Student-centred pedagogy

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:42:23 +0000

The term student-centred pedagogy alludes to the student being the teacher’s main priority, rather than the music that is being taught. It’s main objective is for teachers to become increasingly dispensable to students by developing them as independent learners. So what can teachers do to achieve this? Allow students to become active participants of their musical [...]

Cognitive Thinking

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:49:25 +0000

Cognition:“The process of thought“. On several occasions I have had a student ask me to teach him to sing while playing. This task seemed impossible for the student(s), I explained that this was a learned skill, which takes hours of practice. When I am playing, I will make a mistake if I stay focused on [...]

Tip for Arizona Teachers (or others not using DST)

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:59:35 +0000

MTH, fabulous website that it is, doesn’t yet support Arizona not using Daylight Savings Time.  This morning, when I went to reconcile my lessons, some weren’t yet showing.  I had forgotten that I’d set my Time Zone to Pacific (GMT-8:00), because there is not yet a support for Arizona (GMT-7:00, no DST).  In this way, [...]

Skill Upgrades for Music Teachers

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:13:25 +0000

Yesterday evening I attended a training session for district treasurers sponsored by the Ontario Senior Secondary Teachers’ Association, the union that I belong to as a faculty member of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. I have a set of new duties starting in the coming weeks, as I’ve recently agreed to take on [...]

Theft, Fire, & Damage…are you prepared?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:25:13 +0000

I am very sorry to say that one of my students had his PA system and bass rig stolen recently.  The value of all the stolen equipment was well over $10,000.  It was all stolen from his trailer in his driveway.  Another friend lost all of his career related gear (guitars, amps, computer, textbooks from [...]

Updates in October

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:59:37 +0000

Hello music teachers! We’re happy to announce several new updates this month, as well as some announcements. Thank you for your great feedback. We get so many comments about how much you love the site and we’re glad that you do. Here are the latest updates to Music Teacher’s Helper in October. New Features Birthday Greetings! MTH can [...]

Easy DIY Music Games

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:10:27 +0000

I’m really big on music games in my lessons. I find they can be even more effective than music theory worksheets, because the student is so engaged in a fun activity. It’s easy to turn commercial games into games for your lessons. One I recently made is “Musical Checkers.” All I did was buy a [...]

Improvisation in Bloom!..Part Two

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:10:24 +0000

(Improvisation Journals, Budding Ideas, Blossoms and Bouquets) Last month I talked about students making improvisation journals to jot down their musical ideas. Paralleling the creative process to stages in development of flowers and bouquets, ideas were offered in these areas (see Blossoming Improvisation - Part One dated 9/25/09) : Preparing the Soil for Creativity Planting Seeds (motifs). Today I [...]

Upgrading from Windows XP Pro 32-bit to Windows 7 Pro 64-bit version

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:53:47 +0000

After reading strongly positive reviews of Windows & from techies this spring, I eagerly pre-ordered my copy of Windows 7 Professional.  Those of you who know me, know that I got a new computer in April (I refused Vista & had XP pre-installed by the computer company).  From the first, it was problematic.  I reinstalled [...]

Looking For More Authors For Our Blog

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:45:55 +0000

Do you have a passion for music, teaching, or writing? Do you have experience and insight you’d like to share with other music teachers across the world? Do you want to make yourself known in the music teaching community? Or would you like to be the catalyst for interesting musical, educational, technological, or business discussion? If [...]

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