Every now and then I'm reminded that there are some hints I take for granted that are perplexing to some students. The learning activity for fifth grade classes was to listen to the first ten minutes of Maher's fifth symphony and make a list of each emotion they heard expressed moment to moment. The activity … Continue reading Music, Emotions, and Student Listeners
Month: March 2014
Music Teachers and the School Community
Music teachers can easily have many reasons for feeling disconnected from the rest of the school. They are referred to as specialists, teach a subject most other teachers have minimal training in, and work in a room that is probably isolated from most of the other classrooms. Also, music classes are typically taught when other … Continue reading Music Teachers and the School Community
The “Late Bloomer” in Music Classes
Our students bring a variety of inhibitions into a class, most of which will influence the their responses during learning activities. Some students, especially young children, will be very withdrawn and reticent to do anything alone with others watching, and the teacher may not know the reason. Yet music cannot be taught by group response … Continue reading The “Late Bloomer” in Music Classes
On Teaching Music Composition in General Music Classes
Although most music educators have solid training in vocal and instrumental techniques, expertise in teaching music composition is less common. There are, I suspect, fewer music teachers who are composers than instrumental or vocal specialists. Even so, music composition is an important part of musicianship, the development of which is at the heart of music curricula … Continue reading On Teaching Music Composition in General Music Classes
Teaching Music from the Student’s Perspective
In the midst of planning and teaching lessons that encompass a complete curriculum and provide training in comprehensive musicianship, music teachers, myself included, sometimes forget to approach our content from the student's perspective. As teachers, we are aware of different proficiency levels and different learning styles, but we are not as aware of what our … Continue reading Teaching Music from the Student’s Perspective
An Effective Way To Boost Self-Image with Music Education
After years of practicing strategies to boost students’ self-esteem, it seems that there are more discouraged, disinterested, demotivated students than ever. Students are increasingly unwilling to face and conquer challenges, and quickly convince themselves that success is beyond their ability. Because strategies to boost students’ self-esteem were supposed to lead to opposite results, an objective … Continue reading An Effective Way To Boost Self-Image with Music Education
The Necessity and Value of Rote Learning in Music
I’ve noticed lately that many music educators view rote learning with disparagement. There are at least two reasons for this. The first is that rote learning in general has fallen into disfavor, and has been taken over by “higher level learning tasks. Constructivists have convinced educators that discovering and constructing knowledge is preferable to memorizing. … Continue reading The Necessity and Value of Rote Learning in Music
Overcoming the Clarinet Break
The clarinet break is one of the most overrated obstacles in all of instrumental music education. Much has been made of this difficulty, so much so that students often are taught they are about to have a problem before they have even tried to overcome it. The clarinet break encountered when the player has difficulty … Continue reading Overcoming the Clarinet Break
A Review of Rhythm Counting Systems
Previously, I wrote about rhythm syllable systems. Like solfege, rhythm syllables provide a singable word to verbally associate with the audited sound. I reviewed rhythm syllable systems for Kodaly and Orff oriented classes, as well as French, Gordon, and tamarin I systems. Today I will discuss rhythm counting systems. These differ from syllable systems in that … Continue reading A Review of Rhythm Counting Systems
A Review of Rhythm Syllable Systems
Yesterday, I wrote about using fixed do solfege to teach music reading (Another Try at Fixed Do). Fixed do solfege is an effective way of helping students remember pitches aurally and visually. Solfege syllables do not aid in learning rhythms. For this, rhythm syllables or counting systems are used. Many systems of rhythms syllables have been … Continue reading A Review of Rhythm Syllable Systems
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