Stick notation is a method for teaching music reading that involves presenting written notes with the note heads removed. The method is most often associated with the Kodaly method, but is used by non-Kodaly teachers as well. In this article I will consider reasons for using stick notation, and also some drawbacks. Stick notation is … Continue reading Pros and Cons of Stick Notation
Month: October 2018
Why Practice?
I was in my senior year of my undergraduate studies, during my apprentice teaching semester. I shared an off-campus apartment with two other men, one a music major the other a psychology major. One day, after I had been practicing my clarinet, the music major said to me, "I don't like listening to people practice." … Continue reading Why Practice?
The Better Way
Times have changed. It used to be that teachers taught everyone the same way, without considering that children don't all learn the same way. Then we realized there are different types of learners, and we began meeting the needs of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. Howard Gardner taught us about multiple intelligences, and a greater … Continue reading The Better Way
Games in the Elementary Music Classroom
My students love to play games. No matter what else I may have for them to do on a given day, as soon as I mention that we will be playing a game that day, they all smile and get excited. Music games are fun, yes, but there is also a learning goal to be … Continue reading Games in the Elementary Music Classroom
Why I Became A Music Teacher and Why It Matters
It is good to recall from time to time why we became music teachers. In my case, it was the desire to find something to do for a living that would include music making, and that would bring the immense enjoyment I had for making music to others; a kind of give back opportunity. I … Continue reading Why I Became A Music Teacher and Why It Matters
mister a music place 
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