One of my goals is to help my students learn to listen as they play/sing. I want them to begin developing the ability to listen to themselves and the ensemble and respond appropriately to intonation, blend, balance, phrasing, etc. In short, all those elements that transform those dots on the page into something that communicates [...]
At the beginning of this school year, I instituted something called “Music Monday.” Every Monday, I would play a recording of a piece of music for my students. They, in turn, would respond to the selection by writing a description the piece using musical terms. We would also briefly discuss the piece, including whether or [...]
Today after school, the high school orchestra director brought about a dozen of his students to my middle school and worked with my students. It was a great experience! The H.S. director is a very experienced and effective teacher (as evidenced by both the size and quality of his groups) . His students did a [...]
