Music Educator Blog

Previous / 1 2

More Time, More Meaningful Musical Conversations … for All!


At Dempsey Middle School, there is a vibrant performing arts program; students can elect to take band, orchestra or chorus. With 300 students in Tracy Cinereski’s choir program alone, she spent a lot of time knee-deep in weekly theory assignments. She admits to feeling “constantly bogged down” trying to keep up with all the grading, which could be up to 10 hours a week.

Read More

From Pen to Next Gen

How Albuquerque Academy Uses Technology to Help Kids Learn Music.
The sixth-grade general music class is the foundational course for all the performing arts. “It can be an intense first year introduction for the students. What’s tricky about it, is that some students enter the class with years of music lessons and others may have absolutely no experience with music training at all.”

Read More

Making the Case for Music Theory


Getting funding is always a huge challenge for music teachers. And it can sometimes be hard to prove the value of incorporating music theory in a performance program. But that didn’t stop Jayne Marie Flores, doctoral candidate and band director at Faith Christian Academy from creating a cost/benefit analysis to make the case for Breezin’ Thru Theory.

Read More

Fun with Music Theory … Imagine That!


When Thunder Mountain M.S. adopted a 1-to-1 technology initiative to better prepare students for the digital world, music director Sarah van Vegten started to explore how these Web-enabled devices might enhance student learning and shed some of the paperwork. At the same time, she was facing a challenge that many music teachers know all too well — her sixth-grade music elective enrolment numbers were declining. “It’s a real commitment to be in music.”

Read More