The Elementary Music Teacher Podcast: Music Education

This school year, you've probably had to adapt instruction... like a lot.   This "new normal" can cause serious feelings of overwhelm, and to be honest, you probably miss teaching music like you usually get to in a regular school year.  In this episode, I'm joined by Taylor Nardone, who shares how he's adapted his instruction for his students.  He talks about finding the silver linings, setting up routines in his personal life, and remembering the big picture element.  He also talks about the fact that this year will push us as music teachers to think outside of the box and think of different ways that students can still be excited about music.  The biggest piece about adapting instruction is:  you can still do a log of movement you can still play instruments there are a lot of new things you can do with technology Taylor Nardone is an elementary music teacher based on the eastern shore of Massachusetts. Passionate about giving each student an equitable opportunity to build a love and joy of music, he consistently strives to blend the newest teaching techniques into his practices. Taylor is currently in his fourth year of teaching. You can connect with Taylor here: On Instagram @thechroniclesofteachertay On YouTube at The Chronicles of Teacher Tay Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and you can watch the Thursday Facebook lives on my Facebook page The Domestic Musician. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

As a music teacher, you know the Winter months (especially December) can be the most stressful time of the year!  You want to have joy during the Winter months, but it's so hard trying to meet the needs of your students while their energy levels go way up.  Have you heard the phrase "if you can't beat them, join them?"  This is kind of the philosophy you should have in the colder months when kiddos are having more inside recess.  Or, maybe your students are learning virtually this year and you just want to do something fun to help them get up and move.  No matter what your teaching situation is this school year, having fun in the music room during the Winter months is what it's all about.  Your kids can still learn the objectives and concepts you're wanting to teach, but just in a new and fresh way.  In this episode I'll share some of my favorite ideas that include: Read books about Winter and give students different action words they need to create movement to Have a sing-a-long or a listen along if they can’t sing Do holiday freeze dance Do a listening map like to sleigh Ride Learn about the different Winter holidays and celebrate them with games, stories, and songs Play Christmas carol charades. Pictionary, or even bingo Pass a present to the beat or incorporate it into any movement activity that uses a beanbag or a ball Any Nutcracker activity...there are truly so many Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Read the blog post that goes right along with this episode. Here is the blog post I wrote about the Trepak Nutcracker activity.  Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and you can watch the Thursday Facebook lives on my Facebook page The Domestic Musician. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Today's episode is with Steve Giddings, from stevesmusicroom.com, who is an amazing music educator not afraid to think outside of the box.  In this episode, we discuss rock and popular music ensembles and also what informal learning really is.  We also talk about creativity in the music room and how to help your students be their most creative selves while letting them be in control of the learning that happens in your music classroom.  This interview will challenge you to think of teaching music in a new way and will inspire you with fresh ideas to use with your students. Steve Giddings teaches 1-6 Music in Montague, Prince Edward Island where he coaches rock groups, singing groups, and is musical director for various productions at the school. Musically, his experience is very diverse, performing in various genres on various different instruments. He has been a long-time advocate for creative musical practices and a conduit for pushing the envelope in music education throughout Canada and across the world. He is a regular columnist in the Canadian Music Educator Journal where he writes on topics including popular music education and creativity, is author of the award-winning book, Rock Coach: A Practical Guide for Teaching Rock Bands in Schools, and just recently released his newest book, Creative Musicking: Practical, Real-Life Ideas to Get Your Learners Creating Their Own Music in early 2020. His website and blog, StevesMusicRoom.com, is a comprehensive resource for music educators of any experience level. You can connect with Steve on Twitter @stevesmusicroom and on Facebook at Steve's Music Room. Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and you can watch the Thursday Facebook lives on my Facebook page The Domestic Musician. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

2020 has been one for the record books and it’s been a lot to deal with.  It’s so easy to only see the negative parts of this year because that’s what’s thrown in our faces literally every second of every day.  But, when you stop and think about what you’re thankful for, focusing on the good will help you to remember there’s more to be thankful for than you realize. In this episode, I'm going to share why I'm thankful for you music teacher friend.  You may feel unappreciated, unseen, and overwhelmed.  But, I'm beyond grateful and thankful for the work you're doing of pouring into the lives of your students every day.  Listen in to this episode to find out why I'm thankful for you and to get the encouragement you've been needing.  Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and you can watch the Thursday Facebook lives on my Facebook page The Domestic Musician. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Are you wanting to do performances or programs with your students, but it seems a bit "tricky" this school year? In this episode, I'll share some simple ideas to still have amazing performances with your students and to help you think outside the box a bit.  These are several ideas mentioned in the episode you can share with the other students, teachers, and families: Record the kids singing without their faces and put under a slideshow  Record what students are doing in class (similar to an informance) Record different classes of the same grade level singing different verses and the same chorus Do a performance of just instruments, body percussion, or movement Have students choose a body percussion, singing, movement, or playing an instrument on top of the track you give them Add individual student submissions to Google Classroom (or whatever else you use) so other students can see it Record yourself singing on top of the track and send that to students to practice with Listen to the episode where I break down each one of these ideas in detail.   Find out more about and sign up for the HARMONY membership waitlist here. Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Read the blog post that goes right along with this episode. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and you can watch the Thursday Facebook lives on my Facebook page The Domestic Musician. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

I met Courtney virtually at the International Music Education Summit.  We were both presenters, and after attending her session, I knew I needed to have her on the podcast.  Courtney has such a heart and passion for teaching her students and they absolutely love her music classes.  She has a unique way of making music education relevant to her students.  One of the things I love hearing her talk about is hip hop music education and that's exactly what we're talking about in today's episode, as well as much, much, more.  Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and you can watch the Thursday Facebook lives on my Facebook page The Domestic Musician. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook. Courtney Powers is the Music Director at South Philadelphia High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Originally from a small rural town in Kansas she began playing French horn in middle school and came to Berklee by way of Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City outside of Wichita. She graduated from Berklee in 2007 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and from Villanova in 2015 with a Master of Arts in Education. In her 12 years of teaching she has had a wide ranging experience in urban schools that have taken her from Massachusetts to Texas and Pennsylvania while working in schools and community bands and choruses. She has extended her teaching to include modern band, guitar and ukulele, drama and general music classes. Courtney is a VH1-Save the Music grant facilitator and a 2020 Grammy Music Educator Semi Finalist. Connect with Courtney here: On Instagram @ms.powers_musicedu  On Facebook at Courtney Powers On YouTube at Ms. Powers Music Edu Check out this website mentioned in the episode: whosampled.com

Let's face it.  Every lesson will not go according to plan.  There will be lessons that bomb in one way or another.  The important thing is to know it's not just you and that this happens to every teacher at one point or another.  Also, keep moving forward and don't give up or think this makes you a bad teacher if things don't go well on a certain day.  In this episode, I'll break down 5 things to consider if a lesson bombs.  These include considering: Your students How the lesson was presented Your teaching situation Your attitude The day or week Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Read the blog post that goes right along with this episode. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and you can watch the Thursday Facebook lives on my Facebook page The Domestic Musician. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

In this episode, I sat down to talk with Bill Henry all about his music podcast for kids, teaching with e-learning, and his advice around using creativity in your classroom.  Bill Henry is a 14-year elementary music teacher for Cecil County Public Schools in Maryland and was the 2020 Teacher of the Year nominee for Perryville Elementary School. Bill has presented for the Maryland Music Educators Association in Baltimore giving music teachers insight into a Melodica program he created and implemented into his school. Alongside teaching in the public school system; he owns a private music studio, teaching piano, guitar, and percussion. His group piano program called 'Rockin' the Keys' has been featured on the Music Lesson Business Academy podcast with Danny Thompson. Bill is the co-cost, writer, and producer of 'The Music Podcast for Kids' which is a show teaching kids about many different topics in music including World Music, Instruments Families, and more. He also has a YouTube channel offering online piano lessons for kids and resources for music teachers to help teach and recall basic music concepts in their class. You can connect with Bill here: Mr. Henry's Music World YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFtJ3FoPlbZ0JZqdfSgdyYQ/videos?view_as=subscriber His website: www.mrhenrysmusicworld.com The Music Podcast for Kids YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdGhqK_DWpRIKS45ICqN3eQ The Music Podcast for Kids website: www.themusicpodcastforkids.com Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource and join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

Every single music teacher is different and that's a good thing!  How boring would it be if everyone was exactly the same?   In this episode, taken directly from a Facebook live I did, I'm talking about how you get to still be you even while using technology to teach.   Technology doesn't replace you as a music teacher, even if it feels like that some days, and in this episode you'll find out why.  Head to my website to grab your free music teaching resource. Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and you can watch the Thursday Facebook lives on my Facebook page The Domestic Musician. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.

In this episode, Jenny Delacruz talks about how to help kids cope with the impact of COVID-19.  During our conversation, we discuss not just COVID, but also how books can help kids process trauma of all kinds.  She explains how to incorporate books into the music room and why it's so crucial we continue reading to kids. Jenny Delacruz is a Haitian American Writer, a wife, and a mother of two boys. She was born and raised in New York. Growing up, she was aware of the importance of diversity and how each person has a story that weaves back to generations. Jenny is also a licensed professional counselor specializing in family conflicts, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, and parenting issues. Her counseling career has helped her in her writing because it has allowed her to realize the importance of promoting the emotional intelligence and self-awareness of children in books. As a counselor, she has observed how the books children read help them have a more meaningful understanding of themselves and the world around them. Her passion for teaching her children about world history and current events led her to pursue writing and launch her own educational children's book series. If you want more of Jenny Delacruz's work, check out her first book, Fridays with Ms. Mélange: Haiti. She has a YouTube channel called Storytime with Ms. Mélange where she reads diverse children's books aloud. You can also visit her online at www.cobbscreekpublishing.com. She is now launching her next book "Momma, Can I Sleep with You Tonight? Helping Children Cope with the Impact of COVID-19." Sites: https://www.cobbscreekpublishing.com/  &  https://www.restorativetherapy.info/ YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/StoryTimeWithMsMelange IG: @storytimemelange Twitter: https://twitter.com/storytimewithm2 FB: Diverse Kids Books (https://www.facebook.com/StoryTimeWithMs.Melange/) Join the Elementary Music Teacher Community Facebook group to continue the conversation. I'd love for you to leave a rating and a review of the podcast on I-tunes, be sure to share the podcast with any music teacher friends who would find it helpful and be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook.