How to teach total beginners how to play?

[Trombonium]

Alright, my BD says we're having 3 incoming freshmen coming in next year and they're going to be on baritone. BUT, they're completely new to wind instruments.

How am I going to teach them how to play an instrument and marching band basics (commands, holding up their horn, marching, etc.) their FIRST year of playing? Gah, this is too much for me.

[fluttietuttie]

Sectionals, my dear friend. Many sectionals. I've noticed that when groups DO have sectionals, they do get better (except for my band's low brass section...). And just have a sectionals with them, and make sure after you do something fun. Trust me, I know how you feel. I'm (hopefully) going to be flute sl, and we're supposed to be getting 4 new flutes. 1 can hardly play, and 1 plays oboe and wants to learn flute. You just gotta do it. It's like nike.

[tromboneking87]

Wow, this is quite a challenge. I'm going to try to sum up about 3 years of my music ed training in one thread post and hopefully something will make sense.
First off, you will need to start slow. Borrowing a saying of Dr. Manfredo, "Fast is Slow, Slow is Fast". Naturally, you're going to want to get them to march as quickly as possible. But if you rush through the fundamentals of wind playing, they're just going to struggle later on. Spend a good week or two (or whatever works, you're going to have to gauge their progress based on how well they do each day) on building those concepts that you take for granted: Breathing, embouchure, how to hold the instrument, how to make a characteristic tone, basic fingerings, playing three note songs, etc. If you start slowly, and add one thing at a time, they will have a deeper understanding of the instrument and actually retain knowledge!
Next, I would highly recommend that you work with these students one on one. While sectionals will help, you're not going to be able to help everyone's individual problems when you're trying to rehearse a section. Make some time before rehearsal, after rehearsal, even meet up at each others' homes if that works. Find out what they need help understanding, and patiently explain each new concept as it comes along. Lots of modeling (demonstrating) will help here. The first way you learn anything is through imitation.
As far as marching is concerned, I wouldn't worry about how you're going to teach it. Since these are first year marchers anyway, they will be on the same level as the other freshman in the marching category (unless you guys start marching in middle school, I don't know your situation). The only struggle you might have in the marching category is that your new freshman might be so overwhelmed with all of this new information that they have difficulties in applying it right away. Again, be patient, if one way of explaining something doesn't work, try something else.
I'm sure I've missed a couple things, but off the top of my head those are the things I would tell you if I was your BD. Good luck!

[Deleted]

All I will say is, you're very lucky to be a baritone. It's a relatively easy instrument to learn initially.

I would seriously go out to the nearest store, buy Essential Elements, and play through, like, the first half of the yellow book, if not further. It's a decent method, and the pacing is done more or less for you; it's how I learned baritone halfway through my seventh grade year. I would recommend you set aside a time every day to work with the three of them, before school, afterschool, lunch, something. The best is if you can work with them, and then drive them home (or have your parents do it) so they can't use the "no ride" excuse.

If you have a decent section as it is, and two people who are good players that you can absolutely rely on, I would work with them yourself for maybe a week and then take the weakest beginner yourself and give the strongest beginner to the weaker of your two players and the remaining beginner to the remaining player, if that makes sense. If you do that, though, make sure you instruct the instructors on what to work with them on.

Also, if you happen to have a different method book than Essential Elements, I would go with that. 16 Weeks to a Superior Band has some good stuff in it. Maybe hit up the middle school director?

[hansel2011]

Teaching people to play an instrument is challenging i must say. last marching season my bd told me to teach a freshman who has never been in band in his life to play clarinet and he had to know it in about a month. he had to be able to play pretty challenging, upper level music. wow. its hard. what i did was just get a beginning band book and go from there. just teach them the basics and practice.