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?
Author: mramusicplace
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
Music Class and A Student’s Life
We all need to be connected. Our humanity demands that we make sense of our lives, and our environment, and the only way that can happen is if what we are seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling can be connected with something we know. When this happens, the world at that moment makes sense, and … Continue reading Music Class and A Student’s Life
Why Music Is Not Expendable
If there has been one constant over the last decades in education, it is the ease and speed with which music programs are cut or eliminated when funds are short. Time and again, music is viewed as less important and even expendable compared to language arts, science, and math. While there are no doubt numerous … Continue reading Why Music Is Not Expendable
Why Teach Intervals?
Teaching intervals to music students is on of those concepts that can easily be either overlooked, or if taught make students wonder why. Like most concepts in music theory, if intervals are just taught but never applied or made practical, there really is very little to recommend teaching them. On the other hand, teaching students … Continue reading Why Teach Intervals?
Connecting Students to Composing Music
Given the choice, I'm sure I would learn more about music in a class that featured musical genres I liked and that I was familiar with. It is a solid principle of teaching that new concepts should be taught within a familiar context. Introducing new music and a new concept at the same time is … Continue reading Connecting Students to Composing Music
How to Build a Music Portfolio
When it comes to student work in music classes, it can be difficult to collect student work because much of what students do in music classes is not normally written down. Singing, playing instruments and improvising produces no tangible artifact that can be collected into a folder and shared with students, teachers and parents. While … Continue reading How to Build a Music Portfolio
What Happens If Your Student Makes A Mistake?
There are two things that ought to be closely related, but often are not. Those two things are practice and excellence. I don't mean that practice doesn't lead to excellence; we all know that it can and often does. But what I'm talking about is a growing belief among people of all ages that somehow … Continue reading What Happens If Your Student Makes A Mistake?
Switching from One Rhythm Syllable System to Another: Helping Students Work Through The Transition
One of the challenges some music teachers face is sharing students with other music teachers. While it is great that a child might be in band, chorus, and or general music or other music offerings, if a child learns the same concept two or even three different ways, confusion can result. A music teacher must … Continue reading Switching from One Rhythm Syllable System to Another: Helping Students Work Through The Transition
mister a music place 
You must be logged in to post a comment.