Ask Mike

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!

Send us Fan Mail 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!

Send us Fan Mail Jay Lester spent years hiring music educators in Texas ISD's. In this episode he shares some great tips and best practices to make your interview successful. Between Mr. Lester and Mike Lunney, there is a lot of years of experience in this episode!

Send us Fan Mail We've all experienced it in our school music auditions, how do we teach students (or their parents) to handle auditions with a little grace and humility? How do we teach students that if they don't win the audition, it doesn't mean they aren't appreciated and valued? Mike Lunney shares years of audition experience and some procedures that have helped him naviga...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Lunney discusses the importance of a strong booster organization. Mike also touches on how to locate and recruit some of the diamonds in the booster system, as well as helping booster land in the best position for them to help your school music program. Good stuff!

Send us Fan Mail Continuing Mike's helpful punch list for finishing strong and setting up for success next year!

Send us Fan Mail Meet Mike Lunney and Derrick Killam, two average Joes who have a little life on us in the world of School Music Education. Our goal is to help those we can by answering some of the questions our degrees didn't! And providing a resource for some who are out there in the middle of it with no real safety net to fall on! We don't take ourselves to seriously, but we're s...

Send us Fan Mail Ask Mike is a discussion/question answering opportunity for school music educators looking for advice or the accumulated experience of over 30 years. Mike Lunney and Derrick Killam talk about everything from what to do in different seasons to auditions to boosters. The goal is to help all of us succeed!