Conception to Completion – Filum Vitae

Making parts and I have a love/hate relationship.  I love the formatting, the making every part beautiful, the tweaking of fonts and the slight adjustment of dynamics and articulation… until about the fifth hour. You see, it’s painstaking and precise work.  I love that kind of work… up to a point. The other catch with making parts is that, while there are many steps between … Continue reading Conception to Completion – Filum Vitae

Music Ed Mondays – The Music Lesson (Part 2)

So, how did your homework go? Could you see Music? What did he/she look like? How are you connected to him/her*? This is one final essay and the student allowed me permission to use it.  It’s a long read, but I promise you, it’s worth it 🙂 ———————————- Music and I have a complex relationship.  There are times when we are inseparable, and times that we … Continue reading Music Ed Mondays – The Music Lesson (Part 2)

Music Ed Mondays – The Music Lesson (Part 1)

In our course, “The Fundamentals of Music,” we teach a novel called The Music Lesson by world-renowned bassist, Victor Wooten. There  are two provocative parts to that opening: 1) Fundamentals of Music? Yes, they take place in both Grade 11 and 12, split into Fundamentals I and II.  While they started as a theory and performance course (as a buffer to the performing ensembles), we’ve … Continue reading Music Ed Mondays – The Music Lesson (Part 1)

Music Ed Mondays – Placing the Focus

While I had a whole other idea for a post this week, the “Gov. Rick Perry forgetting which three agencies he wants to scrap” has really been occupying my mind – but not for the forgetting; but rather, what it is that he wants to scrap: Commerce, Education and, uh… Wait a sec… EDUCATION?! What does that say about the state of the social state … Continue reading Music Ed Mondays – Placing the Focus

Music Ed Mondays – “Whatever Gets Repeated…”

“Whatever gets repeated, gets remembered.” – Michael Brandon This simple sentence blew my mind during my second year of teaching, which was the year that Michael Brandon came to our school. He and I teach the Instrumental and Academic areas of our Music Program – yes, it can be more than just Band, Choir and Drama, but more on that in another post. While we … Continue reading Music Ed Mondays – “Whatever Gets Repeated…”