What Are The Steps For Developing A Music Curriculum?

Today, I will begin a discussion on how to put together a music curriculum using the core arts standards for music. If you haven't yet done so, you might want to read my recent posts on the four artistic processes, because they are integral to the standards, and will be needed to write a music … Continue reading What Are The Steps For Developing A Music Curriculum?

A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Connecting

In the conceptual framework for the national core arts standards, the artistic process of connecting is defined as "relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context." This definition delineates the process of connecting to do entities: one's personal life, and the lives of others. The others may be contemporaries or historical, a … Continue reading A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Connecting

A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Responding

This summer, I'm looking for funding to purchase music keyboards for my classroom. Many of my students want to learn how to play piano, but cannot afford or find transportation to a piano teacher. My kids love it when I give them time on the piano, but one piano for classes of twenty or more … Continue reading A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Responding

A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Performing

On July 9, I wrote about the artistic process of creating as it is presented in the Core Arts Standards (A Closer Look At the Four Artistic Processes: Creating). Today, I will write about the artistic process of performing. As far as the standards are concerned, creating is one side of the coin and performing is … Continue reading A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Performing

How “Market Driven” Should Music Education Be?

Some years ago, the district music coordinator I worked for had one guiding principle that she seemed to bring up more often than any other. It was the idea that we, the music teachers, should not be spending our precious class time teaching our students music they were already familiar with, but instead music that … Continue reading How “Market Driven” Should Music Education Be?

A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Creating

The National Core Arts Standards are written around four artistic processes. For music, these processes are creating, performing, responding, and connecting. How do these four artistic processes translate into what music teachers and students are to do in a classroom? I will take each process and, using the framework (see my post from July 8) … Continue reading A Closer Look At The Four Artistic Processes: Creating

Highlights from the National Arts Standards Framework for Use in Music Curriculum Writing

Any curriculum writing that music educators do going forward need to be grounded in the core arts standards for music. These standards were intentionally written to be highly compatible with the common core standards while maintaining crucial distinctive for arts education. The major emphasis is on the four artistic processes of performing, creating, responding and … Continue reading Highlights from the National Arts Standards Framework for Use in Music Curriculum Writing

What Is The Difference Between Standards and Curriculum: A Primer for Music Curriculum Writers

Some of you who are music educators will be doing curriculum writing work over the summer, while others will be planning for the coming school year. In either case, it is important to understand the distinction between standards and curriculum. With the presence of common core in many states, standards have taken on a renewed importance in planning … Continue reading What Is The Difference Between Standards and Curriculum: A Primer for Music Curriculum Writers

What Learning Golf Has Taught Me About Teaching Music

This spring, I began the arduous task of learning to play golf. It was twenty years since I last played, and even then, I was never very good, never breaking 100. But now, as I look at retiring in 2-3 years, the idea of playing golf appeals to me, so I decided to start working … Continue reading What Learning Golf Has Taught Me About Teaching Music

Making Music Classrooms More Student-Centered

Don't forget to visit my request for my classroom at DonorsChoose.org: Keyboards For Kids, Music For All  Give to my classroom by June 28, 2015 and your donation will be doubled thanks to DonorsChoose.org. Just enter the code SPARK on the payment page and you’ll be matched dollar for dollar (up to $100). The longer I … Continue reading Making Music Classrooms More Student-Centered