to be correct and be on pitch. You know, so Jarred Dodd: Yes. tina: it's all of those above, but I I really like it at home a lot because it just allows that that learning to continue. Because Jarred Dodd: Mm-hmm. Chris McLellan: Yeah, because like he said, they don't know. And tina: Mm mm. Chris McLellan: in class, they may have you as a reference. tina: Hmm? Chris McLellan: But at home, they don't have a reference. So they have to have that visual to help them understand what they're trying to achieve. So absolutely. Absolutely. tina: Right. Yeah. Jarred Dodd: so in tina: Holy Jarred Dodd: brass by this point September, their September checkpoint, we're doing we're getting around on the mouthpiece. the students have a process in which they hold the mouthpiece with thumb and two fingers. we talk about where the teeth should be. I don't really dive in a whole lot with that. They just know that to make the correct ombre show, their teeth have to be apart, the center has to be soft. lips have to be against their teeth. So once they've covered those things, we're on the mouthpiece. We're doing consistent tones, trying to keep things calm and still, but you still using fast air enough to have that pinwheel moving. And then we start doing what we refer to as elevators where they they move around, they move down first in their bite in their journals, in their journals on that on that week down to the bottom. have them write elevator down equals open teeth, cold air to warm air. So that's what they tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: know. They're to in order to play lower on the instrument, they have to play from cold air to warm air and open their teeth. Elevator up Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: means to go from warm air to cold air and to aim the air down. I never tell them to close their teeth just bec or to move their teeth closer together just because I feel like that would be the opposite of what if if they aim it down, Chris McLellan: Right. Jarred Dodd: they're gonna do what they need to do and I don't need to tell them to close their teeth. So And so they're all getting getting around on the instrument or on the mouthpiece in that regard. They're doing roller coasters up and down. We're starting to play lines out of the book, but just on mouthpiece, but without any tongue. So they're doing what we refer to as air starts. So every s every sound that they're doing has to be started with air right now. I've had a few students over the past few weeks who've tried to do like lip starts. You can hear it in their in their buzz. And the other students Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: will catch it immediately and they'll raise their hand and they'll say, and I'll What was wrong with that? And they they started with their lips. And so you know, that's kind of helped open up a lot of the kids' vibrations. But we're finding highs and lows. that's what they call it, high and low. They're finding one partial lip slurs right now on their instrument. and but really right now we've only done like Fourth position, so concert D, on trumpet. horns can do G E C and back up. So almost their first five notes. trombone, it's in first position, tuba and euphonium, it's in first position. Tubas are still working down to stretch down to that B flat, but more of them are getting it than not. Just because stretching down to that lower pitch for them is the equivalent of moving up higher on a high-brass instrument. So it just takes time for them to stretch. and yeah, that's kind of where our wind students are for that September checkpoint. The percussion students have covered down strokes, tap strokes. Now, full disclosure, we're we have the luxury of having a Chris McLellan: Listen. Jarred Dodd: parapercussionist who teaches our beginner percussion class. and so I'm not in there every day. tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: but my window to my office, it I I don't teach a class during that period so that I can go in. The window to my office looks in and I'm watching them, you know, more times than I'm not, but I'm just not in there all the time. But they've covered different strokes. They're reading some more complex rhythms. They're reading quarter, half, eighth note rhythms. They've done some sixteenth note rhythms. yeah, and they have not done anything yet with the keyboards. Chris McLellan: Okay, yeah. What resources tina: Yeah, sounds great. Chris McLellan: do you guys use? mean, the specific beginner book, do you have, you know, like use any of the musical mastery? I mean, there's a ton of things out there these days. What resources do you guys typically use? Jarred Dodd: Yeah. I think musical mastery is great. we're fortunate and prosper now some of the people who helped create musical mastery are with us in the district now, Chris and Alicia. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: And tina: Uh-huh. Jarred Dodd: you know, I had the opportunity to sit down with them and talk about it not long ago and and they were saying if you're looking at every single page in musical mastery, you're doing it wrong because it was a Chris McLellan: Right, right. tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: conglomeration. of things that people were passionate about and something that you know Chris Meredith might have been passionate about might not have been something that I'll use Alicia even though they're equally as passionate about the same things they've talked together for a long tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: time might not be something that Alicia is super passionate about. So Chris might use page four and Alicia might not ever use page four. That's for Chris McLellan: Right. Right. Jarred Dodd: you know it's it's designed to be a lot of tools for directors that that use those tools can use but So we have bits and pieces that we can use out of that musical mastery packet. We use the essential elements book for Chris McLellan: Okay. Jarred Dodd: our curriculum for the beginners. we use bits and pieces of the foundations for superior performance, the blue book tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: for our beginners. but that usually kind of kicks in the second semester. Chris McLellan: Right, right. Jarred Dodd: and then our seventh and eighth graders use it more extensively. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Great. Yeah, and that's, yeah, and I mean, that's, typical, most programs that I'm in or observing or whatever, have a selected beginner book such as Essential Elements. And you're right, musical mastery is a supplement. It's not a full curriculum. And if you're trying tina: Mm, right. Chris McLellan: to do that, you're gonna... Yeah, I mean, it's a lot of material in there. But we used it as a supplement, pick and choose some things that made sense for our classes. OK, well, that's great. I just wanted to let people hear what resources you are using, just as a baseline anyway. tina: Well and when is your first concert for beginners? When do you do anything like that? Okay, so you do have Jarred Dodd: October twenty first. October twenty first. tina: something like that. So is it basically demonstrating first sounds and maybe a line out of the book for each one? Yeah. That yeah. Jarred Dodd: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So we got away from that for a long time. It's Chris McLellan: Kind of a show and tell. Jarred Dodd: a show and tell, yeah. We got away from that for a long time. But at the you know, for a few years they're rushing. We were having two hundred and twenty nine beginners. two hundred tina: Right. Yes. With the growth, yeah. Jarred Dodd: beginners this year we're up down to one hundred and sixty ish, hundred and maybe more now. But you know, we're at the point now where we can do some of those show offs a little bit easier now, than having two hundred plus kids out there on the stage and so it's really designed s this year so that the kids have something that they're gonna pass off before a concert. because that's when we plan to introduce their pass-offs. So, tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: you know, they're gonna be saying, if I'm gonna play this for an entire concert, I gotta know line number fourteen, Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: or I've gotta be able to sit and tap my foot, or I've gotta be able to do all these things. And so the kids are tina: Right. Yeah. Yes. Jarred Dodd: gonna have to pass that off in order to, you know, perform with us at the concert. tina: Right. Jarred Dodd: And we wanna do that early. To kind of set them up for our pass off system that that will get introduced with that. tina: You know, I think it really it gets the kids excited again, almost like it's the first like week of playing on their instruments. Also, Jarred Dodd: Mm-hmm. yeah. tina: those parents, also we joke at those concerts about the squeaks and all that kind of stuff that they hear at home and all that and how loud they are or whatever. But here's their first songs and look how far they've come from just a couple months, and think of what they're Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm tina: gonna be, you know, for a winter concert or the the following semester. So I think it's a great thing to connect the parents to the program. as well as the kids getting the kind of show off of what they've done. So I love the October concert. I think it's really fun and it just helps us Jarred Dodd: It is. tina: help us in all that. Chris McLellan: Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so just a final question. If you could give a brand new beginning band director one blueprint for the first six weeks of school, what would be the three things you would tell them to get right? Jarred Dodd: I think I would start by saying ask a lot of questions. Don't feel like you have to know all of the answers. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: because there's a million different ways to do this. And I think if you try to guess at something, you're more likely to set them up for failure later. So Chris McLellan: for failure. tina: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: so ask a lot of questions, go and observe as much as you can, and then tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: You know, I would just say as long as you're giving your best, that's that's you're doing you're doing your best, and you don't have to compare. It sometimes we use comparisons. I I think in music we do comparisons in a really healthy way a lot of times, but also we do comparisons in a really unhealthy Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: way sometimes too. And so I would say just give your best before you start trying to compare. ask questions and then go watch as much as you can. Those would be my three my three things. I was really fortunate enough when I first started to where my first three years of teaching I was with June Buden and on friendship and she was master and so I got the chance to watch her and and and learn from her through through so much. And so when I had questions I could just walk in the office and ask her. And Chris McLellan: Right. Jarred Dodd: But there's a lot of people that do this job by themselves or maybe they're not with someone that they feel as comfortable asking questions to. So just find someone that you can go ask questions to. Chris McLellan: Right, absolutely. And, to bring into the conversation, just the whole mentoring thing, everybody needs to tina: Yes. Chris McLellan: have somebody that they feel comfortable talking to. And, I deal with a lot of student teachers and first year teachers and just having that person that you trust and that you're not going to get, judged about and things like that, because everybody's situation is different. even in Prosper ISD, I'm sure things that are true at Rushing may not be the same truth set at Reynolds, And so there may be some things that have to be done differently. And so, the point of this conversation is really to give everybody some ideas. what are some ideas that you can implement? Do you have to copy this model verbatim? No. But if you can get a few things out of it that will work for you or you think will be something that you can implement, then that's the whole point. Jarred Dodd: Yeah. I would much rather tell my student, Hey, let me go home and think and fig find the answer for that. Let me go Chris McLellan: Right. Jarred Dodd: call my horn friend who's really good at this and I'll tell you tomorrow, instead of me tina: Yes, yes. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Yep. Jarred Dodd: feeling like I have tina: Yes. Jarred Dodd: to have some an answer for them and being totally Chris McLellan: Yes. Yes. Jarred Dodd: wrong. So, you know, just be be okay with asking an expert and tell your kids. Tell your kids say, Hey Yeah. Chris McLellan: Yeah, and not knowing everything. tina: And yeah, kids appreciate, yeah. And kids appreciate that you'll do that. I mean, it's just like how Jarred Dodd: They do, they do. tina: instantly we can look things up on Google or whatever, but they appreciate that we go, wait a minute, let me ask a few people. You know, I mean all of that because they want to know the right answer too, or the easiest or best way to do it to be great. Jarred Dodd: Yep. I've I've stopped a class before and called a friend and been like, Hey, tina: yeah. Chris McLellan: Mm-hmm. Jarred Dodd: my saxophone player's doing this. What would I do? And I will tina: Okay. Jarred Dodd: do it on the podium. No shame. And it just again, I'd I'd much rather have the right answer for a kid than an answer. tina: Yes. Chris McLellan: Absolutely, yeah, because we don't all come out of college, knowing everything about every instrument, I mean... None of us do, tina: Yeah. Chris McLellan: and we've talked about this on this podcast before, don't just tell them something. Don't just make up something to save face, Tell them what you said. Well, I'll find that answer out. I'll tell you tomorrow, or whatever, or call a friend, know, phone a tina: Yes. Chris McLellan: friend. So that's awesome. All right, so we're going to kind of bring this conversation back to the final, the central idea, just to kind of close things out. Great Beginning Band programs aren't built by accident. They're built through consistent procedures, intentional pacing, high expectations, positive reinforcement, and a culture that makes students want to belong. So that's what Tina and I have been talking about for several weeks now. And Jared, you're not knowing ahead of time, but reaffirming all those things that we've been taught. tina: Reinforming, yes. Chris McLellan: I mean, and that's great because sometimes we throw some things out there that worked for us and maybe other people are going, well, I don't know, that doesn't make it sound like it would work for me. But bringing in somebody else who you're saying these same things is wonderful. So I appreciate your insight. I know this will help some folks out there. tina: Yes. Chris McLellan: But if you are teaching beginning band and are questioning things, things aren't going the way you want them to share this podcast with some other folks that are in the same boat, reach out, ask questions. know Tina and I are always available to answer questions. And I'm sure Jared, same way. If you need to reach out with somebody with a question about something, that's the key. don't be afraid to ask. tina: Yes. Yes. Chris McLellan: We're all trying to make the best musicians that we can and yes, band can be competitive, but even with our most fierce competitors, and I know it was this way for me, we were cheerleaders for the other program. And we wanted those kids to tina: Yes, always and always helpful, yeah. Chris McLellan: achieve at a high level. So I think that's pretty much all we have for this week. Tina, any final comments? tina: No, I just wanna say thank you, Jarrett, for taking some time out of your busy schedule and but it's been fun catching up. Thank you. Jarred Dodd: Yeah, Chris McLellan: Yeah. Thank you, Jared. Appreciate it. You got any last Jarred Dodd: absolutely. It's been my pleasure. Chris McLellan: comments you want to make before we close out? Jarred Dodd: No, I I think it's been it's been a lot of fun and as you said, just don't be afraid to ask questions. I mean mistakes we tell the kids all the time mistakes are how we learn. So you know, if you be be reflective. Chris McLellan: That's right. That's right. That doesn't change because we have a degree. tina: Or that we're older Chris McLellan: Yes, or that we're older. That we're older. That's true. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Well, thank you guys. And we'll see you next week on the Unconducted Curriculum Podcast.