Looking for a fun game to play with a group of students that will also help them work on note identification? Try having a spelling bee! Here’s how it works: 1. Divide the students into two or more groups. 2. Give each group a set of flashcards with notes on the staff (make sure the […]
Blog
Free Music Games!
Check out this collection of downloadable musical games that D’Net has made available for free on her studio website! I especially love these 44 composer cards and plan to print them off and start using them right away. Teachers who use the Nancy and Randall Faber Piano Adventures course will especially love this Primer Level […]
Expand Your World
Natalie’s note: This fascinating article by Mike Ellis will stretch your brain and push you outside the box, er, beat of traditional musical understanding. The more I teach, the more I realize the importance of teaching music as sound to be felt, interpreted and conveyed, not just as notes on a page to be intellectually […]
Interview with Ben Lansing
Yesterday I posted my review of the wonderful new music history guide, Bigwigs of Classical Music. Today, author Ben Lansing joins us on Music Matters Blog for an exclusive interview. Music Matters Blog (MMB): What is your musical background? Ben Lansing (BL): As an instrumentalist, my music training includes piano from middle school to college […]
Bigwigs of Classical Music – A Review
On its back cover Bigwigs of Classical Music promises the reader a unique, easily accessible, humorous, illustrated presentation of the fascinating story of history’s greatest music. And amazingly, author Ben Lansing delivers on every count! If I had to sum it up in two words, I would call my journey through this 310 page music […]
Take a Walk…
…down Piano Street! Wow! If you haven’t yet, you should head right over to take a walk down Piano Street! “Get instant access to the 1,512 greatest classical piano pieces (over 12,000 pages) as high quality printable PDF-files as well as acoustic recordings of the most common piano pieces.” On top of that, the website […]