Next week (May 24-28), I’m hosting the 3rd annual Music Education Basics, a free 5-day workshop for music educators.
With 60+ minutes of practical content, Music Education Basics is designed to give you clarity in your teaching and a fresh dose of inspiration and practical teaching ideas you can use right away.
But before you pull a new spiral notebook off the shelf and start mapping out ideas and making plans, let’s take a few minutes to assess where we are right now.
I don’t know about you, but I love taking a look behind the scenes.
Maybe it’s curiosity or intrigue, maybe it’s an interest in learning about other people’s processes, creative approaches, and perspectives on things.
If you’re a church musician or someone who contributes to worship planning, then you’ll love today’s post.
Today, I’m giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how to choose hymns that tie into worship.
Confession: I’ve always struggled with written assignment sheets.
I know they’re important for home practice, but what about when a student doesn’t take their assignment notebook out of their bag all week? I wanted to find a better solution.
Looking for an alternative to handwritten assignment sheets in your studio? Here’s an easy 5-step guide to using Notability.
Last month, we marked one year of the pandemic. For me, this means one year of teaching solely online (an estimated 1,000 Zoom lessons!).
In the beginning, it was an adjustment for all of us.
We learned the ins and outs of Zoom ("Is 'original sound' turned on?"), my students sent me their completed theory pages via text, and we held our first virtual recital.
We figured out how to position our devices next to our instruments, brought in lamps from other rooms for evening lessons, and uploaded recordings back and forth on Google Drive. I learned how to create and send digital assignment sheets (look for a blog post on that next week!) and purchased an entire set of my favorite sight-reading curriculum so I could have copies to reference at home.
We've come a long way.
This year, with the COVID-19 pandemic, churches have relied more on instrumental music in worship than choral music.
There’s been a need for more solo music vs. ensemble music and in some cases, music that can be recorded ahead of time or even recorded from home.
As any church pianist will tell you, having collections that you can pull out and play from over and over again is golden, especially at times like these when you’re providing the majority of the music in the service.
Looking for something new to play this year?
Here are eight solo piano collections to consider adding to your library.
Last week, I set a goal to include one creative activity (composing or improvising) in every lesson – 22 total.
Here's a simple activity I used with my older students:
Play two notes (I usually start on Middle C, then choose an interval that's accessible for the student). Name the first note.
Have your student play both notes, then add a third. Then, it's your turn again.
Play all three notes, then add a fourth.
Continue taking turns, playing the melody and adding one new note each time until you come to a natural resolution (or you forget what you created!). (source)
There's been a lot of talk this year about virtual choirs.
For those who have the technical skills and the time (read: hours) to commit to it, virtual choir videos can be a fun and meaningful project to work on with your choir.
But for everyone else—the directors without Logic Pro X and Final Cut and hours and hours to devote to editing—is there a simpler way?
Is there a way to keep your choir singing together during this time without having to spend a lot of time and money producing fancy virtual choir videos?
The short answer: yes.
Today, I’m sharing a collection of children’s choir anthems composed by women.
After all, March is Women’s History Month and over the years, it’s also become a time to celebrate women in music.
If you’re looking for some inspiration for your planning this year and seeking ways to include more diversity in the voices you share and represent, here are 36 children’s choir anthems written by women composers to help you get started.
Today, I’m sharing a collection of church choir anthems composed by women. After all, March is Women’s History Month and over the years, it’s also become a time to celebrate women in music.
If you’re looking for some inspiration for your planning this year and seeking ways to include more diversity in the voices you share and represent, here are 48 titles written by women composers to help you get started.
