The Core Arts Standards for Music specify standard and/or iconic notation for planning and making musical works, but do not mention using notation of any kind for responding to music. This may be an attempt to keep responding to music accessible to students who have limited music reading skills, but avoids an opportunity to build … Continue reading Two Realms of Childhood
General Music
For Our Students, ‘Careers In Music’ Isn’t Just About The Future
In a time when music is so easily accessible, students can easily loose sight of all the work and people it takes to bring an album to their listening ears. All many of my students ever see is the album or song title on their phone, or the album art. They just take it for … Continue reading For Our Students, ‘Careers In Music’ Isn’t Just About The Future
Fostering The Desire to Sing in Reluctant Singers and Songwriters
Music is a window into the soul. I don’t know if I made that up or read it somewhere, but the phrase came to mind the other day, and it sounded good enough to remember. In just a few words, it explains why music is so wonderful, and why it is so intimidating. Why so … Continue reading Fostering The Desire to Sing in Reluctant Singers and Songwriters
Is Meter the Overlooked Element in Your Music Teaching?
Today I asked a class of 7th graders to explain how, when they move to a current pop song I played in class, notes on beats feel different from notes between beats. If I were to have taught them the answer, I would have told them that the notes on the beat feel stronger. I … Continue reading Is Meter the Overlooked Element in Your Music Teaching?
What’s an Effective Way to Teach A New Song?
For the most part, my students love to sing. This almost always is a good thing, but it is not always so. If I don’t make sure I start them off singing in their head voices, many will practice singing incorrectly, getting better at poor singing and no better at good singing. I like to … Continue reading What’s an Effective Way to Teach A New Song?
Teaching Beat Divisions is Essential To Teaching Rhythm
It is quite common for music educators to ask of young students that they move to the beat. Patsching the beat is a basic skill that all children should acquire in formal music training from three years of age and older. One often overlooked aspect of perceiving the beat from a musical work one is … Continue reading Teaching Beat Divisions is Essential To Teaching Rhythm
An Annotated General Music Lesson Plan
Today I would like to share a lesson plan with you, and explain it as I go along. It is intended for a first grade class lasting forty-five minutes. The objective of the lesson is that students will be able to associate written note types with notes of that duration when heard. Throughout the lesson, … Continue reading An Annotated General Music Lesson Plan
What Are Different Kinds of Movement Used in Music Classes?
Regardless of which methods you use to teach music, movement figures into it, though perhaps in varying degree. Laban and Jaques-Dalcroze in particular have influenced the use of movement as an indispensable component of educating children musically. Though one could go into great detail about the various kinds of movement, four general types of movement … Continue reading What Are Different Kinds of Movement Used in Music Classes?
What Is Music Literacy?
What is literacy? The word is used across all disciplines, including music, yet I find a surprising range of understandings of just what literacy is. Does literacy refer to just reading? Does it include writing? Must someone be an effective communicator orally in order to be considered literate? Is there any requirement for being able … Continue reading What Is Music Literacy?
Teaching Students to Manage Their Emotions
As much as we might want it to be otherwise, teaching music does not just involve teaching music. Because we are teaching children and teens, we must sometimes or even often teach our students non-music specific life skills so that they will be equipped to learn music. One of the most challenging areas for many … Continue reading Teaching Students to Manage Their Emotions
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