When it comes to choosing a system of syllables to sing for teaching ear training and sight singing, there seems to be a consensus that moveable do, sometimes called functional solfege, is needed for teaching chord and tone functions. To be sure, moving do to wherever the tonic is does help a singer remember where … Continue reading Can Tone and Chord Functions Be Taught With Fixed Do?
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A Better Way To Teach Rhythm
I have noticed that there is a great deal of interest in how best to teach rhythm. Perhaps this reveals challenges that music teachers find in teaching rhythm, made manifest in students’ difficulty in performing rhythms accurately. While I cannot know what transpires in every music classroom, I can at least address problems I have … Continue reading A Better Way To Teach Rhythm
Is There A Better Way?
Why do you do anything the way you do? If your answer to this question is “because I’ve always done it that way,” or “because it works,” then you may be missing out on much greater success. Being a New Englander all my life, I have been very happy with the mantra, “If ain’t broke, … Continue reading Is There A Better Way?
Conduct More, Talk Less
In my July 16, 2014 post, I described a music conductor. That description was drawn from the great maestros of the twentieth century; men like Reiner, Koussevitzky and Bernstein. There is always value in studying how the greats in any field go about their business, and trying to emulate them. Everything I mentioned is relevant … Continue reading Conduct More, Talk Less
How Can The Future Be The Present? A Strategy for the Music Classroom
Probably everyone knows that the present is not the same as the future. The present can be seen, and is occurring now. The future has not yet occurred, but will occur. You are reading this word now, but will be reading my next sentence in the future. You don’t know what my next sentence will … Continue reading How Can The Future Be The Present? A Strategy for the Music Classroom
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