Intro I’ve always been inspired by my dear friend, Sarah Gulish, to take on the “Song A Day Challenges” over the last couple of years. I only just began my songwriting journey three years ago and prior to 2023 starting, I had only written a total of forty-six [...]
I spent the first four years of my teaching career with zero instruments for my high school general music class. We had nothing, and I was told there was no budget for my class. I tried to make the best of it by gathering all of the "leftovers" [...]
I have spent my entire life in the seemingly unrelated worlds of Sports and Music. Thanks to High School Musical, the narrative that a teenager could live comfortably within the dual identities of Artist and Athlete in the mid-2000s was all but shattered. However, with the anthem of [...]
(This post was inspired by an interview with Jessica Grant for Afternoon Ti and Musicast) If classroom teachers are overwhelmed in the month of December, there needs to be a whole other phrase coined for what music teachers feel this time of year. In addition to our regular [...]
I am More Than A Music Teacher. For some time throughout my career, I felt the need to shout that phrase from the rooftops to truly advocate for all I was doing in the music classroom. During my first couple of years of teaching, my identity centered around [...]
If you’ve read this blog before, you know that I’m a fan of Nate Holder’s work. In 2020, I reviewed his book, Why is my piano Black and White? Since the release of that work, he has written many other books and has even adapted Where are all [...]
Ah, rep selection. Some music teachers become giddy at the thought of programming a concert or selecting new repertoire each season. Still, there are others of us that struggle when it comes to rep selection and can feel paralyzed at the number of choices in our midst. So [...]
No doubts about it -- fall is my favorite season to be an early childhood music teacher and music therapist. I love the themes: bats, monsters, spiders, leaves, pumpkins, apples, candy... the possibilities are endless! To celebrate the release of my Halloween children’s book, The Shy Little Monster, [...]
It’s hard for me to believe this is my seventeenth year teaching instrumental music at my school. Seventeen is such a big number! In some ways, the rhythms of the school year are well established. For example, our high school ensemble will perform at a Gratitude Assembly [...]
Re-Igniting the Spark Take a moment to think back to your undergraduate college experience. (Perhaps that was only a few months ago, or perhaps you have to reach back a bit more to access this season.) Either way, I would venture to assume that for many of us, [...]