Ed Castro's Blog

    Tag: Balance

    • Teaching Orchestra and Band in a Digital Space: Day 10

      Routine & Balance After ten days of teaching remotely, plus a week of keeping track of assignments the week before, while preparing to be a virtual teacher, this thing we now think of as remote teaching, is starting to feel routine. Teaching from my makeshift home office is starting to feel almost normal too. In…

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    • My Old Notebooks

      I usually carry a notebook in my backpack. It’s become a habit for me to just pull it out and jot down what’s on my mind or notes from a meeting, chord progressions, tone rows…anything I need to put on paper.  Sometimes I may even take a moment to review a notebook from its first…

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    • Surprising to me still

      When I think about things that upset me, I’m often surprised about the things that get me amped up and blood boiling. There are the usual thing like humans mistreating one another or lack of empathy toward suffering. You know…war, famine, wastefulness, bigotry, bullying, unnecessary shaming, miss using bacon to make other foods taste good,…

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    • This might work out

      I recently changed the curriculum of one of my classes to be a more project-based class. My want and desires are to give students an opportunity to dig deeper into a musical subject. As to not make my classes all about performance. It seems as if the only context given for learning about the history…

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    • ‘Fame’ High School Stages Sit In

      Very proud of my alma mater. As a music teacher, I couldn’t agree with these students more. Good for them. Please read this article.

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    • ISM’s in me

      The problem with being someone who likes to fix things is, you may end up causing more problems. Unintended problems which may put into question the very reason you chose to help. In my case, a bad mixture of paternalism, guilt, narcism, and hero’ism gone too far. Recently I caught myself trying to help too…

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    • It’s Been A While…

      It’s been a long time since my last post, so I feel the need to add something new. However, the something new feels like it will be a combination to things that have been on my mind since November. There are personal thing and other ideas and feeling related to music or teaching. I guess…

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    • The Composition Game

      I was recently asked to participate in a pilot program connecting me with an artist of the same discipline to work with me and coach me achieve an important next step in my career. My peer mentor and I talked about using music composition as a way of stretching out to meet some artistic goals.…

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    • Blogger’s Block? Here’s How to Beat it

      Blogger’s Block? Here’s How to Beat it Blogger’s Block? Here’s How to Beat it — Read on cristianmihai.net/2018/07/15/bloggers-block-heres-how-to-beat-it/ This was a good read and a reminder to keep working.

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    • Identity and Representation

      Little over a month ago I ran into a former student at a performance. As we caught up with one another, he mentioned conversations or topics we had explored a few times years ago. We discussed the idea of what it feels like when you feel like you don’t really, fully, belong where you are.…

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