I recently came across this fascinating article titled, How Much Should We Practice? based on the findings of a research paper in the Journal of Neuroscience. The research was conducted by a team of scientists to determine if effective practice time can include not only practice of the assigned task, but also listening to relevant […]
Teaching
Monday Mailbag – Scheduling Group Classes
How do you schedule group classes so parents don’t mind the “extra event”? Do you replace all lessons of the week for the group class or work it out some other way? Some of this has to do with your perspective and how you present the group classes. In my opinion, group classes are a […]
Review and Giveaway of Playing (Less) Hurt!
Recent years in music pedagogy have given rise to discussions on injury prevention. Janet Horvath, author of the recently-revised book, Playing (Less) Hurt, makes note of this in one of her introductory statements: “Only in recent years, though, have we begun to acknowledge perhaps the biggest challenge of all: the very real obstacle of physical […]
Monday Mailbag – Setting Up a Website for Students
Can you talk more about your “Studio Splog” website? I’ve been so intrigued the few times I went on and saw the variety and interest that your students showed in postings on it! How can you set something like that up and what guidelines have you given them? Sure! It’s a website I started last […]
Free Curriculum – Musical Travels for Children
I just downloaded a 161-page free curriculum called, “Musical Travels for Children“! The course was created by Catherine Schmidt Jones and includes units on Europe, Asia, Africa, Americas, and Australia. Each unit is comprised of practical teaching ideas, printed music from the various continents, and additional notes and resource links. This would be fabulous as […]
Six Ways to Enjoy Detailed Practice
Gerald Klickstein, author of The Musician’s Way, posted this excellent and practical list of six ways to enjoy detailed practice: Bring meaning to every gesture. Isolate problem spots in context. Take pleasure in excellence. Listen deeply. Seek variety. Shift perspectives. Visit the original post for the expanded version with specific ideas on how to implement […]
