More Than A Music Teacher: David Getz and Anna Mounts
What makes you #morethanamusicteacher? In this blog series inspired by Franklin Willis’ Book, More Than A Music Teacher, we invited teachers around the world to share their stories. Today, we’ll hear from David Russell Getz and Anna Mounts. Read on as we celebrate the incredible changemakers in our profession of music education. Meet David Russell Getz, #morethanamusicteacher Tell us your story. How did you become a music teacher? I decided early in high school that I wanted to be a musician, but even up until my senior year I [...]
More Than A Music Teacher: Elizabeth Shier and Crystal Briley
What makes you #morethanamusicteacher? In this blog series inspired by Franklin Willis’ Book, More Than A Music Teacher, we invited teachers around the world to share their stories. Today, we’ll hear from Elizabeth Shier and Crystal Briley. Read on as we celebrate the incredible changemakers in our profession of music education. Meet Elizabeth Shier, #morethanamusicteacher Tell us your story. How did you become a music teacher? I grew up with a special-needs brother and wanted to be a music therapist and double majored in music therapy/music education, but [...]
The Value of a Values Statement for your Music Department
Like many music educators, I experienced a major shock during my first few months of teaching: Even though I knew how to play all the instruments, sing all the songs, and teach all the music… Very few of my students cared like I did about learning music. After four years of music school and being surrounded by high-caliber musicianship, I had forgotten that fifth graders don’t live in that world; they have a whole other reality that I needed to get to know if I was going to [...]
Reflections on Cultivating a Daily Creative Practice: #asongadayinjan
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 songs. This January, I decided that I was going to actually complete the challenge and here I am in February of 2023 able to tell you that in one month, I wrote thirty-one songs! They’re not all my favorite, a [...]
My Favorite Portable Instrument for the Classroom
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" throughout our district. I secured an old drum set from the middle school jazz band (it still sits in my room today, over ten years later), some broken xylophones from the elementary school, and any bass or electric guitar I [...]
What Music Teachers Can Learn From Coaches (and vice versa)
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 “We’re All in This Together” proudly being the wind beneath my wings, I emerged from the social rubble of this dilemma quite victorious. Now, as a music educator for 11 years and a varsity Cross Country coach for 10, I [...]
Seven Tips for Surviving December as a Music Teacher
(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 responsibilities, most of us have an absolutely overstuffed December calendar because of school performances, gigs and the occasional play-off game or region band audition depending on your area. While some months are never going to be a breeze for educators [...]
More Than A Music Teacher
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 being a “great” music teacher. I would get to school early every day to prepare lessons and would usually stay late directing rehearsals and inevitably waiting for the last parent to pick up their child. I loved every second of [...]
Where are all the Instruments? Book Review
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 the Instruments? into an interactive flipbook on our site. So, you can imagine my excitement when Nate told me he was writing another Where are all the Instruments? with a completely different focus. While the first in this series was [...]
Student-Centered Repertoire Selection Part I: Programming Pre-Written Pieces
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 how do we make sure it's developmentally appropriate? Inclusive? Educationally sound? Engaging for the students? For years, I struggled with these same questions and felt like it was all on me to select and execute the perfect concert program. That [...]
Four Fall Songs For Your Early Childhood Music Classes
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, as an interactive flip book here at F-flat Books, I’m sharing 4 fun and engaging fall songs you can include in your early childhood music classes this fall. I’ll share 2 movement songs, a song inspired by the nursery rhyme [...]