Blog Posts

3 Tips for Taking the Mystery out of Memorization

12/27/2019

Today I am sharing this article that I wrote for the blog at Tonara.com.

If you aren't familiar with Tonara, it is a unique app with a variety of features that enable teachers to manage their studio and motivate their students to practice. Visit Tonara's website HERE to learn more!

Will your students be participating in recitals, festivals, or competitions in the coming year? If so, chances are that they will be required to memorize some, if not all, of their music for these events.

When did memorization become such a big deal, and how can we help our students to develop this important skill? Read on for my tips for taking the mystery out of memorization!

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The Repertoire Pyramid

12/13/2019

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Today I am sharing this article that I wrote for the blog at Tonara.com.

If you aren't familiar with Tonara, it is a unique app with a variety of features that enable teachers to manage their studio and motivate their students to practice. Visit Tonara's website HERE to learn more!

Assigning and pacing the repertoire we use with our students is one of the most challenging tasks we face as music teachers. The music we assign not only shapes the development of our students’ technical skills--it can also play a huge role in maintaining our students’ motivation to practice.

Some of the difficulties we might encounter in assigning student repertoire include:

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Freebie alert: Christmas Jumble Worksheets!

12/7/2019

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I know I just shared a whole list of Christmas resources in my last blog post, but I created these "Christmas Jumble" worksheets for my holiday group class today and I had to share! My students got a big kick out of playing the "jumbled" versions of their favorite Christmas songs and trying to sing the lyrics out of order.

These worksheets are a fun way to get students drawing notes correctly on the staff and reviewing the notational rules of stem directions and drawing accidentals. Once students have unscrambled the measures and written them on the staff, you can challenge them to:

Sing the next phrase of the song and try to play it by ear.
Transpose the line to a different key.
Harmonize the line with chords from the scale.

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The Annual Christmas Resource Round-Up!

11/30/2019

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I don't know about you, but at my house the tree is decorated, the lights are twinkling, and the countdown to Christmas is officially on!

The next three weeks are going to be busy--so let's make each lesson between now and Christmas a fun one!

Today I am sharing my annual Christmas resource round-up, with all of my Christmas music and free teaching resources gathered in one place to make your job easier. Whether you are looking for a last-minute repertoire piece, preparing for upcoming holiday performances, or looking for a worksheet to reinforce your students' theory skills--I've got you covered! Click on the links below for more information about any of these resources.

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Free Christmas and Winter Repertoire Lists

11/12/2019

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One of the projects I like to have my students do during November and December is to create a list of all of the fun holiday music they are learning. I think this is especially important for my younger students, who are very motivated to see their repertoire lists grow as they learn more and more pieces. It is also a great way to create a performance goal for all of my students--I encourage them to use the music on these lists to perform for their families over our holiday break!

Today I am sharing these repertoire list templates with you. Feel free to print these out and use them with your students this holiday season! There is one list for Christmas repertoire, and a second list for winter repertoire that can be used by students who don't celebrate Christmas or by those who want to continue their repertoire lists into the new year.

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3 Tips for Taking the Mystery out of Memorization

The Repertoire Pyramid

Freebie alert: Christmas Jumble Worksheets!

The Annual Christmas Resource Round-Up!

Free Christmas and Winter Repertoire Lists

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