One of the challenges some music teachers face is sharing students with other music teachers. While it is great that a child might be in band, chorus, and or general music or other music offerings, if a child learns the same concept two or even three different ways, confusion can result. A music teacher must … Continue reading Switching from One Rhythm Syllable System to Another: Helping Students Work Through The Transition
Vocal Music
Why New Opera Is Such a Hard Sell
My post today is a sort of companion piece to the one from yesterday. Then, I discussed building familiarity at an early age in order to establish a preference for classical music, and other genres. The same principle of familiarity applies to opera.As I mentioned yesterday, everyone loves a good story, especially if it is … Continue reading Why New Opera Is Such a Hard Sell
The Importance of Early Music Listening Experiences
With all of the evidence suggesting that listening to classical music early in life has cognitive benefits, an article on early listening experiences could be all about how music promotes brain development. That is not, however the topic of this piece. Instead, I want to write about the importance of early music listening experiences in … Continue reading The Importance of Early Music Listening Experiences
Troubles with Singing
One element that is important to accurate singing is beginning on the right pitch. I was reminded of this recently while I was scoring a solo singing assessment I had just given my second grade students. Students were given a prerecorded cue of the last four beats of the song being sung, and the last … Continue reading Troubles with Singing
You’re The Guide, Now Where Are You Taking Them?
When I write my lesson plans, a lot of thought goes into stating a goal, finding materials, and ordering everyithing into what I think will be an effective progression of steps that will guide my students through the lesson and what I want them to do, leading them to the destination of the goal. While … Continue reading You’re The Guide, Now Where Are You Taking Them?
The Real Issue Behind Rewarding Students
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
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
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
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
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