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music education

Planning for music classes & ensembles & never feel behind.

Have you ever felt behind in your plans? We dedicate a lot of our time as music educators to planning. How we plan our music classes and ensembles and what a lesson plan from our program looks like says a lot about how we think about curriculum and pedagogy. I’ve never really thought in terms of creating a “lesson plan” even when I was required to write my “lesson plans” out in a green-covered paper planning notebook to be turned… Read More »Planning for music classes & ensembles & never feel behind.

Who am I and what does that have to do with teaching music?

In the following video I describe some of the following themes, ideas, and issues that we are addressing during a Music Learning and Teaching course at Arizona State University for designing and facilitating secondary music programs: Approaches to think through our own backgrounds and how our life experiences, musical experiences, and cultures might relate to how we approach music teaching. Aspects of culture in relation to learning and teaching Working to recognize and avoid ableism Our main theme was to… Read More »Who am I and what does that have to do with teaching music?

Participatory Culture, Music Education, and The Choir Baton

It was a pleasure to join Beth Philemon on the Choir Baton to chat through aspects of technology, participatory culture, and music education. As with many conversations, there are several moments that I would love to go back in time and rethink or rephrase. Our conversation focused primarily on aspects of change, possibilities, and what choir or music education could be. Here are some resources and links related to things we discussed on the Choir Baton podcast: On Technology and… Read More »Participatory Culture, Music Education, and The Choir Baton

Music Learning and Teaching Online

In Process – Updated: 5/13/2020 Thinking about music learning and teaching online is important in general but possibly more so as we shift music programs from physical spaces to online learning and teaching. I’m compiling resources and some curricular considerations here to support people thinking through and engaging in music learning and teaching online. I started writing this post in March 2020 in response to schools canceling physical in-person classes and shifting to online learning and teaching in response to… Read More »Music Learning and Teaching Online

How do you program music for ensembles?

How do you program for ensembles? Jordan Randall Smith posted the following message on Twitter on 12/26/19 (along with some great connected questions): Many conversations about programming in music education tend to focus on the “what” (the repertoire). So, questions about principles and processes are refreshing! I suggest checking out the thread for varied perspectives on programming music. Here are some thoughts regarding programming music for an ensemble in an educational context. Consider these ideas as starting points to expand… Read More »How do you program music for ensembles?