How do you teach music composition to Grade 1 students? Quick answer: A Grade 1 music composition lesson introduces students to creative music-making through sound exploration and simple sequencing. Students don't need to read standard notation — instead, they use iconic notation (their own invented symbols) to record musical ideas.
How to get music students from where they are to where they need to be A long time ago, it occurred to me that music teaching is like going on a big treasure hunt. Always looking for that next tip, that next idea, that next nugget of gold, that next piece of the puzzle…but
The power of embracing your true self Have you ever been in that season of “something needs to change here”? It’s that feeling of balancing where you are now with climbing that “great teacher” mountain. It’s balancing that reality of what’s really going on right now with what you truly want. It’s
The power of constant improvement If the thought of getting through the last few weeks of school, new curriculum updates or starting from scratch again next term gives you a rash just thinking about it, I don’t blame you. Teaching can be “stress city”. Instead I’ve pulled together some resources that will get
Minding The Gap ... Can you remember when you were filled with thoughts, dreams and ambitions about the impact you’d create when you started teaching? That’s how most of us live our early lives - until the real world brings us back to reality and we start teaching in a school where we
Daily Planning Rituals ... I love being efficient, but beyond efficiency, I love it when I find HARD things and make them EASY to achieve ahead of time. Time is my obsession, it’s something that we can’t earn more of and yet we often need to fit more in. So if there are
What it means to serve as a music teacher If you think that music teaching comes down to you and teaching the students and that’s where it begins and ends, this episode is for you. I’m sharing the four keys to focus on so that you can teach to your full capacity, with
So you’re looking ahead at your calendar and the date keeps getting closer. The first term of teaching for 2022 you’ve been preparing for is coming at you full steam ahead, and just thinking of it makes you feel uncertain and anxious. What will happen when that first school bell finally rings? What changes will
How to deal with constant criticism Being happy in the school workplace especially at this busy time of the year is critical to your longevity, happiness and success in teaching, and by extension the happiness and success of your students”. But often as the end of year approaches, we’re left with the feeling of
The wisdom of gratitude for music teachers Have you ever had a time where you just wake up and you don’t know how to do what you’re supposed to do and teach your classes? Or have beyond just one day, have you ever experienced a period of time where it feels like
