Junior High Band
Teaching Tips

Use Flash Cards

Using flash cards is an easy way to teach and review note names, key signatures, signs and symbols, tempo and style words, etc. So everyone could see, I cut blank sheets of write-on transparency film in fourths, wrote on the "cards" with a marker, and used an overhead projector to present the lesson. The only drawbacks were the lights had to turned off and looking into the bright light of the projector made it difficult for me to see what the students were doing in the back of the room.

Two years before I retired I bought a projector for my school computer and started using PowerPoint presentations instead of flash cards. This was an improvement for two reasons: (1) The lights did not have to be off, and (2) Standing at the back of the room and using the remote I could see what all the students were doing. The drawback was it took me a lot longer to put a presentation together than it did to make the flash cards. Using the new projector was more "flashy" though. (See Slide Shows)

Video Disclaimer

The attached videos are not perfect examples of how each tune should be played. They are recordings of junior high students, some of whom have had their instruments for only a few months. Also, they are not professional recordings. They were taken by band parents using home equipment and naturally focusing on their own children.

I include them for two reasons: (1) To give you an idea of what the arrangements are like, and (2) To illustrate the kind of performance you can expect from your junior high students.