Category Archives: Teaching Tips

By Chris Bernotas Alfred Author What is the purpose of a warm up in the band (or any) classroom? Students come into our classrooms from a variety of places, both physically and mentally. Maybe they are coming from lunch, or … Continue reading →

As You’re Preparing for the New School Year, Here Are Some Tips for Getting Your School’s Flutes Up to Par. Working With the Pad Adjustment Screws on a Standard Concert Flute Here’s another essential skill that falls into the “things … Continue reading →

For those of you who missed the webinar by Vince Gassi and Chris Bernotas, the recording is now available – click on the webinar title below. Please note that the WebEx player is required to play the recording in its … Continue reading →

The start of a new school year offers so much wonder, excitement and promise. As teachers, it also allows each of us a time to reexamine what we teach and how we teach it. This gives us a chance to … Continue reading →

by Bob Phillips, Lead author of SI for Strings As a bass player, I have strong opinions on starting and retaining bass players in the school orchestra. Personally I like to see all four instruments taught the first year of … Continue reading →

Don’t miss Alfred composers Chris Bernotas and Vince Gassi as they host a live webinar presentation! Hear unique teaching ideas to invigorate your class Learn to use technology to connect your students to the musical community Discover detailed instructions that … Continue reading →

One of the topics that frequently comes up in talking to educators at trade shows, on Twitter, Facebook, etc is ‘percussion for the non-percussionist’ – for all of the educators out there with brass, woodwind and string expertise that might … Continue reading →

Teaching Tips: It’s that time of the year again. Tubas need new tubes. Christmas pageant needs more pageantry. Time to get around to replacing those missing second violin parts to Winter Wonderland. It’s the beginning of the school year and … Continue reading →