Yesterday, I began discussing an article by Pascale. I will begin today with that same article. Although Pascale was writing to individual parents, there are several points we can put to use in our classrooms. Put children in the presence of music. If you can, bring live music into your classrooms. It can be a … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 5
music cognition
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 4
Just as a child starts to speak after listening to others speak, so too a child starts to sing, chant, and move after listening to others sing music. Through the voice, children develop the ability to sing and chant, which is the equivalent to speaking in a language. Because we are interested here in music, … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 4
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 3
There are practical implications to just the impressive array of musical thinking even the youngest children are capable of. Because young brains are so musical, they must be given every opportunity possible to experience music and to grow in musicality. Edwin Gordon, a pre-eminent authority on music psychology and early childhood music, has emphatically written … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 3
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 2
Since Friday, I have been sharing a presentation I gave at two conferences of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). In this session, I gave an overview of what the very youngest human minds can do musically, and how early childhood educators who are not music teachers can still include music in their programs. Today I … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 2
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 1
Over the next days, I will be sharing a presentation I gave at two conferences of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). In this session, I gave an overview of what the very youngest human minds can do musically, and how early childhood educators who are not music teachers can still include music in their … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 1
It Don’t Mean A Thing
In all of American popular music, there has been two distinct "feels;" straight feel and swing feel. The swing feel became popular in the 1930s and 1040s with the big bands of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, the Dorseys and others. Until then, jazz styles including dixieland and ragtime, had a straight feel to them. In … Continue reading It Don’t Mean A Thing
Getting Directions
When I used to go on family vacations, my Dad always had a map handy. He had it all folded so that the portion of the map he needed was visible while the rest of the map was folded underneath. Then, he's hold the map so that the direction he was driving was facing the … Continue reading Getting Directions
How Much Should Student Interest Drive Music Instruction?
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?
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?
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
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