Virginia Chamber Orchestra General Music Resources

The Virginia Chamber Orchestra has produced a series of educational programs that can be used at all levels.  These were originally offered via television to schools in Virginia and are now available on the web site through George Mason University's Capitol Connections.  There are four programs but only three offer the free streaming video.  Student Activity guides are also available to download.

I'm currently using Wonders of Geography: A Musical Atlas of America with my special needs music class.  The student activity guide was a little too advanced for this group of learners so I have tweaked the ideas to meet the needs of my students.  They have enjoyed taking a virtual trip around the U.S. and the music associated with the different regions gave me a chance to incorporate the elements of music that we had just studied.    I'm planning on using The Musical Side of Thomas Jefferson for our next unit.  It's a great way to get some cross curricular teaching in!


Virginia Chamber Orchestra Home Page

Source for Jazz Videos

I was searching for some clips to show my 6th grade general music classes during our upcoming unit on jazz and came across this site. I really like that I can go to the directory and find the artist I need quickly and that there are no comments to worry about. It has also helped me discover some performances I didn't know about.  The Chick Corea/Makoto Ozone performance of Mozart's Double Concerto is awesome!

I like using the clips with my lessons to bring these people to life for my students. Just listening to a recording is good and necessary, but there's something special about getting to see a great like Louis Armstrong perform their own music.

Jazz On the Tube

Bicycle Built for Two

Once I got used to the commands, this was a pretty easy program to work with. I just purchased Finale 2011 and am going through the learning curve. Noteflight was much simpler, doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it did a nice job.

My district is encouraging teachers to use Haiku, a web based learning management system, to communicate with our students, post assignments, keep in touch with parents, and use for some of our lesson presentations. One of the features that can be added to Haiku is Noteflight. Now that I have had a chance to explore and "play" with the program, I can see where it would be an asset on my Haiku page. I would be able to create assignments for my students or have them compose their own music. I'm planning on sharing the idea with the other music teachers in my building at our next meeting and hopefully we can start the next school year with it in place.

General Music Resources

As a general music teacher, I'm always looking for something I can add to my lessons to keep them interesting and keep my students engaged.  This week I discovered Music Ed Magic.  It has some interesting short articles on music technology, music history, jazz, music teaching, free sheet music downloads and lots more.

Music Ed Magic

Jazz Lessons and Resources

Since April is Jazz Appreciation Month, here is a website that has some great resources for lessons on jazz.  I like to pick out pieces from the information available and put my lessons together, but there are full lesson plans there as well.  My favorite part of the site is the recordings that are available.  There is a pretty good representation of the different areas and it's easier than dragging all my CD's to school or loading up my i-pod.


NEA Jazz in the Schools

Safe Listening

This very short article by MENC talks about the effects of prolonged noise exposure and gives a few suggestions to help protect hearing.  This is a something that is often overlooked as we get busy.  It's important not only for our students but also for ourselves.  I lost the hearing in one ear due to a medical problem so saving what I have left is always a priority for me.

http://www.menc.org/v/band/would-you-repeat-that/

You Tube

In my general music classes I like to use You Tube to bring the musician we're discussing to life for my students. For example, in a lesson last week we were learning about "non-traditional" composers and their works.  Instead of just talking about John Cage's 4'33" we watched a You Tube clip which brought the piece to life for the students and led to some interesting discussions.

My problem with You Tube has always been that some of the comments that are posted are really not appropriate for the classroom.  This short clip shows two different ways to make the comments disappear.
http://mustech.net/2011/02/09/hide-youtube-comments-tutorial

It worked great on my personal PC and I can't wait to try it on the Mac at school.