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 [...]
I've done a lot in my online music education business over the last 4 years. All of it has taken a lot of hard work and dedication. I just figured out how to make it happen and took it all one day at a time. But, for some [...]
During the onset of the virus, I became stuck in the United States, unable to go back to my home in China. It was during this time that the world - and specifically the US - seemed to be overwhelmed with injustices. Our social media feeds were filled [...]
“Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen, great to see you? Welcome to our drum class. I hope you are excited… I know that I am. Let’s begin.” As I uttered this opening statement, I was looking into twenty-two sets of 4th-grade eyes, sitting in twenty-two little boxes, staring back [...]
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 [...]
Indian Popular Music: Defined In India, popular music is Bollywood music! New Bollywood songs are #1 in the list of favorite genres in India, followed by old Bollywood songs and other regional music, while international Pop music is at #5 (ifpi 2019, p. 25). Contemporary Bollywood music producers [...]
“Okay, that’s it! Anyone who has questions can stay on the call; otherwise, you are free to go. I miss you all! Have a wonderful summer!” (double waves and beams) This was how I ended my last 7th-grade choir class of the year. It took place on Zoom, [...]
Integrating Entrepreneurial Technology into the Music Curriculum The term “music technology” is a vague identifier for a subject that tends to be lumped into the “other” department of study in collegiate and high school-level music programs. Common lesson plans in a music technology course include composing electronic music, [...]