When I say “new classical music,” what is your first thought? Do you think, “let me at it, if it’s new, I want to hear it. New music is exciting.” Or, are your thoughts more along the lines of, “oh no, another noisy, annoying, incomprehensible piece. Why do they write music like that? Is it … Continue reading The Composer-Audience Tension in Classical Music
music cognition
What Is An Effective Approach To Memorization?
Playing music from memory is an interesting subject. At times, it is disparaged under the guise of playing by rote, Asia learning to play a piece of music by hearing many times produces a inferior quality of musicianship. Aside from the obvious slight to the method that bears the name Suzuki, those to hold that … Continue reading What Is An Effective Approach To Memorization?
Why following the beat isn’t always a good idea
If you're a music director of a performing ensemble, I'm sure you've said it to your musicians many times. Follow me. Stay with the beat. After all, that's one of the reasons they have you, the conductor, standing up there in the first place, right? You're up there to keep everybody together, and the way … Continue reading Why following the beat isn’t always a good idea
Are You Fluent in Music?
I inhabit a world of my own. I always have. Sitting on the school bus on the way to school, I remember retreating into that world, which consisted of me constantly humming softly. I was humming nothing in particular, just mindlessly humming whatever came to mind. There was an older boy who made a point … Continue reading Are You Fluent in Music?
A Different Kind of Music Advocacy
Music advocates, and who isn’t one that reads this blog, are sometimes like that child in a class that always strenuously raises their hand—“ooh, ooh, ooh, call on me, call on me,” but is rarely called on because either that child is always answering questions, not giving anyone else a chance to answer and learn, … Continue reading A Different Kind of Music Advocacy
Tuplets Explained
At times, music notation can be confusing. Even for highly trained musicians, certain aspects of music notation requires them to pause and investigate how a particular rhythmic grouping should be performed. This is particularly true with rhythmic groupings known as tuplets. All tuplets are mathematical ratios. The first number in the ratio is the number … Continue reading Tuplets Explained
What Makes A Melody Beautiful?
What makes a melody beautiful? I’m intentionally not asking what makes music beautiful, because there are many different kinds of music and with them, different kinds of beauty. But the beautiful melody is much more likely to transcend genres; it’s properties are more universal, so it seems most tenable to ask, “what makes a melody … Continue reading What Makes A Melody Beautiful?
Designing Instruction for Effective Teaching and Learning
I have written elsewhere in this blog, and most educators agree, that the best learning takes place when instruction is, among other things, planned, intentional, and measurable. One of the most useful models for planning instruction is Understanding by Design (UbD). One of the authors, Jay McTighe, explains UbD in this video. In this article, … Continue reading Designing Instruction for Effective Teaching and Learning
Natural Learning
Have you ever said, in the middle of a bad day, "I can't get out of my own way?" In situations like that, it seems the harder we try to get on track, the worse it gets. The more effort we expend, the worse are the outcomes. Then there are other days when everything seems … Continue reading Natural Learning
Rethinking How We Teach Chorus
Chorus in many ways is the perfect means for providig music making opportunities to non-musicians. After all, except in rare cases, we all have voices and we all can use those voices to sing. Actual inability to sing in tune is extremely rare, and most people in a safe environment free from judgement and negative … Continue reading Rethinking How We Teach Chorus
mister a music place 
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