A while back I started instituting this Mystery Song Game idea and it’s been a ton of fun! When a student finishes one of their method books I give them one week to prepare for the game. The following week we take turns with one of us playing a song and the other one turning […]
Huckabee on Music, Arts and Education
Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is a long-time supporter of music and arts education. Listen to him share his thoughts in this short clip. He’s the only candidate I’ve heard specifically address music education.
Free Recital Program Template
Click here to download a free template that you can use when designing your own recital program. This template was created using tables in Microsoft Word. I made everything generic for this template, but usually use two contrasting fonts for the title of the pieces and the students’ names. You can adjust the spacing allowed […]
Updated Scale Chart
This year I included this scale chart (this is slightly updated from the chart I posted here – I removed the chord inversions and included more tempo markings for arpeggios) in the front of each student’s assignment book. What a tremendous tool it has been! We have gotten through so many more scales than we […]
Review of Practiceopedia: The Music Student’s Illustrated Guide to Practicing
The moment it arrived, I was captivated by this full-color mammoth guide to practicing – Practiceopedia:The Music Student’s Illustrated Guide to Practicing. The 376 pages are chock-full of creative ideas to help students learn to practice effectively and conquer those tough spots in their pieces. I found myself reading through page after page, unable to […]
Fun Rhythm Game!
We just finished up a 5-week session focusing on rhythm and sight-reading in my studio, so at our group event last Thursday I decided to play a game related to rhythm. I grabbed my rhythm chart, cut slips of paper into squares with numbers 1-9 written on each card (I wrote each number on four […]
