Music of Andrew F. Poor

About to March Drum Corps?   Some thoughts as you get ready for the summer.  1)  Accept the fact that 95% of your daily existence is out of your control and “Embrace the Suck! ”   Things will be tough; that is what you signed up for. You will be pushed extremely hard; again, what you signed up for. It will be hot; it is summer. You will take cold showers; again, it is part of the deal. There will be crappy fields, crazy schedules, long bus rides, short EPL, frantic show warm- ups etc…Complaining about any of these things helps NO ONE! So, DON’T! EVER!!!! I mean it!  2)  You grow the most when you are out of your comfort zone . You are going to be uncomfortable and feel overwhelmed. Great! That is what makes drum corps fun, and why only a select type of person can do this crazy activity. You will, most definitely, grow this summer. 3)  Your attitude and your performance are your greatest commodities  to the drum c...

"Hard work is fun!"-Jim Luce WARNING : some may find this cheesy or simplistic--remember I teach middle school--and I am sure someone can write a more sophisticated version of this concept. Regardless, I believe that this is an important message to instill in my students, and one I feel compelled to share.  The  Universal Law of the Fun Cycle  goes like this:  learn something new  then you work hard at truly learning this skill,  you start to have fun, so you work harder, then  you have even more fun, and  the cycle repeats even faster. However, when you stop working, you stop having fun.  Have you ever found yourself starting something and then wanting to quit shortly thereafter?  from  moenormangolf.com Have you ever picked up a book, with a deep meaning, and you found yourself not finishing the book?  www.petersons.com Have you ever started a hobby, only to later stop? guitarlessons....

(This article originally appeared in a newsletter for the Spirit Summer Music Camps in April of 2009) They don't care how much you know, until... I am sure you can finish the phrase. This oft used quote has been attributed to Teddy Roosevelt, but this phrase is much more profound  then cliché in our profession. When many programs are shrinking, and recruiting and retention is an on-going concern for music educators, let me suggest a small idea that may make a big difference. As a good friend, and great band director, Alfred Watkins once told me, “You cannot teach empty chairs.”  FULL CIRCLE 2014 South Forsyth Middle School Symphonic Band performing at the Southeastern United States Honor Band and Clinic at Troy University.  My first band (Beaumont Middle School) I ever took to Festival, now called Music Performance Assessment in 1989 It was early in my career when I had a guest clinician, who was a local band director of an excellent b...