10 Common Setbacks New Band Directors Face

“Is the band getting smaller?”

A colleague casually asked me this in the hallway. I don’t think they meant much by it, but that didn’t stop me from worrying about it four hours later.

That’s one of the difficult parts of being a new band director. Because you don’t have much history, every parent complaint, tough rehearsal, student who quits or disappointing festival result feels like you’re doing something wrong.

Chances are you are doing something wrong — that’s part of learning the job. But sometimes you’re taking responsibility for something you inherited. You may be reacting to a difficult time of year or treating one concert mistake like a judgment on your entire program. It’s important to learn the difference.

Here are 10 common setbacks that new band directors may encounter, what they can tell you and what’s worth doing next.

1. A Parent Complaint

A parent complaint tells you that someone disagrees with a decision, policy or interaction. It doesn’t mean your decision was right or wrong.

When you receive a complaint, separate the emotion from the actual issue. What happened? What policy or expectation was involved? Did you communicate it clearly? Was your decision reasonable and consistent?

If the decision was defensible, document the situation and move on. If you missed something, correct it. Just because someone complains does not automatically mean you have to reverse course.

2. Low Enrollment During Your First Couple Years

You did not build your enrollment numbers over your first year or two. You inherited them. Students who quit before you even started are part of that number. So are changes in feeder programs, scheduling conflicts, previous directors, school policies and several other factors that you had no control over.

Enrollment is important, but you need your own data before coming to conclusions. Keep a record. Track total enrollment, grade levels, instrumentation and retention from year to year. Your first year is simply your starting point.

3. A Rehearsal That Falls Apart

A rough rehearsal can be frustrating, but it also helps you become a more effective teacher. Maybe the students cannot maintain pulse through a transition. Maybe a section does not understand the rhythm. Maybe the piece is harder than you estimated. Maybe your instructions were unclear.

Those are all problems that you can work on.

After a rehearsal falls apart, write down what happened before your memory turns it into “the band sounded terrible.” What broke down? Where? Why? This then becomes the lesson plan for your next rehearsal.

4. A Student Who Quits

Sometimes when a student quits it’s connected to your class. Other times, the student has a schedule conflict, transportation issue, job, family responsibility, academic concern or another reason that has little to do with band.

Ask the student or their counselor. Look for patterns over time. If a couple of students leave your program over time, they certainly deserve your attention — but this doesn’t typically point to an unhealthy program.

5. Your Administrator Doesn’t Seem Interested

New directors sometimes expect administrators to check in frequently, attend rehearsals or comment on the program. That may happen, but it usually does not.

In a school building, administrators are dealing with attendance, discipline, staffing, testing, parent concerns, safety issues and 15 faculty members knocking on their door asking, “Got a sec?”

If you want your administrator to know more about your program, don’t wait for them to ask — tell them. Send a short update. Invite them to a rehearsal. Share an upcoming performance date. Give them the information they need to support your program.

6. A Lower-than-Expected Festival Rating

A festival rating is one assessment of one performance on one day. It’s not meaningless, but it’s also not an indicator of whether you’re an effective teacher.

Read the comments carefully. Look for specific observations that appear from more than one adjudicator. Then connect it to something you already noticed in rehearsal.

Maybe the feedback points to balance, articulation, intonation or musical pacing. Pick one or two areas that you can address.

The useful question is not, “What does this rating say about me?” It’s “What can I learn from what outside ears actually heard?”

7. A Section That Doesn’t Get Along

Students may compete, argue, frustrate one another or simply have different personalities. Your responsibility is not to make everyone like each other. Your responsibility is to establish expectations for how they work together.

If conflict is affecting rehearsal, get specific. Is someone disrupting instruction? Are students making personal comments? Is the disagreement musical? Is one student doing all the work?

Address the behavior you can observe instead of trying to solve every relationship. Kids can work together without becoming best friends.

8. Students Aren’t Asking You for Extra Help

An empty band room after school does not automatically mean students are unmotivated. (In fact, there will be days when you’re having to shoo kids away so you can leave). They may have transportation issues, sports, jobs, family obligations or other commitments. They may also be uncomfortable asking for help.

Instead, observe what happens during your rehearsals. Do students ask questions? Will they play something individually when they are confused? How does the room respond when someone makes a mistake? Those behaviors will tell you if they are comfortable in the program or not.

9. You Feel Behind the Other Director in the Building

If another director has been teaching for eight years and you’ve been on the job for two, your feelings are correct — you are behind.

This is usually only because of experience, and experience creates systems and frames of references. Experienced directors have already chosen forms, routines, literature, rehearsal procedures and communication methods that new teachers are still developing. They also know what problems to address and what will work itself out.

Instead of trying to match everything they do, identify something specific that works. Ask how they handle instrument inventory. Watch how they start rehearsal. Ask how they communicate concert information.

Use what applies to your situation. Leave what doesn’t, and trust that you will build experience over time.

10. You Dread Monday’s Rehearsal

If you start to get a pit in your stomach every Sunday night, it doesn’t mean you’ve chosen the wrong career. But pay attention to this feeling.

What are you actually dreading? A difficult behavior situation? The lyrical piece not improving? Maybe you’ve been avoiding a difficult conversation with a parent, or you feel underprepared. You could also be tired, even exhausted.

The more specific the problem becomes, the easier it is to decide whether you can change something.

“I don’t want to go to work” is hard to act on.

“I do not have a plan for fixing measures 42 through 58” or “I need to go to bed earlier” gives you an action.

What to Do With This List

Don’t explain away every problem — but ask questions and understand that one tough classroom moment doesn’t define an entire program. Sometimes things happen for reasons that are out of your control. Other times you learn and adjust, and the problem happens less frequently.

Get specific. For problems, ask what happened? What part of it was under your control? Do you have enough information to understand it? Is there something you need to change? Is this something you inherited?

These questions won’t make setbacks easier, but they will help you decide what deserves your attention.