Putting Students at the Center of MIOSM
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Putting Students at the Center of MIOSM

This post got a much-needed update in March, 2025! Music in Our Schools Month (MIOSM®) is a great time for educators to showcase the fantastic things happening within their music programs. Throughout March, music departments all over the country put extra effort into making music noticeable and celebrating its contributions within their districts. This year,…

8 Ideas to Try After a Concert
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Eight Creative Ideas to Try After a Concert

May 2024 – It was time for another update! There have been a lot of posts on social media from music teachers asking for suggestions on what to do with the time after a concert, of what to do when class is disrupted because of testing. So, if either of these scenarios resonate with you,…

The qualities of an empowered music student

The Qualities of an Empowered Music Student

Wow, it’s been 6 years since Kathryn Finch and I originally wrote this! It’s amazing to think about how far this work has come in that time…a book…and podcast…what’s next?  For a long time, our focus was on engaging the learners and making sure students were “actively engaged” in music making in my classroom. But…

Strategies to mix things up
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Strategies to Mix Things Up During Rehearsal

We’ve hit the time of year where many of us have settled into routines and (probably) feel pretty comfortable with what we’re doing. This is often when we ask, how can I make rehearsal more interesting? How can I ensure the students are engaged? How can I mix things up? While there is comfort in…

Using student-created how-to videos for self-assessment
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Using Student-Created How-To Videos for Skills Assessment

By 2022, most adults have probably watched a how-to video at some point in their lives. Maybe it involved cooking techniques, home repair, or even craft projects. It’s also very likely that students have watched this type of video as well. In fact, there were many days when students would come to class, proud to…

Creativity With Composing Pieces
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Creativity With Composing Pieces

This was post was originally published in July 2021, but has been updated now in September 2022. As the new school year is about to start, remember how important it is to include students in the creative process. Even though my project was completed during hybrid learning, the concepts can definitely transfer now that we’re…

Another way to think about creativity in music
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Another Way to Think About Creativity in Music

For many music teachers, the creativity standards are the most elusive and sometimes challenging to incorporate. When the National Core Arts Standards were released in 2014, there was a noticeable change in the format and language included in the standards. What were nine simple statements turned into a multi-page document with numerous subsections. The difference…

Empowering music students at the beginning of the year
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Empowering Music Students at the Beginning of the Year

August 2022: This blog post has gotten a much-needed update! Whether you are about to start the school year or a few weeks in, hopefully it will provide you with simple ways to empower your music students. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you can only empower music students later in…