The note from the band director read, "Tim has great potential; however, lack of practice slows his progress towards mastery."
Here's why:
* Comma after "read": This separates the introductory phrase from the direct quote.
* Quotation marks: These are used to enclose the direct quote.
* Semicolon after "potential": This joins two independent clauses (complete sentences) that are closely related.
* Comma after "however": This sets off the conjunctive adverb "however" when it introduces a contrasting element.
Let me know if you have any other punctuation questions!