Curated from BandWorld – by Paula Crider – Ensemble conductors, read these inspirational thoughts from a legendary conductor on how to improve your ensemble’s expression through conducting. Doubtless this will find dedicated teachers totally immersed in the challenges of another school year. I hope all will agree that we owe it to our art to constantly strive to improve our…
MORECurated from JW Pepper’s CUED IN – by Erin Guinup – When I was an undergrad, I was told that belting would ruin my voice. I shunned the music I loved and focused solely on building my voice for opera. At that time, most of the voice educator community scorned contemporary commercial music, and few people were teaching it or…
MORECurated from The Namm Foundation – A special “Flipping the Script” episode recorded LIVE at The 2020 NAMM Show features John Mlynczak interviewing Mary Luehrsen, Executive Director of The NAMM Foundation. The usual host of Talking Up Music Education, Luehrsen shares strategies for taking passion-to-action, the mosaic of music ed, and counting your blessings. John Mlynczak has an extensive range of…
MORECurated from the NAMM Foundation – In this podcast, you’ll hear five-time Grammy winner Victor Wooten interviewed at the NAMM Conference 2020 in Anaheim. Listen as his passion and advocacy for teaching music comes through as he describes the journey that every person can take to make music. Voted one of the top 10 bass players all time by Rolling…
MOREA MESSAGE FOR PARENTS – Having trouble getting your child to practice their instrument at home? You’re not alone! Super-Mom and Resonate Music teacher extraordinaire, Stephanie Nhan, shares 5 easy steps to help end the practice battle at home. Getting your kids to practice their instrument at home can be tough. It can be a constant battle trying to convince…
MORECurated from In Tune Magazine – by Lori Schwartz Reichl – “The best preparation for good work tomorrow, is to do good work today.” ~ Elbert Hubbard The months of February through May can be the most stressful for music educators and specifically for those who lead ensembles. Ensembles are preparing to be assessed at the county, state, and regional…
MORECurated from the Clutter-Free Classroom – by Jodi Durgen – This article contains tips for any classroom. Do music teachers ever need de-cluttering? Does your room need it? Read on… Even with the best intentions, some people aren’t able to attain or maintain a clutter-free classroom because of simple mistakes they don’t even know they are making! These simple mistakes…
MOREBy Ray Benton, Technology and Media Specialist, Nottelmann Music Co. Ray, who serves as editor for The Nottelmann Blog at Music Educators Corner, has 32 years of experience teaching band in the St. Louis area. Most of these picks were performed while directing his successful band program at Rockwood South Middle School. What a challenge we have in finding quality,…
MOREThis important article is from Nottelmann Music clinician Joe Pappas. Music Educators, do you include these key considerations when you select music for your concert band? The success of your program, performance, or rating at a festival or contest can be a result of selecting the right music. There are several factors to consider when making the selection. These factors…
MORECurated from Smartmusic’s The Music Educator Blog – by Wendy Barden – “I’m quitting band!” is a phrase no director wants to hear. In spite of all the great things happening in a band program, you will still hear it from time to time. Today we’ll look at what reasons students give for quitting band, and then share some thought-provoking…
MOREBy Ray Benton, Technology and Media Specialist, Nottelmann Music Co. Ray, who serves as editor for The Nottelmann Blog at Music Educators Corner, has 32 years of experience teaching band in the St. Louis area. These picks were performed while directing his successful band program at Rockwood South Middle School. What music educator doesn’t like to share? I certainly do! …
MORECurated from MAfME – by Lori Schwartz Reichl – “The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.” ~ Mike Murdock The first fourteen years of my teaching career occurred during the time of my life when I was not a mother. However, during these childless years, I treated the students in my care as though they were my…
MORECurated from Halftime Magazine – by Savy Leiser Innovative products and technology as well as practical space-saving ideas can help band directors turn even the smallest space into an efficient rehearsal room. In 2012, Fayetteville (Arkansas) High School became a completely new school, and director of bands Barry Harper received the band room of his dreams. After a four-year renovation project, the…
MORE2019 was our first full year for the Nottelmann Blog. In that year, we added 140 posts to our current line-up of top articles, videos, and podcasts just for the music educator. Here’s our TOP 10, in no particular order. CLICK to check out any that you may have missed. #1 – How To Use the Yamaha Harmony Director In…
MORECurated from BandWorld – by Benjamin Davis – “Traps” in the Daily Life of a Middle School Band Director You may be familiar with the adage, “He couldn’t see the forest for the trees.” If we were to reverse the wording of that expression, we have an accurate description of what happens to many middle school band directors. Middle school…
MORECurated from BandWorld, by Phyllis Louke – There are several simple things band directors can teach to flute sections that will quickly produce measurable improvement in tone quality, technique and intonation. These tips can be used with beginning flutists, as well as flute sections in middle school and high school. How many times have you lamented that your flute section…
MORECurated from BandWorld, by Phyllis Louke – 6. TEACHING CORRECT FINGERINGS In my work with private students and band students over the years, there are several fingerings that are frequently fingered incorrectly. Most common is second octave D and Eb—the left first finger should be up. It helps to think of the left first finger as an octave key, according…
MOREA Podcast Interview with Steve Litwiller, MMEA Mentoring Chair – by Ray Benton – An Exclusive podcast from Nottelmann Music – Did you know that forty-four percent of new teachers leave teaching within five years? Learn how MMEA Mentoring Chair Steve Litwiller and educators in this program are making a real difference! If you’re a Missouri Music Educator and new…
MORE“Going beyond simply footing the bill can make the difference between the student just getting by and being amazing.” So your child is playing a musical instrument. You’ve invested hard-earned dollars into the project, so is your job over? As a band director with over 32 years of experience, I can say many of our parents first believed that, once…
MORECurated from ChoralNet.Org – by Lynn Swanson – For your own voice or your students, here’s some important tips! Taking care of the voice or Vocal Hygiene can be thought of as the care and feeding of the voice. These are things we do to keep the voice healthy. To take care of the voice, we must also take care of the body. Here…
MORECurated from TME, The Music Educator Podcast – by Bill Stevens – What questions should you consider when preparing to teach? This short podcast presents Bill’s 15. The Music Educator Podcast is about analyzing, nurturing and discussing what takes place in the music classroom as it relates to 21st-century education. This podcast compliments the educational vision of The Music Educator…
MORECurated from the JW Pepper blog – By Mary Rogelstad – It’s said the first thing Fred Rogers did when he returned home from emergency surgery for stomach cancer was go straight to his piano. His wife Joanne has shared with friends how much her husband loved playing that piano. His grandmother bought the nine-foot Steinway concert grand for Fred…
MORECurated from the Bulletproof Musician – by Erik Ralske – Erik Ralske has played Principal Horn in the Met Opera orchestra since 2010, following 17 years in the NY Philharmonic. He is also on the faculty of The Juilliard School and Aspen Music Festival. In this 40-min episode, we’ll explore: How learning a passage at performance tempo from Day 1,…
MORECurated from Smartmusic’s The Music Educator Blog – by Chip Crotts – When I work with jazz ensembles on style and phrasing, I strongly emphasize that everyone needs to know what instruments they are listening to – and why. These skills, when applied correctly, can have a large impact on the development of the complete musician. Let’s discuss how we…
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