Tag: Teaching
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Wynton Marsalis Teaching Teachers
If I ever need reminding about the struggle of being a band director and why it’s important to do what I do, Wynton Marsalis sums it up in this talk. All of it applicable to those who learn and those who teach.
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Messy
I forget sometimes how disorganized learning can be for middle school kids. When I teach I tend to offer more help than seems necessary for some kids. With all the educational plans for individual kids and accommodations that need to be made, I forget that learning is a messy business. Some confusion for kids is…
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A Reminder of Why I Teach
Sometime I listen to a podcast called Snap Judgement hosted by Glynn Washington on NPR. The show melds fascinating stories with a hip-hop backdrop. Last week I listened to a story by Joyce Lee called “Dropping The Ball” about her experience with a former student. It gave me pause and reminded me of why I…
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Waiting Rooms Ramblings and Trumpet Routine
Having a few opportunities to sit and think while waiting for my kids appointment to end, I have become accustom to letting my mind wonder about all sorts of thing. There is always something that needs to be done, like grading papers, lesson plans, practice mouthpiece buzzing, stick in a practice mute and pray it’s…
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Planets from my house
I have been fascinated with outer-space and astronomy since I was a little kid. So when I had a chance to teach students some astronomy at a summer camp, I totally geeked out. Truth is, I’m still geeking out, because I have a great view of two planets from my house. Venus on the right and Jupiter on the…
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BuzzFeed and Pop Music
It’s not often I get to use BuzzFeed as a reference for my students. But while learning about international pop musicians, I ran across this post from BuzzFeed. I was blown away by a band call Tricot from Japan and G-Dragon from Korea. Some others were super interesting and have now been added to the rotation…
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The Mouthpiece Question
I know what your thinking, yet another trumpeter writing about the importance of mouthpiece selection and striking the perfect balance between back-bore and throat size. I happen to follow all those trends religiously but this isn’t another one of those rants. Coincidentally, I currently play a Laskey 75C with a standard throat and back-bore, not…
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Fun With Tiny Desks
The NPR series Tiny Desk Concerts has been a great source of discovery for me and my students. One of my favorite episodes is from April of 2013. The Omar Sosa & Paolo Fresu duo add a level of freshness to what two musicians can do with a traditional chamber music ensemble. I love this…
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Teaching Modern Music
There are times when I think I’m biting off more than I can chew. However, unlike most things I dread doing this could potentially one of the coolest topics I teach this year. I’ve decided to take on introducing three ideas of modern music composition to middle school students. It give me a chance to…
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