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Blog: Catalysts & Connections

New Finnish Music Education Blog!

Please join me in welcoming Miikka Salavuo, from the Sibelius Academy in Helskinki, to the music education blogosphere! The first blog post and the discussion that follows it in comments, raise some very interesting points on the implications of blogging in higher education, the future of refereed journals and how the internet will shape how we learn and network in the future. To get an idea of some of the excellent work being done in music education in Finland check… Read More »New Finnish Music Education Blog!

Beatboxing flutists in your school?

There’s a good chance that your students have seen the beatboxing flutist on youtube. Have any of them tried this out? If not why not have them give it a try? Perhaps this could be an entry point to explore many different kinds of extended techniques which could lead to some interesting additions to the types of playing happening in your school!  

Justifying Music Education From A Composer's Perspective

The field of music education has been debating the best approach towards advocacy for years. Usually when we read a perspective on music advocacy it is either within the field or from the music industry sector. So it was refreshing to recently read a composer’s perspective on the issue. The comments are also worth reading as they extend the conversation. I’ve posted links to Belinda Reynold’s blog posts in the past. She’s not only dedicated to addressing issues of composing… Read More »Justifying Music Education From A Composer's Perspective

The next generation of concert notes?

Besides being a great resource for information on music and composers, the Online Conservatory (a project of Northeastern University and the Boston Symphony Orchestra) serves as a possible model for the next generation of concert notes. While many music teaches have their students work on concert notes for programs, the use of multimedia resources could add an interesting dimension to your program. Why not have students analyze the music they are performing, do some research and then create an audio… Read More »The next generation of concert notes?

Pre-mixing Rjd2

 Pre-Mixing Rjd2 I’m a big fan of musicians allowing people to remix their music. Hip Hop musician Rjd2 is currently allowing people to pre-mix his music. Unlike a remix in which one works on a piece of music already created, Rjd2 has provided people with samples from a track yet to be released and inviting people to create their own music from the samples. Rather than providing loops he has provided samples as hits. It will be interesting to see… Read More »Pre-mixing Rjd2