A Guide to Picking the Right Contest Music
Contest Literature and YOU!By Rob StegemanDirector of BandsFort Zumwalt West High School Welp! Here we are in the middle of concert band contest season. I’m sure your inner monologue falls into one...
Elements of a Successful Jazz Ensemble
Elements of a Successful Jazz EnsembleBy Emmett StarkeyEducational RepresentativePalen Music Center - Liberty, MO Spring is Jazz Festival season! Judges provide ratings and feedback across multiple...
A Week in the Life of an Ed Rep
IT'S BEEN A WEEKBy Kale WhiteEducational RepresentativePalen Music Center - Broken Arrow, OK I am humbled and privileged to work for amazing directors each week and so impressed with the multitude ...
Why Do My Woodwinds Always Break?
Why Do My Woodwinds Always Break? By Corey DivineRepair TechnicianPalen Music Center - Springdale, AR Woodwind instruments always seem to need more frequent repairs than brass instruments. This is ...
Keeping the Fun in Music: Engaging Students in the Ensemble Class
Keeping the Fun in Music: Engaging Students in the Ensemble Class By Dale SharkeyEducational RepresentativePalen Music Center - O'Fallon, MO How many times have you had the conversation with a stud...
A Legacy of Love Through Music Education
A Legacy of Love Through Music EducationBy Susan ClothierEducational RepresentativePalen Music Center - Oklahoma City, OK Our company motto is, “It’s About Kids”. Sometimes, I think we, as educator...
The Power of the Written WordBy Joe SeamerLead Repair TechnicianPalen Music Center - Liberty, MO “If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate.”-General Jim Mattis That so...
Concert Assessment Kick-offBy Omar TaweelEducational RepresentativePalen Music Center - Springdale, AR As we enter the spring semester, many directors will begin the process of preparing their ense...
Concert Programming with Artificial Intelligence
Concert Programming with Artificial IntelligenceBy Austin JayBand & Orchestra ManagerEducational RepresentativePalen Music Center - Columbia, MO Greetings and welcome back! I hope everyone had ...
Three Simple Steps To Help Your Band Become Better Sight-Readers
THREE SIMPLE STEPS TO HELP YOUR BANDBECOME BETTER SIGHT-READERSBy Seth BoothbyEducational RepresentativePalen Music Center - Oklahoma City, OK Sight-reading is an essential skill for any band. Whet...
SAXOPHONE SPOT CHECK By Clint Kubala Palen Music Educational Representative Equipment Mouthpiece A solid beginner mouthpiece, such as a Yamaha 4C or 5C, Hite Premiere, Lomax Prelude, or Fobes D...
Recruit Like A Rock Star!by Kirby Swinney Have you taken a close look at your beginning band recruiting practices lately to see if there are things you can do to attract more students? After a part...
Time to Replace Your Marching Band PA System?by Mike Steffen PMC is now a Sound Projections dealer! The Sound Machine and Voice Machine from Sound Projections are excellent options for rehearsals o...
More than a competition: BOA Grand Nationals
More than a competition: BOA Grand NationalsBy Kenny MartinAssistant Band Director & Percussion CoordinatorJenks Public SchoolsFrom a band director’s viewpoint, the best part about Grand Nation...
Ten Stress Relief Tips for Band Directors
Ten Stress Relief Tips for Band Directorsby David Law After a while, the constant grind of preparing for concerts or organizing other events and rehearsals wears a person down. As a band director y...
Contest/Festival Selections: What's your Motivation?
Contest/Festival Selections: What's your Motivation? by Rob Goade Educational Representative, PMC Liberty Motivation is defined as "the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a partic...
"Take a Leap of Faith!" by Dale Sharkey Educational Representative, PMC St. Louis We are at the halfway point of the school year, what some call the "doldrums", or the "dog days". In the music edu...
"6 Steps to Prepare for Festival/Contest Season" - Barry Harper
6 Steps to Prepare for Festival/Contest Seasonby Barry Harper Every band director I know is looking for a “sure-fire” way to succeed at concert contests and festivals. Even though this might not be...
Beginning Of The Year Tips by Eric Matzat
The Quick Note is BACK for Another Year Welcome back, everyone! We are excited to partner with you for yet another wonderful school year. The Quick Note newsletter is back as well. For more than a ...
Celebrating a Harmonious Year: A Note of Appreciation to Music Teachers
Celebrating a Harmonious Year: A Note of Appreciation to Music Teachers As the school year draws to a close, we want to take a moment to extend our heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to each ...
Non-Musical Aspects of a Successful Band Program by Jana Gorham
Non-Musical Aspects of a Successful Band Program by Jana Gorham So much of what makes an instrumental program special has little or nothing to do with notes and rhythms. I feel like a big part of ...
Starting Them Right by George Naylor Educational Representative, PMC Wichita As I began my journey as an Educational Representative nearly 16 years ago, I noticed very early on when I visited so...