A simple black and white representation of the pyramid of sound for use in instrumental music classrooms.

A blank Band Madness tournament bracket for use with Elaine Menke's Band Madness practice incentive idea for beginning music classes.

A blank Band Madness tournament bracket in XLS format for use with Elaine Menke's Band Madness practice incentive idea for beginning music classes.

A blank Band Madness tournament bracket in XLS format for use with Elaine Menke's Band Madness practice incentive idea for beginning music classes.

A zip file containing the Finale 2005 documents for the Blues Scale Sheets found in the Student Learning Aids section of this site. These documents can be edited and changed using Finale 2005 or later by Finale Music.

A zip file containing the Concert Band Scale Sheets found in our Student Learning Aids section.  All files are in Finale 2005 format and can be edited with Finale 2005 or later by FinaleMusic.com.

A blank PDF document for planning and scheduling students into flight assignments for large group trips.

A worksheet for determining student rooming assignments.  The center column is used for chaperones.  Each room of chaperones can easily be assigned to multiple student rooms.

A worksheet for assigning roomates for group trips.  This worksheet is set up for six students per room as you might choose to do for suites style hotels.  Putting six in a room can save enough money to allow you to afford a nicer hotel!  The center column is for chaperone rooms.  

Handout from the October 2013 presentation High Tech on a Low Budget, presented at the Iowa Technology in Education Conference.

A two page guide and worksheet intended to help the learner get more out of their practice sessions.  Many beginners simply do not practice properly, wasting time and rehearsing material that does not need to be rehearsed.  This guide gives six simple steps toward making your practice routine an efficient and useful one.

A handout on the topic of Interactive Whiteboards In Music Education- Making The Case, Finding the Funding, and Making The Best Choice. Presented at the 2010 Iowa Bandmaster's Conference by Chad Criswell, IBA Technology Director and MENC Technology Columnist.

A rubric used in a high school band class to grade individual private lesson assignments. Includes correlations to MENC National Music Standards.

A simple grading rubric for percussion lessons with correlations to the MENC National Standards for Music Education.

A great listing of Sibelieus created PDF worksheets, mostly for elementary general music classes, but still of value to instrumental music teachers as well.  A very nice site authored by Ms. Garrett of Central Park School in Birmingham, Alabama.

A handout that accompanied a presentation at the 2008 Iowa Music Educator's Conference by Chad Criswell on the topic of new trends and technologies that are shaping the way we teach music.

A zip file containing the parts for a chord progression that I used as a part of our pep band performances when the players were being announced.  Works great if you have your bass player and trap set player ad lib and you cue the chord at the appropriate time in the announcers speech.

A two page worksheet used after a major performance to help debrief and focus on the positive and negative aspects of a group's performance.

A blank copy of the Pyramid Of Sound handout.  Use as a worksheet with your instrumental group.  Students are asked to place the various listed instruments in their proper place on the empty pyramid.

A practice record grid sheet with lines for specific assignments and the amount of time to practice each one (as suggested by the teacher).  The student can then enter the amount of time he or she spends on each assignment item.  The theory behind this being that if a student is really practicing a specific assignment item for two hours each week they should be getting better at it.  If they are not, this record can help the teacher determine where the student is really spending their time.