134 episodes listed below
Practical band-room fixes from a teacher still in the classroom.
A band teacher's field notes, delivered plainly: tape marks for chair rows, labeled drawers for reeds, and a calm consequence instead of a raised voice. James Devine also looks back at his own career and admits that his early work served his ego more than his students.
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Almost Everything I've Learned About Teaching Band is practical shop talk for the band room, drawn from a working director's own classroom. James Devine is the voice behind it, and he speaks from long experience: he describes himself as in his 28th year of teaching, and says he started out at a very small private school. The advice is detailed. In 'Rehearsal Room Hacks (EP 305)' he recommends marking where the end chairs of each row sit with a one-square-inch piece of duct tape, or with Velcro on some carpets. Reeds go in a tool bin with drawers labeled by instrument and strength. Sousaphones and drums get a marked-off parking area, because otherwise, he notes, students leave the equipment in a different spot every day, often somewhere inconvenient like the middle of the timpani section. A pegboard holds the auxiliary percussion. None of it is glamorous, and that is the point. Classroom management gets the same plain treatment. In 'Your Voice Is Not a Behavior Management System', Devine recalls observing a high school choir teacher whose students ignored her until she reached a certain volume. He contrasts her with a calm math teacher and soccer coach who handed out detention slips without anger, and says that about three years into his career he decided to work the same way. The principle is simple: state the consequence clearly, then follow through without raising your voice. Musicianship lessons are laid out step by step. 'Teaching The Blues Scale To Any Group' covers numbering the scale degrees, using call and response, and adding the flat three, the four, the sharp four and the five one note at a time. He says he used the lesson in all five of his classes, and that advanced groups get through it faster. Recruiting and building a program come up as well. Devine mentions starting band programs from scratch at two schools. In 'More Trombones? Yes Please.' he credits an eighth grader with making the trombone popular, and describes getting the music-store helpers at instrument tryout night to steer beginners toward it. He also tells of a flute player who joined jazz band on trombone by tying each line and space on the staff to a slide position instead of learning bass clef. Some episodes turn inward. In 'If Only I Were The Man I Am Today 21 Years Ago', he admits that early on he wanted to be the teacher they make movies about, and that much of his classroom work served his own ego. His conclusion is that the students come first, standards stay high, and frustration is part of the process. One episode brings in a guest, repair-shop owner Brian Stevenson, who explains how to sort out piston order when air won't pass through a valve instrument, starting with piston three. Another is sponsored by TeachingBand.org, which offers a handbook that shares the show's name.
Made for: Suits a school band director, or someone training to become one, who wants concrete fixes for rehearsal logistics, discipline and recruiting. It also suits a music teacher looking for a ready-made lesson, such as a call-and-response way into the blues scale.
What sets it apart: The advice comes from one teacher's own band rooms and gets as specific as the size of a piece of duct tape. He puts those fixes next to candid reflection on his own early mistakes, including the admission that his ambitions once served his ego more than his students.
Quick and easy tips to help you be a better band teacher.
A horn stops passing air; piston three is your first suspect.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A practical repair conversation about keeping instruments playable so students can keep participating.
Instrument repair lands here as a practical form of student support, with host James Devine and Rocky Mountain Music Repair owner Brian Stevenson keeping the focus on what directors can do before a small problem becomes a dropped player.
A candid look at band-directing habits that can weaken a program, from thin planning to ego-driven resistance to help.
Band directing is often framed as rehearsal craft, but this episode keeps its focus on the quieter decisions that shape a program over time. It moves from planning the year on a paper calendar to using a metronome as a blunt check on time, then into thornier territory: pausing…
Festival success starts with repertoire students can truly make their own.
Festival prep gets a practical reset from James Devine, who makes the case for programming fewer pieces well, choosing music students can genuinely shape, and fitting repertoire to the ensemble the director actually has.
A band teacher turns career restlessness into a practical judgment call about when to leave.
Leaving a teaching job can sound like a career move, but this episode frames it more as a personal call shaped by finances, timing, and what a school can actually support.
Clear guitar lessons for steady beginners.
Practical talk for stronger school music programs.
Playful music lessons built for listening.
Music education with practice, policy, and feeling.
A cappella, from the classroom to the loop station.
James Devine shares eight tips for band teachers on handling students who want to switch instruments, emphasizing the importance of asking why and preaching about instrument balance.
Kyle Smith of The Growing Band Director Podcast and James Devine of the Music Ed podcast swap lessons from decades of teaching band, including Kyle's idea that "every ballad is a grade four." James describes keeping folders full of music the band may never perform, a habit he adopted about eight to ten years ago after subbing for Wayne Hoy.
Cece Roudabush, who taught Hyperscore for 15 years at a junior high in Iowa City before joining New Harmony Line in 2021, explains the MIT Media Lab-born composition software to host James Devine.
James frames leaving a band-teaching job as a personal decision, then uses his own path through four schools to show why timing matters.
A veteran band teacher shares his personal experiences with burnout and offers practical tips for maintaining work-life balance, emphasizing the importance of not checking school email on your phone.
Brian Stevenson, owner of Rocky Mountain Music Repair in Bloomfield, Colorado, tells host James Devine that "90% of problems on any brass instrument" are caused by gunk and can be prevented by cleaning.
A band teacher shares a lesson about not using your voice as a behavior management system, learned from observing a calm math teacher and soccer coach.
A band teacher shares tips on recruiting trombone players and a story about a flute player who learned trombone by memorizing slide positions instead of reading bass clef.
A veteran teacher reflects on how his ego-driven early career goals have evolved into a student-centered approach over 28 years.
A music teacher explains a method for teaching the blues scale to instrumentalists of all levels using scale degrees and call-and-response exercises.
James Devine talks with Brian Stevenson of Rocky Mountain Music Repair in Bloomfield, Colorado, about the fixes directors can do themselves and the problems that need a technician.
Band director James Devine shares practical tips for organizing a rehearsal room, including marking floors with tape, using tool bins for reeds, designating equipment parking areas, and installing pegboards.
James Devine discusses 13 common mistakes band directors make, starting with lack of planning, not using a metronome, and poor classroom management.
James Devine shares 16 lessons learned about preparing for music festivals as a young band director.