This summer I’m trying something completely new – a pre-piano camp for 3-5 year-olds. Wow, it has been a blast! Even though I only had two students enroll in this session, I decided to go ahead with it because I knew it would help me tweak my plans and make sure they were age-appropriate. It’s […]
How Early Do Children Benefit from Music?
Several months ago I was contacted by BAM Radio Network about being an on-air host for a new Thought Leaders and Change Agents channel they were launching. A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a broadcast titled, “Starting Too Early, Starting Too Late? What’s Right?” The show primarily featured Carla Hannaford, […]
Monday Mailbag – Teaching 3/4 Time
How do you teach beginners ¾ time without having them pause and feel the nonexistent beat four? No matter how often I waltz around the room or count out loud emphasizing the first beat or even play the song for them, they still hold beat three twice as long as it should be. I’m starting […]
Subscribe to the New Music Matters eNews!
Well, I’ve finally taken the plunge and decided to start a Music Matters eNews. I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while and when I decided to switch my Sibro Publishing newsletter over to Constant Contact last month, I thought it was time to move forward with this newsletter as well! I’m planning to […]
Research Questionnaire about the use of Practice Incentives
Amy Chaplin, a music teacher I met (and rode a hot air balloon with!) at the MTNA Conference this year is doing a final project for her Music Education Research class. It’s a questionnaire on the use of practice incentives to motivate students. Anyone who has been reading here very long knows that I’m a […]
Monday Mailbag – Memorization Strategies
I have been pondering how to teach memorization to students who have a different learning style from me. I know exactly how I memorize, but if visualization is not working for one of my students what can I try? This is a great topic that I hope others will weigh in on as well! Most […]
