“It is much more difficult to reorganize the brain than it is to organize it in the first place. Organization inhibits reorganization”. Jane M. Healy The week of February 17 – 21 was winter break for many schools here in the Central New York area. During the break, I attended and presented a session for the […]
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Leading Voices: The Paradox of Learning
“ . . a student cannot at first understand what he needs to learn, can learn it only by educating himself, and can educate himself only by beginning to do what he does not yet understand”. Educating the Reflective Practitioner, Donald A. Schon (P.93) When I first read this quote, I had to go back […]
The Philosophy Behind the Sight-Reading Imperative
By Stuart Hunt Why your students will love you for raising the bar I struggle writing this. My passion for building musicianship drove me to create a business whose sole focus is to address literacy in the three parts of sight-reading: counting interval recognition part-singing For me it is both imperative for our students who […]
Leading Voices: How Do We Actively Engage Students in Lifelong Music Learning And Participation?
How do we actively engage students in lifelong music learning and participation? 1985, The early years For my first three years of teaching, I taught kindergarten through fifth grade general music for two elementary schools in Texas (one had no air conditioning!). I traveled from room to room teaching the Texas Essential Elements with my […]
Leading Voices: In the Beginning . . .
1985, K-5 General Music As a first-year teacher in 1985, my emotions ran high as I meet with the principal of an elementary school in San Antonio, Texas. She welcomed me to the school and began to inform me of my teaching responsibilities: kindergarten through fifth-grade general music. There was not a music room available, […]
An Overview of Vowels (and Consonents) for the Singer, and for the Choir: A Practical Primer
The singer lives or dies on vowels. – Vocal proverb As conductors and artists, it is incumbent upon us to help young or learning performers and students to communicate text, with clarity and expression. That is only possible once the basics of diction, no matter in what language we sing, are mastered agreed upon, so […]