moving forward with music.

Dearest Tumblr followers,

I'm going to be recapping The Voice every week over at Leading Notes. While I'll be talking about the specific performances, I really envision it as just a jumping off point for larger discussions about music and music education. 

Seriously, the first week recap discusses the nature of seeing someone perform versus just hearing it:

There was only one brief period in history where you could hear a recorded performance of music and not have easy access to the accompanying visual. That relatively short time is nestled between the widespread adoption of radio that started in the 1920s and the emergence of television in the 1950s and 1960s. Even during that period, you could go to the movies and see Irving Berlin songs sung by Fred Astaire (dancing with Ginger Rogers),Judy Garland click her heels in The Wizard of Oz, or Bing Crosby croon “White Christmas” by the fireplace.

I am VERY happy to share with you a project I have been sitting on for awhile (since I didn’t know what to do with it). I had a team of 12 music teachers review this project and provide feedback... so I'm ready to share it with you!

The Sound of Music Education

The Sound of Music Education tells the story of music education through a unique combination of interviews, stories, school visits - basically anything that will help inform and inspire the members of our community. Think of it as a music education conference - in your ears - every other week! 

For complete show notes and links, visit www.soundofmusiced.com. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

Movement I:

"Jonah & The Songs of Love" - A look at a group of students from River Hill High School and how they used their songwriting abilities to make a difference.

Movement II:

"Hello?" - Nick recruits two teachers from Twitter - one in New Jersey and one in Illinois - and talks to them about what they did that day. It’s a surprisingly revealing look into the lives of music educators and it allows us to get a sense of what the profession is up to.

Movement III:

"An interview with the President of the California Music Educators Association, Michael Stone": Michael talks about some budgeting issues in Los Angeles and how the community and CMEA has responded.

Movement IV:

"The Sound of Music Education" - Take a trip with the Buerkle Middle School Band from St. Louis, Missouri as they participate in a time-honored tradition: visiting their old elementary schools and performing.

* * *

So, having said that, I’m at a bit of a crossroads here. I sincerely WANT to continue working on the podcast, but the amount of time and energy it takes to create a single episode is immense. Before I commit to that kind of undertaking, I’d like to hear from you!

Would you listen to more episodes?

What would you like to hear?

Do you work for an arts non-profit/music business and want to support the podcast through a grant or ads?

Are you a bajillionaire who wants to become my patron?

Please give it a listen and let me know your thoughts. If you enjoyed it, SHARE IT WITH OTHERS! I’ll take the next few weeks to figure out what happens next and then I’ll let you know.

Here’s how to listen:

Through Itunes or Stitcher, subscribe to One Degree of Separation and listen to the most recent episode.

As I mentioned before, I have a podcast called One Degree of Separation. If you click HERE, you will go to iTunes and can download or subscribe there.

Stream the file directly from this website

Click the play button below and just give it a listen!

Download the file from Soundcloud

In the upper righthand corner of the Soundcloud embed above, you'll see a button with a down arrow. Click that and download the show straight to your computer, phone, or tablet.

ANYWAY, leave a comment, tweet me, email me... whatever you gotta do: I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts. Should I keep going? What's next?

My mom has been going through a bunch of old files from her days as a teacher and counselor. Throughout the years, she created a TON of professional development materials and conducted many workshops for her district. She came across something that she wrote years ago and gave it to me. It's exactly what I would expect from her and it's perfect advice for any teacher (or person, for that matter). My Mom's a pretty cool lady. : ) (Feel free to let her know if you agree!)

You can check out some of her children's stories at www.barbaragrant.com. 

Alternate title: "Music advocacy that music teachers can finally be passionate about."

Let's not beat around the bush here:

For me, NAfME's Broader Minded campaign is shaping up to be the best advocacy message I've seen them put out in quite a while. Do I have some issues with it? Of course! (This wouldn't be my blog if I didn't have some problems with a NAfME message.) But, that doesn't take away from the fact that NAfME is finally putting forward a a message that music teachers can get behind.

The central focus on "Music makes you smarter" never appealed to music teachers. I know I've said this many times, but helping a student do better in their math class is not the reason that a musician devotes his or her life to teaching music. The "smart child" approach to advocacy lacked passion (something musicians have in spades) and the profession was never mobilized to action around it.  However,  this message that music is good because it's artistic, because it's social, because it's challenging, because it's so many things... THIS is advocacy that can resonate with music educators. Only time will tell if the profession will jump on board (getting anybody to do anything is difficult), but just looking at the website lets me know that the organization is looking in the right direction. Not to take away from the positives I've just shared with you, but I do think it's important to include some of my concerns. 1) "Beyond the Bubbles" is great, but near the end of the video we get, "Math and Science matter. But music impacts and assesses students in other ways. Ways that a standardized test could never show." (Emphasis mine.)

I just think that the inclusion of "and assesses" really undercuts a much more powerful message. It could have been written like this: Math and Science matter. But music impacts students in other ways. Ways that a standardized test could never show. BOOM. That's EXACTLY what music teachers have been saying for YEARS. Let's not mix up the message, NAfME. Keep pushing for music as a unique space where children get to explore their interests and talents; an endeavor that, hopefully, helps them find a voice - a means of expressing themselves. I know "assess" is a buzz word, but it confuses the point that you're trying to make (or, at least, the point I want you to be making).

(This is the biggest version of the logo I could find on the website. I also had to invert it to make it visible. I hope they make this iconography available for others to use for school programs and other local things.)

2) Is it just me or does the "Think Beyond the Bubbles" logo pack more punch than the "Music on the brain" logo? To be honest, I really wish the entire campaign was titled, "Think beyond the bubbles" or, simply, "Beyond the Bubbles". "Broader Minded" is directed towards both the child that a quality music education creates AND the way we perceive the value of music in our schools. That's pretty cool. However, it just doesn't feel as memorable to me. (The URL www.broaderminded.com just lacks some oomph.) 

(Okay, so I just Googled it, and I see that Stanford has a program titled, "Beyond the Bubble". Either way, some variation on that name would still be great.) 3) There are other ways of making music other than cello, piano, and marching band. That's all we see in the short video. And, yes, I know time is limited. In the future, I sincerely hope that NAfME takes this opportunity to include all forms of making music rather than our more "traditional" offerings. In the future, it would be great to see someone singing a song on the guitar or using a turntable. 4) Is it "Broader-Minded" hyphenated or not? This probably won't impact Google search results, but it appears with and without the hyphen in different places. (I would think it's always hyphenated, but maybe a grammarian can explain to me why that's not the case.) Anyway, I think this is a great first step in helping to rethink some of the messaging that has been coming out of NAfME for a while. I look forward to what's going to happen next! If anybody from NAfME wants some help, you know where to find me.  

* * *

New Core Arts Standards?

Last Friday, February 14, the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) released the final drafts of their Core Arts standards. The standards - including the Music standards - are on public review until February 28. I've started the process of reading through them and, honestly, I can't imagine I'll find anything super objectionable in there (although, I do reserve the right to object later).  Go ahead and check out the standards here.  Anyway, I'm hoping some smart people will stop by the blog and explain some things to me. And, I must say, my questions are 100% sincere; this isn't a trap and I'm not trying to forward some larger agenda. I simply find myself a bit uninformed about the new Core Arts Standards' place in our music classrooms. My plan is to spend a little time every day this week reading about these new music standards, but my time would be much more productive if smart people dropped by and shared their thoughts. Alright... here we go: 1) Should music educators adopt new, more detailed standards? It is clear that Common Core is here to stay for the foreseeable future and I understand how that would lead arts organizations to ask, "Should we be getting involved in this?" Obviously, that question has two possible responses: Accept the basic premise of Common Core (more detailed, uniform standards that start in Pre-K and go all the way to high school graduation). Part of accepting this idea is the hope that the Arts - along with Math and English Language Arts - will be seen as a "core" component of a child's education. Reject the idea that Common Core-style standards have a place in music classrooms. Part of this rejection would center on the idea that arts classrooms look different from one another and that arts teachers should have more wiggle room in their curricula than other subject teachers. NCCAS (which NAfME is a part of) has decided to undertake this endeavor, in part, due to their perception that this is the best route to the arts' inclusion within our schools. From their FAQ page (emphasis mine):

Our nation’s first standards for arts education were published in 1994, and have served for nearly two decades to guide improvements in the structure, delivery, and assessment of arts education. With the increasing emphasis on core standards as drivers for our education system in areas from curriculum development to teacher assessment, we need standards that match current and future policy needs. If we don’t revise standards to meet these new challenges, the arts risk being marginalized in American schools, limiting our young people’s access and opportunity to a full, balanced education. 

So, we can plainly see the environment in which these standards were created: basically, we don't want to be accused of sitting on the sidelines. That makes sense to me. (I would like to see the research that shows that the music national standards "guided improvements in the structure, delivery, and assessment of arts education. I'm not saying it doesn't exist! I just haven't seen it, literally.)  Okay, so I've talked myself into accepting these Core Arts Standards as long as they are perceived as an extension of the original national standards: A set of guiding principles that teachers should continually check-in with to ensure that they are providing the best educational experiences possible. This leads us to the next, trickier question: 2) Are these new National Core Arts Standards a first step towards nationalized music tests? If so, is that good or bad? As I just noted, the idea of new, more in-depth standards shouldn't ruffle too many feathers. However, if our goal is to be perceived as equally important as Math and English, doesn't that mean we should also invite the types of tests that those subject areas are beginning to see?  And, of course, this question of testing also leads us to the question of teacher evaluation: Should music teachers be evaluated based on student achievement as measured against these new Core Standards?  Basically, the overarching questions for me are:

What do these Core Arts Standards actually mean?

What impact would implementation have on music classrooms?

Are music (and all Arts teachers) inherently different? Do we see the teaching of art as an art itself? Is it reasonable to expect one set of chronological skills to be useful? 

Considering my history of fairly blunt declarations about the state of music education and the organizations that help guide it, I understand why one might assume that these questions are loaded. I can honestly say that I'm only seeking guidance. I just want to know what smart people think and know about the situation.

So, please comment and share with others (I might even follow-up with some people who reach out to me). I'll revisit this issue in a few days.

* * *

Sadly, I was unable to watch The Grammys this year. (And by "watch", I mean "watch live", since I can stitch together every second of the ceremony from YouTube.) However, not being able to watch it live didn't mean that people weren't texting and messaging me about it all night. I heard about what happened from seemingly everybody I know (although, the most common question I heard was, "Did you see Anna Kendrick's dress?"). 

Anyway, it was my brother Kenny who sent me three emails telling me that I should watch Daft Punk's performance of "Get Lucky". I wasn't deliberately avoiding it, but I never really bought the hype for their now-Grammy winning album, Random Access Memories. I listened to all of it when the album came out and I personally felt it was a bit overlong and tedious. Of course, I don't want to take anything away from anybody who loved it, but it just wasn't my thing.

So, now that I've watched the Grammy performance, I can honestly say that I get it. Random Access Memories wasn't designed for me to listen to alone in my car during a 2-hour drive after a long day at work. It was designed for dancing in a room full of my friends. Nothing highlights this more than their performance last Sunday night. If you haven't seen it yet, it's definitely worth checking out.

Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams & Stevie Wonder... by daftworld

With the exception of the excitement surrounding Stevie Wonder's presence on stage, the performance starts just about how you would expect: People are excited, but nothing out of the ordinary. (It should be noted that the band sounds amazing!) It's around the 2:25 mark, when The Robots (as they are affectionately known) appear, that things get interesting. In their on-stage recording booth, the pair start mixing together elements of Chic's "Freak Out", their own song, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", and later, Stevie Wonder's "Another Star". ("Around the World" slips in subtly near the end.)

Okay. There's some neat things happening musically, but it's not until we get to 3:15 in the clip that the director of the Grammy telecast figures out that the show isn't on stage: It's in the audience.

It starts as a close-up on Katy Perry and then cuts to a wide shot of an audience full of rock, rap, and pop stars, along with their families, assorted record executives, and actors who all on their feet. They're all dancing. Every single one of them. 

Paul McCartney, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Yoko Ono (holding a peace sign, of course), Bruno Mars, and John Legend to name a few - along with a ton of people I don't recognize. But, truly, it doesn't matter who I name: If they were in the audience, they were laughing, singing, pointing, clapping, and dancing.

For anybody who is familiar with my writing, you know by now that I support any music that elicits a emotional response. However, there is something about the intersection of our popular music elite and Daft Punk that I find intriguing and, in some ways, very moving. The former group is comprised of musicians with carefully constructed public masks while the latter group contains just two guys who wear actual masks every time they're in public.

The Robots of Daft Punk, who we blindly trust are Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, have made a deliberate point of removing their human persona from their music. We are supposed to think of them as machines designed simply to bring us entertainment. In many ways, this isn't that dissimilar from the way our modern music stars are seemingly assembled for us. An amalgam of talent, looks, style, and luck, today's popular musicians are discouraged from showing us any sense of their real selves, just in case it would have a negative impact on their sales or otherwise reflect poorly on their brand. It's not their fault, they simply exist within a system with too much money at stake.

But, there they all were - The Robots and "the robots" - all made human. All of them dancing, singing, laughing. It appears that The Robots of Daft Punk, despite their distance and, perhaps, because of it, are able to show us music's power to connect. Just like Wall-E's desire to dance or hold hands with the humans around him, this moment illustrates that music has always been about the expression of humanity. It's about you and me. Here and now. Us and… us.

So, if you want to truly take a lesson away from this, you should do the following:

The next time you have anybody over, pull up this performance on YouTube, blast the music, and have fun watching, listening, singing, and naming all of the celebrities you can. Most importantly, enjoy dancing along with your friends - both in the room and at the Staples Center. It's what The Robots want us to do.

It feels weird to log back into my blog. It has truly been too long.

The fact of the matter is that a lot has happened since my last blog post. The book exists in a nebulous form. As I look ahead into the next couple of months, I'll try to finish a few of chapters and organize. Then, we'll get our book on!

This post is really an announcement that I have a new podcast titled, One Degree of Separation. It's really just something I'm putting out to stay creatively engaged with the world. The basic premise is that I'll interview one person and then that person will suggest the next person to talk to and so on and so on.

You can subscribe via iTunes here.

The first episode, titled "Now What?", includes two stories that relate to music.

The first one occurs at 5:40 and centers on a specific piece of music that made a difference in my life. 

The second one occurs near the end 52:15 when I barge in on a stranger's home because I hear them playing guitar.

As I say in the podcast, part of the goal of this endeavor is to make my world a little smaller - I simply need to meet more people and have some more experiences. If YOU think that you know somebody who has an interesting life or story (or if that person is you), then visit the website and submit your contact info. I'd love to talk to ya!

I hope you get a chance to listen and to subscribe via iTunes. If you like it, leave a 5-star rating! If you don't like it, then be nice and don't leave a sad review. That would be appreciated.

Anyway, thanks for everybody who has provided me with support over the years. While this blog has been in hibernation I have still received a lot of positive comments and emails that let me know I've been somewhat useful.

I just wanted to let my happy blog visitors to know that the book is a go! Between comments I received via email, blog comments, Facebook, Twitter, publisher inquiries, and just the constant traffic that my blog receives for music appreciation material, I know this is the right thing to do.

I'm moving along very briskly (I've got a lot of material to draw from) and I'm looking to have the book out in both print and Kindle formats before December 2012 - just in time for those second semester Music Appreciation classes!

To make sure that you get updated on when the book comes out, signup for the email list. I promise I won't sell your information or even harass you about anything else. I'll just make you aware when the book is available.

Click here to signup for the email list!

Also, I've started to offer my services as a consultant to teachers and schools who are looking to design progressive music curricula for their school. I'll write more about it as it takes more shape, but if you're looking for some assistance, contact me here. 

Before I forget, my article titled, "Soundwalks, Community, and the Secondary General Classroom," is now available in the October 2012 issue of General Music Today*. You can access it through your NAfME membership or, if you're at a college, you can probably get it through your library. Enjoy!

(*Yes, I'm aware it is not October yet.)

Here's the abstract:

Unless you have been frozen in some sort of cryogenic chamber since July of 2010, you've heard Katy Perry's song, "Teenage Dream." Whether you wanted to or not... it's been blasted into your ears dozens of times.

Like you, I have not escaped its grasp. Personally, I think it's a fun song, full of energy and a very catchy, beltable hook (and that "second chorus" for lack of a better term is really fun, too!). If history is any indication, somebody will want to take this opportunity to talk to comment on the appropriateness of the song for impressionable youth (it happened during my defense of "Glee", you know... before it was "bad awful," rather than the "fun awful" it had been before). This post is about the recording of the song and the deliberate decisions the producers made.

While I was listening to my Spotify "Party Mix", I noticed something I had not heard before. Considering the number of times I've heard the song, I was surprised when I discovered something completely new.

Listen to the first two measures (headphones definitely help):

Did you notice it? That opening guitar part isn't perfectly in time! Listen to the first couple of 8th notes and the couple of beats starting on beat two of the second measure. In case you are having a hard time hearing it, I've looped the first two measures a couple of times:

If you prefer visuals, here ya go. The line indicates the attack from the guitar in the left ear. Notice the placement of the attacks in the right ear. (Click to enlarge)

Why do I find this interesting?

(Read below the break for the exciting conclusion!)

Update (9/11/12):

After receiving a lot of feedback from a variety of places, I have already started writing the book. My goal is to have it available in paperback and Kindle versions by December 2012, just in time for those spring semester Music Appreciation courses! To get notified via email when the book is available, click HERE. (I promise I won't spam you or anything crazy.)

Question:

If I wrote a book providing ideas and resources to teach a Music Appreciation course, would anybody care/plunk down $10-$20 bucks for it?

Let's go back in time a little:

Two years ago:

I wrote a post with the title, "What Should We Teaching in a Music Appreciation Class?" It's not a particularly well-written post, it's long and short of specifics, but I think my passion for the topic comes through. 

Today:

That little post has EASILY become my most read article and the blog has been visited more this month than at any point in the previous two years (which is crazy to me since I'm way behind on updates). In fact, the Appreciation post has been accessed more times than my Identity post, my cartoon, or the front page of my blog! Additionally, I consistently receive emails from people who are looking for more specifics about some of the ideas I outlined in the post. 

Also, through my blog and my presentations, I have been approached by a major music education publisher about writing a book or two. That, of course, is very flattering!

So, after finishing my Master's degree and having some time on my hands, here's the question: 

If I wrote a book providing ideas and resources to teach a Music Appreciation course, would anybody care/plunk down $10-$20 bucks for it?

I've got a LOT to share, describe, and discuss in a book - ideas I haven't written about on the blog. I feel that it would be a product that would be really useful and I'd love to share it, but time is always difficult to come by, right? (Even though I have more than maybe I'd like right now.) 

Additionally, in our current economic climate, many teachers find themselves looking for that other class they can teach that will engage their students. I believe that a modernized music appreciation course would be the way to go. 

Anyway, I'm throwing it out there. If you'd be interested (or know somebody who would be), just drop me a quick comment that says, "I would be interested!" If you have any more words of encouragement for me, I'll gladly accept those as well.

(Click HERE and scroll down to the comments if you are seeing this on the main page.)

As the school year is starting and teachers get their school calendars in order, I wanted to remind Illinois high school teachers that a perfect early year unit might center on the remix. 

And, if you're going to have students create remixes, then why don't you have them use digital files ("stems") from platinum-selling recording artist, Moby?

AND, if you're going to use the Moby tracks, then you should definitely enter your finished projects into the IMEA Remix Contest! 

Like all of our composition contest categories, all entries will receive written feedback. Moby himself will be involved in the final selection of the winners for the remixes.

All of the information on how to get the tracks and what the contest is like can be found here.

Of course, the composition contest isn't just about remixes. We have categories for arranging, vocal, popular, instrumental, electronic, and keyboard works. If ANY student in your high school is doing something cool with composition, they are eligible to enter. 

Click HERE for additional information and the entry form! The deadline for entry is November 1.

----

Imagine having some video games that allowed you to teach musical concepts to students on real musical instruments. Also, imagine that you were then able to watch their progress over time and track their development?

Well, the future is now!*

(*Kinda.)

Recently, along with Matthew Thibeault and Ben Smith, I had the pleasure to present at GLS 8.0 in Madison, WI. For those that don’t know, “GLS 8.0″ stands for “the 8th Annual Games, Learning, and Society Conference.” This is my second time coming to the conference and it is truly an inspiring event. (As an aside, it also has the distinction of being one of the most well-run conferences I have ever been to. Any conference that has a free ice cream bar case open for almost the entire day is fine by me!)

The presentation centered around some music games that we prototyped at the University of Illinois and tested with undergraduate music education students. Rather than your traditional Guitar Hero gameplay, these games used an instrument or voice to control what is happening on the screen. They’re very fun and have some real applications in the world of music education. You can read the conference paper here.

Hello!

Yes! I remembered I had a blog. (I didn't really forget.)

I will get to my stack of 30+ blog article drafts eventually, but I just wanted to use this space to publicize the new IMEA remix category for our 2012 Composition Contest! I'm very pleased to announce that ANY Illinois high school student (not just those in ensembles) have the opportunity to use source files from the platinum-selling artist, Moby, as the basis for their compositions.

Additionally (and this is not included in our state journal), Moby will listen to some of the finalists himself! How cool is that!?

I am VERY pleased to announce that the new issue of Leading Notes is out now! 

Seriously, the collection of articles - focusing on encouraging creativity and musical independence within the classroom - is amazing. That has nothing to do with me, obviously! The teachers who contributed their ideas are doing incredible things in their classrooms and they've been kind enough to share their lessons with you. What possible reason do you have NOT to go check it out?

SOUNDWALKS - A new unit idea from moi!

For those who have been waiting (there's at least a few of you) for a blog post on my "soundwalk" project, then you're in luck! There is more information than you could possibly imagine over on Leading Notes - an introduction to the soundwalk, philosophical rationale, a video with several examples, and a lengthy "how-to" PDF that you can download once you're ready to give it a try! Click HERE to get all of the info! (I'll include the video examples at the bottom of this post.)

A couple of articles from the latest issue (with great visuals and sound):

How a mandatory ukulele class for eighth graders became cool: Caitlin McGovern has a GREAT piece with GREAT pictures and a GREAT audio example on her experiences as a band teacher who begins teaching a music elective focused on ukulele and songwriting. 

Zombies in the Orchestra Room: The Student-Directed Silent Film: Daniel Henderson explains how, by encouraging his students to create their own zombie film, he was able to capture their interest and energy to create memorable experiences. Includes the awesome student film!

Anyway, if you've read this far, then go check the issue out! Also, if you're doing something awesome, then contact me and let me know! I REALLY enjoy the process of working with our authors to create content that is exciting and educational for the field. Contact me: nick (at) leadingnotes.org.

What are you waiting for?! Go over to Leading Notes now!

If you saw my presentation at the 2012 TI:ME National Conference ("A Classroom Without Walls: Connecting Students to Their Community Through Music Technology"), then this is the place to read more about what I discussed. Thanks to everybody for showing up, TI:ME for having me, and Louisville for having multiple pronunciations. 

Here are some useful links:

Click HERE to see a post concerning a clinic I gave at the Illinois Music Education Conference back in January. This discusses both Music as Identity and Meet The Beatles - including lesson plans and examples.

Click HERE for my initial Golden Record post.

The Soundwalk will be published in the next issue of Leading Notes! Make sure to go check that out right now.

Click the icons on the side to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or through your RSS feed.

Also, don't forget about Leading Notes! If you were at TI:ME, you're either already doing awesome things OR you're about to do awesome things. Either way, let us know! Our submission information is HERE.

Please let me know if you try any of this stuff out and how it goes! You're probably going to improve on them... so be sure to share with me!

Dearest Music Teachers of the Interwebs,

I'm giving a presentation at the end of January titled, "Expanding the Musical Offerings in Our Schools: Energizing Our Students and Saving Our Jobs". This will be the second of two talks I'll be giving on Thursday (1/27), but I must say I need some help.

The session is designed to provide suggestions and materials for ensemble teachers who are looking for another class to add to their teaching schedule in order to help maintain a fulltime course load and, of course, to reach out to students who aren't currently participating in their high school music program.

Here's where you come in:

In the comments below, please leave a description of the general music courses you teach and the resources you use. If you've got a website or a blog with any information, please link to it. I'll use the information in my talk and also provide your links to conference attendees. 

If you think you teach something more traditional, still leave your thoughts! If you KNOW somebody who does something interesting or unique, please let them know to come visit here. Lastly, make sure that you leave a way that I can get in touch with you. If you want to email me (rather than posting to the comments), send an email to nick at leadingnotes.org. 

You assistance would be greatly appreciated! You'll be able to check the comments for suggestions from other music teachers AND check back at the end of January for my take on everything.

Start commenting and share with others!