Life is all about relationships. Relationships with people, with God, with things we enjoy doing and making. Being alone is not good. Music is so powerful in the lives of people because it offers us multiple relationships. First, each individual person has a relationship with music. Our musical experiences are always interactive. Music elicits movement, … Continue reading What Is So Important About Music?
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Musical Ups and Downs–Why is Contour Important?
Sometimes, when a person has been studying and practicing something for a long time, acquiring a high level of expertise in it, it becomes easy to overlook the simpler aspects of the discipline—those concepts that one learned when first being introduced to the discipline, and then forgotten once more advanced levels were reached. In music, … Continue reading Musical Ups and Downs–Why is Contour Important?
How Can A Musical Score Be Used As A Listening Map?
Many of us use listening maps to guide our students through musical works. When you think about it, listening maps are really music scores for non-music readers. They typically represent the main themes and sections of a piece with pictures or graphics. It is also possible to use an actual music score as a listening … Continue reading How Can A Musical Score Be Used As A Listening Map?
What Is A Good Age To Begin Taking Musical Instrument Lessons?
Parents often ask and teachers often debate what is a good age at which to begin music lessons? There is no single answer to this question. Many factors must be considered on an individual basis. Physical development, musical background, and instrument size are three of the most important things to consider. In this post, I … Continue reading What Is A Good Age To Begin Taking Musical Instrument Lessons?
How Often Does Your Music Room Teach Music?
The next time you walk into your music room, take a good look. What can your students learn just from looking around the room? What can they find to ask questions about? What answers can they find? As I am writing this post, I am surveying my room today with these questions in mind. I … Continue reading How Often Does Your Music Room Teach Music?
Why Do Music Teachers Teach What They Teach?
Motivation is important to everyone and to everything we do. Motivation is not about what we do, but about why we do it. People do what they do for a reason. There is always something that drives a person's motivation. Today, I want to ask the question, “what motivates music teachers to teach what they teach?” … Continue reading Why Do Music Teachers Teach What They Teach?
How Can Symphony Orchestras Attract Young Audiences?
Many have considered the problem of how to cause classical music to become more popular, especially with younger audiences. Data indicating a shrinking audience for live concerts, particularly among younger people, have worried arts organizations and educators for some time. It has also been noted that while attendance at live classical concerts has often decreased, … Continue reading How Can Symphony Orchestras Attract Young Audiences?
Overcoming Confusion When Teaching Music Reading
Teaching children to read music can be challenging, particularly if formal instruction in it is not started until the children are 9 or 10 years old. Elsewhere, I have written about the importance of teaching "sound before sight" when teaching students to read music. Like language, musical patterns must be learned aurally and orally before … Continue reading Overcoming Confusion When Teaching Music Reading
The Tricky Business of Musical Potential
I've heard it said by educators many times over the years that we are in the business of helping our students develop to their full potential. This sounds like a noble goal, and indeed it is. But what is a student’s full potential? How do we know when a student has achieved as much as … Continue reading The Tricky Business of Musical Potential
Performing Music Alone–Why It’s Important
Recently, I wrote a post on lesson planning. In it I laid out a three-part method of teaching: the teacher does, the students do with the teacher, and the students do independently. The first two steps are part of the teaching cycle, the last step is an opportunity for the student to show what they … Continue reading Performing Music Alone–Why It’s Important
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