“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 [...]
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, [...]
I've never had a "traditional" view of my orchestra classroom. Perhaps this is due in part to the fact that I am a non-traditional orchestral director. While that may be a story for another time, it's important to note that I have always strived to make my music [...]
We texted, we called, we made jokes, we became angry and defiant, and then we paused and realized it wasn’t a game. It was real. The classroom and traditional education as we knew it, was stopping - at least in person. We were stepping into a pandemic and [...]
Since our schools closed their doors almost five weeks ago, I have been flooded with so many emotions. For a while, I could not really determine what these emotions were. I just knew each day felt different. After reflecting, I began to realize that what I was feeling [...]
My first teaching video was inspired by a group of fourth grade flute players and their enthusiastic eagerness to learn how to play ‘Firework” by Katy Perry. As one might expect, once I taught the tune to my Monday 9:00am flute group, word spread quickly and the demand [...]
First of all, I am going to ask us all to take a breath. Yes, seriously. Take a deep breath. Doesn’t that feel better? As of late, I find myself doing most of my work while holding my breath all the time. I do this as I am [...]
The guiding principle of the Kodaly philosophy is that only the best is good enough for a child. When virtual learning becomes the best delivery method for instruction, educators look for innovative ways to maintain quality music education. We land on our feet, and re-imagine some aspects [...]
Like many other music teachers, I am in the strange position of being a (sudden) virtual teacher. On March 12th, 2020, the governor for our state of Pennsylvania held a press conference in which he announced the immediate shutdown of all schools in Montgomery County, the county in [...]