I remember a time, early in my career, when I looked with disbelief and awe at older music teachers who had logged 30 years or more of service. I just couldn't imagine teaching for that long. Indeed, after only 6 years of teaching, I resigned and pursued a performance career, taking free-lance jobs playing in … Continue reading Why I Teach Music
Rhythm All Around
If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you know that I enjoy playing golf. I also enjoy watching the PGA on television most weekends. Often, I will hear the commentators discussing a players rhythm, especially if things aren't going well for him. They'll comment that his rhythm is off. The use of the … Continue reading Rhythm All Around
The difference between rhythm syllables and note kinds
If I point to a flute and ask you what I'm pointing to, how many of you would tell me that it was a toot toot? Hopefully, no one would. Instead, you would tell me that I was pointing to a flute. We all understand that the instrument is called a flute, and that the … Continue reading The difference between rhythm syllables and note kinds
The Fallacy of Compound Meters
One of the most baffling concepts in music is the idea that some meters are compound while others are simple. Something that is compound is made up of two or more parts each of which is itself a complete entity. In language, a word like lifetime is a compound word because it is a single … Continue reading The Fallacy of Compound Meters
Common Core Words in Music
Lately, I've noticed an increase in web searches related to curriculum writing and common core. I'm supposing this is because many school districts engage in curriculum writing or revision during the summer, and educators preparing to do this kind of work are looking for resources to draw upon. Music educators are increasingly aware of common … Continue reading Common Core Words in Music
Musical Meter Is Everywhere
Over the last few years, I've noticed that meter is a concept that many of my students really don't understand. I discovered this because of improved assessment techniques, so I suspect that this has been the case for some time. As long as I was assessing understanding of meter with head knowledge such as asking … Continue reading Musical Meter Is Everywhere
Specificity and Assessment
Formative assessments are different from evaluations. The latter are meant to quantify the final results of learning, and are usually associated with summative data. The former are designed to give both teacher and student with useful feedback on how teaching and learning is going in a specific area. Because of this, it is best if … Continue reading Specificity and Assessment
Phrases and Musical Understanding
It is probably safe to say that every musician knows that phrases and phrasing in music are important and critical to musicianship. It is perhaps less known that phrases are key in our making sense of the music we hear, and in making musical performance even possible. Our brains love patterns and groups. Think about … Continue reading Phrases and Musical Understanding
Articulation on Reed Instruments
One of the areas of wind playing that students seem to have difficulty with is articulation--using the tongue to start and provide separation between notes. This is often referred to as "tonguing." There are many varieties of articulation, and each one has its own challenges, but a player must master the fundamental technique of using … Continue reading Articulation on Reed Instruments
Why Writing in Musical Note Names is a Bad Idea
Band and orchestra teachers do it, students do it. It's arguably the quickest shortcut to playing music from standard music notation there is: writing in the letter names of the notes under each note. I've seen it over and over again. Students with the best of intentions and wanting to enjoy early and quick success, … Continue reading Why Writing in Musical Note Names is a Bad Idea
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