It’s been quite a few years since I first became familiar with 20th Century Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, but I was re-reading his Templeton Address recently and was struck by this observation he makes concerning art: “In the East art has collapsed because it has been knocked down and trampled upon, but in the West […]
Teaching
What if Your Student Could Compose a Piece and Have it Performed by a Professional Musician?
That is exactly the vision behind Music-COMP (formerly the Vermont Midi Project). The organization began in 1995 with the purpose of “encourage[ing] and support[ing] students in composing and arranging music.” This is accomplished via “A community of professional composers, teachers, pre-service educators, and students engage in mentoring and online discussion of student work.” I had […]
Monday Mailbag – Year End Achievement Awards
“I am curious about student achievement awards. I am wondering what you and other teachers do. Do you give out awards based on years in lessons (i.e. 3 year award) or perhaps awards based on level of achievement (i.e. completed Faber level 2A etc.)? Maybe some teachers simply give out a participation certificate. This will […]
Get Classroom Maestro 3.0 for Free (a $69 value!)
Zenph is one of the leading music technology organizations. I’ve been fascinated by them ever since reading an article last year about some of their projects. Their Classroom Maestro software sounds very interesting – and you can download it for free (a $69 value!) if you complete a brief survey. Classroom Maestro is described as […]
The Kinshasa Symphony
In the war-torn, poverty-stricken country of Congo, Africa, music breaks forth gloriously! You can’t help but be inspired by this amazing story:
Monday Mailbag – How to Equip Students to Improvise at the Piano with Pattern Play
“How have you found the Pattern Play books to be successful? I’ve had some great improvisations while I play a pattern and some where the students play the pattern and I’ll improvise, but getting them to that solo level just has seemed to be intimidating for them.” One of the “complications” my students can choose as […]
