The Importance of Music

The high school where I teach has placed a new emphasis on college and career readiness.  This article speaks to the importance of instrumental education on student's likelihood to peruse an education post-high school.  According to Jacobs (2013), not only does instrumental music improve student's cognitive abilities, but also makes them 15 percent more likely to go to college then non-musicians.  This is data that we can all share with our administration to increase support for our programs!

Advice to a College Music Student

This article is full of great Advice to a College Music Student.  While this resource is full of things we have all heard as music educators, such as be responsible, be reliable, practice, listen, etc., the most intriguing advice was about the relationships that you make as a student.  The author suggests that the connections made during this time impact the rest of your career as a music educator.  It has been my experience that this is true, as my college friends are now my colleagues and my teachers provided me with excellent references landing me the wonderful position I have now.

NextPage PDF Sheet Music App for iPad

After spending the last year in a one to one technology system, I am always aware of new apps that can help my students.  This article outlines the features of the NextPage PDF Sheet Music App.  While this inexpensive app does not have all the bells and whistles of some of the other Sheet Music apps, it deletes some features intentionally.  This app does allow users to read pdf files, allows for e-mailing the score to someone else, integrates Dropbox, allows for annotation and musical symbols, has a metronome, integrates the AirTurn foot pedal, as well as many other features.  This appears to be an excellent application for both students and teachers and I look forward to trying it out.

Marching Band Kids

This article is a great reminder of why students that choose to participate in marching band are the best and brightest kids in the school.  The responsibility that we, as band directors, ask these students to take on is incredible and we are so lucky that the students work so hard to keep up.  Next time we get frustrated in a rehearsal, it would be beneficial to think back to this article and remember the thousands of things we are asking our students to do all at one time.

PLN

After spending the last five weeks engaged in the use of my PLN I can not imagine not reading my Feedly every day.  In this article, the author gives many tips on creating a successful PLN and suggests that the most important aspect is Twitter.  While I have not integrated Twitter into my PLN, I look forward to adding this element sometime in the future.

John F. Kennedy

On the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination it feels appropriate to view this video of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's performance on the afternoon of Friday, November 22, 1963. The announcement of the president's assassination is made by the BSO music director, Erich Leindorf, and the crowd reacts with a huge gasp.  The following performance of Beethoven's Third Symphony is quite beautiful.

Common Core

I am sure that many of us have experienced administrators who expect us to incorporate the Common Core standards into our fine arts classrooms.  While it is often irritating to have to justify our content through the use of a "core" subject, this article outlines practical ways in which fine arts teachers can help to improve reading and writing skills.  Perhaps this article will provide you with ideas to appease your administration.