The purpose of this study was to identify the teacher behaviors, rehearsal activities, and targets of instruction which characterize a successful marching band program. Effective teaching characteristics were collected from related literature and used to construct a survey of 79 variables, teacher behaviors (n = 26), rehearsal activities (n = 28), and targets of instruction (n = 25). The survey was distributed, and 54 marching band directors responded. Participants were asked to rank their top seven characteristic from each category. The resulting rank order was used to construct a second survey deriving from the top characteristics of each category. The second survey was distributed, and 55 marching band directors responded. Participants were asked to rate the seven top characteristics from each category of effective teaching characteristics based on a 7-point Likert Like Scale. Results identified the top teacher behavior as, building culture and student relationships, the top rehearsal activity as, repetition, and the top target of instruction as, tone/quality production. Statistical analysis revealed teacher behaviors and targets of instruction to be rated significantly higher (p = 0.05) than rehearsal activities. Furthermore, a significant difference in the perceived importance of building culture and relationships, and error detection, was found between novice and experienced teachers (p = 0.05). The results suggest who you are as a teacher, and what you teach, are more important than how you teach. Further implications and results will be discussed in the presentation.