Since Friday, I have been sharing a presentation I gave at two conferences of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). In this session, I gave an overview of what the very youngest human minds can do musically, and how early childhood educators who are not music teachers can still include music in their programs. Today I … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 2
Month: March 2015
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 1
Over the next days, I will be sharing a presentation I gave at two conferences of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). In this session, I gave an overview of what the very youngest human minds can do musically, and how early childhood educators who are not music teachers can still include music in their … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 1
Some Thoughts on Good Classroom Practice
Successful teaching must include preparing and practicing good instructional strategies. Because a classroom of children is an environment in which students must successfully and constructively interact with each other and the teacher, preparation and practice must address the social and emotional needs of students, and include a level of challenge that helps students respond to questions, provide … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Good Classroom Practice
It Don’t Mean A Thing
In all of American popular music, there has been two distinct "feels;" straight feel and swing feel. The swing feel became popular in the 1930s and 1040s with the big bands of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, the Dorseys and others. Until then, jazz styles including dixieland and ragtime, had a straight feel to them. In … Continue reading It Don’t Mean A Thing
Getting Directions
When I used to go on family vacations, my Dad always had a map handy. He had it all folded so that the portion of the map he needed was visible while the rest of the map was folded underneath. Then, he's hold the map so that the direction he was driving was facing the … Continue reading Getting Directions
Props for Musical Play
Creating a musical environment for very young children is crucial. Among the many things adults can do is to provide children with suitable musical toys with which they can interact, exploring the sounds they can make with the toys. Here is an excellent article on this important stage of musical development in early childhood.
The Music Specialist Trap
Whether we want to admit it or not, we music teachers are all to some extent caught in the specialist trap. This trap has been built out of people who claim to have little or no musical talent and who must rely on us to provide all of the musical training for their children. The … Continue reading The Music Specialist Trap
How Much Should Student Interest Drive Music Instruction?
Today I will continue a discussion I started yesterday about balancing influencers of instruction. In particular, I will examine the balance between student interest and curriculum. Curriculum is heavily influenced by state and federal performance standards. Although these standards are not mandatory, most states have adopted federal music standards, and most school districts have used … Continue reading How Much Should Student Interest Drive Music Instruction?
A Music Teacher’s Balancing Act
One of the greatest challenges I face as a music teacher is balancing two important influences. These influences are student interest, student confidence, and curriculum. Many of my students love to listen to music, but aren't interested in learning about music, or learning to perform it, even the music they listen to. Just the fact … Continue reading A Music Teacher’s Balancing Act
Dispelling the Wrong Note Fallacy
If you've ever written a thesis, book or even a blog post, you probably know that just the right words don't always just come flowing out of your brain onto the screen or page. Case in point, I have already deleted one word and replaced it with another in just these two opening sentences. The … Continue reading Dispelling the Wrong Note Fallacy
mister a music place 
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