One of my goals for this summer’s lessons is to have my students do more composing. There was a really interesting article on the ComposeCreate blog last month that inspired me to incorporate more writing into my lessons. In a nutshell, the author suggested that writing music is great training for reading music – especially for students who struggle with notereading. … Continue reading
When it comes to teaching music theory, I’m much more of a hands-on teacher than a workbook teacher. In fact, several years ago I stopped using written theory books with my elementary students and transitioned to a games and manipulative-based curriculum, supplemented by some computer drills. But… I do have a handful of students, mostly older, who really learn best through a written, … Continue reading
Just enough time today for a quick post before students start to arrive for the evening… I mentioned last week that I had raided my studio closet to come up with enough games and activities to review a year’s worth of theory in group classes. In doing so, I pulled out some of my favorite “old” games that hadn’t been off the shelf in a … Continue reading
As I’ve been prepping students for theory exams this spring, one of my goals as a teacher has been to find a “hands-on” way to work on each concept. This week many of my students were working on identifying and building major and minor scales, so I created a set of manipulative cards to help us: First, I asked students to lay out the scale … Continue reading
I’ve added a couple of new music symbol worksheets to my website. They’re a colorful way to make sure your students really understand everything on a page of music (or practice for upcoming theory exams, as is the case in my studio!). I’ve made two levels so far. Level 1 drills these symbols: treble clef, bass clef, time signature, repeat sign, bar lines, forte, piano, … Continue reading
After spending the last several weeks in final preparation for our local Multi-Piano concert (I was privileged to serve as chairperson this year), I’m finally back at work on some new lesson materials. I’ve been wanting some fresh worksheets to drill triads, so created a couple that each have a “game” component. This Major Triad Search sheet requires students to spell 17 major triads … Continue reading
I took advantage of a super cold weekend to spend a little time hunkered down working on group lesson plans for the next couple of months. Here’s the first of several new worksheets/games I’m planning to use at the end of the month (I must have had snow on the brain!): This sheet drills the construction of major triads. Given a root, students must supply … Continue reading