Music Ed Insights

Quick Pro Tip: A Fast, Effective Way to Review This Year and Plan the Next

Alan and Steve share a fast, practical debrief tool you can use after a concert, contest, trip, marching season, or school year: WWW/TALA — What Went Well and Take A Look At. Built on Alan’s longtime approach to project improvement, this quick tip shows music teachers how to gather useful feedback in just a few minutes, avoid over-talking the debrief, and save the right notes so next year’s planning is smarter from day one.

Beats, Bands, and Attention Spans: A Conversation with Amani Roberts

DJ, author, and music business professor Amani Roberts joins Alan and Steve to unpack how today’s students are listening to and creating music—and what that means for K–12 music educators.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why teens prefer singles and short-form content over full albums
• Strategies for teaching deep listening using artists like Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar
• The rise of beat-making and bedroom producers, and what’s lost when theory and ensemble work fade
• Simple ways to get started with GarageBand, DAWs, and found sounds in your classroom
• How declining school music programs are reshaping the skills of working artists today

Amani also shares highlights from his book on the history of R&B groups, his life as a touring DJ, and a few personal favorites—from a memorable Tina Marie concert to a go-to Vegas restaurant.

Lessons from Student Travel: Live from Walt Disney World with Alan & Steve

Student trips are more expensive and more complex than ever—so are they still worth it? In this episode of Music Ed Insights, Alan and Steve return to the very same Disney resort room where they recorded a student travel episode two years ago to unpack what they’ve learned from nearly 30 years of group travel. They explore the non‑negotiables that make trips work: staff‑led communication and hype, crystal‑clear expectations and time boundaries, and intentional chaperone selection and preparation. They also dig into early organizational moves like rooming lists, how to handle rising costs and “entitled” questions from parents, and what to do when (not if) something goes wrong. Along the way, they highlight how travel helps students navigate money, public transportation, shared spaces, and life’s inevitable curveballs—while building resilience, empathy, and community for both students and adults.

Teaching Today’s Kids: Inclusion, Accommodations, and Family Partnerships with Cortez Daniel

Alan and Steve talk with Athens, Georgia–based music educator and Tones Collective co‑founder Cortez Daniel about what he’s learning from teaching “today’s kids” in K–12 and community settings. Cortez shares how his work in public schools and with organizations like Evergreen Children’s Chorale and Tones Collective informs his approach to accommodations that maintain rigor, preventing learned helplessness, and meeting students with diverse needs—non‑verbal learners, English language learners, and blind students—where they are. They explore how he uses AI as an inclusion tool, why “relentless positivity” matters, what’s changed in students’ attention and motivation since pre‑pandemic days, and how inviting families’ skills and goals into the program can transform a music community.

Quick Pro Tip: Giving Great Clinics and Fair Judging Comments

Quick Pro Tip: One Rule in Music - Make it Sound Good - but HOW?

Just in time for spring contest preparation, Alan  and Steve  unpack one deceptively simple idea: “There’s one rule in music – make it sound good.” If that’s true, what does it actually look like in rehearsal? Steve breaks the rule into six practical priorities great ensembles share: accurate attacks, correct pitches, the best possible tone, solid blend, clean releases, and a clear melody that’s never covered up. Before you worry about phrasing and dynamics, this short episode gives you a clear order of operations to help any band, choir, or orchestra truly sound good. A version of this episode was originally released in February of 2024.

Everyone Can Move: Michael Rosales on Movement for Every Music Program

Alan and Steve talk with choreographer and movement educator Michael Rosales (Carolina Crown, Bluecoats, Santa Clara Vanguard, The Breakdown Camp) about why every student—and every director—can move with confidence. They explore how to use simple, safe movement to teach rhythm and expression, how band and choir directors can lead movement without being “dance people,” and concrete ways K–12 music teachers can weave movement into rehearsals to improve performance, storytelling, and student engagement.

Quick Pro Tip: Do You Hold Your Students to Standards you Sometime Miss Yourself?

Steve and Alan take on a touchy but important topic: the gap between what we ask from students and what we actually model ourselves. They admit their own everyday hypocrisies (hello, phones at stoplights and slow email replies) and then connect it to the music room: punctuality, effort, communication, reflection, and how we respond when others drop the ball. You’ll hear the difference between healthy human imperfection and being a walking counter-example, plus a simple challenge for the week: choose one behavior you care about most from your students and make sure your own actions actually match it.

Teaching the Bigger Picture: Russ Gershon on Context, Curiosity, and Ethiopian Grooves

Composer, bandleader, and educator Russ Gershon (Either/Orchestra) joins us to explore how music becomes a window into history, geography, and human connection. Russ shares how he uses songs like “Proud Mary” with K–4 students to teach rivers, steamboats, and timelines; how storytelling and context make improvisation less scary for teens; and what Ethiopian modes and rhythms can offer our ensembles and ears. We also dig into how a Harvard philosophy degree shapes his musical life, why he sees himself as a “perpetual student,” and what it looks like when professional-level artistry and deeply humane teaching truly feed each other.

Quick Pro Tip: Rethinking Flex Charts for All Ensembles

Steve and Alan take on the bad reputation of “flex” music and make the case for using flexible-instrumentation charts as a musical tool, not a last-resort compromise. They compare band culture to choir and orchestra traditions, talk honestly about attention spans and rehearsal efficiency, and explain how fewer parts can actually mean more learning and less boredom. You’ll hear practical ideas for using flex charts to teach style, time, tone, and teamwork in concert band and jazz band, plus why this matters just as much at the high school and college level as it does in beginning and middle school.