I am Donna Rhodenizer. I am a composer. It took me a long time to grow into the label and embrace it as part of my musical skills. When I was a young music student, I wrote little “ditties” that I would play on the piano. In high [...]
Welcome to The Asterisk*, a new regular column where we’ll chat about diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in music education. An asterisk's function is to quickly give readers a baseline of knowledge so the reader can dive into content. This column aims to introduce or refresh deia concepts [...]
I am passionate about music education, specifically Popular Music Education, Creativity, and Informal Learning. So passionate, in fact, that I have written two books under my own publishing company, Steve's Music Room Publishing, and have been commissioned for a third through the Oxford University Press--yes, that Oxford University [...]
I am often called “just the music teacher.” And I may or may not also be tired of non-teachers looking at me and asking, “Soooo, how are you actually working during COVID?” I will never forget it. One co-worker even asked me, “So Darlene, what do you do [...]
As a young educator, I was always tasked with the question: why does music matter? It was something asked incessantly. There were textbook answers that got me through job interviews, but the one person I never really convinced was myself. I knew why I was a teacher- I’ve [...]
Are you a podcast listener? If so, you have probably listened to a podcast or two about music education. There are so many great examples out there. However, this post is not about music education podcasts (we'll save that for another time). This post is about using podcasts on music [...]
THE RUN Last week, I started on my usual 5 AM run. I laced up my shoes, donned all of my safety gear, and started on the route I had planned. I had my Spotify playlist on blast, trying to wake myself up as I took my initial [...]
In early July, I read a poem that stopped me in my tracks: "If I were a racist," by Nate Holder. Through captivating language, he expressed what it felt like the music education profession had been dancing around for years. I read it over and over again, noting [...]
You hold the stakes and the stakes are high. I, too, have held precious things. I’ve weighed the options and made the snap judgments beside the long-furrowed brain circles, when right and left seemed equally tied. I’ve held my breath. As a first-year teacher, walking through halls full [...]
Do you remember singing as a child? What are your earliest memories of singing? I can remember making up songs and singing for my family from a young age. I loved being silly and creating funny lyrics to familiar tunes. I remember singing hymns in church and singing [...]