Creative Musical Musings
How Can We Encourage Altruism in Music?
Music teachers agree that students who give back to their communities are a joy to teach. Having altruistic people around makes everyone’s experience more positive. But I wondered, why is altruism important? So, I did a Google Search. Here is what came up. Altruism...
How Does Practicing With a Backing Track Help You?
Do you struggle to count your rhythms? Do you struggle to get the feel of the music when you are learning to in a different style? Well, practicing with a backing track can help! And here is how. Benefits for Novices - They Learn to Listen Students learn their...
What are the Pros and Cons of Online Music Lessons?
Music instruction involves sound that is produced in real-time. Computers can make this process efficient, but does it work as well? The short answer is that It depends on your goals and your motivation. There are pros and cons to both types of instruction. During the...
Let’s Give the Joy of Music to Our Community
Share the Joy of Music! Music teachers agree that students who give back to their communities are a joy to teach. Having altruistic people around makes everyone’s experience more positive. But I wondered, why is altruism important? So, I did a Google Search. Here is...
How Old is Too Old to Learn a Musical Instrument?
Am I too Old? In my teaching, I hear this a lot. And my answer is, it is never too late to learn an instrument. Research shows that playing an instrument increases memory and brain flexibility in older adults. So, go for it. Children and Instruments Children have...
Why Try the Ukulele?
The ukulele is affordable, accessible and fun. Its joy brings people together for fun times and memories. Anyone from age 8 to 88 can successfully learn the ukulele. It’s no surprise that the popularity of the ukulele is growing rapidly. It is now ‘cool’ to play the...
How to help Students Read Music in Beginning Orchestra
“String students need to read music. They will never function in an orchestra without this skill.” -Every Music Teacher While this statement is true, getting to that point is a challenge. When we teach reading in English/Language Arts, we allow students to point at...
How Does a Cell Phone Help You Practice?
Here are some ideas for practicing that are unique to our modern age. Use your cell phone and Bluetooth speaker. With the click of a button, your cell phone can get you to all kinds of apps. You can download a free metronome and tuner. You can go to YouTube to...
Flexible Fiddling is a Success at School!
Flexible Fiddling is a method I created for my elementary and middle school orchestra students. There are books for Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello and Bass. Each tune has a Building Blocks page and a String Orchestra Arrangement page. On the Building Blocks page,...
How to Develop a Practice Routine for Musical Success!
So, you have a musical instrument. And you’ve invested in lessons and materials. You enjoy your lessons. And you like your teacher. Now you want to improve. To improve at anything, you have to commit to it. Be it exercise, diet or learning a musical instrument, it...