Category: Music Ed Mondays

Music Ed Mondays

Music Ed Monday – Assignments for Days Without Playing

Hey team. I’ve been thinking about ways to help my fellow teachers in these uncertain times, especially considering that we won’t be playing very much to help stem transmission of COVID-19. So, I thought I’d share some of the materials/assignments that I’ve got for when we’re not playing. 1959 – The Year That Changed Jazz Four big jazz albums were released in 1959: Kind of … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – Assignments for Days Without Playing

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Music Ed Mondays

Music Ed Monday – Lighthouse Music (Part 1)

Hey team, I love music – I really do. I think about it quite a lot, but when both my day and night jobs are music, sometimes I get so burned out that I can’t see the forest from the trees; or rather, the beauty in the sonic fabric from the succession of pitches in a unidirectional harmonic progression. Sometimes, we play music; sometimes, we … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – Lighthouse Music (Part 1)

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Music Ed Mondays

Music Ed Monday – The Long Game

I’m writing this as my baby is fussing in the crib beside me — not crying or screaming, just kind of whining. We’re in the midst of sleep training our seven-month old and there are many days where I feel like what we’re doing just isn’t working.  Even a week into this, there is still a lot of fussing and particularly around nap time. It … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – The Long Game

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Music Ed Monday – Keep on Keepin’ On

In a really wonderful turn of events, I won a competition this past month! My very first one! It was the 2015 Canadian Band Association Composition Competition (*whew!*) and my piece for concert band “The Meeting Place” took home the prize.  I really like that tune, and so do a lot of my students – more than many of my other ones, actually. The funny … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – Keep on Keepin’ On

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Music Ed Monday – The Year of No

A few years ago, two of my very good friends made a New Year’s Resolution to say yes to anyone invited them out to something, hoping to embark on some new adventures and live a little more. “Want to go out for drinks?” Yes. “Want to go snowboarding next weekend?” Yes. “Want to come to the beach in fifteen minutes?” Yes. Yes. Yes. And so on, … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – The Year of No

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Music Ed Mondays, Uncategorized, Video Games

Music Ed Monday – …Because They’re Hard

The following is a story about how I finally did the thing that most people I grew up with did when they were twelve. In the past sixteen years, I have started The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time four times.  The first time, I only got to the Goron Village and then I had to return my friend’s Nintendo 64 because it was 1998, after … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – …Because They’re Hard

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Music Ed Monday – The Quest for Beer at the Orchestra

Back in Summer of 2015, I was asked by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra if I could do an arrangement of a pop song for a divisional choir and the orchestra.  Every other year, the River East Transcona School Division hires out the orchestra to play with their choir.  This was an enormous opportunity, so of course I said yes, then got it done on time … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – The Quest for Beer at the Orchestra

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Music Ed Monday – Fine-Thanks-And-You (Part 1)

(This is part one of a two-part post.  The first part will introduce the topic, while the second will address some of the skills associated with what it looks like in a classroom, at least at a rudimentary level). The CBC (our public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) ran a program this past year on its current events show about mindfulness in the classroom.  It … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – Fine-Thanks-And-You (Part 1)

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Music Ed Mondays

Music Ed Monday – Kick Your A– Then Bake A Cake

The original Sailor Moon cartoon came out in Canada when I was 12 years old and it changed my life – more as an adult than a child. I didn’t realize how revolutionary Sailor Moon was at the time when it aired.  I got into anime through finding this channel on our satellite dish (which was probably not really for kids, let’s be honest) and it showed … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – Kick Your A– Then Bake A Cake

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Music, Music Ed Mondays

Music Ed M… Tuesday: I BEAT THE FOREST TEMPLE (AND YOU CAN TOO!)

I have a confession to make: Despite being into games for my entire life, I have never beaten the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I know.  How can you trust anything video-game-related that I have to say? I haven’t even been through the core literature of our genre!  It’s like loving science fiction without having seen Star Wars, or liking fantasy without having seen/read Lord of … Continue reading Music Ed M… Tuesday: I BEAT THE FOREST TEMPLE (AND YOU CAN TOO!)

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