This week, a colleague was reading a unit plan I was working on, and noticed the phrase "practice improvisation." She immediately pointed out to me that improvisation can't be practiced, and to put those two words together makes an oxymoron. I was not convinced and still am not convinced that this is so. What is … Continue reading Practicing Improvisation
music literacy
Strengths and Weaknesses of Orff Schulwerk
Today I will discuss the advantage and disadvantages of the Orff Schulwerk Approach to music education. At the outset, I should mention that no single method of teaching music is sufficient for meeting the needs of all children, or for teaching all aspects of music. Each method bring valuable perspectives into the music classroom, and … Continue reading Strengths and Weaknesses of Orff Schulwerk
Staying Focused as a Music Teacher
If there is one thing that I don't like about being a music teacher, it is this: I only see my students once a week for forty-five minutes. The problem with this is that over the course of an entire school year, I see my classes a maximum of forty times. That's as many times … Continue reading Staying Focused as a Music Teacher
The Difference Between Rhythm and Beat
The term "beat" is arguably the most misunderstood in music. This is evident from the disparate ways the word is used, even among music educators and professional musicians. For example, is a beat something musicians see, hear, or audiate? Directors often tell students in their ensemble to "follow the beat," intending that the musicians see … Continue reading The Difference Between Rhythm and Beat
Working Aurally With Key Signatures
In my post, Do You Really Know What A Key Signature Is? I made the point that we must not overlook the importance of audiation and teaching keyalities and tonalities aurally before teaching written key signatures. I mentioned singing and playing scales and arpeggios by ear in different keyalities and tonalities. Today, I would like to hone … Continue reading Working Aurally With Key Signatures
What are Antecedent & Consequent Phrases in Music?
Good music, and great music too, has a certain quality that Leonard Bernstein described as inevitability. He was describing that quality of music that leaves the listener with the sense that what he or she just heard was the only possible group of notes that the composer could have written; that any other melodic turn … Continue reading What are Antecedent & Consequent Phrases in Music?
Do You Really Know What A Key Signature Is?
I'm fairly certain that if I asked a room full of music teachers to tell me what a key signature is, nearly everyone would tell me something akin to "it is an indication of which pitches will be sharped or flatted throughout the piece of music." As accurate as that is, it is also simplistic … Continue reading Do You Really Know What A Key Signature Is?
When Teaching Music Appreciation, Keep It Simple
I've always had a love for classical music. I'm not sure why, but for as long as I can remember, and my family tells me it goes back further than that, I have pulled myself away from distractions and settled in to enjoy a symphony, concerto, or sonata. With this background, it is not surprising … Continue reading When Teaching Music Appreciation, Keep It Simple
More On Rhythm Syllables: French Time Names
Elsewhere in this blog, I have written about the strengths and weaknesses of some of the rhythm syllables systems in use. (See my post "A Review of Rhythm Syllables Systems.") These included Gordon, Eastman, Takadimi, Kodaly, and Orff rhythm teaching systems. Of these, I prefer the Gordon and Eastman systems, because both the ictus and … Continue reading More On Rhythm Syllables: French Time Names
What Goes Into Reading Music Rhythms and Pitches?
One of the things in teaching music that has baffled me for some time is why students seem to have as much trouble as they do reading music. Part of it, I've long thought, is due to trying to teach "sight" before "sound." If nothing else, Gordon's research taught us that children learn to read … Continue reading What Goes Into Reading Music Rhythms and Pitches?
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