Episode 8 lands the week of fall 2020 startup, mixing a personal tribute to the teachers who shaped each host with a deep tour of the EE Interactive teacher dashboard and a long visit with Doug Lady on First Performance National Day of Celebration.
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Inside this episode
Charlie, Tim, and Paul open with a warm thank-you to teachers tackling the most uncertain start-of-school in living memory, then take turns recounting the teachers who set the trunk of their tree — band directors, private-lesson teachers, choir directors. Paul tells the story of Mr. Francis Caviani giving him trumpet lessons in fifth grade. Tim cites Ms. Sellers and his college director Mr. Dunn. Charlie pulls Steri Adres, the town lady music teacher who could play every instrument, into the same lineup.
From there it’s a Rubank love letter — fundamentals never go out of style, Hal Leonard absorbed the catalog in the mid-’80s, and Heini Voxman made 14 trips to Europe digging through libraries for “the good stuff.” Steve Smith walks through the six icons across the top of every EEi teacher dashboard — Music Studio, My Students, Resources, Calendar, Assignments, Communication — and the small secret that students cannot submit a recording until they have self-assessed it.
The anchor of the episode is a long visit with Doug Lady, Chairman of the Music Achievement Council, on First Performance National Day of Celebration. The idea: get beginning band kids in front of parents the Thursday before Thanksgiving, with a downloadable toolkit — parent invite, principal invite, narrator script, certificate of advancement. For 2020 the Council recorded a virtual version with EE arrangements conducted by Charlie himself — a band director’s surefire path to retention, born from the moment when a fourth grader stands up, plays one passable tune, and gets a standing ovation.
Read the full transcript
Teachers’ appreciation stock is way up
[00:01:32] Charlie: Welcome back, or thanks for joining if you’re new. We hope you find a little affirmation, inspiration, and information to help you tackle this 2020-21 school year head on. Today we have Doug Lady, chairman of the Music Achievement Council, on for a special program for your young band students. Paul, welcome back. Paul: Great to be here. Tim, great to have you. Tim: Thank you, Charlie. Appreciate everybody sitting here with us.
[00:03:01] Charlie: What we’re all trying to do is support teachers — those teachers in the trenches are my heroes. I can’t imagine teaching in this day and age. Some are starting virtually, some face-to-face, some hybrid. Thank you for your hard work and preparation. Tim: You’re frontline workers. We’re here for your students. None of us would be here if it weren’t for our teachers. Paul: And teachers have lives beyond teaching — they’re parents, taking care of elders. Just to keep their personal lives rocking is difficult, let alone teaching in these new circumstances. So thank you.
[00:04:34] Charlie: Can we all agree teachers’ appreciation stock is way up? Tim: Just like with medical professionals — teachers need to be right in the middle of the essential worker page. Paul: No question.
The teachers we still remember
[00:05:04] Charlie: Yesterday was my birthday, and I always reflect over the years — growing up, going to school, starting trumpet, my first job. I saw the faces of my teachers, the people who really had a great influence on my life. Most every one of those teachers happened to be a band teacher. Tim, you had some special teachers too?
[00:05:39] Tim: My mom, who was too talented for anybody. My choir teacher Ms. Sellers, grade one through high school. Mr. Dunn, my college band director. Countless mentors along the way. And I learned a lot from my students too. One was Charlie Menghini — still one of the best teachers I have each and every day. Charlie: You’re too kind, Tim.
[00:06:38] Paul: Keith Lawson was my high school band director, but I had several — I was just so lucky. They’re stuck right in your memory. I can see their faces. I can remember what they said to me. Eventually I ended up in the music profession largely because of those teachers. My wife says they form the trunk of your tree.
[00:07:59] Charlie: I went to a Catholic elementary school with no band program, so I took private lessons with the local town lady music teacher, Steri Adres, who could play every instrument. On Tuesday mornings my mom would drive me about a mile to the public elementary school, where the junior high band director Francis Caviani would give me a private trumpet lesson. We’d work through the Rubank elementary and intermediate band methods. I’m convinced Mr. Caviani is the thing that really got me going. I still have those Rubank books in my collection.
Rubank and the magic of fundamentals
[00:09:19] Charlie: When we rewrote the EE method a few years back, we talked about the importance of Rubank material, which we ended up putting in the book. Paul: Yes, very much so. The Book 1 ones are very fundamental — scales and arpeggios in four different keys at the back. The more interesting ones are at the end of Book 2 — instrument-specific, with piano accompaniments and great model soloists. Rubank came to Hal Leonard in the mid-80s, and we’ve reprinted the books, made new collections, and added recordings.
[00:11:31] Charlie: Everybody I know that is really good — they’re doing fundamental stuff all the time. I watched the Blue Devils play eight on a hand for an hour because it becomes part of your brain. When I was at the University of Missouri, Doc Severinsen showed up to solo with the marching band. I escorted him. He sat in the press box during the first half playing fundamental after fundamental for an entire half. Then he went down and blew the roof off a roofless stadium. That night he had a two-hour concert and all the guy did was practice.
[00:13:25] Tim: We had the chance to meet Heini Voxman, who was legendary in pedagogy. He drove the essence of most of those books. He made 14 trips to Europe to sit in the libraries and dig out what he called “the good stuff.” That’s why those Rubank catalogs have lasted for decades. Paul: He went to the University of Iowa in 1929 as a chemical engineering major and never left.
Inside the EEi teacher dashboard
[00:17:00] Charlie: Steve, when teachers log into EEi for the first time, they see six icons across the top of the page. Walk us through them. Steve: Starting from the right, the microphone icon is Music Studio — music, background tracks, recording, and where you access student recordings when they submit them. Second from the right is My Students — enter students into your account, put them in groups. Next is Resources — videos, PDFs, anything you want to send to your kids. Then Calendar for events, practices, fundraisers. Then Assignments for the music studio or sharing resources. Then Communication — emails and notifications, pre-sorted by section so you can email all your clarinets easily.
[00:18:11] Tim: Important that teachers just go inside and start looking around. We all think we’re going to break it, but it’s pretty bulletproof. The teachers who do the best with this are the ones that have taken the time to use it and find how it works for them. Steve: One favorite feature — students cannot submit a recording to me until they have self-assessed.
[00:24:09] Steve: A lot of tricks private lesson teachers use you can do in the music studio. Have kids make a recording where they’re clapping and counting, or saying note names along with the professional musician. Brass players should record themselves on the mouthpiece only playing along with the pros — that pitch is right there. Have a kid sight-read an exercise, record it, then practice and re-record — they can really hear the improvement from first read to final take.
First Performance with Doug Lady
[00:33:01] Charlie: People should be performing with your beginners. Today’s special guest, Doug Lady, is chairman of the Music Achievement Council. Doug, welcome. Doug: Thanks, Charlie, happy to join this esteemed group. My son and son-in-law are teachers teaching remotely — boy, is it challenging. I can only imagine teaching beginning band students in these crazy times.
[00:34:21] Doug: Music Achievement Council — MAC for short — is a nonprofit made up of passionate music retailers and industry folks with a simple vision: more students to begin and stay in instrumental programs, fewer to quit. Our mantra is MSFQ. The board is three manufacturers (myself, Garth Gilman at Yamaha, Cheryl Lacka at Cannonball), three retailers (George Quinlan, Bill Harvey at Buddy Rogers, Nick Averwater at Amro), and NAMM CEO Joe Lamon. Plus advisors Marcia Neal and Charlie Menghini.
[00:36:22] Doug: Our resources are physical books and digital downloads — Tips for Success, Practical Guide for Recruitment and Retention, Bridging the Gap (middle to high school), and First Performance materials. Subscribe to monthly updates at MSFQ.org/guide.
[00:38:45] Charlie: Tell us about First Performance National Day of Celebration. Doug: The goal is to reduce beginner dropout rate, provide short-range incentive goals, encourage parent communication, strengthen administrative support, and celebrate the musical accomplishments of the students. The toolkit includes a template parent invite, principal invite, narrator script (a local celebrity or the school janitor — anyone known and liked), press release materials, and a customizable PDF certificate of advancement.
[00:41:48] Doug: This year with COVID we offered a virtual version using Essential Elements band method material. The concert is introduced by Joe Lamon (NAMM), narrated by Marcia Neal, and conducted by none other than maestro Charlie Menghini. Students will play along with the video using their EE book. The designated day is the Thursday before Thanksgiving, though teachers can perform whenever they want. Information at NAMMFoundation.org/FPNDOC, or just Google “first performance.”
[00:43:56] Tim: I was at Midwest watching those kids play. The parents and the connection — those kids could have been playing with the wrong end of the horn in their mouth and parents were still going to give a standing ovation. Phenomenal. Paul: Two schools from Chicago performed together — both Vandercook directors, Mario Moody and another. The following year both reported noticeably higher retention, which they attributed to the First Performance concert.
[00:46:00] Steve: We started having more success when we simplified our first concert. The parents just want to see their kids play. They shouldn’t play The Rite of Spring at the first concert — just get them out there and let them have some success in front of their parents. Tim: When we wait too long they start to lose interest. They want to be the star, demonstrate those newfound skills to their friends and family.
Signing off
[00:49:55] Charlie: This sounds like a great program. Where can directors learn more, Doug? Doug: Just search “first performance” — it’ll come up. Or NAMMFoundation.org/FPNDOC. Steve: I’ll see if we can put a link in the podcast notes. Doug: Last thoughts — wish all the community well and best of luck to the devoted music teachers being challenged this year. Happy belated birthday to Charlie. Charlie: 67 trips around the sun.
[00:53:50] Charlie: My thanks to Paul Lavender, Dr. Tim, and Steve Smith. Tim: I found my drumsticks. Charlie: You practice and we might do another drum roll next week. Same time, same station. Thanks to Doug Lady from the Music Achievement Council, and to you, our listeners, for being with us.
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