2026 Modern Band Summit Presentations
Advocacy & Program Support
- Approaches to Building Music Education Systems - Martina Vasil, Andrew Beach, Ethan Benton, Anne Fennell, Katy Brodhead Cullen
- Building Skills for Music Industry Careers Beyond Performance - Heather Mansell, Bryan Powell, Jennifer Witt
- Advocacy Through Partnership and Leveling Up Instruction - Lauren Maxwell
- Content Creation in Music Education - Alex May
Bass
- Beyond the Bassics: Using Iconic Basslines to Teach Technique, Touch, and Tone - Seth Adams
- More Than Just the Root Creating Groovin’ Bass Lines - Andrew Beach
Drums
- Groove Workshop - Mary Claxton, Craig Edgar
- Drum Patterns for Non-Drummers - Stephen Cox
- Those Darn Drummers - Zach Field
- Drumming with Little Kids - Myrella Samuels
Elementary
- Rockin' Recorders: Elementary Recorder Instruction Using Modern Band - Sarah Ehly, Casey Gerczynski
- Where Ideas Come to Play: Imagine, Create, Compose! - Anne Fennell
- Hip-Hop For Littles - Amanda Gonzalez
- From Boomwhackers to Modern Band, Let's Go! - Shelly Rogers
- From Audiation to Amplification! From Elemental to Ensemble! - Julia Turner, David Dockan
- Speak THEIR Language: Pop Music in the Elementary Music Classroom - Stefan Wolf
Full Modern Band
- Introduction to The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron - Caroline Barnes
- Level 1 Riffs - Ethan Benton
- Riff a Day 6: Still Riffin' - Scott Burstein, Mary Claxton, Skye Claire Hale (Google Slides)
- Infusing General Music with Modern Band - Jennifer Holmes
- Teaching Anyone to JAM (Improvise with Ease) - Bentley Monk
- Learn to JAM with Students - Bentley Monk
- What Should I Teach First? A Sequenced Jam Session - Traci Prescott
- Heat Up the Warmup - Eric Songer
- Autonomy Meets Structure: Project-Based Modern Band - Andrew Thompson
- Level Up: Immersive Music Learning - Mac and Abigail Walker
- Introducing Dr. Tom's Charts - Tom Zlabinger
Genre Specific
- Regional Mexican Music in the Modern Band Classroom - Enrique Andino
- Vamos a Tocar - Sarah Farrell
- Hardcore Classroom: Bringing Metal into the Classroom - Amanda Gonzalez
- Power Chords, Broken Hearts, and Our Checkered Past: How to play punk, ska, and emo authentically - John Licari
- How to Teach Latino Music, Mariachi, Salsa, Reggaeton Y Mas with Ukulele and pTrumpet! - Ramon Rivera
Guitar
Hip Hop
- Be the MC: Honoring Identity Through Hip Hop and Rhyme - Roy Bailey
- From Dreams to Dances: Establishing a DJ Program - Jon Fuelner
- Rap-ffirmations - Zanneta Kubajak
- Hip-Hop 101 - Pinqy Ring
- Hip Hop, Neurodivergence, and Inclusive Modern Band Classrooms - Andrew Wang
Keyboard
Performance Practices
- Beginner Modern Band Tips - Ethan Benton
- Own the Stage! Leveling Up Stage Presence Through Connection and Confidence - Allison Davis, Kacey Kennedy
- Level Up Your Finale - Erin Elliott, William Harp
- Ready to Rock: How to Plan a Music Festival - Andrea Donze Krein
Teacher Tools & Planning
- Student Goal Setting - Joe Campbell
- Modern Band for Everyone - Andrew Dolgon, Jon Lijoi
- Modern Band on a Shoestring Budget - Meghan Goodner
- Music Will Playground - Jennifer Martinez
- Assessing the Jam - Helen Metcalfe
- Outfitting Your Modern Band: Building Unity, Identity, and Fundraising Power - Tami Vandegrift
Teaching Philsophy
- Pedagogy Deep-Dive - Mary Claxton
- Anti-Ableist Practices in Performing Arts and Educational Spaces - Bethany Molsen, Cheena Molsen
- Empowering Student Leaders Through Creative Youth Development and Band Roles in the Modern Band Classroom - Regina Nixon
- SEL in the Modern Band Classroom - Tammy Rodriguez
Technology & Composition
- Computer-Based Music Composition - Jennifer Abis
- Lights, Camera, Sound! Creating Foley Videos in the Upper Elementary Classroom - Kim Bruguier
- Composing with AI: Who's in Charge? - Benjamin Guerrero
- Audio Samples as Creative Fuel: Helping Students Reach Flow State - Eric Jao
- Unlocking Creativity Through Commercial Jingle Writing - Ana Jaramillo, Lesley Dennis, Joel Salinas
- Solving Common Audio Problems - Fred Camin, Craig Edgar, Barb Freedman, Alex May
- Tech-Forward Music Making: Practical Tools for the Modern General Music Classroom - Abree Russell
- Creating Your Own Modern Band Play-Alongs Using Free Tools - R. Eben Trobaugh, Meredith Trobaugh
- Running Sound for Your Modern Band 101 - Fred Camin, Steve Underhill
Ukulele
- From First Chord to Next Level: Building a School Ukulele Program - Rebecca Sensor
- We're Going Up, Up, Up! Leveling Up Your Ukulele - Ian Stillmunks
Winds & Strings
- How You Can Add pBuzz to Your Classroom - Ramon Rivera
- Getting Brassy With It! Ear Training and More with pBone! - Ashley Shabankareh