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,…
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…
June 2023: This blog post was updated! The first performance for beginning instrumentalists is a topic frequently debated. Some believe it should take place as soon as possible, in as little as eight weeks, while others think beginners should not perform until the end of the school year when the group is more “polished.” I…
Updated December 2022 This post has gotten a much-needed update! It’s no secret; I am a fan of technology in education. In my last two teaching positions, all students had school-issued iPads. I enjoyed using the iPads with my band students and have found several apps that work well in this setting. While I would…
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…
March 2022 – This post has gotten a much-deserved update! It’s no secret that I love all things Google. There are so many fabulous tools within Google Workspace for Education, and they seem to get better every day. One of the most versatile tools is Google Slides. I’ve called Slides my “island tool” – if…
November 2021 – this post has been updated! Check out some new ideas on how to complete this project. I started doing the Thanksgiving Concert project a few years ago with my band and orchestra students. While I don’t believe in giving “homework” over long breaks, it is great when students can still play their…
This article was originally published in The Woman Conductor Journal, March 2021 issue. While the focus is on band rehearsals, the strategies described will work in nearly any music class or rehearsal. Technology integration is something that many band directors are aware of but are still unsure how to achieve. Especially since the goal in…
Each December I like to look back at the blog to reflect on the year. Which posts were the most read? When was I most consistent in publishing? Were there any noticeable themes? Given the events of the year, it’s no surprise that a big focus was technology and almost all blog posts incorporated that…
In my last blog post, Focus on What We Can Do, I discussed how during distance learning we cannot try to replicate everything we did in our classrooms. It’s not the same and we can’t try to make it that way. Instead, by focusing on what we can do now, there are numerous ways we…