I am quite excited!!! In getting ready for this year, I have created a composition cart. I teach in a room in where I am unable to keep materials, so this is the perfect solution! I have included: On the Top Shelf: Crayons ~ for tracing Note Knacks : in individual plastic snack bags with […]
It is September and for many of us either school has already started or about to start! This year I am so excited to get going!! I have finally organized my home and office so that I will be ready to go! Here are a few ideas that might help! Apparently there is such a […]
I remember as a young violinist in my youth orchestra listening to Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever and thinking how cool it would be to play the piccolo! I always get so jealous when he or she stands up at that precise moment and plays such a fun melody! So in celebration of Sousa’s birthday […]
Still don’t know what to do for Halloween? I think we can help: According to the History Channel, “Guising” is a medieval tradition where young people would dress up in costumes and go door to door in order to receive food, money and wine in exchange for poetry, singing and jokes. Find out more here: […]
As a violinist, Niccolò Paganini is, of course, someone I am in awe of! His compositions are extremely difficult to say the least, yet beautiful and exciting! David Garret, a violinist out of Germany, played him in a movie called “The Devil’s Violinist”. It is cheesy, but the violin playing is amazing! I have become […]
Rentaro Taki’s “Kojo no Tsuki” has an interesting story. It was written as a music lesson for students, but made it all the way to the big stage as both Thelonius Monk and The Scorpions recorded a cover of the song. It was originally an instrumental piece, but Bansu Doï added lyrics later on. No […]
If you research Japanese composer Rentaro Taki, you would find very little. Yet this man’s folk song “Kojo no Tsuki” is so popular in Japanese culture that is was recorded by both Thelonius Monk and The Scorpions. All I was able to find on this young composer was in Wikipedia which is not necessarily the […]
The recorder is the perfect instrument to introduce to students in 3rd or 4th grade. They are lightweight, simple to learn and fun to play. …..and teacher friendly ~ you can take off the mouth piece if a student insists on blowing inappropriately while allowing them to still practice their fingerings!! I have always enjoyed […]
These days, time is in such short supply! I am always thinking about how to be more efficient and get more done. As a result, I love to read about how others tackle this issue! There is an author that has devoted whole books to this very subject: Laura Vanderkam. She is known for such […]
Carmina Burana by Carl Orff is the perfect piece to listen for short and long sounds. I love the sharp rhythm patterns that start in measure 5 and repeat throughout the first couple of minutes. It is highlighted in this YouTube video (complete with sound and score!): CLICK HERE. So what can you do with it in a […]