Erin Cole Steele

Erin Cole Steele is the Director of the Division of Education and Senior Educational Clinician for Conn Selmer Inc. Erin also serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Arizona State University's School of Music. Contributing Editor and Clinician for Essential Elements Interactive.

Posts by Erin Cole Steele

  • For TeachersPublished: Updated:

    Establishing an Effective and Positive Rehearsal Routine

    A great rehearsal starts long before the first note. Build a consistent routine — Rest/Ready/Play positions, breathing exercises, tizzling along to recordings, and clear pacing — so middle school students focus quickly, take ownership of expectations, and treat every transition as part of the music.

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  • For TeachersPublished: Updated:

    Classroom Management

    Erin Cole Steele shares the classroom management system she built for 280 beginning band students: instrument-specific unpacking, air-playing along to method-book tracks while everyone gets ready, daily rehearsal plan on the board, and consistent positive reinforcement across 20 years of middle school teaching.

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  • For TeachersPublished: Updated:

    Summer Practice Ideas

    Erin Cole Steele’s playbook for retaining students through summer: pass-off assignments with EEi recordings and incentives, EEi Resources for written work, student-choice solo books, Sheet Music Direct PASS streaming, Noteflight Marketplace, and parent communication about practice expectations and summer camps.

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