Blog
Greg Snyder writes blog posts for KHS America’s Academic Alliance His writings range from advice for struggling student musicians to how best to transition from the marching band season to the concert band season:
LISTENING SKILLS THAT IMPROVE YOUR ENSEMBLE
by Greg Snyder | Feb. 15, 2024 | Bandroom Tips
You may think listening is an innate skill that improves with time—it’s not. From the early days of learning their instrument, a clear priority must be for each student to listen intently to their individual tones while matching the tones around them. This important…
HOW TO MOTIVATE STRUGGLING PLAYERS
by Greg Snyder | Mar 2, 2023 | Motivating Students
Motivating students to greatness—or even “goodness” on their instruments—has always been a challenge for band directors everywhere. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, that challenge has increased—from rural Montana to urban New York City, the struggle is real. The most…
FROM MARCHING BAND TO CONCERT BAND: THE SECRETS TO SUCCESS IN TRANSITION
by Greg Snyder | Oct 12, 2020 | Bandroom Tips, Motivating Students
From the unsolicited blaring trumpet and the near reckless abandon of low brass splats, the seemingly limitless “nature” of the great outdoors invites instrumental sounds on the marching band field that we should not aspire to in the concert hall. Truth be told, many…
A LAST-MINUTE ASSESSMENT SURVIVAL GUIDE
by Greg Snyder | Mar 2, 2020 | Bandroom Tips
We all know that being a band director is often not what we expect. Many times, we can feel like we’re a “conductor” of a different sort: event planner, scheduler, repairman, counselor, etc., rather than a music teacher. Well, here’s a Step-By-Step Assessment Survival…