You should see the way my students’ eyes light up the minute I pull out some dice and tell them that we’re going to start off the lesson with a game! In fact, this is what prompted me to compile and produce the 5 for Fun! book. Just setting aside 5 minutes a lesson to […]
Teaching
Music Lessons – The Parents’ Perspective
From the Top, a non-profit organization that produces a weekly NPR radio show featuring the best young classical musicians in the country, has been posting a series of blog posts called The Parents’ Perspective that are full of inspiration and practical advice from parents of some of the country’s top classical musicians. Here are the […]
Government Funding of the Arts – To Be or Not to Be?
That is the question! 🙂 There has been a flurry of activity lately in my neck of the woods as word spread quickly that our new governor (Sam Brownback) has proposed cutting funding for the Kansas Arts Commission. Music educators across the state are being called upon to send letters of opposition to the governor […]
Monday Mailbag – Teaching Eighth Notes
How do you teach eighth note rhythm patterns to students? Any tricks? I’ve used all sorts of approaches for this over the years. In fact, I distinctly remember a phase I went through where I would use different food names for rhythm patterns. One of my students was struggling with rhythm, so we spent a […]
Books, Books, and More Books!
Thanks to everyone for the fabulous suggestions you offered in response to my quest for more good biographies! I know many of you are equally interested in getting good biography recommendations, so I’ve compiled several lists that I hope will be helpful. Biography Recommendations from Others Albert Einstein: Biographical Portrait by Anton Reiser A Chance […]
A Student Success with Scales Patterns and Improv Book!
How do you know if a particular book or approach is helping a student? Well, when the student tells you that they think the book has really helped them, that’s a pretty good indication. 🙂 If only all students would just come right out and say so! One of my older beginners has been using […]
