Best of the Year: The Top Music Ed Mentor Podcasts of 2019

We published 26 podcast episodes with more than 23 guest interviews in 2019. Each episode had some great take-aways and relevant information for music educators around the globe. Here are the 5 most popular episodes on the Music Ed Mentor Podcast, followed by 5 of the Editor’s Choice.

Most Popular

#5 - Episode 48: Setting Realistic Expectations

We’ve all experienced this. You go from playing in this amazing collegiate ensemble to teaching ultra-beginning band, choir, or orchestra, and you’re making all kinds of mistakes with your expectations. Maybe you expect your students to behave like the kids in your methods classes. You expect them to be able to perform, and to at least understand what you’re saying. You may even expect them to listen to you!

But where do we draw the line? How do we find balance? How do we manage our expectations so that they are both achievable for our students, but also pushing them along? Guest Chris Munce from the Choralosophy Podcast and I discuss all of this and more in this episode.

#4- Episode 41: Starting an Elementary Music Program from Scratch

Whether you have to create a program from scratch, are taking over a struggling program, or simply looking for new ideas for your elementary program, today’s conversation has tips you can put to use. We talk about resources you can access even with a zero budget, how to manage scheduling, how to avoid wasting time reinventing the metaphorical wheel, and more.

Join Jessica Peresta from The Domestic Musician and I as we discover what it takes to get an elementary music program up and running.

#3- Episode 54: Mastering Classroom Management 

I asked my friend Dale Duncan to join us again, to share some of his favorite classroom management strategies. You may know Dale as “Mr. D” from “In the Middle with Mr. D.” He is also a 2018 Top 25 GRAMMY Music Educator Award finalist, the creator of S-Cubed sight-singing program, a choral director with more than 20 years experience, and one of my favorite people. 

Dale gave a session on this topic for the 2019 International Music Education Summit, so I knew he had some great techniques to share, to help answer questions like: What procedures do we need to have a plan for? Do we really need specific rules, or are guidelines enough? Should we use incentives like clip up charts or parties? Should we turn the discipline over to someone outside of our classroom, like another teacher or the administration? We cover all of that and more in this episode. 

#2- Episode 46: Modern Band and More

If you’ve attended a conference anywhere in the United States recently you’ve probably seen a session being hosted by Little Kids Rock. I have to admit that, even though I teach little kids, initially I wasn’t all that interested in trying to turn my classes into 25-piece rock bands. My guest this episode, Dr. Scott Burstein, helps me to understand how I was completely wrong. Scott  is the director of teaching and education at Little Kids Rock and the director of this year’s National Modern Band Honor Ensemble at the National Association for Music Education Conference in Florida.

Ever since I started to get to know the Little Kids Rock-trained teachers and their underlying philosophies, I have started to transform my own teaching. It really is about the students. It really is about engaging students by meeting them on their level. I really did switch the repertoire that we took to festival. Get ready for an exciting paradigm shift!

#1- Episode #39: Empowering Your Students

Beyond simply engaging students, empowerment takes things one step further. In the traditional classroom, the teacher picks out the music, does the score study, rehearses the group, and conducts the performance. The teacher makes most of the big decisions. Shifting decision making to students truly empowers them. They get more out of the experience – and that’s why we do this.

Joining me are not one, but two wonderful guests: Theresa Ducassoux teaches fourth- and fifth-grade band and orchestra in Arlington, VA. Kathryn Finch teaches K-5 general music in Northbrook, IL.  Together they have more than 36 years of teaching experience and some great insight into the empowerment process. They also have a wonderful presentation available for viewing in the International Music Education Summit On-Demand Archives.

Editor’s Choice

So there you have it - the most listened to episodes of 2019. But wait! There’s more. These 5 episodes are the ones I believe are essential listening, with some of the most relevant and practical information for all school music teachers. If you’re looking for a refresher before the New Year, I highly recommend listening to these.

Episode 58: Meditation and Mindfulness in the Music Classroom

This episode’s guest is Lesley Moffat, author of I Love My Job But It’s Killing Me. Leslie and I discuss how you can easily turn things around. It’s possible to shift your life and your teaching to create a better experience for yourself, and for your students. Best of all, it’s simpler than you think. Leslie has some great suggestions, and she speaks from profound experience. Your jaw will drop as you hear the struggles she’s been through and the simple things she’s done to completely transform her life, all without leaving her career teaching high school band. 

This episode is a gift, especially to all of our high school band colleagues who are juggling so much.

Episode 53: The Minimalist Music Teacher

In this episode, I asked my friend Paige Bell to chat with me about becoming a minimalist music teacher, which is a passion we share. Paige teaches in Dallas, has a band called Narwhals and Waterfalls (that does great work with social-emotional learning), and runs the Simple Music Teaching blog. What’s more, she is awesome and joyful as you’ll hear in this episode. You’ll also walk away with some great ideas for simplifying your classroom, your teaching, and your life. 

Episode 47: Benefitting from Critique

Whether it’s a judge’s form at a festival or a parent email in your inbox, other people’s opinions of us matter, even if we don’t think they should. Facing critique is one of the most difficult challenges we face as music educators, and it’s part of so much of what we do. Join us for insights on how to recover from situations like this – and for ways to avoid feeling that way from the start. My guest for this episode is David Biel, expert band director and host of the “Beyond the Clef” podcast. We share some of our personal critique stories and talk about why we take groups to festival (and other performances) in the first place. We also discuss how we deal with criticism from judges, fellow directors, students, parents, and administrators.

Episode 55: Comebacks, Hobbies, and Reinventing Yourself

This one is a difficult one for me because I do get a little bit personal, and it’s...challenging to admit weakness. This episode my guest is Jason Heath, veteran teacher, performer, author, clinician, and consultant. Jason is also the host of Contrabass Conversations, an amazing podcast devoted to exploring music and ideas associated with the double bass. But instead of my typical method of preparing rigorous questions for my expert guest, we began with no plan or agenda. We just talk as friends, and let our wandering conversation go wherever. We touch on hobbies, failures, successes, how to keep energized in your career, and so many other topics…but for me it all came down to one lesson: you get to create your own life. 

I hope you’ll enjoy every episode of the Music Ed Mentor Podcast that we have created, and what we will create in the future. If you have ideas for episode topics, or have a guest you’d love to have me bring on, you can find out more by going to MusicEdMentor.com and clicking on the Podcast menu. Welcome to the end of 2019, and I wish you all the best for 2020.

What was your favorite episode? Tell us in the comments below….