I realized a few months into the pandemic that I was deeply missing the connection to music-making – singing and playing on occasion, attending concerts, and playing duets with my students. I needed another creative outlet, something to do with my hands.

So I started painting again.

A successful, productive choir rehearsal takes proper preparation, careful planning, good time management skills, and attention to detail. In this post, I’m answering your questions plus sharing a few strategic tips for maximizing productivity in your rehearsals week after week.

I’m always looking for tools that are simple and easy to use. That’s why today, I’m excited to tell you about a (free!) web-based tool I’ve discovered to help me organize ideas, plan lessons, track assessments, and write curriculum content.

Here's something you may not know about me: I love pizza. It's been my favorite food since I was 5, as illustrated in a construction-paper preschool project about my favorite things (macaroni and cheese was a strong contender).

We've learned a lot from pizza nights, but we're still tweaking our process. This is true for our teaching practice, as well. We're always experimenting, evaluating, and studying the outcomes.

Ahhh, summer.

Hopefully, you have some time off this month to rest and travel, read a book (or three!) and spend time with your family.

But as you enjoy a little R&R, you’re probably thinking ahead to the fall and the beginning of the new program year.

It’s normal to feel a little burnt out after the year we’ve just had. It’s normal to feel tired or frustrated or lost. But what have you learned? What strategies will you keep? How have the events of the last year changed us as teachers, as musicians? What will we do differently going forward?

Games and musical activities are a fun and engaging way to introduce and reinforce new musical concepts and develop musical skills like listening, singing, expression, coordination, and internalizing a sense of steady beat.

Today, I'm sharing a few of my favorite musical games and activities for elementary music classes, children's choirs, and elementary group classes.

Last week, I watched an interview with American poet Amanda Gorman. She recounted her experience writing the inaugural poem earlier this year: "I set a really high standard for myself," she said. "Only keep the gold. You're going to create a lot of bronze and a lot of silver in these writing sessions, but only keep the gold so you can say what needs to be said in your six minutes.'"

Here’s how I think that applies to our work as musicians and teachers.

Sometimes we don't recognize what's right in front of us until it's gone. When the world felt quiet that morning, I recognized that my familiar songbird was a small symbol of joy, a sign of hope.

Next week (May 24-28), I’m hosting the 3rd annual Music Education Basics, a free 5-day workshop for music educators.

With 60+ minutes of practical content, Music Education Basics is designed to give you clarity in your teaching and a fresh dose of inspiration and practical teaching ideas you can use right away.

But before you pull a new spiral notebook off the shelf and start mapping out ideas and making plans, let’s take a few minutes to assess where we are right now.