With all of the emphasis on testing in schools today, teachers are often forced to give too much attention to what is taught, which is what will be tested, and not enough attention to how to teach, and where to teach. By where to teach, I am referring to the learning environment that teachers and students establish in a classroom. … Continue reading Creating A Successful Classroom Culture
Instrumental Music
Why Do So Many Music Students Hate To Practice?
I hated it, others music teachers I know hated it or even still do, and many of our students hate it--we a have all hated to practice our instruments. I find this disturbing and strange. I no longer hate to practice, in fact if I go many days without practicing, I can't stand to be … Continue reading Why Do So Many Music Students Hate To Practice?
Pitfalls and Remedies to Teaching Instrumental Music
Learning to play a musical instrument is one of life's joys and one that many children enjoy, and many adults wish they had taken advantage of when they had the chance in school. Beyond the enjoyment of playing music, learning an instrument is also an excellent way to learn most musical concepts. For example, students … Continue reading Pitfalls and Remedies to Teaching Instrumental Music
Why Music Rehearsals Are Different from Other Learning Experiences
For the typical American student, class time is spent doing things individually or in small groups. Students are used to activities such as watching and listening to a teacher's presentation, reading aloud or silently, doing a writing assignment, math problems, or science experiments. Although everyone in the class is doing something, the class is not … Continue reading Why Music Rehearsals Are Different from Other Learning Experiences
A Better Way With Scales
Who among us hasn't slaved over practicing scales to prepare for an audition or private lesson? Chances are also good that we have demanded that our own students practice scales, often in the same spirit as a parent makes a child eat broccoli or brussel sprouts. "They're good for you" we tell them. In the … Continue reading A Better Way With Scales
A Multi-sensory Approach to Teaching Music
I’d like to start today by making two observations about learning. First, learning is a life-long process. Second, learning is multi-sensory. These two observations are related, and highly relevant to music education. Let me explain why. Learning is not restricted to what students do while they are in a classroom in school. We humans begin … Continue reading A Multi-sensory Approach to Teaching Music
A Small Refresher in Musical Terms
Unless I make an effort to read scores, there are some musical terms that I am apt to forget because either I just don’t come across them that often in music I am apt to be teaching to my students, or because the definition has become distorted by common misuse. Today, I thought it would … Continue reading A Small Refresher in Musical Terms
Rhythm, Beat, and Groove: What’s the Difference?
It all seems simple in the early grades. Beat is the steady pulse of the music, and rhythm is the changing durations of what is being sung or played. Using movement, students learn the difference between beat and rhythm by walking the beat while clapping the rhythm. Because they are not doing the same thing … Continue reading Rhythm, Beat, and Groove: What’s the Difference?
Putting the “Play” Back Into Playing (Or Singing) Music
If educators really want to know how students learn best, they should observe 3- and 4-year-old children. Over the last several weeks, one of the activities my 4-year-old class did was to improvise melodies for the rhyme, "Jack Be Nimble." The children were asked to sing the words, using their singing voice. Naturally, some children … Continue reading Putting the “Play” Back Into Playing (Or Singing) Music
Teaching About Music The Way We Teach Music
For the most part, music rehearsals have three parts that extend over a period of weeks. The first part is learning how the music is supposed to go, the second part is learning to perform the music correctly, correcting errors where they occur and trying to avoid errors during trials, and the third part is performing it correctly repeatedly … Continue reading Teaching About Music The Way We Teach Music
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