New song is like a new adventure Do you ever get excited about teaching a new song to your students? For me, developing teaching ideas for a new tune is as intriguing as going on an exotic road trip. There are so many possibilities! You never know what you will find along the way. Often, my best guides on this journey are my students. The challenge is to keep a good "travel log": remembering to write down all the different music games we end up creating and exploring. The song "Get Rolling" from my new Songbook collection is one of these songs. It started as a simple movement activity. On our musical journey, my students and I discovered many fun ways to play with this tune. I hope you enjoy it with your students. Please feel free to share new discoveries in the comments below! Get Rolling Early Childhood Emphasis  Take a nap:  Sing this tune during a “nap” activity. Turn down the lights, and invite everyone to lay down. Once the song becomes fami...

On Wednesday, I had the privilege of directing over 200 students in our school's annual Spring Concert. https://youtu.be/v4p2Ldfgtt0 This year, we were focusing on good character. Our title was based on the closing song, "We Are One", by Alternate Routes. For me, the process of putting together a concert is very exciting. I get to learn, arrange, and perform new songs; see the songs change through my students' voices, and in the end, hear it come to life better than I could have ever imagined. These performances are reflective of my students' talents and personalities, and are an extension of the music making happening in the classroom.  The Story I like to think of a performance as a story, with all the qualities that make a story great: theme, characters, value, captivating plot, tension, resolution, and a strong ending. But most of all, a great story takes you away from reality, and touches you on an emotional level: it makes you FEEL.  My Set Lists...

Some of the best teaching moments in my classroom happen spontaneously, without prior planning or expectations. My favorite musical moment of this week was improvising with my choir the last two minutes of rehearsal.  As buses were lining up outside the music room windows, my fourth graders and I were interacting in Dorian tonality. I started by improvising a simple repetitive chord root melody, and invited the altos to join in. As they got comfortable with it, I demonstrated a slightly different part for the sopranos, using the fifth of the tonic chord.  Finally, I added an improvised melody over the two-part harmony. There was a magical feeling in the air: we were making music together, spontaneously, without any preparation or memorization. The music brought us to a logical conclusion as we organically slowed down and struck the last chord. I am inspired to continue exploring this musical journey with my students next week. Perhaps we can try a different chord progr...