Eight Not-So-Secret Ways to Experience Success with Honor Bands

My name is Catheryn Shaw and I am a Ph.D. student in Music Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In a previous life (well, the last seven years) I taught school band in Georgia. The last four years were spent at a Title I middle school in south Georgia. I grew up a Band Director’s Kid and spent my middle and high school years participating in many honor bands, though not always by choice. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of those experiences, whether for the musical or social aspects, and could give you a million reasons as to why honor band is important to the development of our students as musicians.  But that’s not what this article is about.

When I first made the transition from high school assistant band director to the middle school director, I had to learn to establish a culture within my band program that promoted and encouraged honor band participation. In my four years at the middle school, we went from 13 students selected to an honor band in year one, to 49 students selected in year four.

Listed below are eight secrets to dominating honor band. Many if not all of the secrets are tips that I have picked up from colleagues and have simply adapted to my situation. I taught in a Title I, lower socio-economic school, so my incentives may be different than what you may use. Above all, know your students, know your program, set goals, and stay organized!

#1 - Be The Motivator, The Cheerleader, The Beggar, The Pleader

At some point in time during your honor band journey, you are going to be one of the above (just, hopefully, without having to wear the actual cheerleading uniform). How many times have you heard or said “My students just aren’t motivated to tryout for honor band?” Well, what are we, as directors, doing to motivate them? I promised my students that if they would just sign up for the audition, I would do everything in my power to ensure that they were prepared. Sometimes, the only motivation a student needs is knowing that they are not going to be on their own in their preparation. Once the preparation begins, however, it is important that you remember to cheer and encourage every step of the way. Celebrate small victories: learning a difficult passage in the etude, expanding their range to “high G” on trumpet, memorizing a scale. There is going to be a time during the process when a student plateaus and you will need to be the one to push them onward and upward. Could you imagine your band program if every student practiced without being asked? It’s up to you to stay upbeat and make this a positive experience!

#2 - Wait, THAT Kid Wants to Audition?

We all have that one student. Or five. Bless him. He sits last chair trombone and can’t play “Hot Cross Buns” in whole notes, but the day you mention honor band auditions he is the first student at your door waiting to sign up. Sign him up! Spending time learning scales and working on a prepared piece are in no way going to make him a weaker musician. I have seen students truly blossom through this process and completely surprise me. This may be the structure that they need to push them further in their musical journey. I know what you’re thinking – “That’s really really sunshine and roses, but what about the reality that this student just won’t be prepared?” I know exactly where you are coming from. I never wanted to send a student into an audition unprepared. I wanted this to be a positive experience and I cringed at the thought of my band director colleagues having to hear one of my students play poorly. Your escape route with Little Johnny can be found below in tip number eight: the “Mock Audition” section!

#3 - Are YOU Prepared for the Audition?

Ok, so tons of students have signed up for the audition. Hurdle #1: crossed. Now what? You need to prepare for the audition more than the students do! It is your responsibility as the director to know every aspect of the audition. There is nothing worse than sitting in the audition room as a judge when a student comes in unprepared – and by no fault of their own! We’ve all seen it: students playing the wrong scales, students not knowing they had to play scales, students playing the wrong etude. We have to set our students up for success! If you don’t know what is required, ask a colleague!

#4 - Incentives (Or just call it what it is…Bribery)

So, I have no shame in telling you that I have promised food, practice record forgiveness, and limousine rides (you read that right) to my students to encourage them to put in the work towardsauditions. As much as we would love for every one of our students to audition for honor band for the sheer joy of setting and achieving a personal goal and for the sake of a positive experience, that’s not exactly the way a middle school brain works. My students needed a reward, a treat, if you will. Here is an example that worked for me – feel free to substitute what will work for your students!

1. Audition for honor band: 2 free 100s for practice records
2. Make honor band – Miss Shaw makes lunch! Baked spaghetti, garlic bread, soda, and Oreo balls all served in the privacy of an empty classroom and not the crowded cafeteria!
3. Make the second round All-State audition: I checked the students out of school to go eat lunch at a local favorite and we traveled to and from lunch in a limousine…did I mention how awesome it is to have a supportive principal?

Plain and simple, the students will want to know what’s in it for them besides the whole personal achievement thing. Make it worth their while!

#5 - Classroom Habits of Success

After perusing several state music educator websites, it’s obvious that scales are an important part of the audition. Scales should be an important part of your daily fundamental warm-up routine, right? Absolutely! The question is, are we teaching scales or just going through the motions? In the state of Georgia, middle school band students must play four scales for their honor band audition (F, B-flat, E-flat, and A-flat). Starting at the beginning of the school year, we spend 2 weeks on each scale, going in reverse order. Every student in my 7th and 8th grade bands had to play each scale from memory. We incorporated other warm-up activities that used the key signature of the particular scale we were working on, including long tones, chorales, and rhythmic exercises. So, regardless of whether a student is auditioning for an honor band or All-State, they will learn the scales in class and it will be for a grade. Let me also add that it is amazing how a scale chart on the wall in the band room, complete with star stickers, can motivate students to learn scales. Spend the time to set up good daily habits and it will pay off in the long run.

#6 - The Dreaded Etude

So, I’m a 7th grader who is super excited about auditioning for honor band for the first time and then I see the etude. This prepared piece with rhythms I may not know yet and notes that just seem foreign to me. Tell me again, why am I doing this? Never fear! There is a way to get through this prepared piece without overwhelming your student and without requiring that they take private lessons. Most etudes played for these auditions consist of 16 to 24 measures and can be easily divided into manageable parts. For example, if you have a 20-measure etude, break it up into 4 measure sections and create a timeline that has your student learning 4 measures every 2 weeks. If they stay on schedule, they will learn the etude with plenty of time to spare!

#7 - Get Obsessive Compulsive with Your Organization

So, I may like spreadsheets. A lot. My “honor band” folder on my computer was full of multiple spreadsheets: Students Auditioning, Students Paid, Audition Progress, etc. One of the main keys to your students experiencing success at auditions is the director staying organized. What do I mean by this? The best thing I ever did was make a spreadsheet like the one shown below.

Name	Instrument	Scale #1	Etude m.1-4	Scale #2	Etude m. 5-8
Joey A.	Tuba	09/14	09/28	10/12	10/25
Amy S.	Clarinet	09/15	09/28	10/10	10/18

I also created a check-off sheet for each of my students participating in the audition. This sheet included each scale, each section of the etude, and “due dates” for the student to pass off these sections for me either before or after school. As they would pass off sections, I would keep a record of it on my “OCD Organizational Queen” spreadsheet mentioned above. I also made sure to post reminders on the board and remind the students verbally during announcement time in class.

#8 - Mock Auditions

It’s important for your students to feel comfortable with the audition process. I always tried to make sure my students knew what to expect when they walked in the room: how many judges, the placement of the chair and the stand, the order of the audition, etc. For this reason, I required my students to go through the audition process with me. They would come into my office and go through the entire audition (scales, etude, sight reading), I would score them on a score sheet identical to the one that would be used at the real audition, and then after they had finished, we would talk through what went well and what they needed to improve. Many times, this can get the performance anxiety out of the way, and it also allows the director to know exactly how prepared their students are going into the audition. This also allows you to control whether a student goes to the audition and positively represents themselves and your program (i.e. if they are not prepared 2 weeks before the audition, they will not participate). It is not fair to the student to have to endure what could be a humiliating experience, and it is not fair to the judges to have to sit through a painful audition.

In Conclusion

I hope these tips help you and your students experience success! Honor Bands have always been something I am extremely passionate about. My father met his two lifelong best friends in an honor band. They still travel together and talk to each other on a weekly basis! In my honor band experiences, I met very dear friends, was able to learn from my future college band director, as he was one of our clinicians, and above all, made great music with other talented students. By following the tips in this article, you can create an excellent program in which every student is given the opportunity to participate. So, go forth, dominate your  region’s honor band, and happy music making!