Making music and teaching kids are two passions I have developed, but right now, I know little about the field of music education or the job of a band director. Before I can enter this field, I need to know the requirements for this job. Also, prior to being a band director, I want to know the good, the bad, and the ugly of the job. I know that the relationships built with the students are rewarding and that the time commitment is worth the effort, yet I still have to wonder exactly how they feel about this strenuous job.
Becoming A Band Director
Stevie Wonder once said, “Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand, “ and while Stevie Wonder is not the world’s greatest philosopher, he is right. For people that want to teach music, their job is to master the ability to teach the students
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For a band director there are two versions of this, teaching a marching band and teaching a concert band. The main differences are your stage and your audience. Sound quality means everything to a band, so you have to know your surroundings. When a band plays inside, the climate is controlled and the audience is at close range. On the other hand, outside, the climate can be hot or cold, windy or humid, and all of these affect a player’s ability to keep a good quality sound and project a good sound all the way to an audience in bleachers and judges in a press box. In addition, members of the band are marching around the field while they play. Watching the drum major, keeping good posture, keeping in step, staying in the form, and always keeping your upper body facing forward are a few of the many things a player has to be focused on while playing, and it does not stop there. This is why a band director’s job changes. Most teachers teach the say way, using the same methods all year long, but for a band director a different time of the year means a different way of