Antecedent-Consequent phrase combinations are the basic form of melodic shape in Western tonal music. The formal characteristics of this combination has been used as a template for composing melodic phrases in music education settings. For example, students can be told to write four measures beginning on the tonic tone and ending on the dominant tone, … Continue reading More On Antecedent and Consequent Phrases
Music Education
A practical guide to planning, teaching, and assessing music instruction.
Structure and Form: What’s The Difference?
Structure and form are two words that surface frequently in music analysis and education. Two words should be associated with two different concepts, but these two are frequently used interchangeably. But are they really the same? I maintain that they are not; that there are important differences between their meanings, and today I will discuss … Continue reading Structure and Form: What’s The Difference?
Using Student Observations to Improve Instruction
Two of the most important questions to ask music students are, “what do you hear,” and “what does it sound like?” These are important questions because everything one can learn or know about music starts with what is observed, and for a hearing abled person, that observation is of what is heard. Knowing what a … Continue reading Using Student Observations to Improve Instruction
The Spring Semester Is A Great Time For Chamber Music
January has always been my favorite time in the school year. By then, my students have given their winter concert and are playing and singing well enough to dig into more challenging repertoire than I typically do with them in the fall. This is the time of year I find most conducive to really work … Continue reading The Spring Semester Is A Great Time For Chamber Music
For Me
For the most part, this blog has always been devoted to what music educators can do for their students to improve teaching and learning. I have discussed a wide range of methods, materials, and experiences with the intent of serving my audience of music educators and music education majors. Through it all I have neglected … Continue reading For Me
What We Become
If you have children, you have no doubt at some point saw or heard them do something that was exactly something you do, and which the child has picked up and begun doing themselves. Or, perhaps you have caught yourself doing something and then realized it was just like what your Mom or Dad do. … Continue reading What We Become
Our Concert Is Over; Now What?
When scheduling my winter concert, I prefer to select a date that is at least one week before the winter recess. This avoids the last minute mayhem that can develop in the final days of school, the conflicts with classroom parties, and the possibility of loosing students to early withdrawals for family travel that precedes … Continue reading Our Concert Is Over; Now What?
Concert Season is Here: How to Stay Calm and Not Drive Your Students Crazy
With December upon us, many of you will soon go into high gear with concert preparation. While you are well along in rehearsals, there is still much to do, and with each passing day, it can begin to seem like time is running out on you. With may directors, it is almost cliche to say … Continue reading Concert Season is Here: How to Stay Calm and Not Drive Your Students Crazy
Revisiting 21st Century Skills in Music Education
As we began this century, it was understandably popular to discuss what skills students would need to succeed in the 2000s, and to consider in light of those identified skills in what ways, if any, education needed to adjust to possibly new demands the times would make on students as they transitioned into adulthood and … Continue reading Revisiting 21st Century Skills in Music Education
Sight Singing Tips for Music Teachers
Although I am pretty well versed in music theory, and although for the most art I enjoyed music theory classes in college, ear training was a different story. I struggled with dictation, and struggled with sight singing, although much to my teacher's amazement, I always managed to end on the right tonic pitch. I didn't … Continue reading Sight Singing Tips for Music Teachers
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