// The Staff Bus

The Staff Bus

Office hours for band directors.

The parts of running a band program that never come up in methods class: teaching more efficiently, building leaders, managing staff, designing shows the band can actually play, fixing the audio, and surviving the job ourselves.

Browse by topic, or start with the problem you are trying to solve.

Why I Call It The Staff Bus

Every night, the conversation changed. Someone brought up a rehearsal problem, which turned into a staffing conversation, which became a discussion about show design, which somehow ended with somebody talking about their band program back home. That is what this place is supposed to feel like.

Student Leadership A title is not training. Teach them how to do the job. Composing & Arranging Music should fit the students in the room, not the ensemble in somebody's imagination. Show Design Everything between "I have an idea" and the last show in October. Audio & Sound Design Design the audio early, test it in the real environment, and know what to do when it fails. Band Director Life The band needs a healthy director more than it needs one more hour of your day. Running Rehearsals Stop spending rehearsal getting through things. Teach the band to do them. Building the Staff Hire good teachers, give them useful authority, and make it possible for them to stay. Running the Program The stuff that ends up on your desk because nobody else owns it.

What are you trying to solve?

Start with the problem in front of you.

Have another problem you're working on?

Tell me what is happening in your program. I read every submission. Questions that come up repeatedly may become future Staff Bus articles, videos, or resources.