Percussion How To: Woodblock Tone

Check out these great tips and techniques for proper woodblock tone in Mark Shelton's Percussion How To video!

Save Your Voice!: Tips for Maintaining Vocal Health in the Elementary Music Classroom

Every teacher knows that the most essential tool in our teaching is our voice. Our voices are overused and often tired. We strain them on a regular basis. And if we are hit with an unfortunate case of laryngitis, it can take weeks if not months for our voice to be back at 100%. It is in times like these that managing the classroom becomes more of a challenge. 

As music teachers, our voices also have an additional strain: singing…all day, every day. After my first bout of laryngitis (which happened three weeks into my first year of teaching), I made a promise to myself: I would never again speak over children talking or playing instruments in order to gain their attention. I needed nonverbal cues to communicate with the students, not only for classroom management, but also for my vocal health.I introduced a rhythm to the students (ta ta ti ti ta) and had them echo clap it to me. I told them that anytime they heard me clap that rhythm, they should echo me followed by all of their eyes and ears on me. I immediately practiced this with the students until it became a solid routine in each of my classes. I must admit that it has really been nice to not have to work all that hard to get my students’ attention over the years. And it is especially rewarding to be able to quiet an entire gymnasium full of children. However, I must stress the importance that if students have never before echo clapped a rhythm that was used to get their attention, the step of teaching and practicing the procedure is imperative. In order to be effective, a solid routine must be established. 

Singing A Story: The Magic of Musical Books - Part 1

Singing A Story: The Magic of Musical Books

Part I: Why Sing a Book?

Brigid Finucane here from Merit School of Music in Chicago, where I teach early childhood music and movement classes.

A passion of mine is music and literacy, and one of my favorite ways to share this with students and families is by presenting musical books at the end of classtime. When a book is sung, it goes beyond the simple and everyday – it’s elevated into a new and special experience! A musical book engages, invites positive communal participation, opens teaching opportunities and provides non-stressful (group) pronunciation practice, especially important for the many families and students I work with whose first language is not English.

What do you want to know?!

With summer comes tons of sun, fun, and quality time with friends and family, and our guess is that you’re more likely pondering next weekend’s cookout more than your fall programming. At Heritage Music Press, we understand that rib glazes are easier to pick than your fall curriculum and we want to help! Let us know what topics are interesting and relevant to you. Our writers are standing by to get you the information that you need to succeed.

Want us to review a certain book? Need specific technique tips?

Let us know in the comments below!

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The thought of helping you makes us jump for joy!

- Your Heritage Music Press Team

Book Review: "Teach Like a Champion," by Doug Lemov

On the Monday of Teacher Appreciation Week, my principal gave each of us a book called “Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College,” by Doug Lemov. I actually enjoy reading books about teaching, whether they are about classroom management, curriculum, or just how we tick. I happened to be between books, so the timing was just right to crack it open. I became hooked right away.  

The gist of this book is that kids of any age want to learn and want to be successful, but that they often do not know the language and behavior of success. As teachers, it is our responsibility to teach them in a way that creates a pathway to college and beyond. Lemov and his partners watched hours of videos of teachers in the classroom and broke the best teachers’ skills into specific techniques that any teacher can learn to use.

Interactive Now – How it All Began

You might say that it all began at a 3-day SMART Content Creation Seminar in Lewisville, TX, over the Memorial Day weekend in May, 2009. Debbie Anderson and I were the only elementary music teachers present at the seminar, and we were anxious to learn all that we could about using SMART Notebook software. We decided to collaborate and share files that we created to help us teach music concepts in our elementary music classrooms. Why reinvent the wheel when we could work together, and we have had a great time as well!

A Review of Don Dupont and Brian Hiller's "Too Much Noise!" (A Unison Musical for Grades K-2)

For starters, I am not a fan of canned music programs. I often find them too difficult and time-consuming for young children who I may only see once a week. I have used many of Don Dupont and Brian Hiller’s materials and have attended their workshops, so I thought I would give their Tuneful Tales Series a chance. I’m glad I did!!