Audio & Video Recording Assignments in EEi
EEi has supported audio and video assignments since day one — listen to recordings, watch performance videos, and give meaningful feedback that supports real musical growth.
Read More →Category: Teaching Tips
Long-form articles for music educators teaching with Essential Elements: classroom management, rehearsal routines, instrument-specific tips, and pedagogy.
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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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Finding Methods that Support Your Teaching
Chase Banks — student, director, now Hal Leonard contributor — walks through what to look for when choosing a method book: solid pedagogical sequencing, an integrated digital component like EEi, repertoire that connects to students' listening lives, inclusive content, and a path that grows from beginner through advanced ensemble playing.
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Chair Placement Audition Tips
Chair placements motivate practice and balance ensemble parts — but only when the process feels fair. Share rubrics and music in advance, use blind listening when you can, grade against clear criteria, and consider rotating parts or leadership-by-role as alternatives to fixed rankings.
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Easy Strategy: Rhythm of the Day
A weekly bell-ringer that turns rhythm study into student composition. Set rules on the board (measures, time signature, allowed values), have students compose one exercise, then pick one each day to count, clap, and play together. Collected sheets double as rhythmic-comprehension assessment data.
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Back-to-School Percussion Tips for Band Directors
Get the percussion section sorted before students walk in. Inventory every instrument and accessory, prioritize critical repairs (timpani pedals that hold tension, working snares) over cosmetic fixes, align with feeder programs, and set storage and handling routines from day one so students learn to take ownership.
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Setting the Tone for a Successful School Year
Matt Wolf borrows the BME framework — a note's beginning, middle, and end — and applies it to the school year. Set high expectations from day one, lean on EEi assessments and instructional videos through the long middle, and reflect on what worked when wrapping up.
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Classroom Management by Erin Cole Steele
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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EEi In-Class Grading & Recording
Grade students live during class: select a cell in the EEi Student Recordings Grade Book, record the in-class performance, type comments and a grade, and submit. Students hear the recording and feedback at home, connecting in-class assessment with home practice.
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EEi Rhythm Counting Assignment
Sharpen rhythmic accuracy by having students record themselves clapping and counting in the EEi Music Studio. Set the accompaniment to Metronome with Melody Off, slow the tempo if needed, then have students listen to several takes — a built-in feedback loop that exposes timing tendencies.
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