Dale Duncan

I recently saw a post from a frustrated teacher with the following information: *Very talented kids *Won’t stop talking *Leave their seats *Distract each other *Off Topic *Ignore procedures like raising your hand *Don’t come in quietly *Takes forever to get things done *They are sensitive The teacher was thinking about having a “procedure day” […]

Are you ever going to grow up?  Suggestions for the Middle School Teacher I was on the phone with one of my dearest friends from my college days at UNC-Greensboro recently.  I don’t recall what we were talking about, but all of the sudden, she said to me while laughing, “Are you every going to grow […]

Wrapping the Arms of Structure Around Your Middle School Singers     I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing or not, but I have been asked many times after a concert with my 300+ middle school choral music students, “What do you SAY to the students that keeps them so disciplined?”   When I […]

Every voice matters. I teach over 300 middle school choral music students each and every day. I’ve always struggled with the fact that it was difficult to find time to listen to them individually in order to assess them in my classes of up to 84 students, and I’ve also worked hard to seek ways […]

Ouch! Teaching middle school chorus can hurt your ears. Between the changing voices of the boys and those sharp singing girls, our ears take a beating. Solving the issue of the sharp singer and any singer who sings out of tune takes time. In this blog post, I am going to share some of the […]