Ask Mike

Send us Fan Mail I know it might feel like you just put the current show to bed, but it's time to start looking at next year's show design. In today's climate, if you are using someone to write your show or drill, they are already booking up for next year! This episode was a revelation to Derrick, maybe it is to you, as well. Mike Lunney walks us through the reasoning and the proces...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Watts returns to sit in with Mike Lunney and Derrick Killam for an enlightening conversation about Time Managment as an educator. How do we get the most out of the time we have in the classroom? Relax and listen as the voices of experience guide you through some time management steps to increase productivity in your classroom@

Send us Fan Mail How are your rehearsals going? Are they frustrating? Do you seem to never accomplish your goals? Aristotle said, "Quality is not an act, it is a habit."  The author, Will Durant, expanded this thought when he said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." In this episode Derrick asks Mike to expand on these three thoughts fr...

Send us Fan Mail This is a great episode! We pull a question from the email, "How do I choose my music for UIL?" And we have guests Daniel Todd and Jason Brents. Along with Mike Lunney, this makes over 80 years of experience choosing music and programming for UIL in Texas Concert and Sightreading Evaluations. As the knight in Indiana Jones says, "You must choose...but choose wisely....

Send us Fan Mail To quote Aldous Huxley, "Experience teaches only the teachable." Once we decide we know it all, we won't grow any further. In this episode, Mike Lunney encourages us all to remain teachable, to remain coachable. None of us have all the answers, but there are people who can help us if we let them. 

Send us Fan Mail Listen, no one wants to believe their child is the problem child, and most of the time they aren't, it was just a problem with the child. Then there are those parent meetings where you realize, "This makes much more sense now." Mike Lunney shares his thoughts on the best way to handle the parent(s) who just can't fathom the idea that their child would ever be a...

Send us Fan Mail As the saying goes, "Some days are diamonds, and some days...well, aren't." Recorded live from a contest venue, Mike Lunney and Derrick Killam consider healthy ways to accept a contest rating, whether it's the best or not what you hoped for. Join the discussion as we Ask Mike, "Where do we go from here?" askmike@ntunemusic.com

Send us Fan Mail You're almost there, the target is in sight... so why are your kids slowing down? In this episode, Mike Lunney encourages educators to remember that when your group has been working hard for a few months toward your performance, there will be some tired moments of resistance. How do we motivate our group when they seem to be hitting a plateau? Great ideas to change up the reh...

Send us Fan Mail This episode welcomes friend Eric Baker! We discuss DCI, Trumpets Mic'd Up, and the great things going on at the University of Texas Permian Basin! Great episode to help get your high school musicians connected with a college or university, helping them to keep making the music they love!

Send us Fan Mail Again, discussing marching bands as we rush toward contest season at the speed of sound! Some call it "phasing," some call it "a tear in the tempo." Either way it can be frustrating to pinpoint the source and install the fix. You are in luck! Mike Lunney applies the laws of physics and geometry to help you fix this common problem. Sound complicated? Nah! It&apo...

Send us Fan Mail This episode the guys consider the benefits of marching festivals. And discuss how to determine which festival is right for your group. They even ponder the question, how many festivals are enough? Are there enough? Listen to Mike Lunney educate Derrick Killam on all things festivals!

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes student teachers and/or first year younger teachers have a hard time navigating their relationships with students AND with those they are working with or for. Not the head director, not a student in the program. How can we help them get their best experiences and teach them great foundations for classroom management? Fortunately, Mike Lunney has been there! A great episo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ask Mike, Mr. Lunney revisits the concept of student leadership and pushes it further to consider the culture of an organization. Is this something that happens organically? Can we as music educators help shape this elusive and fickle aspect of music programs? Sure glad we can Ask Mike!

Send us Fan Mail Are we being efficient in our Marching Rehearsals? Do we even rehearse the things that need to be rehearsed? Listen to Mike Lunney share his best practices and how he eliminated time wasters and things that were stealing from his rehearsals.

Send us Fan Mail Are we being efficient in our Marching Rehearsals? Do we even rehearse the things that need to be rehearsed? Listen to Mike Lunney share his best practices and how he eliminated time wasters and things that were stealing from his rehearsals.

Send us Fan Mail Have you made your list? Checked it twice? This week, Mike Lunney shares his accumulated checklist to make sure your group is ready to travel to your Friday night football game. It's not just away games, if your stadium isn't on campus, it's the same thought process! Be sure to go to ntunemusic.com/askmike to get the download!

Send us Fan Mail Mike Lunney's three stages of how to handle a student quitting: Begging, Anger, Best of Luck To You! There's lots of reasons kids feel the pressure to quit, and the large majority of them aren't, "I don't like my director!" Credits, other interests, just not up to the commitment... how do we respond to students leaving our program? Listen to Mike expl...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Lunney is joined by guest and fellow retiree, Mike Watts, to discuss how its never too early to start retirement planning. It does sneak up on us all! Best practices, and maybe some things you hadn't considered before. It's a great listen!

Send us Fan Mail We all hope every student shows up to every rehearsal during summer band. If they don't, what do we do? Some considerations for a win/win in Summer Band Attendance with your friend and mine, Mike Lunney!

Send us Fan Mail It's been a little while, but Mike really was a first-year teacher way back when! And since then, Mike has help many first-year teachers survive and become great veterans! This episode, Mike and Derrick discuss some helpful things to remember and think about as you dive into this wonderfully maddening, but very rewarding career!

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Derrick discuss the UIL Recommendations for dealing with the heat during summer and fall outdoor rehearsals!

Send us Fan Mail Goal setting, Communication, and Recognizing Different Personalities within your leadership team. Creating a great organization takes a great leadership team. Here is a great process to get your group operating with a great leadership team!

Send us Fan Mail If you aren't making time for student leadership in your program YOU are holding your program back! Listen to Mike Lunney discuss the process and considerations to create a successful leadership team in your program.

Send us Fan Mail Mike Lunney says the quiet part out loud.  You matter in the process! Recognizing the signs of burn out and mental fatigue, some thoughts on how to deal with it, and some tips for managing or preventing it from happening all the time. Not counselors, but we've been there!

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 of this great conversation! Looking at a rebuild in your school music program? Join Mike Lunney and Lynsey Gold for practical and real-world tips that have worked for them. Lynsey Gold has taken two Texas high school band programs from not-that-impressive to WOW!