Music rooms sometimes contain tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of percussion equipment. Maintenance can feel overwhelming, but it’s worth it to protect your school’s investment! The good news: basic care can be outsourced to students. At the end of each semester, your section leader and players can oversee most of these tasks. First, dust... Continue Reading →
How to Keep Your Music Students Sharp Over the Summer
While summer is a great time to relax and enjoy the vacation, it can also be a great time for music students to improve their skills and become even more proficient musicians. Below are some tips and advice for music teachers wanting to help their students practice music over the summer. Offer a summer music... Continue Reading →
John Williams: 90 Years – And Counting
On this, his 90th birthday, we’d posit that there is no living composer who has managed to be simultaneously so well-known, well-respected and well-loved than John Williams. We know his grand era- and genre-defining oeuvre like the backs of our hands: Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Harry Potter, E.T., Indiana Jones — and the list goes on and on.
Habits of a Successful Beginner Band Musician: How to Build Solid Foundations & Help First-Year Students Fall in Love with Music
Those of us who teach beginners have specific challenges. Not only do we have to acquaint our students with new instruments, but we also have to begin to acquaint them with musical notation and theory, help them develop good practice habits, and be on the lookout for improper techniques that can turn into major challenges... Continue Reading →
Alex Shapiro: Making Her Own Rules
If a composer just so happens to also be a photographer, an essayist, and an activist both within the musical arena and outside of it, it seems fitting that she would describe her own work as “pan-genre and diverse – sometimes within the same piece!” Alex Shapiro’s extensive catalog encompasses film scores, chamber music and... Continue Reading →
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