Motivation results from knowing what you goal is and finding value or enjoyment in meeting that goal. The less value or enjoyment that is found in a goal, the less motivated a person will be to work at achieving the goal. In such instances, in order for the goal to be met, unrelated incentives need … Continue reading The Real Issue Behind Rewarding Students
Music Education
A practical guide to planning, teaching, and assessing music instruction.
Connecting the American Civil Rights Movement with Music of the South Africa
Recently, after doing a week of music classes on music honoring or about Martin Luther King, (see related post here), I realized that songs sung by civil rights protesters in South Africa bore a striking resemblance to those used in the American civil rights movement. I planned music lessons around a few of those songs, … Continue reading Connecting the American Civil Rights Movement with Music of the South Africa
Learning New Instruments to Teach
I am an early adapter. Without overdoing it, I find the challenge of new things exciting, especially if I have chosen to initiate something new, and if I believe the new thing will be beneficial to my teaching and my students. While there are positive aspects to being comfortable with change, their are also liabilities. … Continue reading Learning New Instruments to Teach
Creating A Successful Classroom Culture
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
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
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