Foundations: The Fundamental Elements for Building a Successful Middle School Band Program

I’m tremendously proud of this book.  While Chris and I had talked about collaborating on a book project for just over a year, it felt like the perfect pandemic project to keep ourselves sane during the especially difficulty months.

Contributors: Kim Bain, Chip De Stefano, Rick Ghinelli, Corey Graves, Chris Grifa, Robert Herrings, Wendy Hart Higdon, Kazuhiko Tsuchiya, Heath Wolf

• REVIEW: The Fundamental Elements for Building a Successful Middle School Band (Bubbett’s Bookshelf)

Written by an all-star team of music educators with over two hundred years of combined experience and success, Foundations presents the fundamental elements necessary for building, maintaining, and growing a successful middle school band program. Topics covered include:

• Creating a culture of excellence
• Professional development and self-care
• Organizing your program and band room
• Teaching students how to practice
• Developing fundamental performance skills
• Recruitment
• Student motivation
• Communicating with the administration and school community
• Keeping things in perspective

The ideas in this book have been thoroughly researched, tested, revised, and, most importantly, are used in the authors’ own classrooms every day to achieve remarkable results. Guided by their skill and passion, the authors present actionable and practical advice that can be implemented in the classroom today and for years to come.

Chip, Chris, and their contributing authors have put together a comprehensive guide that you will want to reference throughout your career as a middle school band director. No matter when you start your beginners or how many grades you serve in your middle school or junior high program, there is something in Foundations you can use every period of every day. Once you have Foundations as part of your arsenal of resources, you will be on your way to “master teacher” status and you will LOVE having the opportunity to share this information with your middle school or junior high groups!

—Richard L. Saucedo
Composer
Director of Bands, Carmel High School, retired

Chip De Stefano and Chris Grifa have collected a group of rock star teachers to contribute to this resource! You will find many gems in every chapter to add to your toolkit! This book is required reading for every middle school band director as well as a great addition for our college students as they prepare for their careers in music education.

—Cheryl Floyd
Director of Bands, Hill Country Middle School, retired