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
(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)
Strolling along the edge of the sea, a man catches sight of a young woman who appears to be engaged in a ritual dance. She stoops down, then straightens to her full height, casting her arm out in an arc. Drawing closer, he sees that the beach around her is littered with starfish, and she is throwing them one by one into the sea. He … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – The Starfish Story
At the beginning of this year, we had a PD session on character development which really changed the way that think about teaching. It didn’t change it in a philosophical way, but more in a practical and pragmatic way. It’s good that you want to make kids more successful and happier people, but how do you actually do it in a classroom day to day? … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – Little one, what do you choose to be when you grow up?
We used to have this whiteboard at the front of our room, but then we got this incredible SMARTBoard. It’s an enormous touchscreen monitor that’s rigged up to our iMac. It’s like Star Trek, the future is now 🙂 … But then what were we going to do with this old whiteboard? Well, we just put it off to the side on, really, the only … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – The Inspiration Board
This past week, I took my Senior Big Band to the Brandon Jazz Festival in Brandon, MB, Canada. It’s a fantastic festival and I hope that you all go 🙂 In which case, we played Count Basie’s “Hayburner,” an arrangement of Chick Corea’s “Spain” and then a local tune called “Hobgoblin” by Moses Mayes (and arranged by my bass player, which is fabulous). In our … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – Count Basie Eighth Notes
In our last post, we talked about the things that that get in our way, if only… Your homework was to find an “if only” in your life and write it down. Beneath it, you were to write “what does the solution look like?” So how did that go? It’s hard to get what you want if you don’t know what it looks like. We … Continue reading Music Ed Mondays – What Does That Look Like?
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
“If only.” Do you ever find yourself saying that? I find myself saying that all the time. “If only there was more time in the day.” “If only there were more money in the budget.” “If only I weren’t so tired all the time.” Those two words carry a lot of power because they really convince us of our own limitations as though the universe … Continue reading Music Ed Mondays – If Only
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)
