Man, I love music...and performing. But how can I create that same love with my kids?

That can either be the easiest thing or the hardest thing in a music classroom. Everyone has a reason that they are in band. It is up to us to figure out why that is and find a way to love it.

Take the documentary "Chops" for example. This is a documentary that follows 3 schools around in their quest to reach the Essentially Ellington finals in New York at Jazz at Lincoln Center. After watching the film, I realized that these kids have such a true passion for the music they play and you can see that every note they play means something to them. We as directors need to find ways that we can get our students to feel the same way.

One way of doing this may be through jazz. Improvisation is all about what you feel when you are playing. You are telling your story to the world. There is no right and there is no wrong.

I think the best way to create a love for music and performing with our students is through exposure to different types of music. This can be done in a number of ways both in and out of the classroom. In the classroom, we can watch videos of various artists, listen to recordings, or better yet, have guest artists like the Funky Dawgz Brass band or Tower of Power come to the school and perform for the school as a whole.

Outside the school, there are countless opportunities for your groups to find what "makes them tick." As mentioned before, there is the Essentially Ellington jazz competition for traditional style jazz bands. Otherwise, each state has music festivals each spring for concert band, jazz band, and choirs. Outside of that, there are festivals held at larger venues like Six Flags, Washington D.C., or even Disney! These festivals give our students a chance to not only perform in front of audiences that are larger than they are used to, but they are also able to listen and appreciate the music that individuals their age from around the country are producing.

Let's say you already do festivals like this. What else can you do? What about tickets to see an opera at the Met, or take your students to go see a matinee showing of STOMP, Blue Man Group, Jazz at Lincoln Center, or the New York Phil. Day trips like these can be a great way to open your students' eyes and ears to different styles of music and possibly, like in the case of STOMP or Blue Man Group, encourage more students to try percussion instruments and create a percussion ensemble.

So, once again, how can I help to create the same love for music in my students that I have? Exposure.