We suggest you talk with the band director at your high school about these questions. They’ll probably love answering them! Assuming you already play an instrument or plan to and will join your high school marching band, you will also learn first-hand some of the answers to your questions. Also, if you pursue music education as a major in college, which is the main path to becoming a marching band director, you will learn a great deal about how to incentivize and keep students wanting to participate in marching band.

Thanks

Marching band directors typically get started by becoming music educators since the skills learned through majoring in music education are so relevant. Gaining as much experience as a leader is also very helpful (i.e. becoming a section leader, drum major, and/or taking on other leadership roles in your high school and college marching bands). Marching band directors typically go on for graduate degrees as well – it’s a competitive field so the more advanced skills you gain, the better.

Of course your proficiency on your primary instrument is extremely important and will be what gets you accepted into a music education program in the first place! So lessons, regular practice, performing whenever possible, and good sight reading skills are all important now as you get closer to applying and auditioning. There are numerous marching band summer programs for high school students so we recommend you look into that ASAP for this summer. Now is the time and you can start by checking out the Summer Music Camps & Programs.

From my understanding, the ones that jobs prefer you to have as a band director are: Music Performance, Music Theory and Composition, or Music History and Literature. (However, i’ve also recently found Music Teacher Education- it wasn’t recommended to me by previous sources, though, so i’m not sure if it’s something I should consider or not).

I’m having a hard time finding sources explaining the differences and what an education in a specific major would look like/emphasize. Do you have any advice on what a good major to select/look into would be? Is there anything you can tell me about the differences when applying them as a band director?

Sounds like a summer marching band program with a leadership component would be very helpful.One that jumps out at us is being offered by CU Boulder College of Music and is totally online. Learn about it : And note that the Leadership component is offered as an elective under “Block B” – :

Also check out the summer High School Music and Leadership Experience offered . Another program is still in process at Florida State University and plans to be offered in person but we don’t know any more at this time. Do let any of these programs you connect with know that we referred you!

A marching band director needs to be an excellent musician, educator and leader, so you will want to investigate starting out with a bachelor’s in music education, where you would be exposed to a variety of instruments. Start contacting the admissions offices at music schools or departments you’re interested in and ask them how your career goals would be supported at their schools. If any of those schools participate on �ƹ�app, use the forms on their participating school pages to ask your questions.

It’s great that you found something as exciting and fulfilling as drumline. And there are many ways to stay involved with music and band regardless of whether you actually attain the skills necessary to become a successful band director. Many colleges have spirit-based athletic bands that support the football team and get the crowds energized, and students don’t need to be music majors to be accepted. Check with the schools you’ve been accepted to or are waiting to hear from to see what they offer.

The first sentence of the article you wrote in from is very revealing about a career as a marching band director: “Marching band directors need to be masterful musicians who are well-trained in music theory, history, musicianship, and artistry.” The article goes on to talk about marching band directors being excellent teachers as well. Read the article again and then realistically assess where you stand re: the background skills and experiences important for pursuing a career as a band director.

We hope others will chime in here as well. In the meantime, we suggest that you make practicing and improving your proficiency on your primary instrument your focus. We also suggest you start taking summer band programs that offer leadership skills training. As you move forward in high school and continue your interest in becoming a band director, it will be helpful to do some “informational interviews” with various band directors who can share their stories and help you better understand what their careers are all about. Note that the salaries of band directors vary based on where they work and how long they’ve been in their positions.

We suggest that you re-read this article and follow the suggestions the author provides. This will help you decide whether pursuing this field as a career is really the right fit. We also suggest you share this article with your parents, so they can get a better understanding of what a band director learns and does. Hopefully, your parents will see the serious effort you’re making to figure out whether this is the right path to pursue, and will support you as you move forward.

Becoming a band director is hard work. Sure, there are fun aspects to it, but it is a pretty intense road. But if you’re really passionate about it and have the skills for it, it can lead to a very rewarding career.

As a band director, you’ll want to be a highly proficient performer, a strong ensemble player, and a great director. By participating in the music programs at your school, you’ll gain a lot of experience. You will also want to take music lessons on your primary instrument. And check out summer music programs where you can learn more.

Thank you – this is great advice!

I always recommend singing for instrumental music majors. It helps develop the ear, musicality, phrasing, and so many other aspects of music… you will benefit greatly from it. Your music theory courses in college will most likely require aural skills training, and singing in choir is a great way to help prep for that. I teach in PA, and in my state music ed majors, upon graduation, are certified K-12, instrumental/vocal/and GM. Many schools are unfortunately cutting and combining music positions, and I am seeing more and more band/choir jobs. You are best served to be able to do both well… it makes you much more marketable.

We highly recommend this article: You’ll find great suggestions for what to take in your senior year. We don’t, however, think that this will lead to a fun and easy senior year – quite the opposite. Then again, if you’re looking for a fun and easy college major, music is not it!