Teach Them To Fish: The First Year of Modern Band

“Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for life.” This proverb reflects how we can teach beginner modern band students of any age, and build their independence in learning instruments. In this session, we will walk through a method of sequencing your beginner modern band classes through five units, and cover important basics that allow students to learn the core modern band instruments (ukulele, guitar, keyboard, bass guitar, and drums) while also becoming self-sufficient in their own learning. Session attendees will walk away with a year-long curriculum to use in their beginner level modern band classes. After attending this session, you will be able to start beginner students of any age group (upper elementary, middle, and high school) on all of the core modern band instruments. Each unit of the curriculum covers skills, including how to read notation, charts, and diagrams for the instrument, and how to play single note melodies, chords, and scales. During the session, you will learn a selection of recommended, tried and true songs and activities, including many from the Music Will Modern Band Method Books and JamZone website, as well as Quaver Music and more to use with your students. In addition, you will also receive a compilation of charts and diagrams to immediately implement in your classrooms. These units allow you to manage multiple classes with ease. If you teach beginner/Level 1 students, or you are new to modern band yourself, join us!

As a result of attending this session, attendees will:

  • learn new ways to begin students on ukulele, guitar, keyboard, bass guitar, and drums.

  • be able to identify and know where to find multiple songs and skill building exercises for each instrument.

  • have an online collection of charts and diagrams, along with the year long curriculum units, that they will be able to immediately implement in their classrooms.

  • feel more confident in starting beginner level students on the core modern band instruments.

Daphne Wright