Building a professional mindset in an amateur setting
This year, our campus was named an invited ensemble at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival. Representing our community has been an incredible privilege, and the support from our families, school, and alumni has been overwhelming.
As I have begun coaching our students through our preparation process, I have often discussed how we strive to emulate professionals (as we have defined them, such as a collegiate Wind Ensemble, rather than someone who is paid for their work). This has opened up a great forum for discussion about what makes the difference between the “amateurs” and the “professionals,” and it has been remarkable to see the difference it has made in the mindset of the students.
Below you will find some of our four conclusions from our discussions throughout the semester; several are discoveries the students coined themselves.
They make the difficult things seem easy
During COVID, I, like many others, found a new appreciation for the world of motorsport. Apart from my yearly watching of the Indianapolis 500, I was quite naive to the sport initially and did not understand the difficulty that the drivers face under pressure. The memorization of finding the racing line, gear shifting, braking points, etc., all while driving at speeds of 120+ miles per hour and greater, is an incredible feat of the human body. But we don’t realize that.
It wasn't until the last few years that I began to dip my toe into sim racing (virtual motorsport using computer hardware) as a hobby that I began to understand the level of detail that these drivers hold themselves to. It took me hours to learn the layout of the track to just stay within the lines, and that’s not even accounting for the g-force that the real professionals subject themselves to as well. Needless to say, I won’t be trading in my baton for a helmet any time soon!
The more I think about it, the detailed nature of these drivers is no different than knowing the time signature changes and cues of a piece you are conducting, or the tuning tendencies of each note of your instrument. So, regardless of whether you’re on the racetrack, in the boardroom, or on the stage at Carnegie Hall, if you can convince your audience that what you are doing is easy (even when it is not), then you have shown that you can be a professional in that sense as well.
They are adaptable
There are very few things, in my opinion, that prepare students for life as well as marching band, and here’s why:
A few years ago, I was serving in an event staff role at the Bands of America Grand Nationals Championships in Indianapolis. My shift had finished for the day, so I went up to the suites to watch the last few bands of finals and witnessed something reassuring. A student had lost their shako (hat) moving into a hold. As they left the hold, moving into a flutter, I watched them move a little further out than they probably typically did, scoop up their shako, place it on their head, and then proceed to play the multiple tonguing feature that followed. All within the course of about 10 seconds from when it happened, to them solving the problem completely.
If I had not been looking in that area at that moment, I probably would have never even noticed it had happened. Hats off (pun intended) to those students and their teachers for teaching and empowering them to solve problems when they see them. There are probably many adults who would struggle with solving a problem that quickly!
We have talked heavily this semester, much like the student in my example, that we cannot control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we react to the situation we are in. We’ve had several bumps along the road (delayed music, odd schedules due to testing, illness taking out a few key players the day of a concert, etc.), but I am incredibly proud of how they have handled every challenge with a “can-do” attitude. It gives me great reassurance that all of the “kids these days ____” talk is not as valid as we believe it to be. (Though I still wish they’d trade some phone time for long tones!)
They understand their role
I believe music is a great vehicle for teaching this concept. When students first learn to play their instrument, we begin with unison lines, allowing them to build confidence in their playing. Then, after a few months, we start introducing duets where we take that confidence and then teach them how to do it with greater independence. By the end of the year, they move into a “full band” setting. Suddenly, you need to know what your responsibility is (melody, harmony, etc.) or else the pieces of the puzzle don’t fit together correctly.
I think this is a great metaphor for what students are going to experience in the future. I work on several teams throughout my different obligations, and not one of them is in the same capacity. Sometimes I am the decision maker (melody), other times my role is to support the decision maker (harmony). Being aware of what is expected of me and doing it to the best of my ability is what makes the team effective.
They do what it takes to get the job done
“There are no hard things in life, only unpracticed things.”
These words have lived in my mind rent-free since I first heard them almost ten years ago. Bring back the first point mentioned, professionals make things look easy because of their preparation. They are going to do what they need to get the job done.
Translate that to the middle school band hall, and it has led to conversations about not practicing something until you get it right, but doing it until you can consistently get it right. It’s a shift from “I have to work on this for ___ minutes” to “I need to work on this until I meet this standard”.
In recent years, our program has transitioned fully to reflect this mindset as well. Gone are the days of practice logs where you have to acquire a certain number of minutes to receive a 100, and instead, students work towards meeting their “benchmarks” throughout the grading period. Do some students end up practicing less than others? Sure. But our students have also expressed that this approach has made them feel that practicing is less of a chore and more worthwhile.
I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into our band hall. Since assuming my role, our priority has always been to teach life skills through music. It brings me immense joy knowing every student who passes through our doors carries these lessons and more forward. That, for me, is what makes teaching one of the most rewarding professions.
Wishing you a Happy New Year and the best to you in 2026!
Yours in service,
Matt