Duke Ellington Day

“Duke Ellington Day commemorates the life of jazz musician Edward Kennedy Ellington. Born April 29th, 1899 in Washington D.C., Ellington was a famous American composer, pianist, and bandleader of a jazz orchestra that performed at Harlem's Cotton Club during the 1920s. In the 1930s, his music spread internationally as he and his orchestra toured through Europe. Ellington is considered to have elevated the status of jazz from mere music to an art form. Ellington’s career, which saw him write nearly 2000 compositions, many of which continue to inspire jazz artists today, spanned nearly five decades until he passed away in New York City in May of 1974. In 1999, Ellington was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize to commemorate the centennial of his birth and his contributions to music. A decade later, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg declared April 29th, 2009 as Duke Ellington Day in honor of his 110th birthday.

I thought it would be a good time to watch a couple of videos featuring Duke Ellington. 

Calling Cows

“The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In Calling Cows, Rushton features young Grace Lehane playing music that the cows love. It is great to see the cows come running when they hear her music.

Rushton gives the following prompts to accompany this video:

“Why the cows come when they hear the music is certainly an interesting question.

It’s also interesting to come up with a list of things, other than perhaps physical beauty, that you think are attractive.

What is it that makes people pay attention in a positive way to you, your story, or what you support?"

I love the idea of how music can be used to communicate. Maybe the cows think they are going to be fed when they hear the music. Or maybe they are interested in the little girl. We never can know what animals are thinking. I believe they are smarter than most people think they are. It would be fun to have students write captions saying what the cows might be thinking. Also, have them come up with other examples between animals and people that might be unusual.

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

Christmas Music

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the music. I love Christmas music any time of year. It usually makes me feel happy and full of hope and wonder. Here are some of my favorite socks. Do you have any favorites? Please share.

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong was a famous jazz trumpet player. He was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and died on July 6, 1971. His nickname was Satchmo. In 1922, he went to Chicago to play in the Creole Jazz band. Eventually, he went to New York where he became a band soloist and recording artist. He returned to Chicago and formed his own bands.

He had a very distinct voice and you can recognize it when he sang. He was very good at scat singing.

He appeared in several films and I remember watching him in Hello, Dolly with Barbara Streisand.

Class Activities:

• Who are other famous trumpet players? Tell a little about this person.
• Listen to songs by Louis Armstrong. What did you like about them? What didn’t you like?
• Watch a movie with Louis Armstrong in it.
• If you could play any musical instrument, what would it be and why?

Side Gigs for Music Teachers That Will Relieve Pandemic-Related Stress

(Guest writer: Joyce Wilson is a retired teacher and enjoys sharing lesson plans, resources, and teaching tips on TeacherSpark. She s passionate about teaching and loves using her writing to help teachers, parents, and students.)

Teachers have had to face multiple upheavals in their professional lives since the pandemic began, from not knowing how long their job would be there to changing their entire curriculum and teaching method to make virtual classrooms sustainable. Now, as the pandemic continues to shift and spread, it’s important for educators to have options. Whether you want to find a temporary side gig or create something of your own to fall back on, there are several ways to make extra money and give yourself peace of mind at the same time. Think about how much time you can commit to a new job and how you can apply your skills to it.

Visit Successful Teaching for strategies and ideas on how to improve your teaching skills. 

Utilize your connections

As a teacher, you probably have many connections with students and parents who would love to take music lessons. This is an easy way to earn extra money any time of the year, and if there are pandemic restrictions in your area you can use Zoom or another video chat service to give lessons virtually. Create a simple website or social media page that details your instruments of choice, your hours of operation, the cost of lessons, and your availability, and encourage students to spread the word to their friends. Do some research on how to start an LLC in your state, keeping in mind that you can use a formation service to file the paperwork and avoid attorney’s fees while ensuring that the legalities are taken care of.

Start a YouTube channel

If you’re not quite ready to start a business but you already have a social media account with the following, consider creating a YouTube channel where you can share videos of you performing and monetize them with ads. Learn more about the search engine algorithms that put your content in front of the right viewers so you can navigate them intelligently, and connect your channel to a blog or website that will help you drive traffic to the videos.

Write for a music publication

You may not be ready to garner a huge fan following, and that’s okay. If sharing your music knowledge is more important to you than performing, consider writing for a music blog or magazine, or for an educational publication. As a teacher, you have unique insight into how to get kids involved in a creative pursuit; as a musician, you can provide techniques, instrument and equipment reviews, and tips on how to get started with a new musical hobby. Look online for freelance gigs, and consider taking a writing course if you’d like to brush up on your word skills before taking a job. 

Offer up your services 

If your writing skills are more focused on songs, put those skills to use by offering up your services as a professional songwriter. You can create unique songs for advertising agencies, television shows, or special events, or team up with another musician to supply lyrics for an upcoming project. If playing music is more in your wheelhouse, you might offer your services at weddings, parties, or in the studio for other musicians. You might even consider working for a band to help them learn new techniques with their voices or instruments. 

As a music teacher, you have several options for earning extra money, but they won’t all be right for your needs. Do some reading online to find out more about these gigs and what they require, and think about how much time you have to commit to the job you take on in order to avoid stress. 

Photo via Pexels

Music and Nature

“The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In Music, Nature, Art, and Cell Phone Company Commercials, Rushton features a video of a xylophone in nature.

He gives the following prompts to accompany this video:

“Is this a good commercial for the company? Why or why not?

Did anything strike you as cool about it? Write down one or two things that stood out to you. In your group, and after others have had the chance to write something down, pass what you wrote to the person next to you so everyone gets to read someone else’s idea.

Did you learn something from what stood out to someone else?”

Watching this video was almost hypnotic and fascinating! I kept thinking about the work that went into making this xylophone and how much precision had to be involved! I think this video would inspire many different types of questions and engage students in interesting conversations!

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

My Favorite Christmas Songs

During this time of year, I love hearing all the Christmas songs! I realized the other day that I haven’t heard some songs at all such as Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer , The Christmas Shoes, and the one where the dogs bark out some Christmas carol. One is mean, the other depressing, and the last one seems stupid to me so it’s okay if I don’t hear them. But there are some favorites that I love to hear over and over. This would be fun to do with students and have them choose their top 10 songs. Then put them in small groups and have them come up with a group Top 10. Then have them share with the class and see if you can come up with a class Top 10.

Here are my Top 10:

• White Christmas
• Sleigh Ride
• Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
• Do You Hear What I Hear?
• Silver Bells
• 12 Days of Christmas
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
• Little Drummer Boy
• Frosty the Snowman
• I’ll Be Home for Christmas

What are your favorite Christmas songs? Please share.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Using Music in the Classroom

In Making students comfortable entering the virtual classroom from On an e-Journey with Generation Y, murcha shares,

“To allow time for all students to enter the classroom, relax and catch their breath after their previous class, it helped to play music as the class started.”

I would please different music in my class depending on the activity. When they would enter the room, I would play songs that I felt were welcoming.

During individual classwork, I would play classical music because I had read somewhere that students who listen to classical music while they study do better in math. I wasn’t sure but I figured what did I have to lose. It had a calming effect on students who tended to get frustrated with math. Also, it helped students with behavior problems. I’m not sure it helped their math scores other than the fact that they were able to focus better on the assignments. I also used it in all subject areas.

If I wanted the students to be more active, I would play livelier music. During brain breaks, it was fun to do some exercises to music.

During creative writing, I would like to play instrumental music and ask the students to imagine a movie scene that would play this music. Then I would have them write the story out. My students were able to write better because they could visualize the scenes with the music. Sometimes I would ask students to write a story and then find music that they would play at the beginning, before specific events, and the ending of their stories. It would really bring their stories to life.

Sharing favorite music is also a fun activity. I would not allow them to share any songs with profanity, violence, or illegal activities in it though. Sometimes I would see a song that most of the students liked and we would analyze the lyrics. This is a great critical thinking activity. I liked to share favorite songs of my own and have them look at the lyrics.

Songs can be used to highlight historical events. There are many songs to use that were written during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War II, and the Vietnam Warm. Songs can help put the events in context with the people of that time period.

Find popular songs that students can alter the lyrics to and have them share the song with the class. I have had students rewrite many popular Christmas songs and it is a lot of fun to see what they can come up with.

How do you use music in the classroom? Please share.

Photo by Stefany Andrade on Unsplash

80’s Songs for the Classroom

In The Ultimate 80's Countdown for Educators from @DavidGeurin Blog, David Geurin asks

“What 80's tunes would you add to my list? How do they inspire you as an educator?”

I was intrigued by this question and wanted to give it a try. I’m not a big fan of songs from the 1980s so that made this even more challenging.

These are not in any order other than how they came up in my thoughts:

It’sStill Rock and Roll to Me by Billy Joel - Song about change and how hard it is.

Magicby Olivia Newton John - Song about believing and having faith

Celebrationby Kool and the Gang - Song about celebrating triumphs

MorningTrain by Sheena Easton - - Song about working

Eye of the Tiger by Survivor - Song about being brave and courageous

Hard to Say I’m Sorry by Chicago - Song about how hard it is to apologize which is hard for our students.

We Are the World by USA for Africa - Song about teamwork

That’s What Friends are For by Dionne Warwick – friends are important to our students

True Colors by Cyndi Lauper – song about being yourself

What 80’s songs would be on your list?

Helping Piano Teachers

I was recently interviewed this week on the Teach Piano Today Podcast about helping piano teachers teach students with exceptional needs. You can see the blog post and listen to the interview here. Andrea asks questions that piano teachers mention on their facebook page and I hope I gave suggestions that may help them. I think a lot of the suggestions would work even if you weren’t a piano teacher and could use the suggestions in any classroom. If you have the time, please stop by and listen to the interview.

If you have any other suggestions you could add to what I’ve said, please share.

Music and Writing

While at Hollywood Studios this week, we saw a movie about Walt Disney and his successes. There were clips of Fantasia where Disney mixed classical music with cartoons and it brought back some wonderful memories of my childhood.

I had a wonderful teacher who liked to stimulate our minds with classical music. All year long she would play music and had us use our imaginations while listening to it. We were encouraged to write a story using the music to make us think about what is happening at the time. I think that is when I began my love of writing. At an early age, I think my imagination was pretty wild. As I listened to music I could see the action happening in my mind. I couldn’t wait to get the action down on paper.

Of course my teacher encouraged me by giving me lots of praise which made me feel fantastic.

She could have told me about a play that used this music but she didn’t. She could have told me what the composer was thinking when he wrote the piece but she didn’t. She could have shared her ideas on what was going on when she heard the music but she didn’t. She told us that anything was possible and to write down what we thought was happening and that anything was possible.

What a world she opened up for me! Her openness meant that anything I wrote was going to be right. There was no wrong answer. I could make anything happen the way that I wanted it to. When I heard the music, I could write a romance story or a mystery story. As the music sped up or got louder, I knew the action in my story would get stronger and more exciting. Oh, the stories flowed from my hand! I couldn’t wait to write when given the chance.

Of course this opened the world of writing to me. But it also opened up the world for me. It made me realize that I could write my life however I wanted to and that my actions were up to me. If I didn’t like the way my life was going, it was up to me to change my actions. I was in control of what I wrote and what I did. I’m not sure my teacher meant to teach me this life lesson or maybe she did but it made a lasting impression on me.

Have you used music to encourage writing? If so, how? Please share.

Image: 'Bari_09'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11854150@N08/8139143406
Found on flickrcc.net