4 Simple Habits That Made Me a Better Teacher

growth mindset motivation planning recording Jun 01, 2026

Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes

By Rob Chilton

Growth is often slow, but it isn’t complicated.

Early in my career, I was eager to improve. I wanted badly to develop my skills and become a better teacher, but I didn’t always know where to start.

On the advice of colleagues and mentors, I developed a few simple habits that helped me drastically. Through them, I learned to hear more clearly and teach more intentionally.

And the good news is, none of these things are complicated. And together, they’re guaranteed to transform your teaching.

Tip #1: Record Your Rehearsals Consistently

In my first few years of teaching, I recorded my rehearsals almost daily and listened back while driving home or making dinner. I didn’t know it at the time, but that simple habit became one of the most impactful practices of my career.

At first, I would listen to the sound of the ensemble. Were they playing the right notes and rhythms? Were the releases together? Was the balance improving? But over time, I realized the recordings were revealing something even more important: my own instruction.

Getting students to perform well isn’t just about the information we give them. It’s also about how we deliver it. The pacing of the rehearsal, the clarity of our feedback, the tone of our voice, and the way we respond to mistakes all shape the learning environment and experience.

That’s why I encourage teachers to record at least one rehearsal in its entirety each week and listen back critically. When you listen, pay attention to the overall classroom environment. How much student chatter or side noise is present? Are there frequent interruptions? Is your instruction clear and efficient? Are you talking too fast or too much? Does your voice sound calm, confident, frustrated, or rushed?

Sometimes the biggest improvements in rehearsal come from small adjustments in delivery. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.

Tip #2: Listen Often to High Quality Recordings

One summer, I made a playlist on my first-generation iPod.

(Yes, I know I’m dating myself here.)

I loaded every concert band reference recording I owned, including professional recordings, publisher reference CDs, and honor concert recordings from groups performing at state and national conventions like TMEA and The Midwest Clinic. By the time I was finished, my playlist had more than 150 hours of music.

Then I gave myself a challenge to listen to the entire playlist before summer ended. That meant roughly 1.5 hours of music each day. It sounds like a lot, but this was before smartphones and social media filled every quiet moment in our lives. I wasn’t scrolling Instagram or TikTok. Nor was I listening to audiobooks or podcasts. I was jamming to Grainger and Holst—while doing dishes, running errands, and going to the gym.

In three months, I finished the entire playlist. And honestly, it changed me. I had a clearer sound in my head for every instrument. I knew what kind of clarinet tone I liked—and how I wanted my trumpets to sound. I began hearing trombone lines more clearly—and I even developed stronger opinions about how to tune and utilize percussion.

When the next school year began, my ears were sharper, my expectations were higher, and my feedback was more specific.

Check out our music literacy method!

Tip #3: Plan the Work, Work the Plan

This may sound like a bold statement, but I’m often surprised by the number of rehearsals I’ve observed where the plan was simply to pick up where the group left off the day before. You’re never too experienced to plan your rehearsal. In fact, the better I became, the less comfortable I was stepping on the podium and “winging it,” because I knew I was capable of more.

Early in my first few years of teaching, I picked up a spiral notebook and dedicated it to lesson planning. Every Sunday, I made a list of four or five items that needed to be addressed in each class that week. It wasn’t anything complicated. There wasn’t a narrative or script. It was simply a checklist.

Usually, I would announce these items to my students at the beginning of the week so they knew there was a plan. Having a plan doesn’t just make you more effective on the podium. It signals to your students that you take your role and their success seriously.

You can rehearse without a plan. It’s not hard to start each day at the beginning and fix things as they happen. And while that may feel productive, it leaves a lot to chance. Planning the work, and then working the plan—leaving some room for discovery and exploration—is an infinitely more productive way to spend your time.

Tip #4: Go Out and Observe

One of the best things I ever did for my teaching was to make a habit of observing other directors at least once a year—sometimes once a semester. Every time I visited another campus, I left with something useful. Sometimes it was a new way to explain a concept. Other times, it was a totally new approach to teaching embouchure, articulation, tone, rhythm, pacing, or rehearsal structure.

But observation did something else for me, too. It helped me stay grounded. Early in my career, I visited great programs expecting everything to look and sound completely different from my own. I assumed they must be doing something special or magical. But often, they were doing many of the same things I was doing: long tones, articulation exercises, rhythm work, repetition, correction, reinforcement, and review.

What I realized was that the difference wasn’t what they were doing, it was the detail, consistency, pacing, expectation, and follow-through. That realization was encouraging because it reminded me that great teaching isn’t built on secret information. It’s built on ordinary things done exceptionally well.

It also showed me the path forward wasn’t to reinvent everything. It was to get a little better and more consistent each day. For this reason, I always recommend that teachers go out and observe. You may walk away with a new idea, or realize you are closer than you think.

Final Thoughts

None of these habits are flashy. Record your rehearsals, listen to great references, plan your work, and observe other teachers. Done consistently, they’ll change the way you hear, the way you teach, and the way you grow.

And remember, improvement doesn’t always require a complete overhaul. Sometimes, all you need is one small habit performed consistently with intention.

Suggested post:

Never miss a new posting!

Check out this short video!

About the author:

Rob Chilton is the creator and owner of Readymade Music, LLC and its content. Previously, Chilton was a middle school band director from 2007-2021. His most recent teaching position was the Head Band Director at Killian Middle School in Lewisville, Texas from 2014-2021.

Under his direction, the Killian Honors Band was named the 2018 Texas Music Educators Association CC Honor Band and performed at the annual 2018 TMEA Clinic/Convention. In 2019, the Killian Honors Band was invited to and performed at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Additionally, the Killian Honors Band was named a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Honors Project in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Chilton is a graduate of Southern Methodist University where he had the opportunity to study music education with Lynne Jackson and Brian Merrill. During his years as a middle school band director, Chilton continued his professional growth under the guidance of his primary clinicians, John Benzer and Brian Merrill.